Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Over the last few weeks, Brent placed in two of the three competitions he’d participated in. Each one, he knew Faith was in the audience, cheering him on. There was something about having her there rooting for him that did something to his confidence.
Faith wasn’t present just to watch him and patch him up after.
She was pushing him to be the best version of himself and that meant the world to him.
It was that revelation that had pushed him to invite her over for the family barbeque and fireworks. This thing between them was real. He’d admitted it to himself the second he informed the twins that he was serious.
How could he not be?
Faith stood on the far side of the lawn beneath a canopy with Hallie, Wendy, and Serenity. The three musketeers. It wasn’t that they were the only women who were friends out of his family. It was just that they seemed to get each other more.
And Faith?
She fit right in.
His eyes locked with hers in the next second when she glanced in his direction. The things she could do to him with one look was… insane.
He couldn’t get enough of her and it appeared she was on the same page when thinking of him.
Brent winked at her and she ducked her head. Hallie turned and met his gaze. There was a distinct tightening of her jaw before she turned back to her friends.
His cousin had made it perfectly clear that she still didn’t agree with his current career goals. He couldn’t figure out for the life of him why she wasn’t on his side. This was his life. He was only putting himself at risk. She was acting crazy.
Heck, she was acting worse than his folks had on their bad days. Then again, they still didn’t know what he was up to, and their top bad day might come all too soon.
An elbow to his side tore a yelp from his lips and he spun to find Tripp at his side, offering a glass of what was most likely sweet, iced tea.
Brent rolled his eyes. “I swear, it’s only you and Wendy who like this stuff.”
“False,” Tripp said with a flash of his white teeth. He gestured to their large extended family with a sweeping motion. “Everyone likes it. That’s why the soda in that cooler hasn’t been touched.”
Brent followed the gesture and sure enough the cooler still looked full whereas there were plenty of people drinking out of red solo cups. Whatever. The drink was nice. Refreshing even, but it wasn’t the best.
Tripp nodded toward the girls Brent had been observing.
“So. How serious is it? Are there going to be wedding bells in the near future? Another engagement announcement? I’d offer to let you double up on our wedding, but that might be too soon.
” Tripp grunted and doubled over when Brent sent his elbow into his gut.
“Don’t even joke about that.”
Tripp was all smiles even as he attempted to catch his breath. “What? You’ve never brought a girl to a family function before. She must be special.”
Brent’s eyes slid to Faith again. She was special. Too special. She was the kind of girl a guy could be proud to bring home to meet his parents. And if he wasn’t so set on getting his rodeo career off the ground, Tripp’s teasing might not be too far off what he wanted with her.
The thought alone had him reeling. He liked her.
Really liked her.
She understood him like no one else had before. The way she supported him even when she knew he was struggling with the approval of his family was everything to him. And she probably didn’t even know it.
Tripp tisked at his side. “Man, I didn’t realize.”
Brent shot his brother a hard look. “What are you talking about?”
“You have it bad.”
“What? No I don’t.”
“Um…” Tripp drawled. “Pretty sure you just drooled a little there.”
Brent startled and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand much to the amusement of his older brother. Then his glare deepened. “Shut up.” There wasn’t any drool. Tripp was just being his usual annoying self.
“You going to invite her to the wedding? What am I thinking? Of course you’re going to invite her.” Tripp chuckled and clapped him on the back. “I’m happy for you, man. It’s nice to see you obsessing over something else other than the rodeo.”
Brent stiffened. He’d confided in his brother about wanting to participate in the rodeo, but he hadn’t told him to what extent he wanted to be in that world.
There was little doubt in Brent’s mind that his brother would disown him just like his parents would if he found out that Brent was considering not attending all the events on his wedding night.
It wasn’t like Brent would miss the ceremony.
It was just the reception. And maybe some of the pictures. The schedule wasn’t set in stone yet.
Shoot.
The more times he placed, the clearer it became that he was garnering attention. Not only from the people at the rodeo events but from companies looking to find someone to sponsor. He wasn’t going to be able to miss the biggest rodeo event of the year if he planned to make a name for himself.
But that was still about a month away. Four more weeks. Four more competitions. There was still a chance he could catch the eye of some sponsor early on and be approached before that event. Or worse, he could get injured and end up not being in the event at all.
His gut roiled. All this work over the summer would mean nothing if he couldn’t at least show the world what he was made of.
“Hey, you okay?”
Brent startled again. Sheesh, he was losing it. He turned to find Faith at his side. When had she left her group? And what happened to Tripp? One quick scan of his surroundings and Brent found Tripp leading his fiancée toward the house. They were probably getting more of that iced tea ready.
The two of them were perfect for each other. Nauseatingly so.
“Brent?”
He met Faith’s eyes again. She frowned, the adorable crease forming between her brows. “Yeah,” he croaked, then he cleared his throat. “I’m good.”
“You sure? Because it doesn’t seem like it.”
Brent reached for her hand and wove his fingers between hers.
He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed a kiss to her knuckles.
He would invite her to the wedding if the rodeo wasn’t on that day.
He didn’t want to see the pity in her eyes when she realized the decision he had to make.
Nor did he want to see the disappointment when she realized that he was willing to prioritize something other than his family.
The guilt was already eating him up inside.
So he kept the secret locked away and forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m sure. Just a little beat, you know?”
She studied him then. Those eyes of her delving into the darkest reaches of his soul and at that moment, he wouldn’t have been surprised if he found out she could read his thoughts. Nope. It wouldn’t surprise him in the slightest. Maybe that was why he suddenly had the urge to look away from her.
He cleared his throat again. “Are you excited for the fireworks?”
Faith squeezed his hand. “I’m excited to watch them with you.”
That got his attention, and he gave her a more genuine smile. “Same.”
“Wendy said they’re going to get some yard games out. I hate to ask, but what is cornhole?” She wrinkled her nose and Brent laughed. He couldn’t help himself. He pulled her closer and kissed the tip of her nose.
When he pulled back to answer her, he caught sight of Hallie scowling in his direction. Her eyes burned with a different sort of anger—something he’d never seen before. Or maybe he had and he’d just ignored it.
All he knew was that if she had any kind of supernatural abilities, he would have definitely gone up in flames from that glower alone. His eyes darted to Faith and back to Hallie. Brent flinched when her stare remained. She merely folded her arms then huffed and stormed away.
What was that all about?
“Brent?”
He cut a look at Fath once more, her concern mingling with her curiosity.
“Right. Cornhole is just a competitive form of bean bag toss. There are boards that are propped up at an angle and you have to toss your beanbags into the hole. It’s fun.
You should try it.” His focus drifted to where Hallie had marched.
Whatever was eating at her needed to be handled.
His parents weren’t exactly blind, and they were definitely nosy.
It wouldn’t take much before they demanded to know what he’d done to offend his cousin.
“What about you?”
“Hmm?”
Faith sighed and her light touch to the side of his face drew his attention back to her once more. He could live off that touch alone. Just melt into it. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He placed a hand over hers and smiled. “You asked me that already.”
“Yeah, well, you seem distracted.”
Brent nodded. “I am. Did…” He gripped the back of his neck. “Did Hallie say anything to you?”
“No, why?”
Weird. The way she was looking at him definitely had him wondering what he’d done to get on her bad side. This wasn’t going to be good and he knew it. Hallie didn’t just let things fester. Eventually, she’d explode.
“I… well, I think I need to talk to her. She seemed upset just now. Are you okay for a little while? I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Faith, the perfect girlfriend she was, only nodded.
Girlfriend.
That was what she was, and yet the label in his own head rocked him. He’d gone from being obsessed about spending time with her to thinking of her as more. And yet, it all felt right. He was on the right path. Despite the guilt. Despite hating that he was keeping secrets.
He knew he was doing what was best for him. The rodeo called to him.
When Brent tracked Hallie down, she was pacing behind the barn. There were dots of perspiration lining her forehead and she was clenching and flexing her hands at her sides. When he rounded the corner of the building she startled, and a hand flew to her chest. “Brent! Don’t do that!”
He shoved his hands in his pockets. “You gonna tell me why I deserve to die a fiery death?”
That had her eyes narrowing. “You know why.”
“Is this about the rodeo? I thought you were okay with it.”
She threw her arms into the air with a disgruntled sound bursting from her throat. Then she turned toward him and pointed a finger. “Just because I’m not going to tattle on you doesn’t mean I’m okay with what you’re doing. I hate what you’re doing, for the record. And I hate it even more now.”
“What? Why?”
She resumed her pacing, only this time she started chewing at her thumb. “Because you’re going to hurt someone.”
“What?” he snorted. “What I do with my life is my business. I’m not going to hurt any—”
She held up her fingers one at a time as she listed them off.
“Your mother. You’re keeping secrets from her despite knowing that she doesn’t want you doing this.
Your father. Same issue. When you’re the golden boy who has always been someone they can count on, do you even know what it’s going to do to them?
Then there’s Tripp. Don’t you dare act like you don’t already know that big event is on the same day as his wedding, because that’s why Jacob can’t make it to the wedding.
He’s expected to be there due to his sponsors.
I know you’re going to try to make both events work, but it’s going to devastate the people who care about you if you duck out to do the one thing they don’t want you to do. ”
He fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Are you done?”
“No!” she snapped and stalked toward him. Then she poked him with that finger to punctuate her question. “What are you doing with Faith?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing? We’re dating.”
Her eyes rounded. “And her brothers are okay with that?” The shock in her voice was almost comedic.
She searched the ground as if it would give her the answers to her questions.
“I didn’t think they’d ever allow someone in their field date their sisters.
They refuse to travel. They’re all about staying close to home. ”
Brent folded his arms and stared at her with his smuggest expression. “Guess I’m special.”
Her eyes narrowed again. “Anything but.”
“Hey,” he snapped. “That wasn’t nice.”
“Neither is what you’re doing to Faith.”
“I’m not doing anything to her.”
“Wrong.” Hallie shook her head. “She’s not cut out to be with someone who’s always gone.”
“You seem to handle it just fine.”
That had her snapping her mouth shut, though her eyes seemed large again as she seemed to contemplate his words.
Brent arched an eyebrow. “You think you’re so smart, noticing the way I am with Faith. But that’s just it. I’m out in the open with her because we want to be together. I don’t want to hide how I feel about her—”
“How you feel? Seriously, Brent. You’re blind if you think what you’re doing is okay. We all know what your end game is, and I bet you haven’t discussed it with her.”
“She knows what I want.”
“Was that before or after you two… got close?”
This time he couldn’t fight the anxiety that started to flow through him.
They hadn’t discussed his plans for the future after he’d asked her to start dating him openly.
They were getting closer. He was loving every second he got to spend with her.
But with her starting school at the community college and him planning on getting a sponsorship, that would put their plans on two separate trajectories.
He cleared his throat and looked away.
She held up four fingers, encompassing the four people she’d listed. “Faith. You’re going to hurt her.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Secrets have a way of hurting people even when we don’t want them to.
She might support this dream of yours, but that doesn’t mean the people in your life will support her once they find out she’s been aiding you in your secrets.
Do you think for one second your mother is going to accept her once she finds out that Faith was a part of it? ”
Brent hadn’t thought about that particular scenario.
Hallie made a good point. Even if this rodeo thing didn’t work out, eventually, the secrets were going to be spilled.
And when that happened, Faith might not be looked at the same way.
Would his parents welcome her with open arms knowing that she was his partner in crime?
He couldn’t be certain.
Hallie’s low voice broke through his thoughts. “Maybe you should consider what you’re asking of her. And maybe you should have a sit down with your family—”
“Not going to happen, Hallie. So unless you’re here to threaten to tell them all my secrets, I think this conversation is over.
Faith is her own person. She’s going to do what she wants.
And if that means supporting me, then all the better.
” With that, he stormed away, not caring to turn back when Hallie’s irritated tone called out to him again and again.
His cousin didn’t know what she was talking about.