Page 47 of A Montana Rodeo Star

Jason’s blank expression turned to one of warning. He’d said his peace. He’d made his decision. They both wanted Brent to steer clear of their sister. But did that mean he couldn’t talk to her period? Would they stand in the way of a friendship?

Brent knew better than to pretend that was all that would come from spending time with her. Each second was like adding a few more sticks to the fire until he’d end up with something all-consuming and unable to be put out.

Maybe they were right. Maybe he needed to put some more distance between himself and the woman he was quickly becoming obsessed with.

But what if they were wrong?

Over the last several weeks, Brent had gotten to know Faith on a level he hadn’t thought possible. He knew things about her that her brothers probably didn’t know. Like her interest in medicine. Why she wanted to help athletes. A job in that field didn’t mean she had to stay in one place. Heck, it might be exciting for her to travel with athletes to various arenas. There were whole teams who catered to rodeo stars. It was like one big giant family.

Then there was the fact that Faith knew things about him that he’d never told anyone else. She knew what drove him deeper than even the two men who stood before him.

They were still watching him cautiously, almost menacingly. No one was going to change their mind. He got the distinct impression that if he’d told them he wanted out and was ready to walk away from that dream of his, they’d tell him their decision on Faith remained.

Because what brother would want his sister to end up with a man without ambition? Faith certainly deserved to find someone who was happy with the life they’d chosen.

But also someone who chose her every single day. And could he really do both?

Brent wanted to believe he could, but he wasn’t sure.

He nodded sharply, raking a hand through his hair and tugging at the ends. “Yeah, okay. No distractions.”

He should have known better than to believe that was possible.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Maybe I should go—” Faith shot a look toward the exit. She’d interacted with Brent maybe twice since that party and while things had been okay, it was strained. Neither one of them brought up the argument. Neither one of them discussed the fact that Brent had told Dominic they were dating.

She burned to point it out but seeing as he had been avoiding her as much as she’d been avoiding him, it was clear he hadn’t meant what he said.

“Under no circumstances are you leaving. I couldn’t bring Wendy with me today, so you’re my bud.”

“Why—” Faith snapped her mouth shut. She knew why. If Hallie dragged Wendy to this particular event, then she would have witnessed her future brother-in-law in the bronc riding competition. Then she would have an even harder time keeping the full truth from her future husband.

It wasn’t fair to Wendy to ask her to keep things under wraps for the time being but apparently Hallie had convinced their friend it was for the best. Something about letting Brent get this whole thing out of his system.

“He doesn’t want me here,” Faith muttered, shifting as a few riders passed them. She wasn’t even sure she was supposed to be here in the hallway as the men came and went. Hallie had assured her that it was fine.

The arena was located indoors this time with lights shining from every direction. It was a bigger event than Brent had participated in and Faith was a bundle of nerves. She didn’t want to distract him, but that wasn’t her only reason for not wanting to be here. If he caught sight of her, she wasn’t sure how she’d react.

What if she couldn’t contain herself? What if she demanded answers for his strange behavior?

What if she wanted him to tell her that he was interested and to ignore the consequences of what that would mean with her brothers?

“He’s not the boss of you and after what he did at the party, I think you shouldn’t give him the time of day. Don’t let him take up space in your head any more than is necessary.”

“And what do you define as necessary?” Faith couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Hallie turned toward her with a smirk. “If he gets knocked around and needs your medical attention. But that’s all we can hope for, right?” She winked and Faith laughed again.

“I’d rather he didn’t get hurt at all.”

Her friend waved a hand in the air. “Maybe if he did, he’d get some sense knocked into him and he’d realize that this isn’t the path he should be taking.”

Faith frowned. Then she stared at her friend for longer than was apparently expected because Hallie glanced at her then did a double take.

“What?” she demanded.

“This is really important to him. He’s been wanting it for a long time. I don’t think it has anything to do with sense.”