She takes a deep breath, which she does when she has to do something that scares her—like the time Connor and I dared her to jump out of the treehouse.

Side note: She did it, and sprained her ankle, and Con and I got grounded for weeks.

“So. I know you said sex toys on the boat was a bad idea, and I totally get it. But my mom said it was one of her best selling-nights, and she really wants us to do it again.” She hesitates. “She’s trying to make enough money to bring my abuelita to Rush Creek.”

Rachel has two grandmothers, but only one gets to be abuelita. I get a strong flash of her, a small, soft woman with a big, strong hug.

“I love your grandmother,” I say, surprising myself.

“Oh,” she says softly. “Yeah. I almost forgot you spent a lot of time around her.”

“I want to help, but—”

But I can see Rachel standing in the boat with her small fingers around an eight-inch silicone cock and I can hear Connor saying, Don’t do anything half-assed till you have some time to sort yourself out.

“Don’t feel like you have to answer right away,” Rachel says. “Think about it. Text me later.”

“Okay,” I say, and hang up, feeling…

Way off balance.

A car pulls into the parking lot next to my bike, and Lucy, Gabe’s girlfriend and Wilder’s savior, hops out. “Hey, Brody!” she calls.

I pocket my phone and follow her. We stroll toward the Wilder offices, which are in a big, revamped barn building. It was originally part of a ranch, but before I was born, the ranch was sold off and turned into housing parcels. Our family home, where I grew up, was one of the houses that got built here. There was a barn on the land, too, which my dad made them leave up, because he knew it would be the perfect new headquarters for Wilder Adventures, which he’d inherited from his own dad. He and my brothers and I gutted the barn and built the new Wilder together.

I loved that, when we were all working on the barn together.

“How’s the boat biz going?” Lucy asks.

I know she’s asking because she’s friendly and supportive, but my hackles still go up a little, because fundamentally, she’s on Gabe’s side. I wonder if she’s seen the reviews. If she knows about the ultimatum. “Fine,” I say, and shrug.

I hadn’t mentioned to either her or Gabe beforehand that I was doing a girls’ night party with Rachel, figuring if it was a miserable failure, there’d be no need to bring it up, and if it was a success, there’d be plenty of time to brag.