Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
“I’m so glad you decided to come!”
Faith glanced over to Hallie and offered her a shy smile.
This was definitely not something she normally did.
She had two sisters. And when they went out for the night, they usually didn’t invite her because she was more of an introvert.
She hovered on the sidelines, watching everyone else have fun.
Hallie had been the one to suggest going out country dancing. It was a dry bar located about thirty minutes from Rocky Ridge. Faith had never been asked to go out by anyone. Especially not a group of girls. Normally it was Wren and Lydia who were invited which made this outing even more strange.
“Don’t worry. It’s going to be fun,” Wendy assured her.
She was engaged to Brent’s brother, Tripp.
Out of the three of them, she was like the leader.
Serenity was quiet and sweet. She had two children from a previous marriage and Faith could tell she was grounded.
She was probably the voice of reason. Wendy was a little louder.
She didn’t seem to care if people were put off when she spoke her mind.
Faith had heard plenty about the way she’d given Tripp a run for his money when they’d just started out.
And Hallie was more or less chaotic. She made plans without thinking. She could be loud and boisterous or seething quietly with anger. A free spirit. That was what she was. And Faith found she liked them all.
“I’m not worried,” Faith insisted. “I’ve just… never been out like this before.”
Hallie gave her a surprised look. “Really?”
“Really.” Faith shrugged. “My sisters like to go out and hang with friends, but I tend to stay put at home. I like the peace. Usually when I go out, it’s with my brothers to the rodeo. They get banged up sometimes and I like to help make sure they don’t hurt themselves further.”
Hallie nodded to the other women. “She’s actually pretty smart. One time Jacob pulled a muscle. He was cramping pretty bad. She told him how to take care of it because his usual doctor couldn’t see him right away.”
Faith practically glowed beneath Hallie’s praise. It was sweet of her to notice.
“We’re here,” Serenity called from the driver’s seat. “Now, remember. We’re sticking together tonight. No flirting with other guys.” She turned in her seat to Hallie and Faith. “That means you two.”
Hallie pouted. “That’s not fair. What if someone gives me their number?”
Wendy rolled her eyes. “If it’s not Jacob you’re never going to call them anyway.”
Faith’s focus bounced from one woman to the other as they spoke.
She’d heard all about how Hallie wanted someone she couldn’t have.
Jacob wasn’t exactly available. He was always traveling and working.
Was that what held him back from dating Hallie?
Or was it like Faith and Brent? Maybe there was an issue with unrequited attraction.
Faith forced a smile. “Don’t have to worry about me.”
“Why? Because Brent finally asked you out?”
It felt like her eyes were going to bug out of her head. Faith sucked in a breath with a strangled laugh and nearly choked on it. “What? No. He’s my brother’s best friend.”
Hallie gave her a pointed look. “So, he’s not dating you? Come on, girlie. You can tell us. Your brothers aren’t here. He’s at your place all the time. What is he doing if not spending time with you?”
She plucked a piece of lint from her sleeve. “He’s working with my brothers on something.” The second those words left her lips, she froze.
Shoot! She wasn’t supposed to say that. She wasn’t supposed to let anyone know that he was there to hang out with Tate and Jason because they’d immediately assume their mutual interest in the rodeo was fueling the change in schedule.
Faith chewed on her lower lip.
Brent was going to kill her.
Hallie frowned and inched closer. “What kind of things?”
All eyes were on her, even in the darkened cab of the car. Faith closed her eyes and prayed that the women would be willing to keep her secret. Otherwise, she could kiss this friendship she had with Brent goodbye.
“He’s interested in training for the rodeo.” She barely said it above a whisper, but she might as well have screamed it at the top of her lungs for the way the other women in the car flinched.
Well, except Serenity. “Cool,” she mused. “What does he want to specialize in?” She must have noticed the tension in the car mount because her gaze darted from Wendy to Hallie and back. “What’s the matter?”
Wendy blew out a breath as she met Hallie’s eyes. “The problem is that Heather and Judd are very much against rodeo events of any kind.”
Serenity frowned. “But… their whole family are cowboys.” Confusion dripped from her voice.
“Yeah, I don’t really get it either,” Hallie admitted. “But that’s the way my aunt and uncle are.” She shrugged then turned her full attention to Faith. “He’s told you that, right? He doesn’t want them knowing.”
Faith nodded and grimaced at the same time. “Honestly, I wasn’t supposed to let that slip to anyone.”
“I mean, I get it,” Wendy said quietly. “We’ve all been to the rodeo.
You’ve seen what those animals are capable of.
Sometimes the men can’t walk out of the arena without help.
Busted ribs, broken bones, concussions. Thank goodness they made it a new rule for them to wear helmets. But sheesh, it can be dangerous.”
“I think the adrenaline rush makes it worth the risk to most of them,” Hallie offered. “Jacob loves it. He feeds off being in the arena. I’ve heard him talk about it a lot.”
Wendy scrunched up her nose. “But is it really worth it? What happens if something goes wrong? Then they could lose their job. And I’m not just talking about Jacob and his job as a professional.
I’m talking about Brent. He’s not trained.
He could get seriously hurt and then he wouldn’t be able to help out at Sagebrush.
These men are a different breed. Do you think you could see any of them sitting behind a desk? ”
They all went quiet in that moment, none of them able to confirm that no, they couldn’t. The men in their lives craved the action. They thrived off it.
Hallie looked more lost in thought than the others and Faith nearly asked her what was bothering her, but then Serenity let out an exaggerated sigh. “Come on ladies. We didn’t drive out this far to sit in a car and talk about the stupidity of the men in our lives. We came out here to have fun.”
About an hour later, Faith’s skin glowed with perspiration and she had to excuse herself. There was a pleasant breeze outside when she stepped through the front doors and out into the open.
The conversation she’d had with the women had her second guessing everything. Brent would be devastated if anything were to stop him from his dream. And yet, the way Wendy had phrased it, Faith had to admit she could understand where Brent’s parents were coming from as well.
But this was Brent’s life. She couldn’t meddle in it just because she didn’t agree with how he wanted to live it. A friend was supportive.
“There you are,” Hallie puffed, walking over to her. She leaned up against the brick building and turned her face skyward as she took in deep breaths. “It’s getting crazy in there.”
Faith choked out a laugh. “What? Can’t handle the line dancing anymore?”
Hallie waved a hand through the air. “You didn’t see the guy who practically swung me around the dance floor when a fast song came on. I swear, he made me feel like I weighed nothing.”
They both smiled and the quiet settled in around them once more. Hallie looked lost in thought and Faith couldn’t help herself. With no one else around, she burned to know what Hallie was thinking.
Was she worried about Jacob? Or did this have to do with Brent? Maybe it had more to do with rodeo stars in general.
“Want to… talk about it?”
Hallie swung her eyes over to Faith. “Huh?”
“You look… a little lost.”
Snorting a laugh, Hallie shook her head. But it did nothing to hide the flicker of something in her eyes that Faith couldn’t quite place.
“You know you can tell me, right?”
Another snort. “Come on, Faith. You don’t exactly have the best track record for keeping secrets. You let Brent’s biggest one out without a second thought.”
“Ouch,” Faith murmured. The statement, while true, stung. She’d never been good at keeping secrets. She’d only claimed to be good at listening. She pushed away from the wall, but Hallie’s arm shot out to stop her from going back inside.
“Wait,” Hallie mumbled. “I’m sorry.” She shook her head and sighed. “Honestly, there’s probably more to this whole hating the rodeo thing that my aunt and uncle have.”
“How do you mean?” Faith hedged.
Hallie glanced up at her but just as quickly, she looked away. “I don’t know.”
Faith didn’t know how she knew, but that was a lie.
Hallie knew more than she was letting on.
She just didn’t want to say it out loud.
And why would she? They weren’t family. But it did make Faith wonder if Brent was aware of whatever it was Hallie was keeping a secret.
If so, then Brent might be doing this knowing full-well the real reasons.
And knowing that made Faith a little sick to her stomach.
Brent wanted nothing more than to be the best son he could be. The risks he was taking right now for his own happiness were important to him, but if he knew there was a good reason then maybe he’d change his mind.
Faith itched to ask for more details. Whatever Hallie was holding back might actually help Brent with his parents.
Unfortunately, it was clear that Hallie planned on keeping it to herself.
Irritation bloomed inside Faith. She’d inadvertently given Brent up to his cousin, his future sister-in-law, and the woman who was married to another of his cousins. They could go back home and tell on him. But Hallie couldn’t bring herself to give more than a cryptic statement about his parents?
Faith crossed her arms. “You’re not going to say anything are you?”
Hallie shot her a sharp look. “What?”
“You know something you’re not telling me and that’s fine. But you’re keeping it from Brent.”
“How would you know that?” Hallie demanded, her tone sharper.
Faith lifted a shoulder. She wasn’t usually this assertive. It felt strange and yet at the same time exhilarating. “Just a hunch. You’re not telling him something that would help him, but at the same time, you have information that could ruin his plans.”
Hallie huffed out a frustrated breath. “He shouldn’t even have those plans. If something goes down between him and his parents, it will have nothing to do with me.”
“Yeah, as long as you don’t say anything.”
They were scowling at each other when the door to the building opened and Serenity exited with Wendy at her side. They were all bright smiles until they noticed the standoff.
“What… going on?” Serenity asked.
Wendy didn’t speak, but her focus shifted between Faith and Hallie with worry.
Faith could tell Hallie wasn’t about to fill them in. It had been hard enough to get her to admit to something so vague. Faith could tell them that Hallie was holding out on them, but she chose to take this moment and prove that she could keep her own secrets.
So she turned to the group and smoothed her expression. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you guys about Brent. I’m sorry to ask this of you, but could you… keep it to yourselves until Brent is ready to tell people?”
Wendy and Serenity were the ones to look the most stricken. “I’m not sure I can lie to my husband.” Serenity’s voice was tight.
Then Wendy shook her head. “Tripp trusts me…”
“Please. I know it’s a lot to ask,” Faith begged.
“I’m not asking you to outright lie. It’s not like this topic would come up in regular conversation or anything.
Just… don’t bring it up.” She hated begging.
She also hated that she was, in a way, asking them to lie by omission.
She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands and fought the instinct to cry.
“If it comes up, do with it what you will. Just don’t throw him under the bus unnecessarily. ”
Before Serenity and Wendy could argue, Hallie cut in. “They can do that.” She gave them each a hard look. “It’s none of our business anyway. This is between Brent and his parents. I think we can all agree on that.”
For a moment, Faith thought that the others would argue.
But then they nodded. Faith released a breath of relief.
She couldn’t bring herself to meet Hallie’s eyes not even to give her a look of gratitude.
All she could do was follow Serenity inside when she’d insisted they needed to dance out the tension they’d all just experienced.
For the rest of the evening, Faith opted to spend her time at Serenity’s side rather than the others.
The guilt she felt was easier to deal with than the animosity she was feeling toward Hallie.
Their friendship had already turned rocky and Faith wasn’t sure there would be a way to come back from it.
Maybe they just weren’t all that compatible.
Now, all Faith had to figure out was whether or not she should tell Brent of her slipup.
It was probably not worth the headache or the stress he’d experience knowing his secret was spreading.
Nor would it be worth risking the friendship she was starting to count on between herself and the man in question.
Faith had made a mess of things, but there was no going back. All she could do was move forward and hope that everything would turn out okay for the man she couldn’t help but start to fall for.