“How’s the scene for that in Helena?” I asked.
There was a slight pause. “It’s tricky,” Brent finally said. “I’m fully clean. Totally sober. And I’m trying not to go out to bars because I’m afraid that’s going to lead me right back to where I was in White Bluff. But I’m not really sure how to meet girls if I’m not out at bars. There’s this one girl, Maggie, that I work with, and we get along pretty well; we have similar senses of humor. But she’s a nice girl. If she knew the kinds of things that I’d been up to, I don’t think she’d want anything to do with me anymore.”
I grimaced. “That’s rough,” I said. “What kinds of things do you get up to when you’re not working, anyway?” It sounded stupid to say, but Brent never had any hobbies other than getting stoned and playing video games.
Brent laughed. “Figuring out what to do with myself has been kind of weird,” he said. “You’d laugh if you knew the stupid things I’ve been doing.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“My counselor at the local drug clinic here in Helena has signed me up for all sorts of classes at the community college,” he said. “Obviously I’m the one footing the bill for them, and I wouldn’t actually be signed up for them if I had protested enough about them, but I still don’t really know what’s going on.”
“You’re going to community college?” I asked, surprised to hear that.
“Well, we couldn’t all find our passions at the ranch up the road in White Bluff,” Brent said.
I shook my head. “What are you studying anyway?”
“At the moment? It seems like a li
ttle bit of everything. She has me in a goddamned painting class.” He paused. “I’d drop out of it, but Maggie saw my paintbrushes sticking out of my bag at one point and got really excited and told me all about her passion for art, so I don’t know, man, I just... haven’t dropped it yet.”
I laughed, still trying to join this new side of Brent with the image of Brent that I had in my head. “Sounds like things are going well,” I said.
“What about you?” Brent asked. “How are things going between you and Vanessa? To be honest, I thought that maybe you weren’t talking to me because you’d broken up with her or something.”
“Can’t break up with her since we technically aren’t dating,” I pointed out. I sighed. “Things are going really well, but we still haven’t really talked about what we’re doing. Anyway, I don’t really feel like I could date her at the moment, not properly, not the way that she deserves. I don’t have much to bring to the table. She has a college degree, and her dad owns the ranch that I work on. This bull riding competition could change all of that, though.”
“Because then she’d know what a real cowboy you are?” Brent asked, sounding amused.
“No,” I said, grinning. “Because if I win this thing, I’ll get ten thousand bucks in prize money. And I’m going to invest every penny of it into the art gallery that she’s trying to open.”
Brent whistled lowly. “Wow,” he said. “That’s a pretty romantic gesture for you.”
I snorted. “It’s not really romantic; it’s just what needs to be done,” I said, shrugging and feeling embarrassed despite the fact that Brent was my best friend and obviously already knew that I was in love with Vanessa still, after all these years.
“Not to stress you out, but you are the most driven guy that I’ve ever met,” Brent said quietly. “I’m serious. Despite the drugs and everything else. And seriously, good luck at the competition. I’m sure you’ll do an amazing job at it.”
I stared at the wall for a moment, trying to process that one. “Thanks,” I finally said thickly. “Just. Thanks.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Vanessa
Julie folded her menu and looked over at me, raising her eyebrows. “So, come on,” she said. “Spill.”
I laughed and held up both my hands. “There’s nothing to spill,” I told her.
“Bullshit,” she said succinctly. “You were downright giddy on the phone. What’s changed?”
I shook my head, still grinning. “The gallery thing might actually be happening,” I told her.
“What? How?”
“It’s due to Trethan, actually,” I said. “Nothing’s set in stone yet, but he’s going to give me the money if everything goes well.” I giggled a little. “I honestly don’t know how I got so lucky to have such a great family and now to find such a perfect man.”
“How is Trethan going to give you thousands of dollars?” Julie asked, sounding skeptical. “I mean, what, has he just been saving up all this money over the years and now is ready to invest it in something? I can’t imagine that your dad is paying him that well.”
“It’s not from working at the ranch,” I said. “He’s been practicing riding the mechanical bull over at the Roasted Bison, and he’s getting really good at it. Anyway, this guy saw him ride a couple weeks ago and wants Trethan to feature in some amateur competition. If he wins, he’ll get ten thousand dollars in prize money.”