Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
There was no duplicating the high that Brent had experienced last Saturday.
He’d won. No, he didn’t get first place, but he’d gotten a date with the girl he couldn’t stop thinking about.
He placed in an important event where he knew there were potential sponsors.
No one would approach him yet, but he knew the rodeo crowd was buzzing with the news of his win.
Hopefully the news wouldn’t reach Sagebrush.
So far, nothing had changed at home. Everyone was too busy planning for Tripp’s wedding. The closer the date came, the more frantic his mother seemed to get. She didn’t have time for gossip or even asking how his budding relationship with Faith was going.
At least now he didn’t have to lie to her about why he was going over to the Dennison property as much. He fully planned on spending time with Faith. As much as he could get away with.
Brent brought a mug of coffee to his lips and smiled as he watched out his upstairs bathroom window as a few men rode off toward the sunrise.
Dust billowed around them as they made their way toward the northern pasture where the cattle were grazing.
He’d overheard Bo asking some of the men to count the cattle before they were moved to another meadow. Thankfully, Brent hadn’t been needed.
There were a few things he had to take care of. In the post whirlwind of the event last night, he’d been too distracted to notify Tate and Jason about his intentions with their sister. It had completely slipped his mind when they’d congratulated him on placing.
And when Faith met him outside of the locker room, her brothers had been elsewhere.
In the back of his mind, he knew he had to speak to them. In fact, he probably should have told them before he asked Faith out on an official date. He could already imagine the looks of anger on their faces when they found out. They’d already warned him off.
And when he’d promised them he only intended on being friends with Faith, he’d been telling the truth.
Sometimes things changed.
And the realization that he wanted Faith was one of them.
He wasn’t against fighting them for the privilege of dating their sister, either—something that surprised even him. Brent had so much on his plate, but he wanted this. Almost as much as he wanted the rodeo sponsorship.
Brent blew out a breath and turned away from the window, grabbed his hat, and headed for the door.
He deposited his coffee mug in the sink, pulled on his dusty boots and ducked into the cool morning air.
Since he wasn’t going to be helping with moving or counting the cattle, he’d offered to ensure the barn was straightened up.
Was it really spring cleaning when it was in the middle of the summer?
There was a workbench area that was a catch-all for tools and other small equipment that people didn’t put away in the right places.
And his cousin, Jack, had started parking the riding lawn mower just inside the barn because the space where it belonged in the large shed had been filled with a few large boxes that contained decorations for the wedding.
The chaos from the mess was getting to Brent as much as it was probably getting to Bo. Sagebrush had always been Bo’s life. He would have worked himself to the bone if he hadn’t found his wife and she’d forced him to delegate more.
Brent couldn’t help but linger on that final thought as he set to work organizing the tools and wire used to repair the fences surrounding the property. There was something to be said about finding someone who could stand by and support a man through all his dreams for the future.
Obviously, it was too soon for him to think about finding someone to fill that role. But it did make him wonder if it would be possible to have it all.
He shook off the strange feeling and spent the next several hours cleaning up before he finally forced himself to get into his truck and face the men he wished he could avoid.
When he arrived, Tate and Jason were busy working with one of the several teenage boys they’d started training.
When they saw him arrive, they motioned him over.
Faith wasn’t on the front porch. Nor was she beneath the tree, reading one of her books. Would she have told her brothers what had occurred between them, or would she keep it a secret? They hadn’t discussed what they wanted to do.
There was only one right way to do this. He knew it deep in his soul. While he was willing to hide his career plans from his folks, because it was ridiculous that they’d stand in his way, dating Faith was different.
Brent wasn’t going to hide his attraction for Faith. She wasn’t some dirty secret. He’d make sure everyone knew how he felt about her, and he’d be proud to do it.
“Brent, tell Decker here what I mean when I say he needs to move his feet back and forth. It needs to be consistent.” Jason had his arms crossed and he was peering tightly at the boy who appeared a few seconds from rolling his eyes.
Stifling a chuckle, Brent nodded and straddled the A-frame model they used to demonstrate technique.
“Like this. You’ll get a better score if you can keep your toes turned outwards.
The synchronization of spurring with the horse’s bucking rhythm.
You want the spurs to drag with the horse.
The longer the stroke, the higher the score.
You also need to demonstrate balance and control while working on your spurring. Try to keep the whole ride fluid.”
Decker watched Brent with veiled fascination then moved to get onto the mock horse to attempt the technique.
Tate nodded toward Brent with appreciation.
They all watched Decker and Tate pointed out where he needed to further improve.
When they allowed him to climb down, Tate clapped the boy on the shoulder.
“Work on that for the next couple days and we’ll see how far you’ve come when you come back next week. ”
Decker dipped his chin. “Yes, sir.”
Brent did chuckle when the kid headed toward a waiting truck closer to the house. When he was far enough away that he wasn’t going to be heard, he shook his head. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“Do what?” Tate asked, turning with surprise.
“Teach kids day in and day out. Isn’t it exhausting?”
Jason and Tate exchanged a look. Then Jason let loose a laugh. “You’re kidding right?”
Brent frowned. “No.”
Tate joined in with his brother. “You’ve missed your calling then, Brent. I haven’t seen anyone relate to these kids better than you. I don’t know what it is, but they understand you. It’s gotta be the way you talk to them or something.”
At that, Jason guffawed. “Definitely the way they speak to each other. Brent’s no better than a teen—”
“Finish that statement and I’ll have you knocked to the dirt so fast the sky will be a blur.”
The twins snickered. Brent didn’t like the fact that they were comparing him to kids. He wasn’t a kid. He was an adult with adult ambitions.
And feelings for a woman they wouldn’t approve of.
His muscles remained bunched tight and he gripped the back of his neck. “I need to talk to you guys about something.”
Their amused expressions turned serious—probably due to his tone. Shoot, he should have maintained a lighter one if he wanted to go into this without threat of bodily harm. He swallowed hard. “I’m going to start dating Faith.”
Both Tate and Jason remained frozen in place. Their serious expressions remained stoney. Not even a single twitch of the eye or a clenched fist.
Then all at once they were in his personal space.
“Over my dead body,” Jason growled out.
“Not gonna happen,” Tate said at the same time.
Brent held up placating hands. “I’ve already asked her out.”
“Then rescind the offer,” Tate demanded.
Huffing out a shocked sound, Brent shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
“Of course you can. You said you weren’t going to be anything more than friends. What happened to that?” Tate seemed to be the one speaking for both of them like he usually was. He’d crossed his arms and his eyes were narrowed. “I’m not going to let you hurt my sister. That was never on the table.”
“Don’t you think I know that?”
Tate wasn’t letting up. His face had turned a strange shade of red.
“Honestly? I don’t know. You’ve been talking about how you want to be a star.
Your plans to get a sponsor and travel have been all you’ve talked about since the very beginning.
We told you Faith isn’t cut out for that.
And she’s definitely not some buckle bunny. ”
Brent clenched his hands into fists. He couldn’t believe that Tate would even insinuate that Faith meant so little.
He stepped into Tate, his chest bumping against Tate’s arms. The man inched backward so he didn’t stumble or trip and all the while, Brent’s eyes remained hyper focused on him.
“She’s more than that. I’d never let that happen. ”
The twins continued their little stare-down for what felt like an eternity before they exchanged another look. Then Jason gave his brother a short nod. They didn’t have to speak aloud for them to understand one another. That had always been the way it was.
Tate ate up the distance between them and poked Brent in the chest. “If you hurt her—”
Brent wrapped his fingers around Tate’s finger and shoved it away.
“I won’t. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.
I might not even get a sponsor offering.
Right now, we’re just going to take it one day at a time.
That’s all I can promise. If things get more serious, then you can bet I’ll have that conversation with her when the time comes.
I’m not going into this with eyes shut. I know what I’m doing, and I know what I want. ”
The twins didn’t look convinced but at least they weren’t demanding that he cut things off with Faith before they could even begin again. This was good, right?
They were all connected with the heavy tension in the air. It was as if they’d been tied together with a form of bungee cord that continued to be pulled tight. Then all at once the tension snapped at the sound of her voice.
“Hey, guys.”
All heads swiveled in Faith’s direction.
Varying degrees of guilt washed over all three men. Brent could see it in the twins’ faces and feel it deep within his chest. Faith’s happy smile faded as her eyes bounced from one man to the next. “Everything okay? No one’s hurt are they?”
Tate shoulder checked Brent but not before leveling him with a warning glare. Then he pulled Faith into a hug. “Everything’s fine, sis. See you at home.”
Jason gave her a hug, too, and when they walked away, she watched them leave with confusion.
“That was… weird.” She faced Brent again, her brows furrowed. “What’s going on?”
He could tell her that nothing was wrong, but she wouldn’t believe it. Heck, he considered making something up about his performance but then thought better of it.
Even though Faith wouldn’t like the fact he’d told her brothers about his intentions—mostly because she was an independent person who could make her own decisions—she needed to know.
He stepped closer to her like he’d approach a wounded animal. There was no telling how this conversation was going to go. What if she got mad at him for dealing with the twins when she wanted to keep things a secret?
Entirely possible.
Well, shoot.
Brent cleared his throat and took her hands in his. “I told them.”
Her face scrunched up into an adorable furrow. “Told them what?”
“About us.”
The blood drained from her face and her head whipped around as if she’d still be able to see them. “You did what?”
“It’s okay.”
She shook her head and tugged at her hands. “I’m going to be sick. This isn’t good. I don’t know what they said, but… What were you thinking? Don’t you know that’s the most idiotic… the… stupidest thing… They’re going to—”
“Hey,” he crooned, “it’s okay.”
“It’s not.” She said weakly. “Why would you do that?” She was still trying to escape him, but he wasn’t going to let that happen. He’d done the right thing. She’d see. But she had to give him a chance to explain himself in order for that to happen.
Brent grasped her chin with his finger and thumb, forcing her to meet his eyes.
He still held one of her hands in his to ensure she wouldn’t bolt.
He could feel the pulse point in her wrist, see the anxiety in the frantic way her eyes darted every which way.
But when she finally took in a deep breath and resigned herself to this conversation, he allowed his own heart to settle. “Do you trust me?”
Faith glanced at him then away again.
“Faith,” he tried again, “do you trust me?”
She blew out her breath. “Does that matter?” She was deflecting. Scared. He couldn’t blame her. They should have discussed his plans before he went and talked to her brothers.
Brent shoved aside the twinge of pain that came from her question. “Yes.”
Faith went still with his answer. Her eyes searched his and then she gave a subtle nod of her head. “Yeah, I trust you.”
His eyes dipped to her mouth and he ran his thumb over her lower lip.
She sucked in a sharp breath, but she was no longer fighting him.
“I’m always going to do the right thing when it comes to you.
If that means telling your brothers that I intend to date you, then I will.
I’m not going to hide my feelings for you. ”
The surprise that flooded her expression did things to him. He couldn’t tell if she was still upset by his talking to her brothers. Or if she could see what he was trying to do for her. The conversation he’d had with her brothers wasn’t just for their benefit. It was for hers.
“I’m always going to do the right thing, Faith.”