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“I don’t mind.” His soft voice was far too difficult to ignore, and she had to force herself to drag her eyes from where she had them locked onto his own.
She pursed her lips to the side and scooted a step back, hoping he wouldn’t notice just how uncomfortable he made her feel. “How about we stick with today’s plan of lassoing. If you can get the hang of that, then you can practice roping something while moving. There are a lot of events that require that kind of coordination, and they’re less dangerous than bronc riding or bull riding.” She turned on her heel and resumed the path she’d started when they left the barn without waiting for him to respond to her.
If a fresh start existed, she needed it in that moment. Otherwise, she’d never get over the embarrassment she felt over her tantrum. If any of her sisters had heard even a few seconds of her tirade, she’d never hear the end of it. Thankfully Brielle was still so irritated with her over having to see Wade that she opted not to be outside during this session.
Faye’s eyes swept over the property in search of anyone else who might have seen or heard any of it, and her heart sank. Right there on the porch with a glass in her hand was Eloise.
Not only had she left without saying goodbye, but she’d left with a guy. A stranger.
Faye was batting a thousand this morning. Three people she’d managed to anger. When was she going to learn to just keep her big mouth shut? That’s what got her in the most trouble, after all. Her big mouth.
* * *
“That’s it!You’re swinging it right this time.” Faye sat in her saddle, watching Adam with a little more than pride. He had managed to get the post with his rope on the fifth try—something she’d never seen done from a newbie.
He had a natural talent. If he hadn’t decided to work on trucks and cars, he could have very well been a cowboy.
Adam’s gaze found hers as he grinned, looking more like a child than a grown man. “You see that one?”
She nodded. The air had shifted between them, though the tension wasn’t completely gone. He seemed to understand where she was coming from, and he wasn’t bound and determined to push her into talking about it anymore.
It was strange meeting a guy who was willing to talk about relationships with someone he wasn’t dating. At least from what Faye had heard, guys just didn’t do that. She couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
If they ended up getting closer—as friends—what would happen when he inevitably wanted to settle down with a wife? Faye couldn’t imagine any woman being okay with their husband spending time with someone of the opposite sex.
That was a problem for another day.
Today she needed to focus on mending what she’d broken, though thinking about it had her stomach in knots and her face blushing so often she didn’t think she had any more blood she could reroute to other parts of her body.
She itched to apologize once more, but somehow she knew it wouldn’t do her any good. He’d already accepted that their conversation wasn’t the norm.
Faye released a pent-up breath. “How about you get on Bella and see if you can ring that post while she’s walking around it?”
“You think I could do that?”
She nodded. “You were born to do this. I can’t tell you how long most guys have to work at this.”
“Maybe I just have a good teacher.”
She fought the blush that threatened to burst into her cheeks and barely kept it contained. “I can’t take any of the credit, and you know it.”
“Sure you can.” He lifted one foot over the saddle and winced.
“Still feeling that burn, huh?”
“Yeah, but it’s not nearly as bad as the burns you were slinging at me about thirty minutes ago.”
Faye groaned. “Please tell me you’re not going to hold that over my head for the rest of my life.”
“For the rest of your life? Nah. Just until I get enough payback to feel like we’re even.”
Her laughter was unexpected. She’d managed to make a full recovery from the frustrated, jealous person she’d been when she woke up that morning. At this point, she should just be grateful that she was able to get to know him at all. Dwelling on not being able to keep his interest in a romantic sense wasn’t worth her energy.
He pulled on the reins and guided Bella toward Blaze. “I’ve missed that today.”
“Missed what?”
“Your laugh. It’s nice.”
