by Taylor Hart
“Ty,” Ziggy said, not liking how this conversation was going.
“It’s fine,” Sloane said, waving a hand in dismissal.
Ty held Ziggy’s eyes for a second before he turned to Paul. “Why don’t you turn this part off?”
Paul shook his head, still filming. “Nope.”
It was quiet for a bit. Cameron cleared his throat and addressed Hunter. “Have you ever rafted the Snake in February?”
Hunter let out a whooping laugh. “Heck no, not that stupid until now.”
Everyone else joined in laughing, but Ziggy kept staring at Ty, who wouldn’t meet his gaze. His enthusiasm for all of this was fast waning.
Suddenly, his and Ty’s phones buzzed. Ziggy turned his over, knowing that if it was both of them, his other brothers were on a group text.
What is this? Dax asked. He’d attached a video.
Ty looked up from his phone. His face went white.
“What’s wrong?” Sloane asked Ty.
Ty glowered at Paul. “I thought you were waiting for the documentary to post this.”
Paul grinned. “Part of the reason you hired me was to raise awareness. We’re running ads, gaining money, creating awareness. The documentary is just part of that.”
“What?” Soph looked over Ziggy’s shoulder.
Ziggy’s breath caught. If his brothers were asking about this video and Paul was sitting there all smug …
“I’m sorry,” Ty told Ziggy.
There really wasn’t much they could do. Ziggy had thought about this possibility last night. “It doesn’t matter.”
Everyone at the table had turned their attention to him and Ty.
Ty blinked. “I’m sorry.”
Ziggy stared at the video thumbnail, a still of him and Soph freaking out. He noted all the texts from his brothers. “You keep sayin’ that.”
“Show them,” Paul said. “They’re going to look it up anyway.”
“There’s a sneak peek of the family crazy.” Ziggy scowled at Paul and thought about how good it would feel to deck him. He sighed and held up his phone. “Why don’t you guys check it out?” he said sarcastically, pushing play.
“Zig?” Soph grabbed his hand.
“It’s fine.” Ziggy watched with the rest of the table while the scene between him, Ty, and Soph in Rawlins was played out.
“Wow.” Hunter took a sip of his water. “You guys have some serious family stuff.”
Ziggy laughed manically. “Anything for the cure, right, Ty?”
“Right.” Ty ’s voice was quiet.
Soph leaned into Ziggy, and he felt so grateful she was here with him. Her presence made all of this bearable.
Sloane exhaled, looking a bit lost. “Shoot, we all got family stuff.” He snorted and turned to Ty. “We should have recorded our bus trips for ratings.”
Ty gave a half laugh. “Right.”
It was quiet for a bit.
“So you’re really going to do graffiti art?” Isabel asked Ty, leaning into the table. “Because I always wanted to, but I was too afraid I’d get caught.”
Ty nodded. “We’re doing it.”
Ziggy coughed. “Don’t really want to go to jail.” He pointed to Paul. “And, as we’ve found out, everything is coming out right now.”
Paul threw up a hand. “You all signed a contract.”
Everyone chuckled.
Cameron nudged his wife. “You never told me that. We could just have the helo drop us somewhere and do some graffiti.”
She rolled her eyes. “Can you say one sentence without the word helo in it?”
Cameron laughed. “Good one.”
Ty plastered on a huge, fake smile. “You’re all invited.” He pointed at Cameron. “No helos—you have to climb it.”
Chapter 15
Soph sputtered as another burst of water sprayed her in the face. She could not believe they were rafting down the Snake River in February! She, Ziggy, Paul, Hunter, and Summer shared one of the rafts.
“To no regrets!” Ty called out from the other raft. His fellow riders—Sloane, Hope, Cameron, and Isabel—cheered in agreement.
“Yeehaw!” Hunter called out, raising his paddle in the air. Summer’s eyes glinted with determination.
Sophia laughed wildly, growing more and more convinced that they actually might die. They’d been going for about twenty minutes, and it was freezing.
Ziggy scowled and pointed ahead. “Last one down the hill loses.” Unbelievably, he started paddling the raft faster. So did Hunter and Summer.
“Oh yeah!” called out Hunter.
“You’re on!” Ty called out.
The guide held up his hands. “Let’s slow down.”
“Hey!” Paul yelled at Ty and Hunter, his GoPro strapped to his head. “I don’t think it’s fair, because I can’t paddle as hard and film.”
Sophia’s terror spiked. Somehow, she managed not to punch Paul.
Hunter let out a loud whoop and paddled harder. “Don’t worry—we got Aquaman!”
Ziggy didn’t bat an eye at the nickname. He lifted his paddle over his head, gripping it with both hands as the raft rushed downward. He threw his head back, and with a surge of adrenaline, Sophia thought he really did have the physique of a superhero. “To Atlantis!” he hollered.
“Atlantis!” Hunter encouraged.
They picked up speed. It felt like they were flying, and the river sprayed more intensely in Sophia’s face, soaking through her clothes. All she could do was hold on and close her eyes. Their raft had pulled ahead of the other one, and she heard whoops and yells behind them. The raft thudded, and her eyes flashed open.
“Soph, you okay?”A drenched and happy Ziggy was grinning at her like he had just won a war.
“I guess.” She put her hand over her rapidly beating heart and met Summer’s eyes.
Summer burst into laughter. “Can you believe the egos we have surrounding us?”
Sophia couldn’t help herself—she laughed too.
“Sissies!” Ty yelled out, their raft moving past them.
Suddenly, Ziggy, Hunter, and Paul were paddling as if their lives depended on it. They flew down the river, magically beating the other raft to the hill.
Ty pointed to the next hill. “Double or nothing—winner takes all bragging rights!”
Sophia could feel the kick to the raft as Hunter and Ziggy were back in the game. The nervous flutters in her gut went into overdrive. “I’m just ducking for cover.”
Summer laughed and ducked down with her. “Are we really going to live? Hunter! We have children!”
“It’s fine!” he called out.
Summer and Sophia laughed as they flew faster.
“Wave!” someone called out.
“What?” Sophia put her head up just as the raft hit a rock, and then they really were flying.
Chapter 16
Ziggy lounged in the front room of the cabin next to the fire. It was still cold in Jackson this time of year and probably just plain dog stupid to do the river, but the rush had totally been worth it.
Ty strolled out of the kitchen, Paul in tow. “Paul and I are going out on the town. You and Soph want to come?”
Soph appeared on the stairs, bundled in sweats with her hoodie on. “No.” She shivered. “I’m still cold. Ty, you’re crazy.”
“Live like you’re not dying,” Ty answered.
Ziggy gritted his teeth. He seriously wanted to punch Ty every time he said something like that.
Paul was already filming as they said goodbye and left.
Ziggy grinned at Soph as she walked over and sank down on the couch, pulling at the blanket that Ziggy had draped over his legs.
“No,” Ziggy said, teasing. “You have to scoot next to me if you want to share my blanket.”
She scooted closer.
Unable to stop himself, he inhaled the fresh fruit scent. It seemed even stronger than normal.
She laughed and snuggled into his side, leaning her he
ad against his shoulder. “What do I smell like?”
Emotion welled up in his throat. “Everything I want to smell.” He put his hand over hers on his bicep and grinned at her. His head dipped to kiss her.
She stared into his eyes. “And cheesy, did I tell you that?”
Their lips met, and all of his senses came alive. He tugged back her hoodie and put his hand on her wet hair, running his fingers behind her neck and feeling the softness of her skin.
She giggled. “What are you doing?”
He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. “Feeling your soft neck,” he muttered.
“My neck? It’s soft?” She leaned back even more. “Zig …”
Undeterred, he flashed his teeth like a vampire. “I vant to suck your blood.” He smoothed his hand over her face and sniffed her again. “Your neck vill be delightful.” With a wild grin, he bent to her neck, pretending to devour it.
She giggled but pushed him back. “Ziggy, wait.”
Sitting back up, he exhaled. “Fine. What is it?” He gave her an impish look.
She smiled. “Sorry. I do like kissing you.”
“Just like?” he asked.
“I really like it. I’m just … I’m starving.”
He laughed. The place was stocked with some essentials, but they were mostly breakfast and lunch items, not dinner. “I got you covered, pizza girl. Already ordered your favorite, anchovies and olives, on my nifty app.”
“Oh, you’re awesome.” She leaned in, kissing him again.
“I see,” he said against her lips. “You just love me for my hunting abilities.”
“Yes. Caveman, bring me food.”
He laughed and focused on the project at hand.
Right then, the door chime went off. He got up, grabbing his wallet.
It was a quick transaction, involving a starry-eyed pizza delivery boy who wanted an autograph. Ziggy happily complied, signing the guy’s hat.
When he turned to head to the kitchen, Sophia reached out for him. “Don’t take it to the kitchen. I’m cozy. Can we eat in here? I don’t want to move.”
He smiled, knowing she was tired and cold and most likely beat up a bit by the river. “Sure.” He grabbed some paper towels and two bottles of water from the kitchen, then returned and sat on the floor next to her. She moved to get up, but he stopped her. “You’re good.”
“I cannot believe how tired I am.” She slumped back.
“Me too.”
She propped herself up as he handed her a piece of pizza. “No, you’re not.”
“A little bit.”
“Right, like you couldn’t do it again right now.” She laughed. “Thank you.”
“This still your favorite?” he asked through a mouthful of food.
She took a small bite. “Pig,” she said, although she spoke with food in her mouth too.
He snorted. “True, but you knew that.”
Chapter 17
Sophia remembered countless times they’d eaten pizza together growing up. Ziggy ate it exactly the same way he had back then.
“What?” he asked, with a trail of cheese running down the side of his lips.
“Nothing.”
“You laughing at me?” Ziggy asked, taking a huge swig of water and wiping his face with the already greasy paper towel.
She leaned back, thinking how different Ziggy was from Marshall, who would never be caught dead eating in the living room or without a fork.
“That’s it!” Ziggy dived onto her and started tickling.
She scrambled away from him, dropping her pizza on the paper towel.
“Wait.” Ziggy stopped and carefully extracted the pizza, setting it on top of the box. “Gotta respect the cheese.” With that taken care of, he resumed the tickle torture.
There was no point in even resisting Ziggy. He was so strong and huge. “Stop!” she puffed out between gasps of laughter. “Stop!”
“You think you can just sit over here and laugh by yourself?” He moved his focus to beneath her chin.
She yanked her head back, and it cracked against the wooden armrest. “Ow.”
“Dang.” He moved her head to the cushion. “Shoot. I’ll get some ice. That one’s gotta hurt.” He took off for the kitchen.
Her head throbbed, and she was sure would have a goose egg from the collision. Lightly, she touched it.
It wasn’t long before Ziggy was back with a hand towel and an ice pack. He carefully put the towel beneath her head and over the ice pack. He picked up another piece of pizza and sat on the couch. “Sorry about that.”
Ziggy’s intensity never disappointed, she thought. “I’m okay.”
The moment went slow as they stared into each other’s eyes. “Are you sure?” he asked.
“Fine. Would you hand me my pizza? I’m still hungry.”
He grinned and plunked it into her hands. “I guess you are alright if you’re thinking about eating.” He leaned in briefly to brush her lips.
“Hey,” she protested. Holding the pizza mid-air, she dramatically scowled at him. “I’m eating.”
He devoured another half of a piece. “So eat.”
She grinned, resisting the urge to laugh again.
They ate in silence for a bit, and he handed her a water bottle. She sipped, smiling at him while he ate another piece.
After finishing, he took a sip of water and leaned closer to her, evaluating her. “Why are you still laughing at me, pizza girl?” Gently, he swiped a piece of hair out of her face.
She lightly traced the scar on the upper right part of his eyebrow, stilling his movements. “How did this happen?” she asked.
The side of his lip tugged up, and he smoothed his hand across her forehead. “Do you mean the scar, or do you mean how you and I are sitting here after almost ten years? Or how you mentioned last night that I don’t even care that you told me you were getting married at the Masquerade Ball less than a week ago?” He leaned in and swiped a light kiss across her lips. “I don’t even care that we haven’t talked about dork face all day or whoever he was.”
She knew she was blushing, but it didn’t matter. It was Ziggy, and he felt like home. “Should I admit I feel embarrassed that I told you he would propose to me and then he left me?”
He scoffed, then laughed. “First, you more like threw it in my face.”
“So I’m an idiot.” Now her cheeks were definitely burning. “I told you, I actually had an epiphany last night about the fact Marshall and I weren’t meant to be together.”
He put his forehead to hers. “It’s always been us—Ziggy and Soph forever, remember?” he asked in a whisper.
Of course she remembered. “On the tree.”
He nodded and took her hand. “Would it make me an idiot that I don’t even care about Marshall? I don’t care about anything but you and me.”
She felt the intensity in his gaze, in his words, in everything about this moment. “Does this feel too fast?”
“No way,” he said, stealing another kiss and deepening it.
Every part of her felt alive. It was easy with the way he kissed her, touched her. Yet her heart and brain were not in sync about how fast this was going. She tugged back. “I still, gah …”
Ziggy’s face turned down in a scowl. He exhaled and adjusted, leaning back into the couch. “You still have to analyze you and—”
“Don’t call him dork face.” She sighed. “All day I thought about what you and I were and how I was trying to superimpose that on my relationship with Marshall. It really was my fault.” She pulled her legs up beneath her onto the couch, keeping a gap between them.
Ziggy looked doubtful. “So can we quit talking about him?”
She shrugged, feeling vulnerable. “Ziggy, I know our relationship has been full of misunderstandings and hurt, but are we ready to just dive in again? That’s how it’s feeling.”
Without missing a beat, he scooted toward her, reaching for her fingertips. “Deep diving is what it’s alway
s been for us.” He pulled her hand to his mouth and tenderly kissed the back of it. “I’ve loved you since the Sweetheart’s Ball in eighth grade, you know that?”
She remembered dancing with him and the way he’d whispered that he’d loved her in her ear. “Yes, because you told me during Bryan Adams’s song, ‘Everything I Do.’”
“I did.” He laughed, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. “You never said it until prom in junior year.”
She smiled at him, getting lost in the memory. Those feelings had been insanely real back then. They still felt that way. “I wanted to make sure.”
“Were you sure?” he challenged.
“Yes.”
He nodded. “Good.”
“Ya know, I really thought we’d get married right out of high school.”
A myriad of emotions flashed across Ziggy’s face, and he rubbed a hand over his eyes. “We should have.”
“No.” She felt bad she’d brought it up. “It’s fine.”
He sighed. “If I wouldn’t have left straight for Miami—if I just would have stuck around and talked to you—maybe we could have worked things out. We would have found out the truth.”
She shook her head. So many things had gone wrong and led them down their separate paths. “Then I wouldn’t have gone to NYU or to London.” She reflected on all the experiences she would have missed out on. “Maybe I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing, and I love it.”
He studied her face and let out a breath, putting up a fist and puffing out his cheeks. “No regrets.” He sank back into the couch.
She laughed, then sighed. “I guess we’re just left with now.”
“Yep, so we take it. All of it.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m tired of Ty saying it, but it is kind of a good motto.”
Her mind flashed to Ty. She would always see him with a guitar in his hand and a little notebook. “He’s trying so hard to live in the now that it’s almost …”
“Painful,” Ziggy finished. “I can’t believe he turned down Sloane’s offer to make an album. He loves to write music. He hasn’t done it since he was diagnosed. It’s weird how intense he is.”
Soph let out a breath. “I was thinking the same thing.”