Page 81 of A Montana Rodeo Star

Inadvertently, Brent’s eyes slipped over to where he knew Faith sat. The last few months had been better than he could have imagined. Between fighting for his dream career and getting the girl, he didn’t have any complaints. At least not until he’d found out the truth of his parentage.

Now he wasn’t sure where he wanted his life to go.

He could stay the course and travel the world. Leave his family behind after everything they kept from him. It wasn’t like he couldn’t come home to visit Tripp and maintain his relationship there.

But Faith? He knew better than to believe he could ask her to come with. Even though he’d been hurt by what she’d kept secret, he still wanted her in his life. Maybe he was crazy. Maybe his feelings went deeper than he’d planned.

“You ever wish you could put up the spurs and be done?” he asked.

Jacob turned to him, eyes searching. A muscle in his jaw worked and he turned to scan the arena. Brent didn’t know what he’d expected when he’d voiced his question, but it wasn’t this. It was as if Jacob didn’t have an answer for him. Maybe he loved the life so much that he couldn’t walk away. Even if a small part of him wanted to put down roots.

His friend sighed. “I don’t know what I would do with myself.”

That was absolutely not the answer Brent expected. “You don’t think you could find joy doing something else? Running a ranch or coaching kids?”

Jacob paused his perusal and his eyes slid to connect with Brent. “Coaching kids? Like with how to compete?”

Brent could feel his body heating beneath Jacob’s penetrating gaze. The only people who knew he had a knack for that sort of thing weren’t exactly speaking to him. But they’d made it clear he was a natural. That was the only reason he’d brought it up.

Right?

He hadn’t voiced the option because it was something he would ever consider after making it this far, was it?

Jacob scrubbed his jaw, taking Brent’s silence as answer enough. “I don’t think so. I mean, I think kids are great and all, but I don’t know that I’d be any good with them.”

Brent almost asked him what he meant by that statement, but he was cut off when a man with a clipboard approached.

“Brent Gilley. You’re up.”

Jacob smiled wide. “You’ve got this, man. Go out there and set their boots on fire.”

Brent chuckled.

“Oh, and Brent?”

He paused and faced Jacob.

“To answer your question? I don’t think there’s anything worth sticking around in one place for.”

“That’s a little… depressing, don’t you think?”

He spread out his arms wide. “After you get a taste for this, there’s no going back. You’ll see.”

Why did that statement fill him with more unease than before? He wanted to compete. He’d dreamed of being a star for longer than he could remember. But suddenly, he wasn’t sure he wanted to make a lifetime career out of it. Did Jacob have a point? Would Brent become addicted to the high he got every time he climbed into the chute?

Once more, his eyes sought out Faith in the stands. But this time, she gave him a small smile.

He didn’t smile back. He couldn’t. For whatever reason, all he could focus on was getting in that saddle and setting out to accomplish everything he’d worked for.

Brent was getting pummeled.

But it was nothing compared to the beating he’d taken while in the saddle. It had been one of the hardest rides of his life. The horse was notorious. Not one cowboy had managed to stay in the saddle for eight seconds in all of history.

No one but Brent Gilley.

He still couldn’t believe it. The second the buzzer sounded and he leaped from the saddle, he thought he might have been having a heart attack for how rapidly it was beating in his chest. He scrambled over the fence that lined the arena and turned to see his score.

The number updated and put him in first place by a hefty lead.