Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Serenity: Cece, you’re coming tonight, right?
Wendy: Of course she’s coming. She can’t miss the party of the century.
Faith: It’s not the party of the century.
Wendy: Brent, this is the girls’ chat. Give Faith back her phone.
Faith: Sorry. Yeah, Cece, this party is going to be awesome. Mostly because the girls know what they’re doing when they plan something like this.
Cecelia smiled as she put her phone back into her purse before she followed her father into the restaurant. They had a lunch date scheduled today. It had been a couple days since she’d been rescued from the side of the road by her literal Prince Charming.
She couldn’t stop thinking about Jason. It had gotten so bad that she had finally decided that she was going to make a move. She’d ask him out since he wasn’t willing to ask her first. There was no telling how long she’d be in town for, and she didn’t want to waste a moment of it.
Her father gave her a look as he took a seat in the booth where the hostess deposited them. “Have somewhere to be?”
“What? No. Why do you ask?”
“The way you’re looking at your phone. I’ve never seen you smile like that.”
Cecelia had to pull her lips between her teeth to avoid smiling wider.
She loved her father. Sure, he was all business and sometimes that was his whole identity.
But she didn’t doubt that he loved her back and wanted what was best for her.
It was one of the reasons he’d never pushed her to find love and settle down.
There was a time and a place for love and relationships.
And the two of them were on the same page when it came to how important their work truly was.
Well, they’d been on the same page until recently.
“Just some friends,” she offered before reaching for the menu in front of her.
His stare pressed on her as she sat across from him.
Cecelia knew if she looked up at him, she’d find him staring and probably wanting more of an explanation.
So rather than give in to the temptation to meet his gaze, she changed the subject. “Hey, Dad?”
He grunted and the stare lifted.
“I was thinking about the future. After we’re done with this project, I’d like to look into what it would take to start my own firm.”
The air turned several degrees colder.
At least it did for her. She didn’t want to, but she forced herself to meet his eyes.
They were stern as she’d expected, but she read more than that in his depths. He wasn’t ready to let her go yet. She couldn’t tell if it was for his benefit or for her own.
He heaved a sigh, the kind that made her small. “Sweetheart, we’ve been through this. You’re not ready.”
She shook her head. No, she wasn’t going to accept the brush off. Not this time. Jason wouldn’t want her to. Or she didn’t think he would. “I’m ready, Dad. I know you think it’s risky—”
“Darn straight I think it’s risky. Starting a business isn’t for the faint of heart. You’ve still got a lot to learn. Just because you know the ins and outs of my business, doesn’t mean you would know how to handle someone else. You need more practice.”
She ground her molars and returned her attention to the menu. “How am I to get more practice when all my time is spent working with you?”
At that, her father went eerily still. Cecelia didn’t dare meet his gaze. She wanted more than anything to make him proud, to prove herself to him. But how was she supposed to do that when she was trapped?
“You’re right,” he muttered.
Cecelia’s head snapped up and she met her father’s eyes.
He nodded, scrubbing his jaw as he continued to search her face. “I’m not giving you the chance to strike out on your own when I’m using all your skills for myself. Perhaps when we get back home, we can find a few businesses who could use your services here and there.”
Her pulse raced as she tried to make sense of what her father was saying. She hadn’t expected this turn of events. Here she was, taking a step forward, and she knew she needed to be reacting differently, but she couldn’t even manage a smile or to verbalize her thanks.
She was saved from doing any of that when their waitress arrived to take their order. After that, her father was all business. Apparently, Kyle had come through. There was a meeting on the books. Now, they just needed to wait and see how many people would show as long as word didn’t spread too far.
Wendy had been right. The party at Sagebrush was epic.
There was a bonfire at the edge of the backyard. All kinds of snacks from chips to sandwiches were spread out on a table. There were even more options for drinks. So many people mingled around that Cecelia was as much the stranger as she had been at the party that Kyle had taken her to.
Only this party was different. Most every guy wore a cowboy hat and boots. The girls wore similar outerwear, though a few of them were happy in tennis shoes. There was music and laughter but at the base of it all, these people were more genuine.
It wasn’t fair that Cecelia was comparing and judging the people she’d met over the last few weeks. And yet there was no denying the differences.
Unfortunately, there was just as much talk about the development of the property out past the Dennison land, and she knew in her gut that was the parcel she and her father had set their sights on.
Those conversations were the biggest reason she didn’t tell anyone who she was or where she came from. Wendy had taken pity on her more than once and told everyone that Cecelia had come with her. Thankfully, no one pressed too much.
She stood in a circle with several women who were part of the Sagebrush family.
There was Wendy, Serenity, and Faith. And it turned out that Lydia and Faith were sisters.
Wendy and Serenity were married into the Sagebrush Ranch family, as Faith had been.
Apparently, there were far more men in that huge family than women but since they were all cousins, Cecelia had a harder time trying to figure out who was related to whom because their last names didn’t fit.
It should have been overwhelming to be part of a crowd this big, being dragged from group to group and meeting too many people to be able to keep them straight. But it wasn’t. Cecelia loved it.
“So, Faith, I heard that your brother is seeing somebody,” Wendy drawled.
Faith and Lydia glanced at each other. Faith’s expression seemed to tell her sister to keep quiet. But Lydia wasn’t having any of it. “Jason? Jason doesn’t see anybody. Jason sees horses.”
Cecelia straightened up at Jason’s name. Her eyes bounced from Faith to Lydia and back. Wait a minute. Were these his sisters? How had she not made the connection yet?
Faith shook her head. “I wouldn’t say he’s seeing anybody. But he’s been in town a lot more than the feed store needs him.”
“But there is something there,” Wendy pressed.
Lydia shrugged while Faith said nothing at all.
Wendy hollered, making Cecelia startle. “Tripp owes me a date night!”
At that, all the girls smiled but Cecelia frowned. “Why?”
“Because I said that Jason would be the next one to fall in love, and Tripp said he’d die a bachelor.” She shrugged and raised an eyebrow.
“Hey,” Lydia snapped.
Wendy held up both hands. “I didn’t say that was a bad thing. It’s not. Everyone knows that he’s a sweet guy, but at the same time we hardly know him. How is anyone supposed to fall in love with him when he doesn’t talk?”
“He talks plenty.” Lydia defended her brother with a frown. “He just doesn’t waste words on stuff that doesn’t matter.” She was irritated, and Faith had to place a hand over hers to help her settle. Before either one of them could come to Jason’s defense, Cecelia stepped in.
“There’s nothing wrong with not incessantly running your mouth. And frankly, the quiet ones can be easier to get along with.”
“How do you figure?” Wendy asked.
Cecelia thought back to the man she was quickly falling for.
He was quiet, for sure, but he listened well.
When he acted, when he spoke, it was important.
He didn’t fill the void with fluff. “When someone only shares what’s important to them, then it carries more weight.
You don’t have to slog through words and try to make sense of anything that might contradict itself.
Sounds like Jason is the kind of guy who values brevity. It’s a lost art, in my opinion.”
Both Lydia and Faith offered her grateful smiles, and she nodded. They didn’t know that she was interested in their brother, but they could appreciate that she understood him regardless. The conversation moved on after that for which Cecelia was grateful but only in part.
She craved to ask them more about Jason. While she knew her feelings had shot to surprising heights, she still wanted to know parts of him she wasn’t sure he’d willingly share.
Cecelia continued to glance in Faith and Lydia’s direction when she thought they weren’t looking. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sneaky enough. Or perhaps Faith and Lydia were more observant than Cecelia had given them credit for.
The second Cecelia wandered off to get a new can of soda, she was flanked by both sisters. She might as well have been walked to the plank rather than the drink table. Lydia nudged her, saccharine sweet, giving herself away. “Okay, spill.”
Cecelia’s blood ran cold. Lydia couldn’t already know about who she was and why she was here.
Wendy had made sure no one asked her too many questions.
In fact, Cecelia had started to suspect Wendy already knew and was simply trying to keep the peace.
Slowing her steps, she turned toward the younger sister. “Spill what?”
Faith walked around from her back to stand beside Lydia. Her look was more contemplative than drilling. She appraised Cecelia probably the same as she did patients she worked with in.
There wasn’t any malice in her study of Cecelia, nor any accusation when she spoke. “You know my brother, don’t you?”
If Lydia was surprised by Faith’s statement, she didn’t show it. They simply waited for Cecelia to answer.
“Your brother?”
Lydia huffed at that. “Don’t make us drag it out of you.
I don’t think I’ve heard of a single person who would know what to say when it comes to our brother unless they knew him.
It’s the people who don’t know him who find his aloofness strange or unnerving.
He doesn’t open up around people unless they’re worth it. ”
Goose bumps ripped across her body. Cecelia tried to find the lie in what Lydia said but found none.
Jason had been kind to her. He’d gone out of his way to spend time with her.
She wasn’t an idiot. There was definitely attraction there.
Heck, the chemistry when they were alone was off the charts, at least for her.
But to hear this from someone who hadn’t seen Cecelia interact with Jason made her acutely giddy.
She swallowed down fresh nerves and let her focus move to Faith. “You’re talking about Jason.”
Lydia snorted and Faith gave her sister a hard look before nodding at Cecelia. “Yeah.”
“Do you like him?” Lydia blurted.
“Lydia!” Faith admonished, though it almost sounded half-hearted.
“What?” she snapped back at her sister. “We should probably know. Jason doesn’t talk about girls. I can’t remember the last time he went on a date with one. It’d probably be a good thing to find out as much as we can about—”
“Ignore her,” Faith insisted. “She’s right about one thing, though.
My brothers are all business. Before Rylee, Tate only went on dates for fun.
And I think Jason can’t get out of his own way when it comes to women.
He’s got a huge heart, but because he’s so content to sit back and let others take the spotlight, it’s hard for him to find real connections. ”
“So,” Lydia drawled. “Do you like him?”
Faith groaned so comically loud that Cecelia had to fight a smile.
Unfortunately, the spotlight was on her, and she didn’t want to risk anyone finding out about her. And definitely not her father. Not her job. And not the potential heartbreak she would likely experience when everything came crashing down.
What else could she do but shrug off the question?
“He’s been a great friend while I’ve been here.”
“Friend?” Lydia practically squawked. Her sister stopped her from saying more with a hand on her arm.
There was something shrewd in Faith’s focus, though, and it unnerved Cecelia more than she wanted to admit. Thankfully, she was willing to accept Cecelia’s answer at face value. But when she walked away with Lydia at her side, they’d dived right into heated whispers.
Well, that didn’t sound good at all.