“How many times?” Noah’s jaw muscles were bunched and his eyes narrowed as he looked at her, clearly seriously pissed that she’d kept all this from him.
“How many times what?”
“You know what.”
“It’s not easy to stand up in front of strangers, let alone the people who love you,” Ryan said, stepping into the conversation. He was protecting her. That made a nice little burst of unwelcome heat fill her.
Noah shot him a dark look. “This is between my sister and me.”
“I understand that, bud. But I know this stuff and know what it takes to do what Faith did. Cut her some slack, Noah. I’m sure there’s shit in your life you haven’t told her about in case it goes bad.”
The flash of surprise told Faith there certainly had been something Noah hadn’t shared with her.
“Is Brook the only place you’ve sung?” he asked her.
Faith hesitated. Did she really want to tell him everything?
“I’m already angry; you may as well get it all out now,” Noah said.
“We’ll talk later,” Faith said.
“We’ll talk now.”
Ryan stood to the side between Noah and Faith, as if he was ready to step in again should he be needed.
“It’s okay, Ryan, I won’t kill her here. It will be late at night, and a surprise attack,” Noah said.
Faith snorted.
“And I know you’re right, Ryan. Know I’ve hidden things from her, but I thought I knew pretty much everything there was to know about my sister.”
“What have you hidden from me?” Faith demanded.
“Twins,” Lucy said, moving to Ryan’s side. “They just do stuff differently from the rest of us.”
“Amen,” Ryan added.
“This is about you, so answer the damn question,” Noah demanded.
Faith looked around; most of their friends were close. People would be listening. Howlers loved knowing what was going on in each other’s lives.
“Ryan Lawrence is singing for us tonight. For those of you who don’t know him, he’s part of the band Talon,” Mr. Hope said into the microphone.
Ryan laughed.
“Not everyone thinks you’re a big deal,” Faith snapped, still focused on her brother.
“She didn’t mean that; she just feels comfortable insulting you,” Lucy said, and her words were true. Faith did feel comfortable insulting Ryan. What did that say about her?
“Thanks, I think.”
“I won the Brook karaoke competition, so I went and competed in the state karaoke championship.”
“And you went alone?” Noah’s eyes were sad. “I could have held your tambourine.”
“Ha ha. Look, it’s no big deal, okay. You had a lot going on with Lucy.”
“I’m always there for you, Faith; you know that.” Noah grabbed her, hugging her close. “Don’t do that again, okay. Tell me, and I’ll come with you.”