Page 39 of A Montana Rodeo Star

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?”