Page 58 of A Montana Rodeo Star

“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?”