My Brother's Best Friend: A Sweet YA Romance (Sweet Mountain High Book 5)

by Randi Rigby

  “You’ve done a lot of dumb things in your life Adams, but this is up there,” I grumbled as he whacked at a teed-up ball. “Watch your follow-through.”

  He laid down another ball. “She’s really something, isn’t she?”

  “Yeah. Something.”

  It spoke volumes that Cal didn’t even notice the sarcasm. The dreamy look he’d had in his eye all day worried me. I’d never seen him like that. “I thought I’d ask her to come with me to Miller’s party Friday night,” Cal said.

  “You do that.” I handed him another golf ball. He focused on lining up his next shot. “Harper know you’re here?”

  “No. Why? Should she?”

  “You guys just usually talk about everything. I figured you’d tell her about this.”

  He looked up from his ball, and the message he delivered couldn’t have been clearer. “I don’t want her to know about Jasmine. Not yet.”

  So me blurting out that we were going to Randall’s after Harper had already pressed Cal for details he’d refused to give her, wasn’t exactly my finest moment. I didn’t know who I was madder at when I came out to the parking lot and saw her Fiat sitting there—me for being so stupid or her for being so nosy. But spying on her brother was just wrong. Sure enough, moments later, she and Erika scuttled out to her car like they were being chased—both of them wearing huge grins and whispering to one another.

  Harper sidled into the kitchen, still smelling like her shampoo, her long legs bare in the short shorts she wore for pajamas. I’d grown up with this girl. The only thing we had in common was Cal and a competitive streak that just burned hotter the older we got. Most of the scorching arguments we’d had over the years started over one of us losing to the other over something stupid. Harper wasn’t a crier. When she got mad, she threw things. And she had pretty deadly aim. I still had a scar on my cheek from a cut Dr. Adams had stitched up when we were twelve. She’d clipped me with the corner of a plastic window sign she’d hurled at me. But to be honest, I deserved that one.

  I glared at her. She might be looking all sweet and innocent, but she was in big trouble. “You left your phone in your car,” I said to Cal, not taking my eyes off Harper. He hadn’t. It was in his sports bag, but Cal couldn’t keep track of anything.

  He checked his shirt pocket even though it obviously wasn’t there. “Where’s my head at?” Cal laughed. Wiping his hands off on a napkin, he grabbed his keys and disappeared out the garage door.

  “Why’d you follow us to Randall’s?” I said, getting straight to the point. We didn’t have much time. “If Cal wanted you to know what he was doing, he would’ve told you.”

  Harper blinked. Her clear green eyes, so like Cal’s, narrowed. “If you must know, I was worried about him.”

  “Why? He was with me.”

  She seemed to consider this. “Maybe worried is too strong a word,” she conceded. “But you have to admit he’s been acting weird.”

  I drug a hand over my face. She was the only person I’d allow to get away with saying that about Cal. “Fine. But that’s his business, not ours. You are not going to tell him you were at Randall’s tonight. Do I make myself clear? He’ll tell you about her when he’s good and ready.”

  Harper crossed her arms and tilted her head. “Bossy much?”

  “It wasn’t there,” Cal said, frowning as he rejoined us.

  “Check your bag,” I said, returning to my plate of ribs.

  He dug around through his gear. “Ah, there it is!”

  It didn’t take much to make Cal Adams happy. I was prepared to do whatever it took to keep him that way.

  ☆ ☽ ☆

  The next afternoon after school, Mrs. Adams had the track team running warm-up laps just as our game against Meridian High got underway. I could see Harper’s long legs and chunky, dark ponytail flying out behind her from where I stood manning third base. Cal still hadn’t said anything to her about Jasmine. I couldn’t figure out why he was bent on keeping her a secret—especially since they were planning on going to Miller’s tonight. Harper was friends with Miller’s girlfriend, Kate. There was no way she wasn’t going to be there. I glanced over at Cal, ready in his position to play shortstop. Harper would be furious and possibly hurt if he just showed up with Jasmine on his arm.

  Harper was right. He was acting weird.

  Track practice ended before our game did. I saw Harper slide onto the bleachers, still in her sweaty gear with the exception of her cleats, which she’d exchanged for flip-flops. She’d slung a towel around her neck, had her sunglasses on, and was already yelling, “Let’s go, Panthers!” as she pulled a water bottle out of her gear bag and settled in to cheer her brother on.

  She never missed any of Cal’s games if it was humanly possible. She made signs. She wore his number. You didn’t want to be the umpire who made a bad call against Caleb Adams. She didn’t swear—Mrs. Adams didn’t put up with that from any of us—but she got fairly creative with her substitutions and could hurl scathing abuse with the best of them. It was all the more shocking because it came out of the mouth of such a beautiful girl. I’d lost track of the times guys from an opposing team fell all over themselves wanting to know who “that girl wearing number fourteen was”—until Harper got ticked off and stood up in her full-throated glory and let loose at the officiators.

  With two out in the bottom of the seventh inning and the game tied, Cal hit a grounder that slipped sweetly between the second baseman and shortstop, allowing him to get on base. Tucker connected to advance Cal to second and put him on first. Even though I was right-handed, I’d always batted left-handed, which gave me a slight advantage because around here, the right-field fences were often shorter, and sometimes those missing inches tipped you into a home run. My batting average was one of the highest in the state—it had earned me a full-ride ticket to Duke. As I stepped up to the plate, I could hear Harper yelling, “Bring him home, Luke!”

  My body knew what to do. Everything in me focused on slamming that ball over the fence. The first pitch came in deliberately very low. So did the second. They were obviously going to take their chances on getting Frierson, who was up to bat after me, out, and walk me—even if it meant loading the bases.

  I looked at Harper, frustrated.

  She was already freely expressing her strongly held views regarding Meridian’s cowardice. I was pretty sure she made their base coach blush. I resumed my stance.

  “Ball three!” The umpire shouted.

  Harper still hadn’t let up.

  “Ball four! Batter, take your base.”

  I tossed my bat to the side and walked to first. As Frierson made his way to the plate, I noticed someone who looked an awful lot like Jasmine Amis sitting down next to Harper in the stands. I stared at Cal, now on third base. He was focused on Frierson, like I should’ve been. But Harper had gone silent. Crap.

  The count stood at two strikes, two balls.

  Harper was introducing herself to Jasmine.

  Frierson was at a full count. Coach gave me the signal to get ready to run. I’d never been more willing to do anything in my life. I just wanted to take Cal with me. Frierson popped it up. We had no choice but to sprint and hope for the best. The center outfielder lost it in the sun and misjudged his glove placement. He scrambled to pick up the dropped ball, but Cal had already made it home with Tucker hot on his heels. Meridian was making the play at home plate. Tuck wasn’t slowing down. I held at third as Tuck slid into home in a massive spray of dust just as the ball whipped through to their catcher.

  “OUT!” The umpire bellowed.

  As we sauntered back to the dugout to get our gloves, Cal and I both had our arms on Tucker’s back, patting him consolingly. I punched Cal to get his attention.

  “What?”

  I tilted my head in the general direction of Harper and Jasmine, who were chatting like they’d been best friends forever.

  “That’s not good,” Cal swallowed, his eyes huge as he came to a standstill.


  “I told you to tell her.”

  “You did not.” He still hadn’t taken his eyes off them. Harper noticed and waved at us with a huge smile on her face. Cal reluctantly waved back. “And since when did you become an expert on my sister?”

  I swiped at the scar on my cheek. Years ago.

  3

  Harper

  Jasmine Amis.

  Not someone I would’ve ever pictured Cal with—he usually liked sweet girls, the kind who put little hearts on everything and wore a lot of pink. Jasmine had on some sort of complicated white blouse with a lot of chains, a cream-colored leather mini skirt, and four-inch heels like she’d set out to go clubbing but somehow took a wrong turn and ended up at a baseball game. Cloaked in a cloud of perfume, she carefully dusted the bench off before she sat down next to me.

  Smoothing down the front of my sweaty tank top, I swiped at my face one more time with the towel around my neck and introduced myself. She seemed surprised to find out I was Cal’s twin sister. Mostly because he hadn’t told her he had one. I decided to let that go. Maybe talking about your family right away with someone you’d just met wasn’t cool. I wouldn’t know. It felt like all the guys in Sweet Mountain I ran into already knew everything about me—one of the downsides to having lived here all my life and having Cal Adams for a brother. I swear that boy knew everyone.

  “So, you just moved here?” I said. I couldn’t quite erase the mental picture of Cal’s arms around her or the smile on his face as he helped her with her golf swing.

  “Last weekend.” She took a sip of her iced latte. She had really long fingernails with little gemstones embedded in the tips and wore glossy red lipstick now smeared all over her straw. “From San Diego. I’m already desperately missing the ocean.”

  “Oh, well, we have one of those.” I smiled sympathetically. “I mean, it’s about five hours away, but next week is spring break. Lots of people head out there then. You should check it out. I’m sure Cal will tell you all about it.”

  “I’m sure he will. Isn’t he just the sweetest?”

  Mentally wincing, I nodded as I waved at my sweet big brother, who’d suddenly noticed us sitting together. He seemed to grow a little pale under the tan he’d already acquired since the beginning of baseball season. He reluctantly waved back. I sat up and leaned forward in my seat, staring intently at him from behind my sunglasses. Yeah. You’re in trouble, Caleb.

  Luke pushed him toward the dugout.

  “Tell me about Luke,” Jasmine said.

  “Drake?” Like I knew any other Lukes. I just wasn’t expecting her question. “What do you want to know?”

  “Is he dating anyone?”

  I laughed out loud. Then remembered too late she didn’t actually know him. “I’m sorry. That was rude.” I shook my head. “No. Luke doesn’t date. He’s never even been to a school dance.”

  “Seriously? Why not? He’s crazy hot.”

  Somewhere deep inside me, a red flare went off. The smile on my face felt stiff. “Yeah, I guess so,” I said. But you’re supposed to be into my brother.

  I changed the subject. For the next half an hour, she told me more than I ever wanted to know about juice cleanses and intermittent fasting. Apparently, it was good for weight loss and ridding the body of toxins. Jasmine asked me what I did. I told her I ran. “It does wonderful things for your legs,” I said with a straight face.

  Sweet Mountain ended up winning their game five to three. The guys all high-fived and hugged me as they came off—well, everyone but Luke. He stood back, warily watching as Cal waited until everyone else dispersed. “So, I see you’ve met Jasmine,” Cal began with his easy grin.

  “Yes, I have.” I wasn’t letting him off the hook. “You’re going to Miller’s tonight? That’s a great idea. She’ll really get to know a lot of people before school starts after the break.”

  He beamed. “Right? That’s what I thought.” He laid an arm across Jasmine’s shoulder.

  I looked at it, and then I looked at Luke. “You’re going too, right?”

  Luke shifted his sports bag on his shoulder, his brilliant blue eyes watching me. “Okay.”

  “Good,” I said, turning on my heel and heading for the parking lot. I suddenly felt like I desperately needed a shower.

  “Come on, Harp. You’re turning this into a big deal. I was going to tell you about her, I swear.”

  I sat holding Cal’s pillow against my chest while leaning back against his headboard. He’d been in his bathroom for the last fifteen minutes, just styling his hair. There were already so many things wrong with that sentence I didn’t know where to begin.

  “When? On your first anniversary?”

  He poked his head out the door. “See? There. That’s why I didn’t want to say anything. We’ve gone on one date, and you’re already planning a wedding.”

  “That’s garbage, and you know it. I am not like that.” I hurled his pillow at him through the open bathroom door, hitting him squarely on his shoulder. “You take that back right now, Caleb Adams.”

  “Fine.” He emerged, his hair looking slightly airbrushed and his pillow under his arm. I wanted to scrub my fingers through all his hard work just so I could see his cowlicks again. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he grabbed my bare foot. His hand completely covered my toes, and my feet weren’t small. “I guess the real reason I didn’t want to tell you is I was afraid you wouldn’t approve of her. You know how you can be sometimes.”

  Overprotective? Sarcastic? Judgmental? I swallowed hard. It was no secret I was the evil twin.

  “I really like her, Harp.” A little smile played across his lips, and his eyes had gone dreamy. Ah, snap. He was besotted.

  I took a deep breath and sat up on my heels. “Why wouldn’t I like her?” I said, immediately setting aside the mental list I’d already compiled of all the reasons I didn’t. “If you like her, that’s all that matters.”

  “Really?”

  “Cal, you’re the sweetest, kindest guy I know.” Who was I to mock Jasmine? She’d only spoken the truth. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you for a brother, but I love you, you crackhead. If Jasmine makes you happy, then go for it. You know I’ll always have your back.”

  We sealed it with our Wonder Twin, Powers Activate handshake, and a bear hug Cal didn’t necessarily appreciate since it somehow mussed his precious hair. SEE: Evil Twin.

  Luke stopped by the house shortly after, but Cal had already left to pick up Jasmine. “You could always walk over with me,” I told him, putting my silver hoops in my ears as he followed me into the kitchen. He’d changed into jeans and a white pullover that fit snugly across his broad shoulders and chest. “It is only two houses away. Think you can stand my company for that long?”

  “How fast can you walk?”

  I grinned. “Careful, Drake. I might think you’re starting to like me.” I poked my head into the family room where Mom and Dad were watching TV. “We’re off. If I’m not back by midnight, blame Luke.”

  “Behave,” Mom called after me.

  “You heard her,” I told Luke as we stepped outside. “I expect you to be on your best behavior tonight.” I wagged a finger at him.

  “She was talking to you.”

  I took four steps, maybe five. “What do you think of Jasmine?” I blurted. I hadn’t even made it to the end of our driveway. I stood there, tugging on Luke’s sleeve, waiting for him to tell me I was way off-base on this, that she really was good enough for Cal. The guy made me crazy, but Luke had always been a good judge of character. I trusted him.

  He took a deep breath. “Cal really likes her.”

  “I know that,” I brushed that aside with a wave of a hand. “Should he?” I started to pace. “I got a bad vibe from her, Luke. I’m not afraid to say I’m worried for him.”

  “Bad, how?”

  I turned on my heel and looked up at him. “Well, for one thing, she thinks you’re hot.”

  “What?”

  “
Exactly. Right after she finds out I’m Cal’s sister, she asks about his best friend. Who does that? She wanted to know if you had a girlfriend.”

  “What did you say?”

  “What do you think I said? I told her the truth.”

  Luke kicked at a rock. “You couldn’t have made someone up?”

  I stared at him in disbelief. “Why would I do that?”

  He pushed a hand through his hair. “She was making eyes at me the other night. It made me really uncomfortable.” He sighed. “You’re right. I think she’s bad news, and she’s probably going to break Cal’s heart.”

  “Luke, you have to tell Cal this.”

  “Really? Have you tried to talk to him about Jasmine? He thinks she walks on water.”

  I groaned. Cal only saw the good in everyone. My sweet brother was about to get blindsided, and his heart trampled on. And it felt like I was watching it all play out in front of me in high definition, slow motion. “So, what do we do?”

  Luke blinked. He went quiet for a moment and then finally said, “Cal’s all in. But maybe Jasmine won’t be, and this won’t go anywhere. Maybe we’re worrying for nothing.”

  This thought perked me up considerably. “Right.” Of course. She had options—Cal wasn’t the only hot guy at Sweet Mountain High—I beamed at him. “She might meet someone else tonight at Miller’s, and that’ll be the end of it.” I slid my hand in his and urged him forward. I could walk surprisingly fast in wedges. “Come on, we need to introduce her to some of the guys.”

  “Harper,” Luke said.

  I was still dragging him. “What?”

  “What about Cal?”

  “What about him?” We’d reached Miller’s. I realized we were still holding hands, and people were staring. I immediately let go. Holding hands with Luke Drake wasn’t something I’d ever done willingly before. Mom made me do it once when we were at the fair so we wouldn’t get lost in the crowd, but we were eight, and his hand had been warm and sticky from cotton candy.