“Sometimes. I’m usually well-balanced, but some people just push all the wrong buttons.”
His bark of laughter had her lips twitching.
They ran in silence after that and were soon entering town.
“You have a nice singing voice. How come you didn’t sing in the school band?” Ryan asked her.
“Mostly because I had to work.” That was BS, and they both knew it, but thankfully Ryan didn’t call her on it. School band practice had mainly been during lunch hour, and sometimes right after school. The truth was that she didn’t have the confidence to do it without Noah, and he sang like a toddler.
Faith might seem like she had it all going on, but she was mostly acting. In fact, she didn’t have the confidence most people credited her with.
“Seems like a waste since you can sing like that.” They stopped outside The Howler and both looked at the space the facility was going to be in. His mother was protesting with a placard that said, “This is Not a Unanimous Decision.”
“That woman.” He sighed. “I sometimes think that if her every wish was granted and the world was exactly as she wanted it to be, she’d find a fault in it.”
“You gotta admire her conviction.”
“Do I hafta?” He sounded like a ten-year-old.
Faith smiled. She could do this—be nice and polite. He’d be gone again soon, and maybe then she could think of Ryan Lawrence without a wash of acid in her stomach. She’d carried her anger toward him for too long; it was time to move on.
So maybe this adult version of the boy she’d once know was hotter, sexier, and a lot of other things, but she’d changed too. She could be a grown-up.She was a grown-up!
“I bet she’s making them pay for going against her,” Ryan said softly. He then raised a hand, and his mother stopped long enough to wave back, which surprised the hell out of Faith. She never remembered her waving like that before. Public gestures of acknowledgement weren’t really Militant’s thing.
“Want a coffee, Mom?” he called. She raised a thumb upward.
Ryan looked at Faith and must have seen her surprise. “What?”
“Your mom, she seems a bit more…”
“Relaxed? Human?”
“Approachable.”
“She’s protesting.”
“She just waggled her fingers at you,” Faith added. “I’ve never seen her do something like that before. Or raise her thumb like that.”
“I guess you’re right.” He looked at his mom and then shrugged. “So, concerts will be happening in the new facility. That will be cool for the teenagers.”
“Well, you can be sure the book club won’t try and book Talon.”
“Why?” He looked genuinely confused. “The guys would love to come here and see this place. I’ve told them about it enough.”
“Well… I mean, it’s not really….” Faith was actually at a loss how to reply. Surely he knew why.
“I’m not too big for my hometown, Faith.”
The words were spoken quietly, and she had a feeling she’d disappointed him in some way.
“Thanks for the run, see you around.” He began to walk away.
“Ryan.”
He turned.
“I—ah, thanks for the run.”