Page 30 of Worth the Trouble

Cecelia’s head snapped up and she met her father’s eyes.

He nodded, scrubbing his jaw as he continued to search her face. “I’m not giving you the chance to strike out on your own when I’m using all your skills for myself. Perhaps when we get back home, we can find a few businesses who could use your services here and there.”

Her pulse raced as she tried to make sense of what her father was saying. She hadn’t expected this turn of events. Here she was, taking a step forward, and she knew she needed to be reacting differently, but she couldn’t even manage a smile or to verbalize her thanks.

She was saved from doing any of that when their waitress arrived to take their order. After that, her father was all business. Apparently, Kyle had come through. There was a meeting on the books. Now, they just needed to wait and see how many people would show as long as word didn’t spread too far.

Wendy had been right. The party at Sagebrush was epic.

There was a bonfire at the edge of the backyard. All kinds of snacks from chips to sandwiches were spread out on a table. There were even more options for drinks. So many people mingled around that Cecelia was as much the stranger as she had been at the party that Kyle had taken her to.

Only this party was different. Most every guy wore a cowboy hat and boots. The girls wore similar outerwear, though a few of them were happy in tennis shoes. There was music and laughter but at the base of it all, these people were more genuine.

It wasn’t fair that Cecelia was comparing and judging the people she’d met over the last few weeks. And yet there was no denying the differences.

Unfortunately, there was just as much talk about the development of the property out past the Dennison land, and she knew in her gut that was the parcel she and her father had set their sights on.

Those conversations were the biggest reason she didn’t tell anyone who she was or where she came from. Wendy had taken pity on her more than once and told everyone that Cecelia had come with her. Thankfully, no one pressed too much.

She stood in a circle with several women who were part of the Sagebrush family. There was Wendy, Serenity, and Faith. And it turned out that Lydia and Faith were sisters. Wendy and Serenity were married into the Sagebrush Ranch family, as Faith had been. Apparently, there were far more men in that huge family than women but since they were all cousins, Cecelia had a harder time trying to figure out who was related to whom because their last names didn’t fit.

It should have been overwhelming to be part of a crowd this big, being dragged from group to group and meeting too many people to be able to keep them straight. But it wasn’t. Cecelia loved it.

“So, Faith, I heard that your brother is seeing somebody,” Wendy drawled.

Faith and Lydia glanced at each other. Faith’s expression seemed to tell her sister to keep quiet. But Lydia wasn’t having any of it. “Jason? Jason doesn’t see anybody. Jason sees horses.”

Cecelia straightened up at Jason’s name. Her eyes bounced from Faith to Lydia and back. Wait a minute. Were these his sisters? How had she not made the connection yet?

Faith shook her head. “I wouldn’t say he’s seeing anybody. But he’s been in town a lot more than the feed store needs him.”

“But there is something there,” Wendy pressed.

Lydia shrugged while Faith said nothing at all.

Wendy hollered, making Cecelia startle. “Tripp owes me a date night!”

At that, all the girls smiled but Cecelia frowned. “Why?”

“Because I said that Jason would be the next one to fall in love, and Tripp said he’d die a bachelor.” She shrugged and raised an eyebrow.

“Hey,” Lydia snapped.

Wendy held up both hands. “I didn’t say that was a bad thing. It’s not. Everyone knows that he’s a sweet guy, but at the same time we hardly know him. How is anyone supposed to fall in love with him when he doesn’t talk?”

“He talks plenty.” Lydia defended her brother with a frown. “He just doesn’t waste words on stuff that doesn’t matter.” She was irritated, and Faith had to place a hand over hers to help her settle. Before either one of them could come to Jason’s defense, Cecelia stepped in.

“There’s nothing wrong with not incessantly running your mouth. And frankly, the quiet ones can be easier to get along with.”

“How do you figure?” Wendy asked.

Cecelia thought back to the man she was quickly falling for. He was quiet, for sure, but he listened well. When he acted, when he spoke, it was important. He didn’t fill the void with fluff. “When someone only shares what’s important to them, then it carries more weight. You don’t have to slog through words and try to make sense of anything that might contradict itself. Sounds like Jason is the kind of guy who values brevity. It’s a lost art, in my opinion.”

Both Lydia and Faith offered her grateful smiles, and she nodded. They didn’t know that she was interested in their brother, but they could appreciate that she understood him regardless. The conversation moved on after that for which Cecelia was grateful but only in part.

She craved to ask them more about Jason. While she knew her feelings had shot to surprising heights, she still wanted to know parts of him she wasn’t sure he’d willingly share.

Cecelia continued to glance in Faith and Lydia’s direction when she thought they weren’t looking. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sneaky enough. Or perhaps Faith and Lydia were more observant than Cecelia had given them credit for.