Lit Up by My Brother’s Best Friend (Lit Creek #1)

Chapter 1

SIERRA

This is how I'm going to die. Shit. I should have put a bra on today. Yup. I can feel the cold seeping into my body already. Death by fence. And it’s not even electric. God, my wrist aches from that stupid six foot fall. I can’t believe I’m still hanging here. Trapped. Yup. I’m gonna die. Why am I such an idiot, you ask? I ask myself that all the time.

It all started with a stupid game of Never Have I Ever, but…oh, no, not the way you’re thinking. I wasn’t actually playing the game. (I’m too old for that.) I was reading about the game—ahem, bookworm—and I realized that I have never ever done most of the things on the list.

Tattoo? Nope.

Black out drunk? Nope.

Travel out of the continent? Nope.

Been arrested? Nope.

One night stand? Nope.

Spin the bottle? Nope.

But, wait. Before you judge me, I’ll have you know something. If you’re looking for the really hardcore stuff, I’m your girl.

Stayed up all night reading? Two nights out of every week .

Slammed back three cinnamon sweet lattes in one day from the local cafe, Espresso Yourself? Damn straight.

Hid the last four snickerdoodle cookies from her brother so he couldn’t have anymore? Yeah, that was me. Huffs on knuckles. Polishes badge. Okay, yes, I admit to sharing the last one with him. I couldn’t bear to hear his crying. God, I’m not the devil in a dress.

But ya. I’m badass like that. I know. Not everyone can live up to this kind of badassery. It’s a calling.

Ha! But what broke me—for some inexplicable reason—was the last Never Have I Ever prompt.

Snuck into a movie theater? Nope.

I mean, c’mon Sierra, everyone has done that one, haven’t they? It’s so simple. Like literally, you just keep your ticket after your first show is done and casually walk into another movie. It doesn’t even take balls to do that. You just walk in a different direction than you would have normally done after the show ends. Easy!

Ugh. But it’s the ethics of it. I just would never do something like that. And I’ve missed my shot at that now. Since movie theaters sell tickets by the seat, it’d be slightly trickier to sneak into a second movie. I’m sure people do it all the time, but don’t ask me how. And since that Never Have I Ever checkable item requires just that much extra courage, I picked something I thought would be easier. C’mon, I have to do something risky.

So I snuck into a concert playing in my cozy hometown, Lit Creek. Well, we both know that’s overstating it because I haven’t actually snuck into anything yet. Le sigh. And I probably won’t get to because I’m stuck in this damn fence with what I think is a twisted ankle and a painful wrist.

God, this is what I get for trying to prove to myself that I can be cool .

I am so not cool. It’s just not in me. And I have to say, all this cool talk is just ridiculous. What am I, in junior high? I’m a freaking twenty-seven year old adult. Cool shouldn’t even be on my radar anymore. I run my own freaking bakery. That’s right. I’m an independent woman making her dreams come true. I think.

But that damn list got to me. I’m afraid to go down that road right now. Besides, I’ve got bigger fears to fry.

Ridiculously enough, my worst fear right now is not death though. It’s not even the fear of being attacked by coyotes. I’m sure my phone would scare them off, right? I don’t even know. Lie to me, please.

But no, my worst fear right now is somebody discovering me in this predicament and nominating me for The Johnny Board. Oh my God, that would just be the worst.

Let me brief you on an important idiosyncrasy of Lit Creek. Back in the eighties, two guys rolled into our cozy little town and robbed our bank. Our tiny little bank manned—womanned—by Mildred. Who, coincidentally, was also in her eighties. It was a miracle she didn’t keel over in shock at the two gunmen. But (apparently with great poise) she just handed them everything that was in the bank at the time. A whopping eight dollars.

Yes. Eight.

Not even eighty.

Eight dollars.

God, I still can’t get over it, and I wasn’t even there.

The story goes that once the men were detained, they were brought in for questioning, and it turns out that they were following a rumor that an investor had swept into town planning to start a mine. Apparently they heard he had deposited one million dollars into our bank the previous week. Not sure where they heard that doozy. Some drunk little bird through a kazoo ?

And really, not sure where they thought the million dollars would be stashed considering the bank isn’t much more than a medium sized shack.

Anyway…the story had the town in stitches. For weeks, people would call each other a Johnny if they did something asinine enough. And then someone came up with the brilliant idea to commemorate such idiocy.

Now every year, people get nominated for doing stupid things. Some people pull pranks to try and get themselves on the board, like the time some kids let a dozen mice loose in the school. (Not funny, and so glad I wasn’t there for that.) Other times people get nominated in good fun, like when Ol’ Man Robbie overturned the outhouse on a drunken night diving in after a twenty he lost in the pooper. Ya. He won the fake millionaire dollar bill that year. And in case you were wondering (I know I was) he got his twenty back, too. He was so happy that he got it framed and everything; the fake bill not the twenty. It’s a badge of pride for him.

Clearly, I live in the best town ever. No one takes themselves too seriously. Which, honestly, I do love about Lit Creek. It’s part of its charm, and I’m definitely here to stay.

I just don’t want to have my name on that ridiculous board though. I’d like to think I do a decent enough job at conveying my competence to the world. I mean, ya, okay, there’s that near ten-year blip of a boyfriend that would betray the air of competence I’d like to think I have. But how the hell was I supposed to know he was going to break up with me just before our anniversary? I don’t want to go into that right now. That’s significantly more depressing than being caught in a fence with my body dangling by my leg.

Ugh. I must deserve this.

All of it. I’ve resigned myself to that fact .

And if only I thought I could rip these stupid jeans and drive myself home, I would. But…my leg is really up there and I can’t reach it. I can’t do a sit up upside down. Who do you think I am, Superwoman? I’m probably gonna start losing feeling in my toes pretty soon, and my right foot is the injured one. I can’t take any chances. I definitely need help. I have to text my bestie.

Me: Girl, I’m in a situation. Can you help me out?

Georgie: Shit. I don’t think I can. We’re already halfway up the mountain. Is it an emergency?

Me: Which mountain?

I ask because clearly I have time for conversation like that.

Georgie: Crimson Ridge. Jack wanted to take a few of us up there on a weekend while he doesn’t have too many tours. Sorry, girl. Are you ok?

Me: Just hanging out.

I chuckle to myself like an idiot.

Georgie: *curious face* But you need help?

Me: Nah. I’m all good. I’ll call my brother.

Georgie: *cringe face* He’s with us.

Me: Ok. Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure it out. Have a good trip!

Georgie: Call me if you can’t find anyone, I’ll force the boys to turn around. You know me.

I do. And that’s why I don’t ask her to come to my rescue. I stuff my phone back into my pocket.

But this is just great. All my good secret keepers are out of town. Can’t call my dad because he’s on shift.

Oh, God. I know who I have to call. I just hope I don’t wither of embarrassment on the spot when he shows up. Because I know he’ll come. He has always shown up when I needed him. And he’s always been just out of reach.

I close my eyes and pull my phone out of my pocket meanwhile thanking God it didn’t fly out and break when I gracefully tried to hop over this innocent looking fence.

My head is pounding. I must have hit it when I fell back against the fence. But that doesn’t quite explain the pounding in my heart. Here goes nothing.

Or everything.