Page 53 of Trusting Fate (Hope Falls: Brewed Awakenings 2)

Easton glanced over at her and smiled. “The tree blocked the road, so we ended up getting stranded for the night and the rest is history.”

“Wow, that sounds like fate.” Christian remarked before turning his questions to what they thought their strengths were as a couple in and out of this competition.

Easton took the lead again and it was good because Grace’s mind was like a record skipping since Christian had said fate.

I told you it was fate, she could hear her mom saying.

The thing about fate was, if you were going to believe in it, then you couldn’t just give it credit for the good stuff. You had to be an equal opportunity believer.

So, was it fate that her dad left?

Was it fate that her mom got sick?

Was it fate that Grace ended up being the guardian of all three of her sisters one month after she turned eighteen?

If it was, she didn’t trust fate.

* * *

Easton sat beside Grace in the back of an SUV that was taking them to their property. He wanted so badly to pull her into his arms. He couldn’t get over how much he’d missed Grace. Ever since the morning they’d found out that they were cast, he’d caught a few glimpses of her around town, but he hadn’t seen her at all at the B&B.

He didn’t think that was an accident. She’d been avoiding him; he just wasn’t sure why. She’d said that she wanted to spend time with her sisters before filming started, which he believed. But he was pretty sure it was more than that.

He wanted to ask but she’d been typing on her phone since they got in the SUV. She’d barely said anything to him since the interview. He wasn’t sure if she was upset about something he said, or maybe it was something he hadn’t said.

Since this reality show was her idea, and she had such a take-charge personality, he’d assumed that she would have taken the lead in the interview, which he would have been more than fine with. This was her rodeo he was just here to perform. But instead of running the show, she’d taken a back seat, especially when it came to questions about them. So he’d answered.

Had he said too much?

Had he not said enough?

Had he said the wrong thing?

He was second guessing himself and he didn’t like it.

He’d never second guessed himself in his life. Even when he was a teen, he’d never really gone through an awkward phase where he was unsure of what to do or say. He’d always had an innate confidence in himself. But when it came to Grace, he didn’t. She brought out insecurities he never knew he had.

The car came to a stop in front of an A-frame home surrounded by pine trees. The first thing Easton noticed was the wood siding, which was a putrid green color, was rotted and the roof had seen better days. If this is what the exterior looked like, he was sure the plumbing and electrical wasn’t up to code.

“It’s…cute,” Grace said as she stared out at the same house he was looking at.

It was obvious, to him at least, that she was trying to put on a brave face. She was definitely going glass half full with her observation, which he appreciated.

“What do you think?” she asked, turning to look at him.

He wasn’t going to lie, but he also didn’t want to rain on her optimistic parade. “Cute wasn’t the first word that jumped to mind.”

Her lips curled at the corners. “What was the first word that jumped to mind?”

“Dump,” he stated flatly.

A wide smile broke across her face. “It’s a cute dump.”

The next thing he knew the passenger door beside Grace opened and Maura, their PA-slash-field producer stuck her head inside the SUV. “Stop!”

“What?” they both said.

“Don’t say anything about the house! Save it for air.” Maura stepped back and held the door open.

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