Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The lines were becoming blurred.
Brent could feel it in every fiber of his being. The more time he spent with Faith the harder it was becoming to remind himself of the promises he’d made.
Promises to Faith.
Promises to her brothers.
Promises to himself.
He could toss aside that last one and throw caution to the wind. Then at least he wouldn’t be letting his parents down.
But he’d be letting himself down.
Brent scrubbed a hand down his face then through his hair before he put his Stetson back on his head. He was supposed to be at the Dennison property today but after he’d nearly crossed said blurred lines the night after his competition, he’d needed a reprieve. A reset.
Unfortunately, the distance wasn’t helping. All he could think about was Faith.
Her eyes.
The way she smiled or lit up when she talked about what interested her. And the way it made him feel when those bright eyes got even brighter when she talked about him.
Dang it all.
“I thought you were going to be spending time with Faith today.”
Brent’s body went rigid as he turned to find his brother.
Tripp wasn’t supposed to be working today.
Their mother had said he was supposed to be in town with Wendy going over wedding preparations.
There was a lot to do, apparently. And Brent had been doing his best to avoid his brother after learning that Wendy was aware of his extracurriculars.
Tripp reached for a lasso hanging on a hook and draped it over his shoulder. Then he moved past Brent to grab a saddle.
“You going somewhere?”
Tripp slowed and glanced over his shoulder at Brent. “It’s called work.”
“But you’re working on that degree, right? Or whatever it is? I thought Bo wasn’t having you do much around here. And weren’t you supposed to be headed for town?”
His brother’s eyes narrowed. “That was yesterday.”
Well, shoot. Brent choked out a strangled sound. “Oh, right. I must’ve gotten my days mixed up.”
Tripp still watched him with what could only be described as suspicion. “And what are you doing here? Seeing as you’ve been slacking on your chores lately and last I heard you were dating Faith.”
“Dating?” Brent choked on the word. “Who said anything about dating?”
The subtle twitch of his brother’s lips was all Brent could go off of.
He forced himself to remain calm. He’d let his mother believe that there was some interest there, but nothing serious yet.
If Tate and Jason got wind that Brent had any interest in their little sister, they’d be having another talk with him and that was a conversation Brent wanted to avoid.
Especially since he couldn’t say with absolute truth that he wasn’t in fact developing something for the woman.
He blew out a breath. “It was mom, wasn’t it?”
Tripp lifted a shoulder. “Could be.”
“Because if your fiancée had said something, you would have cornered me already seeing as the Dennison twins aren’t against getting rough if their sister’s feelings are at stake.”
His brother chuckled. “You know, I was in your position once.”
Brent snorted. There was no way Tripp understood where Brent was in his life. He didn’t have to hide his career choices. Nor did he have to hide his interest in a girl. He’d been more than open about his infatuation from the start when he’d met Wendy.
“I’m telling you,” Tripp called out as he lugged the saddle into the stall where his horse was located. “Having feelings for someone you’re not supposed to can wreak havoc with a lot of stuff. Work. Family life. Friendships…” he trailed off and his words had Brent pausing.
Slowly, he made his way to the entrance of the stall. “No one told you that you couldn’t have feelings for Wendy.”
Tripp gave him a side-eyed stare. “I did. I told myself it wasn’t okay. She hated me and I wasn’t supposed to be drawn to her. It messed with me in different ways. Life would have been so much easier if I would have just given into my baser instincts and told her outright.”
At that, Brent threw his head back and laughed. “Knowing Wendy? She would have thrown that confession right in your face.”
“True, but at least it would have been out there. If you like this girl—”
“I don’t.”
Tripp arched a brow. “Then why spend so much time with her?”
Shoot! She was his cover with his family.
He’d managed to put his boot in his mouth with this one.
Fortunately, his hesitation was enough to convince Tripp of something because his brother only chuckled.
“Denial isn’t just a river, brother. I’m not going to tell you how to spend your time, but I’d be careful if I was you.
Spend all the time you want with her. But don’t forget that crossing the line into something else…
well, let’s just say you should prepare for whatever happens next. ”
“Yeah, that’s not ominous.” He folded his arms. “She’s my friends’ sister. And she’s my friend too. She’s cool. Isn’t that enough of an excuse to hang out with her?”
“Sure. If that’s all it is,” Tripp mused. Before Brent could walk away, Tripp called out to him again. “Hey, you got a sec?”
Brent paused and nodded.
“The wedding is going to be early afternoon. Then we’re going to have a reception and party here later in the day after pictures. That work for you?”
Stiffening, Brent forced his expression to remain calm.
He swallowed thickly. The big event he wanted to compete in was later that night.
He was the best man and he still hadn’t figured out a way to make both events work.
Even if he attended the ceremony and ducked out early during the reception, his family would most definitely think he wasn’t prioritizing them.
It made him feel more than a little ill and he’d been avoiding dealing with it as much as he could.
All he could do was nod for fear that his voice would give him away.
Tripp smiled. “Good.”
Brent couldn’t stick around after that. With Tripp being here at the ranch and the wedding day looming, Brent needed to leave. But he couldn’t hang out with Tate and Jason out of fear he’d bump into Faith.
Behind the wheel, Brent drove to town with no goal but to avoid the big issues that threatened to choke him. He ended up parking near the Sweet Everything Bakery and for no other reason than his last meeting in town with Faith, he wandered inside.
He peered through the glass displays at the brownies then wrinkled his nose. Who in their right mind would want to put fruit in their chocolate desserts?
“Can I help you?”
He glanced up and smiled at the woman behind the counter. Then he moved farther down and pointed to some miniature chocolate chip cookies. “A couple of those.”
She placed some inside a paper bag and he was on his way. Brent wandered down the sidewalk and reached inside his bag for a cookie, his thoughts immediately returning to the night he’d made this treat with Faith. The first bite told him everything he’d expected.
They were not the same.
He scrunched up his nose and stared at the cookie. It wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t… hers. How did she make them taste so good? But it wasn’t just the cookies, was it? The question popped into his head without provocation.
Everything about Faith made him feel different. His days brightened when she was around him. And yet his reasons for putting distance between them felt less and less important.
Yes, she was his friend’s sister.
Yes, he was busy with the rodeo and it wasn’t fair to ask her to be with a guy who might not be around a lot if he got a sponsorship.
But none of that seemed to matter in the grand scheme of things. What if she was worth the risk and he wasn’t giving her the benefit of the doubt?
A familiar flash of brown hair and a body he would have recognized anywhere caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Faith in the bookstore windows.
Of course she’d be in the bookstore. The woman would have lived there if she wasn’t so interested in medicine. Heck, she was probably looking for a book on that topic.
He felt ridiculous, watching her through the glass. All she would have to do was turn slightly in his direction and then she would have noticed him.
Should he go inside and talk to her?
No. Bad idea.
Really bad idea.
With all the effort he’d put into avoiding her today and the last couple of days, he couldn’t get weak now.
Brent was just about ready to head farther down the street when a man approached Faith. Brent squinted, not getting a clear view of him until he turned in just the right way.
Then Brent saw red.
Garth was definitely someone Faith’s brothers wouldn’t approve of. The guy was a sleaze ball. There had been plenty of gossip circulating about him and how he’d cheated on his last girlfriend.
Normally, Brent wouldn’t have given any thought to the gossip circulating about someone like Garth.
The guy got what had been coming. His girlfriend had dumped him, and he’d been roughed up by her younger brother.
The incident had been months ago and he’d overheard Hallie talking about how it had gone down in the lodge parking lot.
The fact that Garth was showing his face in town wasn’t an anomaly. The guy didn’t have a shameful bone in his body. It was the fact that he was talking to Faith that had Brent all riled up.
He gripped the bag of cookies with one hand and curled the other hand into a fist.
This couldn’t be a date. Faith knew better.
Brent knew her well enough to believe she wouldn’t associate with a guy like Garth and yet he was seeing it with his own eyes. Without thinking, Brent charged into the bookstore and headed right for them.
He caught Faith’s eyes a split second before he gave Garth a little shove.
“Whoa, man,” Garth blustered, his eyes sharpening when they landed on Brent.
Faith gripped Brent’s arm from behind him. “Brent! What are you doing?”
“Leave,” he hissed to Garth.
The man smirked. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You heard me. Leave. Do you even know who you’re talking to? Who her brothers are?” It was a lame excuse, but it was all Brent could come up with. He couldn’t exactly growl like a caveman and tell the world that he didn’t want Garth winning Faith’s attention let alone anyone else.
Garth folded his arms and peered around Brent to Faith, but he didn’t get a chance to speak because Brent moved to block his view.
“Brent,” Faith tried again, her grip on him hardening. “What are you doing?”
He only continued glaring at Garth until the guy rolled his eyes. “I’ll catch you later, Faith.”
“Over my dead body,” Brent ground out.
Faith gasped but it wasn’t until Garth was officially gone that she let her true emotions shine through. “What in heaven’s name was that for?” She demanded, her face beet-red.
Brent scowled at her. “Do you know who he is?”
“Does that matter?” She crossed her arms defiantly and lifted her chin. Her voice was low and almost as menacing as his own.
“Yes,” he snapped. “He’s not a good guy, Faith. Have you heard about what he did?”
“Am I to believe that you listen to gossip?”
He huffed out with exasperation. She had a point and he knew it. “This is different,” he said quietly.
“Why?” She demanded.
“It… just is.” He could feel the heat rising into his face.
She shook her head and placed the book she’d been holding back on the shelf. “No, it’s not. I choose to judge a person by who they are with me and not some ridiculous gossip that the rumor mill spits out.” When she moved to leave, he blocked her path.
“Don’t go out with him, Faith.” There was pleading in his voice and he hated the way it made him sound.
Faith was a lot of things, but she wasn’t dumb. She arched a brow then narrowed her eyes and let out a mirthless laugh. “Oh, that’s what this is about.”
Brent stilled.
She poked him in the chest, her expression void of the usual happiness she was known for. “You can’t ask that of me. I’m allowed to date whomever I want.”
He scowled and opened his mouth, but she cut him off.
“You’re not my brother, Brent. And whatever this is… this feeling between us… it’s not going anywhere. You’ve made that perfectly clear. If I want to date someone, I will. And accepting an invitation to dinner with Garth is better than dealing with how I feel after my encounters with you.”
His jaw dropped but he collected himself quickly. “Don’t you dare.”
She leaned closer and hissed, “Watch me.”