Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 74968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Faith stayed silent for several long minutes on our drive back to the ranch before she took a deep breath. “I’m on the outside of my life looking in. Hannah is thriving with Maverick as her guardian. She’s riding horses far better than I ever did, she’s deep into a TV show I’ve never heard of, and she’s doing advanced math in school and talking about friends and teachers I haven’t met yet.”
“That’s hard and a lot to sit with.” I chose my words carefully. Faith hadn’t shared at the meeting, and I was a little surprised she’d opened up here in the truck. I wanted to validate her without denying the truth that Maverick was providing her daughter with a stability Faith had struggled with in the past. “How are you coping?”
“Barely. I alternate between keeping my distance and showing interest in Hannah’s new life, but I seem to keep asking the wrong questions.” Faith’s cultured voice took on a mournful edge.
“She’s also a teenager,” I pointed out as I slowed for an ancient farm truck plodding along. “Teens are notorious for not talking.”
“True.” Faith didn’t sound like she bought my logic.
“Sometimes all you can do is keep trying. Take it one interaction at a time.” I gave the same sort of advice we heard over and over at the meetings, hoping that it might resonate with Faith this time.
“Maverick keeps urging me to find a new passion.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “Wish I had a clue where to start. So far, I’ve tried bead art, adult coloring, and card making, but crafting isn’t cutting it.”
“Trying to fill empty hours is hard.” I knew that particular pain well, but I wanted to keep the focus on Faith. Besides, my days were much fuller lately, what with Grayson and the dogs as well as work and bunkhouse activities like the card games. I glanced over at Faith as she stared vacantly out the truck window. “What did you want to be when you were younger?”
“Me?” Keeping her face turned away, she shrugged. “Nothing serious.”
“I wanted to be a cowboy. In New Jersey.” I gave a hearty laugh, inviting her to join in at my younger self’s expense. “That or I wanted to operate a carnival. Trust me, I know all about unrealistic dreams.”
“I wanted to be a hair stylist.” Faith’s voice was so soft that I had to strain to hear her over the hum of the truck heater. “My favorite place in town was the little beauty shop where my mother would take me to get my hair trimmed. I thought hairdressers had the best job—get all the town gossip firsthand and make people happy with a makeover.”
“I love it.”
“But what did I know?” Faith failed to match my enthusiastic tone. “Kids are silly.”
“There’s likely a beauty school in Durango, or you could dream even bigger.” If I weren’t driving, I’d already have my phone out to do a search for her. “Head to Denver or another big city with one of the best schools for hair and makeup, and see where it takes you.”
“You want me to go from Houston society to beauty school?” She scoffed. “And I’m well over forty.”
“So?” I shot back. “How old will you be in five years if you don’t go to beauty school?”
“Funny.” Faith let out a rusty chuckle. “Kat said something similar when I said I was too old to ride a horse.”
“I didn’t know you were friends with Kat.”
“I’m not.” Faith waved a slim hand, bracelet jingling. “We just got to talking while watching the girls ride recently. Willow and Hannah make riding look easy and fun.”
“It is.” I gave her an encouraging grin before finally taking the turn for the ranch, leaving a slow-moving truck behind. “Get on a horse. Let Kat teach you. And think about beauty school.”
“Easy for you to say, cowboy.” Her tone shifted to a light tease. “You’re living your dream.”
“You could too.” I hadn’t forgotten the wistfulness with which she’d shared. “Sometimes you simply have to go for what you want.”
I was much better at giving this advice than taking it. Ever since Grayson nixed my request for a dance, I’d let the topic die, not willing to risk our tentative peace. And sure, I’d learned to ride a horse, but few would mistake me for an actual cowboy. I might be living parts of my childhood dreams, but there were other tightly held dreams and wishes I rarely let myself admit I wanted now more than ever.
“Maybe.” Faith pursed her glossy lips as I pulled in by the main ranch house. “We’re back. Are you staying for dinner?”
“Maverick invited me.” I hopped out and was greeted by a bracing chill. “And I offered to help cook.”
I’d also helped plan the menu, provided decorating assistance, and supervised the girls’ present-wrapping efforts. Would I have been included otherwise? I didn’t particularly want to dwell on that thought. I was excellent at party planning, and if it earned me invitations, who was I to complain?