Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Faith looked down at the Tupperware container in her arms and blushed. This was stupid. If her brothers knew what she’d planned on doing with the cookies she’d made, alarm bells would have been ringing.
She never made cookies for anyone. Heck, she never made anything for anyone.
There was just something about her conversation with Brent that she couldn’t get out of her mind. Maybe it was his boyish charm. Or that he was the only person who seemed to notice the little things about her.
Whatever it was, she wanted to do something nice for him in return.
So that was why she currently stood on his doorstep with a square container of fresh chocolate chip cookies in hand.
Faith had nearly changed her mind about knocking when the door swung open and Brent’s older brother stood in the doorway. He cocked his head to the side and his eyes slid down to where she held the cookies. Then his lips quirked and he thumbed over his shoulder. “Here to see Brent?”
She couldn’t help it. The blush that spread across her face was as if someone poured red dye into a pot of water. She was positive not an inch of her skin wasn’t colored pink.
Tripp didn’t wait for a response and she flinched when he called over his shoulder. “Brent, Faith is here to see you.”
Faith’s eyes popped wider for a second. She hadn’t realized that Tripp knew her name.
Had Brent talked about her? No, that didn’t make sense.
Being the middle of three sisters and younger than her twin brothers, she’d always felt invisible.
But Tripp and Brent were both friendly enough with her brothers. Maybe they were good with names.
She didn’t have time to completely come down from her surprise before Brent appeared in the doorway and Tripp moved toward her.
She stepped to the right, and he mirrored her movements.
Then the same thing happened when she stepped to the left.
After that, Tripp placed his hands on her shoulders to keep her still.
“Stay here.” He smirked at her then brushed past her.
“Tell mom that I won’t be home for dinner,” he called out to Brent. “I’m taking Wendy out.”
Brent’s eyes didn’t leave Faith’s face, even as he hollered, “Okay.” He leaned in the doorway, completely in his element. Then his eyes drifted to the Tupperware container in her hands. “What have you got there?”
Fumbling with the cookies, she pushed them toward Brent. “I thought you needed your own treat, you know after you were so brave.” She let out a little laugh.
“Brave?” A feminine voice asked from Brent’s back. He stiffened as who could only be his mother came into view.
Faith tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Yeah, at the rodeo.”
And just like that, she realized her mistake. Her eyes widened and she coughed, scrambling to come up with an explanation. Dang it! She was terrible at keeping secrets. Somehow the mechanism that kept her mouth shut when it came to this particular issue consistently failed.
“Rodeo?” Brent’s mother asked, turning to her son.
Faith cleared her throat again, desperately pleading with a now very upset Brent for forgiveness. How could she make this right? What could she say?
Brent ran a hand through his hair, his whole body ramrod straight. No longer at ease in the doorway, he looked about ready to bolt. “Yeah…” he murmured.
“You were at the rodeo?” his mother pressed.
“Don’t be mad,” Faith blurted, drawing the woman’s scrutiny in her direction.
“My brothers like to compete. He came to support them.” Faith prayed that her explanation would be enough.
Over and over in her head, she begged for something to go right.
Her voice was barely a squeak as she avoided looking directly at Brent’s mother and continued her lie.
Man, she hated lying. “Brent said that you don’t like the rodeo.
But he wanted to support Tate and Jason.
They try to compete in every event in the surrounding areas when they can. He’s a good friend.”
“Is this true?” Brent’s mother asked.
Brent shuffled, clearly uncomfortable beneath his mother’s searching gaze. “Yeah. I know you don’t like the events, so I didn’t want to worry you.”
Faith peeked at the two and inched a few paces back. She really should get going. This had been a mistake. What had she been thinking?
That it would be funny to connect over cookies. That she wanted to do something nice for him.
But she’d messed this whole thing up.
She grimaced. “I should probably get going…” Without waiting for either of them to answer, she took off. Her car was parked at the edge of the driveway to Brent’s house and yet it felt miles away.
Brent would never speak to her again. If she was lucky, he wouldn’t throw her under the bus with her brothers. Her steps were shaky at best and by the time she reached her car, Brent had managed to catch up to her.
He startled her when he placed a hand on her car door and shut it before she had a chance to open it fully.
Whirling to face him, she gasped.
Brent’s eyes darted toward the house and then he dipped his head a little closer to her. Anger still lined his features. She’d crossed the line even though she hadn’t meant to. She deserved him yelling at her for risking his neck like that.
The best part about being the invisible sister was that no one paid attention when they were talking around her. She’d heard plenty about the tension that had continued to grow between Brent and his parents. The threat to kick him out of his home had been mentioned once or twice.
She winced at the memory. The last thing she wanted to be was the thing that came between Brent and something he loved. His family. His rodeo dreams. Today she’d been just that.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I have a big mouth and sometimes I speak without realizing what the consequences could be. I wasn’t thinking. Don’t hate—”
He placed two fingers to her lips to muffle her ramblings. His eyes still flickered with something. Anger? Relief? Confusion? She had no clue. But he was still on edge based on the tense way he held himself. “You don’t have to apologize.”
“But you’re mad.”
“I’m not mad.”
She gave him a pointed look. “If looks could kill? I’d be a smoldering pile of ash on your doorstep.”
Brent pulled in a deep breath as he closed his eyes. He muttered something under his breath before opening them again. “Yeah, you’re right. I was mad. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” She barked out a laugh. “I’m the one who almost outed you to your mother. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have brought over the cookies, I should have—”
“Oh, you definitely should have brought over the cookies.” His smirk was just playful enough to make her want to spend more time with him. He made her laugh and she loved that so much.
She forced herself to meet his penetrating gaze again.
He was still leaning close, his hand on the car over her shoulder.
It was that moment that she realized just how close they were.
She could smell his shampoo, or maybe it was his body wash.
There was citrus but it was paired with something woodsy.
It was amazing.
Faith breathed it in, losing focus until his words finally resonated. “Oh.”
One side of Brent’s mouth quirked upward. “You made me cookies?” He pulled away and the heat from his nearness went with him.
She shrugged and fiddled with the hem of her shirt. “I thought it might be funny.” Stupid. This whole situation was stupid. She hadn’t actually been thinking at all.
“I guess it had potential.” He didn’t have to say anything more. He’d probably felt betrayed by her slipup. But then he surprised her. “You didn’t have to cover for me.”
“Yes, I did,” she blurted insistently. “I threw you to the wolves even if I didn’t mean to.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, my mom can be like that.” He glanced once more toward the house and she allowed herself a peek. The door was closed and it didn’t appear anyone was watching.
“Will everything be okay?” she asked, her voice small.
“I think so.” He grinned at her and all the animosity in his eyes faded away. “You’re pretty sharp, you know that? I never would have thought to tell her I was hanging out with your brothers.” He gave her a playful slug to the arm.
A very friendly thing to do.
She shrugged. “I just hope that no one tells her my brothers don’t compete in the smaller competitions.”
“Nah. I think we’re safe there. For some reason no one likes talking about the rodeo with my parents. It’s like the most taboo subject ever. Honestly, I don’t know why they agreed to move out here to be closer to my family. We could have just stayed put in the city.”
“Family is important,” she pointed out. “Even when that family has different beliefs or interests. One day nothing else will matter. People retire from jobs. Political figures change. Wealth and power shift. And what do we have remaining? Our relationships with the people we love.”
“Fair point.” Brent folded his arms and she couldn’t help but notice the muscles flexing there.
Brent had always been attractive. He was strong and capable.
He had the most beautiful blue eyes she’d ever seen.
They weren’t light like most blue eyes. They were a deep, stormy color.
There were flecks of grey in them. When he laughed, those grey flecks seemed to glow, but when he was mad, they seemed to get even darker.
“Amazing,” she breathed.
He cocked his head and his eyes did that sparkly thing. “You okay, Faith?”
“What? Of course, why do you ask?”
Brent arched a single brow and leaned a little closer, giving her another whiff of that tantalizing scent. “What’s amazing?” he whispered.
She blinked a few times. “What?”
He chuckled.
Then she realized her mistake. Her big mouth! Shoot! She looked away and scrambled for the door handle at her back. “Nothing. I didn’t…”
“You said something was amazing. Come on, Ace. Don’t leave me hanging.”
Ace? Did he just call her that? What did it mean?
Faith blinked again and finally managed to get her fingers wrapped around the door handle. “You have… strange eyes. That’s all.”
He squinted at her, amusement making them sparkle again. “Not amazing, huh?”
She nearly choked. “Well, that’s another way to put it, I guess.”
Brent chuckled. His laugh was one of the best things she’d ever heard. And when he directed that smile her way the old fashioned saying that she swooned was quite appropriate. Every time he smiled at her she swooned. That was the absolute truth.
Uh oh.
Nope.
This couldn’t happen.
Brent was her brothers’ friend. He was off limits.
Tate and Jason had made it clear their entire lives.
No one could date their friends. They were protective, sure, but they were also smart.
Rocky Ridge wasn’t exactly huge. Families did business with each other and those working relationships were important.
The last thing they needed was for the town to pick sides if something untoward happened.
And yes, she knew it was much more than that.
Tate and Jason wanted to protect her from men who weren’t ready for anything serious. Based on what she’d seen with Brent, he fit that description to a ‘T’. The man had a one-track mind. He wanted to become a rodeo star and the path to success meant he couldn’t allow himself any distractions.
Faith wanted him to get it—his dream—everything he could ever want. If there was someone who deserved that brand of happiness, it was Brent.
“What’s strange about them?”
She rolled her lower lip between her teeth and gave him an awkward smile. “They’re darker than most. It’s… interesting.”
“Amazing… Strange… Interesting…” His grin had the ability to make her melt if she wasn’t careful. “Can’t wait to find out what other words you might have for them.”
She rolled her eyes.
He leaned in close once more and she caught her breath as he whispered, “Probably the same words I’ll have for the cookies.” Brent was definitely flirting.
Wasn’t he?
Faith couldn’t tell.
Against her better judgment, she turned her face toward him and her lips nearly brushed against his cheek.
Brent didn’t exactly jerk backward, but he did appear startled to a degree.
He pulled away and stared. His eyes searched hers for answers to questions she would never be able to give.
Maybe she got lucky and he found what he was looking for, because that easy smile returned. And it was as if nothing happened.
He patted her shoulder. “Thanks for the cookies, Ace.” Yep, just being friendly.
She cleared her throat. “You’ll have to let me know if they live up to the hype.
” With that, she yanked her car door open and settled into her seat.
Brent smiled and her focus dipped to his lips.
It would be a mistake to wonder what it would be like to kiss a guy like Brent.
A guy who had family values and a charming smile.
A guy who didn’t want to worry his mother and could forgive so easily.
Faith sighed, giving Brent a small wave. Yes, it would definitely be a mistake to allow herself to catch feelings for Brent Gilley.
Friendship was all he would be interested in from a girl like her.