Page 5

5

FAITH

T here are two ways to handle the kind of emotional whiplash Keith just put me through.

Option A: cry into a pint of Halo Top, rewatch The Notebook , and text him something tragically poetic like “Hope you find what you’re looking for.”

Option B: pour all that confused, pent-up, post-Rumspringa energy into dirt. Sunflowers. And a watering can.

So here I am. Saturday afternoon. Still in my old jeans, kneeling in the garden behind my parents’ house, talking to the cucumber seedlings like they’re going to give me life advice, when my phone buzzes in the back pocket of my jeans.

Maya: Five minutes away

Faith: Perfect

I smile as I finish watering the lilac. After everything that’s happened this week, I’m so ready for a girls’ night.

Last weekend was brutal. I got chewed out by Aunt Miranda after my count was off, again. Then Keith pulled his Rumspringa stunt and didn’t leave me a tip—didn’t even pay for his meal, actually, so I had to cover him. On top of that, the lady at table eighteen sent back her dinner and demanded a comp.

By the end of the night? I should’ve lost money.

The only reason I didn’t?

Hunter Holloway’s table.

They left a tip so big I stared at it for a full sixty seconds before I could move.

One thousand dollars. In cash.

Of course, I told my family—I’m the type of person who can’t keep a secret to save her own life—and they immediately said the house had to split it.

Sometimes I think being too honest might be a flaw. But also… the restaurant’s been struggling this summer. Aunt Miranda made some choices with the menu and décor, and business has been bleeding out since Holloway’s Hideout opened just down the street.

As I rinse my hands in the outdoor sink, my dad walks outside.

“Honey, I’m glad your friends are coming,” he says. “I wanted to have a little talk with you before they get here.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know what you girls are up to tonight. I trust you now that you’re twenty-one. But just remember—we’ve got obligations tomorrow. Nine thirty a.m. sharp.”

“Church, Daddy. I know.”

“What are you up to tonight?”

“I honestly... am not sure.”

My dad narrows his eyes. “Well, if you’re in town, don’t go to Holloway’s Hideout.”

“Why, Daddy?”

“Faith, when you’re an Easton, there are some things you’ve just got to do. And not supporting the competition is one of them.”

I suppress a sigh. “We don’t plan on it.”

“And will your friends be joining us at church tomorrow?”

Before I can answer, the back patio door slides open—my mom must’ve let them in.

“FAITH!!” Maya screams as she barrels into the yard at full sprint. My dad barely has time to react before she throws herself at me with a full-body, koala-bear hug.

“So good to see you!” I laugh, hugging her back.

April trails behind her, grinning.

Ever since she started dating Morgan, she’s gone from shy to radiant. Love looks good on her—like someone flipped the light on inside her soul.

“Hello, Mr. Easton!” April chirps, turning toward my dad. “I don’t know what Faith’s told you about Greene State, but I honestly don’t know what I’d do without her. Your daughter is precious. And since you raised her, I can only assume you’re amazing parents.”

“Yes,” Maya adds with a wink, completely deadpan. “And sexy, too. You guys have great genetics. ”

My daddy—part-time preacher, full-time Southern gentleman—freezes. Opens his mouth. Shuts it. Honestly, it's kind of a thrill watching Maya short-circuit the man who once gave an entire sermon on purity and modesty.

That’s Maya for you. She’s not bi, technically. But she’s also not not bi. She’s just… Maya. And she rocks.

We head back inside to the kitchen, where the rest of my friends are already chopping garlic and onions with my mom, like they’ve lived here all their lives.

April, Alex, and Maya are all gathered around the counter. DJ (Alex’s boyfriend) and Grant (Maya’s boyfriend) are handling the steak. Finn and Chris are balling up the ground beef and belting “That’s Amore” like it’s karaoke night.

My heart swells. There’s just something about being surrounded by your people—your chosen people—that makes the rest of life’s chaos fade into the background. For now, at least.

“Yo, what’s up, Faith?” DJ calls out. “Really cool to see where you’re from.”

The other guys echo him, offering waves and smiles.

“Oh, Faith, could you open those cans of beans on the counter?” my mom asks.

“Of course.” I grab the can opener and join the action. “So—how was the drive?”

“It was wonderful,” April says. “We had two cars, so every time we took a break, we played musical chairs. It was a ten-hour drive, so we had to keep it entertaining.”

“Morgan couldn’t come?” I ask.

She shrugs. “He’s back with the team. Baseball stuff.”

“Holy crap, April!” Grant yells from the living room, flipping through channels. “Morgan’s starting for Seattle today. He’s going up against Jake Napleton.”

He turns back to us, eyes wide. “Like, the Jake Napleton. Isn’t he like the GOAT of all pitchers?”

Daddy perks up, curious. “Wait just a minute. Y’all know Morgan Kennedy? That new prospect for Seattle?”

“I think SportsCenter was running a feature about him,” I say, thinking back to last night—right before they cut to Hunter.

“That’s April’s boyfriend, Daddy. He’s a couple years older and played at Greene State.”

April blushes, smiling with pride.

Daddy looks impressed. “How did you two meet?”

April’s cheeks go redder . “It’s a really long and complicated story,” she says.

I bite down on my lip to keep from laughing.

Because the actual story? It starts with Maya having extremely loud, swinging-from-the-rafters makeup sex with Grant, locking April out of her dorm room, and ends with April having a one-night stand with Morgan…who turned out to be her boss at her internship.

So yeah. Definitely not a story Daddy needs to hear.

“It’s not that complicated,” Maya chimes in. “April was sexiled. She got sick of it.”

My cheeks flush instantly. Maya’s family clearly didn’t operate with the same… discretion as mine when it came to certain topics. In this house, sex may as well not exist. It’s private. It’s sacred. It’s definitely not something you bring up while making chili.

Maya, of course, did not grow up in a household like mine. And she obviously doesn’t have the same filter.

“She was what?” my mom asks, eyebrows lifting as she stirs the onions. “Exiled?”

“No,” Maya says, completely unbothered. “ Sexiled. It means you can’t go into your room because your roommates are having sex. Her roommates being me and Grant. We’d just gotten back together, and she was locked out. So she decided to go back to Morgan Kennedy’s hotel and…”

My mom drops the knife in her hand. It lands point-down between her feet, sticking in the linoleum like something out of a horror movie.

“Mom!” I gasp. “Be careful! You wouldn’t know we come from a family of cooks the way you just dropped that.”

“I’m sorry,” she says quickly, blinking like she just woke up from a spell. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Maya,” my dad says slowly, keeping his face polite but strained. “I think we get the idea. No need to go into detail. Anyway, I’m glad you’re all here. Truly. Faith tells us how welcome you made her feel at Greene State, and that’s what matters to me. Seems like she’s as special to you as she is to us.”

He glances around at my friends, and smiles tightly. “But in this household, we don’t talk about the details of stories like that. Those are for private conversations.”

Maya’s eyes go wide. “Oh. My bad, Mr. Easton. Totally respect the rules of the house.”

She gives a little salute and goes back to stirring the pot like nothing happened.

There’s a beat of silence—just the chop of knives on cutting boards, and the faint echo of the SportsCenter announcer narrating Morgan’s game in the background.

This is the collision of two worlds.

My college friends are open. Unfiltered. They talk about sex like it’s weather. In my house? The entire “birds and bees” talk I got at fifteen was: It’s a sin to do it, Faith. Wait until you’re married.

Daddy clears his throat, trying to break the tension. “Anyway, Faith is engaged to a great, local young man—Keith Stinson—so she’s not doing any of this… sexiling you speak of.”

He attempts a laugh, but it comes out sounding like a cough-groan hybrid. My friends smile politely—seventy percent grimace, thirty percent God bless this man, he’s trying .

“Yeah,” my friend Alex says after a pause, clearly jumping on the grenade. “She’s told us all about Keith. He seems… great.”

“He is ,” Daddy beams. “Terrific young man from an even better family. She’s going to make us proud. Once they get married, we’ll celebrate the joining of two great Vansborough families—the Stinsons and the Eastons.”

I smile. Politely. And keep my mouth shut.

Because, yeah—he doesn’t know about Keith’s “let’s cool our jets” announcement last weekend. I’m not telling him, either. I’d rather jump into a vat of chili than explain that conversation. This is very much a what Daddy doesn’t know won’t hurt him situation.

April and I lock eyes across the counter. There’s a flicker of understanding in her expression.

Because she knows. She’s the only one who does.

She’s also the one who asked me point blank if I wanted to sow some wild oats of my own.

And I didn’t have an answer. Still don’t. That fact alone bugs me more than I want to admit.

Because honestly? It never occurred to me that I might want to. I always pictured my life going one clean, safe direction. I wanted things to be simple .

But apparently, Keith wants something a little more complicated.

And besides—who would I even sleep with?

It’s not like I’ve got anyone on the backburner.

Right?

* * *

While the chili slow cooks, I take all eight of my friends out to the barn.

“This is so freaking cool. Can we sleep out here?” Grant asks.

“Uh… the barn? Instead of the house?”

“Well, we’ve got our sleeping bags anyway for the camping trip next week. I feel like it’d be more fun out here.”

I shrug. “Sure. Suit yourself.”

I show them around the property where I grew up—walk them past the garden, point out the pear tree that’s been there longer than I have. The guys gravitate toward the four-wheelers immediately, and within five minutes they’ve torn off into the fields like it’s the X Games. The girls and I hang back, brushing down the horses in the stalls.

“So… that was a little awkward,” Maya says, running her fingers through my mare’s mane. “My bad. Didn’t mean to get all graphic in front of your family. That’s just totally normal conversation at my house. I need to recalibrate. I forget I’m in the Bible Belt.”

“It’s okay,” I say, waving a hand. “They probably needed a little lightening up anyway.”

“Faith,” April says, suddenly serious. “We need to talk about you . What the hell—sorry, heck—is going on with Keith? I tried explaining it to the girls on the way down, but they weren’t getting this whole ‘we’re engaged but taking a break’ thing.”

I roll my eyes. “Keith and I are sort of on a temporary pause. Of his choosing,” I say, twisting my engagement ring.

“You broke up?” Alex asks. “April told us a little, but I thought I misunderstood.”

“No, we didn’t break up. Not exactly. We’re definitely getting married. He’s just… in D.C. for the summer, and we’re hitting the pause button until he’s back.”

“When’s he coming back?”

I shrug, eyes glossing over. “I don’t know. He hasn’t really… talked to me since he left.”

“Not really? Or not at all?” April presses.

“I haven’t heard from him at all.” My throat tightens. “I think that’s part of the whole ‘Rumspringa’ thing—we’re not supposed to talk. So we can, um… explore. Or something.”

I choke on the words as they come out, the reality settling hard. The silence. The distance. The fact that the man I’m supposed to marry hasn’t so much as texted me in a week.

Maya rubs my back. “So he’s ghosting you. And calling it Rumspringa.”

I wipe a tear from the corner of my eye. “It’s fine. He just needs space. He’ll come back. It’s… it’s just my cross to bear.”

April folds her arms. “Faith, you’re looking at this all wrong. If he’s out there living his wild oats fantasy, then maybe you should be too.”

She taps her nose. Danger sign.

“Faith, what happened to your trench coat?”

“My…trench coat?”

“Yeah. The one I borrowed when I went to Morgan’s hotel that night. You know, naked underneath .”

“Oh,” I wave a hand, trying to laugh. But my stomach flips—because the second she says that, guess who flashes across my brain?

Hunter Holloway.

I wonder what he’d do if I showed up to his house like that.

Would he eat me alive with his eyes the same way he did when I waited on him?

Okay, fine, I didn’t just wonder. I may or may not have Googled Hunter Holloway shirtless this morning. For… science.

The man is ridiculous. Abs like granite, shoulders that look built by NASA, hands that are both huge and somehow elegant. And yes, there’s a certain uniform photo where a certain… bulge was hard to ignore.

And okay, yes, I did hear that rumor back in high school.

The one about… well. You know. The kind of rumor a girl doesn’t repeat in her daddy’s barn.

Maya wiggles her eyebrows. April nods. “What do you know about the sex club around here?”

“Excuse me?” I blink. “We have one?”

“Grant and I have a friend in Chicago who told us about it,” Maya says. “It’s called Mont du Marquette . Also known as Club Masquerade .”

“A sex club named after a missionary,” I quip. “Very on-brand for Tennessee.”

“Marquette was also an explorer,” DJ chimes in from the side and winks at Alex.

I side-eye Maya. “Okay. Why are you telling me this?”

Maya grins. “Because after dinner with your family, we’re all going.”

“Well, that sounds like fun… for y’all . Because I’m not going.”

Alex adds, “And you are coming, Faith.”

My stomach flips again. But this time, it’s not nerves. It’s heat.

“What’s the dress code?” I ask, trying to sound indifferent.

They all burst out laughing.

“Anything you can imagine,” Maya says. “The world is your oyster.”

Before I can come up with a good excuse, I spot my dad wandering out to the barn with a beer in hand. He leans over the stall gate and scratches my horse behind the ear.

“So… y’all figure out what you’re doing tonight?”

My mouth dries. But Maya, cool as ever, jumps in.

“We’re heading to this barn dance party one town over. Our college friend told us about it.”

She shoots me a look that says: Back me up.

“It’s over in, uh… Van Buren County,” I say, palms slick with sweat.

Oh my God. I just lied to my daddy.

“That’s a bit of a drive.”

“I’m not drinking,” DJ says quickly. “Since I’m training. I’ll keep an eye on everyone, Mr. Easton. Promise.”

Daddy sips his beer, studying DJ like he’s trying to assess his soul. Then he nods.

“Well. Y’all be careful. And have fun.”

He pauses. “But not too much fun.”

“We won’t, Daddy,” I say, forcing a smile.

I mean, it’s just a sex club.

How much fun could we really have?

A beat of silence.

Then from behind me, DJ mumbles with a mouth full of food?—

“Oh, and this chili is amazing.”