Page 87 of A Montana Rodeo Star

His father chuckled. “I didn’t exactly give him a choice.” He cut a look at Brent. “I was the scrawny kid who didn’t have friends. In fact, I was bullied. Boy, did they like to pick on me.” He released a huff. “To this day, I can’t remember if I made the first move and hid behind Lou or if he took it upon himself to defend me. Gave a kid a bloody nose and almost got booted from the activities.” He was smiling again. “But after that day, we were best friends.”

Brent couldn’t see the version of his father he described. The man beside him was strong despite not doing hard labor. He helped out at Sagebrush in more of an academic sense. He helped with numbers and ordering. Went out to auctions, too. His father had an eye for that sort of thing.

“Anyway, when we got into our teens, we were inseparable. I’d started doing more at the rodeo because my older brother had an interest. One day I brought Lou with me. You could see it in his eyes. From the first second he saw a cowboy leave the chute, he was hooked. It’s like…” His father tilted his head back and seemed to consider something. “It’s like when you see a savant do complicated math equations. Your dad just had a knack for seeing everything from three hundred and sixty degrees. The first time he got on the back of one of those broncos, he was hooked. It took him two years to break his first record and he was still technically a kid.”

Two years of practice.

Two years of hard work and obsession over something he was passionate about.

Brent could relate.

“Honestly, I didn’t think he would ever find something he liked more than riding.” His father gave Brent a knowing look. “Until he met your mother.”

Goosebumps rose all over Brent’s body.

“Those two were end game. Every time they looked at each other, there were stars in their eyes. And best of all? Your mother completely supported his dream to make it big. She was willing to walk away from her family for him. To follow him around the world. They were just kids but they knew what they wanted.”

A pang of empathy squeezed Brent’s chest. His father had watched a love story play out in front of him. He’d watched his best friends fall for each other and plan a future, only to witness it crumble.

His father’s eyes shone with anguish. “She found out she was pregnant with your brother shortly before graduating but she didn’t tell anyone. It would have been a scandal. Didn’t matter that it had been a mistake between hormonal teenagers. Didn’t matter that they were in love. She knew no one would understand so she left. We all did. Carved our own paths. Three years, Brent. We had three years of paradise. I dated around but never got attached. Your parents married. Tripp was born. Lou broke record after record.”

“Then the accident happened.”

His father nodded and swallowed hard. “Your mother didn’t leave the trailer for weeks after the funeral. I helped take care of Tripp. We were trying to figure out what to do next when she told me she was pregnant with you.”

Silence hung in the room. Anticipation. Brent knew what came next. They got married. They started a new life.

Clearing his throat, his father shifted. “I don’t know that we were in love when we got married. It was the right thing to do. I swore I’d take care of your mother and Tripp when Lou died and it just… made sense. Your mother insisted we put as much distance between us and the rodeo circuit. Heck, she wanted to settle down in the suburbs or in the city as long as she didn’t have to look at another horse. So that was what we did.” He dragged a hand down his face. “Eventually, we did fall in love.” He cut Brent a look out of the corner of his eye. “The kind of love you have for your best friend. It’s soft and comforting. It’s consistent and it grounds you.”

“But it wasn’t the same way she felt for Louis.”

His father shook his head. “No, I think a part of her heart died with him that day. You don’t get over that kind of connection—the one that steals the oxygen from your lungs. The one that makes your heart stall in your chest. The one that makes you wish you could be swallowed up by the earth itself if it meant seeing that person one more time.” There was a wistfulness in his voice. He’d sacrificed so much.

“Do you regret it?” Brent asked, his voice breaking. “Do you regret…” he couldn’t bring himself to say the rest. Did he regret becoming a father to children that weren’t his? Did he regret giving his heart to someone who couldn’t fully reciprocate it?

There was no hesitation when his father responded. “Absolutely not. I’m exactly where I needed to be. I can’t say any of it has been easy, but when you love someone as much as I loved your parents, you will do anything to see them happy.” He offered a reassuring smile. “That’s not to say I’m not happy. I couldn’t have asked for anything more than I was blessed with.”

“Did you ever want more children?”

He shrugged. “We tried. But it turns out I’m not capable. If it weren’t for you and your brother, I might not have known how rewarding it was to be a father.”

Brent snorted. “I don’t think we made it easy on you.”

“No,” his father agreed, “you didn’t.”

They were quiet again for a long moment then Brent whispered, “Lonestar Threads offered me a sponsorship tonight.” He tensed, waiting for his father to respond. When nothing was said, he peeked over.

There was a wide smile on his father’s face and his eyes were shining. “That’s amazing, son.”

Son.

Brent hadn’t realized how much he’d needed to hear his father say that word since discovering who Louis was. He gave a wry smile in return. “Yeah, I guess it is.”

“You guess? Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted?”

Brent’s thoughts shifted to Faith. “I thought it was, but now I’m not so sure.” Was it bad he was already considering walking away from everything he’d been chasing all because a girl with pretty eyes and a heart-stopping smile cared for him? Probably.

His father remained silent as Brent attempted to find the words that would explain how he was feeling.