Faking Faith by Josie Bloss Page A

stop .
    “So, what have you been up to today?” I asked, trying to distract myself.
    He shrugged, wiping his forehead with a red-and-white checked bandana he had in his pocket. It was adorable.
    “This and that,” he said. He leaned back against some bales of straw that were stacked behind the barn, letting himself slide down until he was crouched on the ground. “Dad’s got me running all over today. I sometimes hide out back here, too.”
    “It’s a good hiding spot,” I said, sitting down beside him, the straw tickling my back as I crouched. “Sort of like its own little world.”
    As I sat down, I felt Asher go still next to me, like a startled woodland creature.
    “Y-You know, I better go,” he said quickly, glancing around, sounding almost in a panic. He moved to stand up.
    “Why? Can’t you take a break?” I asked, inwardly cringing as I hoped that didn’t sound flirty.
    “Well … ”
    “Um, sorry. I’ll just move down here,” I said, getting up and walking at least ten feet away to stand by some neglected gardening tools. “Is this okay?”
    I grinned at him as I sat down again, and he smiled uncertainly back. I hoped he saw at least some of the absurdity of the situation, but I couldn’t count on it. He was still a total mystery.
    Though one thing was for sure—Asher was obviously a guy who was comfortable with silence. He sat there, not looking at me, until I couldn’t resist breaking the calm.
    “Abigail said you took some classes at a community college,” I said.
    Asher nodded, still not looking at me.
    “How was it? I’ve always wondered.”
    He looked over at me and blinked. “About college?” he asked.
    “Just curious. What sort of classes?”
    Asher actually looked like he was on the verge of blushing, his tanned cheeks pink. “Various subjects,” he said. “But computers, mostly.”
    “That’s cool,” I said.
    He laughed morosely. “Well, it was cool. Past tense.”
    “Why did you stop?” I asked. I was curious to see if he would openly admit the truth.
    “Dad decided there wasn’t much point in it,” Asher said, staring off across the back field. “And he’s right. I’m just going into the building business with him, and there aren’t really any computers to program while you’re putting up a house.”
    “I guess,” I said. It was the same sort of reasoning Abigail had used. If your path was fixed, why bother learning what else was out there? In a way, it was easier. You’d never know regret.
    “It—it—it’s just, I’ve always been interested in computers, you know?” he said quickly, sounding a little ashamed. “Ever since we got one when I was a kid, I’ve been playing around with it, trying to figure out how it works, writing little programs and things. I built Abi’s site, and other people have tried to hire me to build websites. But Dad doesn’t think that’s important work, because it’s not actually building something physical, just messing around with 1’s and 0’s, as he says. And then with all the other stuff that happened … ” He stopped.
    “What other stuff?” I asked innocently.
    “Oh, nothing you need to know about,” he muttered.
    “Try me,” I said.
    He gave me a doubtful look, knitting together his eyebrows.
    Then he opened his mouth, as if he were about to talk, and closed it again. His lips were a thin, determined line. “No, i-i-it’s shameful … nothing a nice girl like you needs to hear,” he finally said.
    Ha, nice. As if.
    “But—” I said.
    “I’m sure Abigail has told you some of it,” he said, standing up. “She has trouble keeping quiet sometimes. But honestly, Faith, it’s really best if you stay away from me. I’m damaged goods, and I’m not going to drag anyone else down with me. I swore I wouldn’t.”
    “Asher, you wouldn’t—”
    He interrupted again, almost pleading with me. “Faith, p-please don’t.”
    He shook his head and started to walk by me, on his way back toward the