Page 84 of A Montana Rodeo Star

Even from here, she could see the drawn expression on his face. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he’d been crying. She’d never fully understand what he had gone through and while she would like to think she would have taken news like this in stride, she couldn’t speak for Brent. His story was different. This wasn’t just about discovering he had another father. This was about the fact that his father had been a dreamer like him. Brent had lost more because of that.

“Brent?” she asked.

He startled and whirled toward her. “Faith?”

She shoved her hands into the pockets of her robe. “What are you doing here?”

One second, his expression was unreadable. And in the very next it crumpled. She closed the distance between them and threw her arms around his shoulders. He melted into her, burying his face into her neck as he held onto her as tight as if she was the only thing that could save him.

Faith lost track of how long they stood there before she gently led him to the steps of her home. She’d let him expel all the unwanted emotion he’d been bottling up since the discovery. When he was ready to talk, he’d say something and not a second sooner.

At some point he’d rested his head in her lap, and she busied herself with running her fingers through his hair.

His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke up. “Did you know my dad broke his first record at seventeen?”

Her movements paused for a moment before she continued running her fingers through his strands. “I didn’t.”

Brent’s voice sounded hollow. “I know Tripp is dealing with a lot right now, but it’s not the same and I feel like a horrible person for even thinking it.” He pinched at the fabric of her robe, his eyes glazed over as he continued. “I didn’t just lose the life I thought I had. I lost a piece of me that died when he did. Does that make sense? I love my dad. Heaven knows he didn’t have it easy raising Tripp and me. And I’ll always respect him for that. But if I had known. If I knew that Louis Brent was my dad? I would have…”

“You would have what, Brent?” she whispered.

He went deathly still.

“Would you have gone against your mother’s requests and claimed you were adding to your father’s legacy without caring about the consequences? Or would you have been okay with simply knowing?” She wasn’t trying to make him feel like his emotions weren’t warranted. It was an honest question because she didn’t know which path he would have taken. “I know that after making this discovery you feel your life was cheapened somehow. But think about it really hard. You have two parents who loved you so much that they wanted to save you from that reality.”

“You don’t know that was why they did it,” he croaked, but at least he didn’t sound angry.

“No,” she agreed, “but I’d like to think that one day when I’m a mother I’ll be able to keep my children safe from harm. Emotional. Physical. There’s so much in the world that can hurt us. I’m sure it was incredibly difficult to make that decision.”

He remained quiet in the moments following her statement. The silence stretched so long that she almost thought he might have fallen asleep.

“Brent?”

He hummed.

“You won, didn’t you.” It wasn’t a question. And the only reaction she got was Brent pausing his own fidgeting.

“Yeah, I did.”

“Congratulations.”

He was quiet again for a long beat before he sat up and stared at her. “I wish you would have stayed.”

She pinched her lips to the side. “I didn’t think you wanted me there.”

Brent grimaced then dragged a weary hand down his face. “I’m so sorry. None of this is your fault. You were just… I didn’t like that you…”

Faith pressed two fingers to his lips and offered him a sad smile. “I still kept it from you when I should have said something. For that, I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “You don’t need to apologize. I should have never⁠—”

“You don’t know how much I regretted keeping that information to myself, Brent. There were so many times when I thought it would just be better if I could tell you and get it all out in the open. I wish I would have.”

His huff of laughter was void of any true amusement. “Then I guess we’re both dealing with regrets tonight.”

“I guess so.”

He searched her eyes, his expression solemn. Then he lifted a hand to her cheek and grazed his thumb against her cheekbone. “You have been one of the only steady people in my life—one who knew from the start what I wanted and refused to judge me for it. I think when you pulled away from me and told me to leave it all behind, it did something to my heart.”