Page 34 of To Have and To Hold
“And we’re racin’ to the top,” Baz added. “Trust me when I tell you, you’re gonna want to win.” He looked at Brantley. “Although you two are exempt from winning anything.”
“Except each other,” Atticus said in a swoon-worthy voice.
Brantley laughed.
Slade turned and looked at the group. “I’ll pay fifty bucks to whoever can beat Brantley up those steps.”
“I wouldn’t bet on me. My leg’s not like it used to be,” Brantley told him as he reached down and rubbed his leg. It didn’t hurt, and it rarely did anymore, but it was still much weaker than it had been before the building fell on him. Running long distances on flat ground or a gentle incline didn’t bother it. But anything steep tended to irritate it. “Reese’ll give you a run for your money, though.”
Reese glanced back and rolled his eyes.
“It’s a good half-hour drive,” Baz warned. “So if y’all are ready.”
“We’re bringin’ Tesha this mornin’,” Brantley informed them. “Then someone can break away and take her to JJ.”
“I’ll do it now if you’d like,” Atticus said, though his voice lacked much emphasis. “I looked it up on my phone. There’s a way to drive to the top. I’ll meet y’all up there.”
“Not a chance, kid,” Reese said gruffly. “You’re the youngest one here. If you don’t win this, you’ll be responsible for buyin’ the booze for the rest of the weekend.”
“You’re on, old man,” Atticus shot back.
“Let’s do this, shall we?” Brantley motioned toward the refrigerator. “There are some energy shots in there if you want ’em.”
That did the trick. Evan spun on one foot and moved quickly toward the fridge, pulling it open and skimming the contents before noticing the rows of energy shots stashed in the door.
“Who wants one?” he asked as he pulled them out.
Everyone raised their hand, including Reese.
Brantley retrieved Tesha’s leash while they knocked back some caffeine while Reese got her overnight bag. And they were off.
Nearly forty-five minutes later, they were walking toward the base of the steps. RT and Z were already there, as were Trey, Cal, Griffin, and Killian.
As far as landmarks went, Brantley found this one to be on par. A couple of signs were set in stone, depicting the history of the land and the dedication to the person who donated the land.
“Are you seriously wearin’ jeans?” Brantley asked Z.
Z looked down at his legs. “What? What’s wrong with that?”
Everyone else was wearing shorts and T-shirts.
“I warned him,” RT said. “He doesn’t like to show off his sexy legs.”
Brantley chuckled. “I hope they don’t slow you down.”
“Nothin’ slows me down,” Z teased.
“Where’s Magnus?” Brantley asked his brother.
“He’s gonna meet us at CotA,” Trey answered, using the acronym for the Circuit of the Americas racetrack. “He’s drivin’ Ava to JJ’s.”
“Slacker,” Cal joked.
“He was afraid he’d lose,” Griffin chimed in.
Considering Magnus could likely run circles around all of them, everyone laughed. The guy spent the majority of his time training search and rescue dogs, so he was no stranger to exercise.
“So, how exactly do we do this?” RT asked, glancing at the steps that curved up and to the left. There was a bar that ran right down the middle so people could steady themselves on the way up or down. On the left, a brick wall lined the side while trees and dirt encroached on the path on the other side.
