Crazy Blood Read Free Page A

gathered crowd hooted and raised glasses to them. Wylie clamped Robert’s shoulder with one hand and accepted a beer from a woman in a short dress and black diamond-patterned leggings.
    Suddenly, a wail pierced the room, loud and coming at Wylie. People scrambled out of the way, some stumbling, food and drink spilling to the floor. Sky Carson—Wylie’s other half brother, born to Cynthia Carson just months before Kathleen bore Wylie—came powering through the crowd on a skateboard, wearing red swim trunks and red board shoes only, aiming straight at Wylie. Wylie foresaw the attack. Sky launched the board at Wylie’s head and it speared through the burnished orange light of Mountain High, straight at its target. Wylie stepped aside and caught it. Sky landed, feet together and arms spread for balance, like a gymnast. He stared at Wylie. “Behold. Five years of peace on the mountain have come to this ugly end. Enter the demon, Wylie Welborn.”
    â€œHoly crap, Sky!” hollered Helixon. “These floors are Civil War reclaimed barn oak!”
    Wylie lofted the board back to Sky, who snatched it midair, dropped it to the floor, jumped on with one foot, and pushed off. Sky carved across the reclaimed oak to the entryway, flipped the board up into one hand, then looked back. He aimed his free index finger pistol-style at Wylie, feigned recoil, then pushed through the front door into the freezing dark.
    â€œWell, Sky’s a bit up and down, as always,” said Robert. “Come on. There’s someone who gets to finally meet you.”
    *   *   *
    Hailee Patterson had a good smile and steady blue eyes and her hand felt strong in Wylie’s. Robert led them past a knot of frenetic dancers and into a theater with a large fixed screen and eight rows of seats descending like those in a lecture hall. The doors closed heavily behind them. Wylie saw himself on-screen, tearing down the X Course in the Mammoth Cup ski-cross final five years back, in which he had upset both Robert and Sky Carson, solid favorites, to stand on top of the box.
    â€œHelixon insisted on showing this when he heard you were coming,” said Robert.
    â€œLook at you go,” said Hailee. “Like you’re stuck to the fall line.”
    Wylie watched his younger self glued high and tight on the narrow chutes known as Shooters, banking hard, then schussing past Robert and Sky on the final downhill straight. Sky got the silver and Robert the bronze. Since then, Sky had won once; then Robert had won the Mammoth Cup ski cross three years running.
    â€œThat last chute was the difference,” said Robert.
    â€œWhat a run,” said Hailee. “What great snow that day, too.”
    Wylie watched himself on-screen, smiling rather goofily from the podium. What he’d thought at that moment was that his life was just beginning, that the world was his to see and he was ready to get this thing done. Now he missed his former clarity and wished for something like it again.
    â€œHey, Wylie. Hailee and I are getting married.”
    Wylie looked from his brother’s pleased face to Hailee, who looked happy and desirable by any standards he knew. “I’m down for both of you. Truly.”
    â€œNo more chasing dreams and Olympics. Grandpa’s going to work me into the business full-time.”
    â€œLook at this !” Hailee flashed a diamond and gave Robert a warm smile. Robert hugged her and looked over her shoulder at Wylie with pride and either contentment or resignation.

 
    CHAPTER FOUR
    Wylie sat in the start-gate stands with his mother and sisters for the Mammoth Cup ski-cross finals. The January afternoon was cold and clear and he could see through his binoculars that the upper X Course was still in good shape after two days of ski-cross racing. Ski cross was a young sport that pitted four skiers against one another on the same high-velocity downhill course at the same