Page 61 of A Montana Rodeo Star

Hallie started her car and interrupted her. “Brent’s dad is dead.”

Faith couldn’t breathe. This was a joke. She’d seen Judd at the barbeque. He definitely wasn’t dead. What was Hallie talking about? “What?” she whispered but she wasn’t sure Hallie could hear her over the hum of the car engine.

“That’s why his parents don’t want him to participate in the rodeo. His dad—his real dad—died before Brent was born.”

The blood drained from Faith’s face. She could feel herself going lightheaded. This was not a secret she should be privy to. “D-does Brent… know?”

Hallie didn’t look at her. She kept her eyes on the road, but her body seemed less agitated. It was as if the secret she’d been keeping had been slowly poisoning her. “You tell me. Has he said anything?”

“Well, no, but⁠—”

“It’s a really crappy thing for his folks to do—keeping something like this from him—from Tripp, too. But I overheard my parents talking about it. Apparently, years and years ago when Heather, Brent’s mom, was just out of high school, she ran off with her boyfriend. They eloped. The details are a little blurry. I’m not sure if they found out they were pregnant and wanted to save face or if they were just that much in love. Honestly, it doesn’t matter. The bigger issue is that Brent’s dad was on his way to being one of the top national competitors in rodeo history. He was good.” Hallie cut Faith a look out of the corner of her eye. “Like really good. No one could beat his numbers. He was a natural. But then one day he got in the arena and…” Her voice drifted and the cab of the car felt ten degrees colder.

A chill scraped along Faith’s arms and legs, making the hairs stand to attention.

“I guess he landed wrong. It was a fluke. He made contact with the ground in just the right way…” She closed her eyes briefly and a tear slid down her cheek. “He died, Faith. Leaving his little boy, Aunt Heather, and his unborn baby alone.”

Faith had to clasp her hands together tight to prevent them from shaking. Why was Hallie telling her this? Secrets weren’t her forte. She wasn’t going to be able to look Brent in the face after this and not act out of character. This was bad.

So, so bad.

“I swear I didn’t know until a few weeks ago. I don’t even know why my parents were talking about it. I guess Uncle Judd was a really good friend to both of them. Not sure if he had feelings before everything happened, but he was there for them. They got married and she changed their names. If I had to guess, I’d say that experience is exactly the reason why they refuse have anything to do with the rodeo.”

It all made so much more sense. Faith could understand how a disaster like the story Hallie told would harden anyone. And she was right. The worst part of the story was the fact that Brent and Tripp had no idea. Tripp would have been too young to remember his father. And Brent never met him.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” Faith groaned, clutching her stomach.

“What? Faith, you can’t throw up in my car.”

“Pull over,” Faith demanded. “Now. I need⁠—”

Hallie swerved to the side of the road and Faith fumbled with the door handle she scrambled to the edge of the shoulder and hunched over with her hands on her knees. All the contents of her stomach erupted, and the lightheadedness only got worse. She heard Hallie’s footsteps but didn’t turn to look at her friend.

Of course, Hallie was struggling. This was a secret of monumental proportions. In her opinion, it trumped the secret Brent was harboring from his parents.

When nothing else could be expelled from her stomach, Faith straightened and wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. She grimaced and forced herself to meet Hallie’s eyes. “What are we going to do?”

“What are we going to do?” Hallie practically screeched. “Nothing, Faith. We can’t do a single thing.”

“What?” Faith snapped. “You can’t expect me to keep this from him. He deserves to know.”

“Don’t you think I know that? But he doesn’t deserve to know it from you. His parents should be the ones to tell him and then prepare to grovel because this isn’t the kind of thing you keep from your own children. They deserve to mourn the loss of the father who created them.”

She made an excellent point but that didn’t make Faith feel any better. “Clearly Heather and Judd aren’t going to have that conversation. Maybe you should tell them⁠—”

Hallie scoffed. “I didn’t tell you this so you’d preach to me about what I should do. I told you because I couldn’t keep this inside me any longer. And you… well, you offered.” The last few words were spoken so brokenly that Faith had a hard time being angry with Hallie for keeping the secret, for spilling it, and for insisting that they continue to keep it under wraps.

“He has to know,” Faith whispered. “He needs to. He can’t keep doing the rodeo without understanding where his parents are coming from. I mean, I get it. And the rodeo scares me to death sometimes. But I would never tell him he couldn’t chase after what brings him happiness.”

“Even if it means he might…” Hallie winced when she whispered, “die like his dad?”

Faith didn’t even want to think about that scenario. She was already having a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that Brent wasn’t Judd’s son. Well, biologically speaking.

“I can’t believe this,” Faith muttered, closing her eyes and dipping her head back. “This is so messed up.”

“I know,” Hallie whispered.

They both sounded so distraught. But it was nothing compared to how Brent and Tripp would feel if they found out.