Page 31 of Worth the Trouble

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.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Tate’s MIA again, huh?”

Jason glanced over his shoulder toward Brent. “He’s with Rylee.”

“They’ve been holed up in that farmhouse an awful lot lately.”

Smiling, Jason coiled the rope their client had used to wrangle the plastic steer heads in their training corral. “Newlyweds.”

“Must be nice.”

“Of course it is.” That caught the attention of them both, and they looked up. Faith was smiling wide at each of them. Jason scowled at her.

She winked at him and her eyes danced with mischief. In several long strides, Brent was at her side and pulling her close for a claiming kiss. The sight of them got to him.