Chapter 10

  Eli stayed out in the fields as much as she could that day. Her morning with Sarah had left a bad taste in her mouth. She would not continue down that road. She may have wanted to, but she was in no position for it, and she had to put a stop to it. She’d tried while they’d still been together, but she was pretty sure she was just giving off a very odd impression. In hindsight, Eli was kind of okay with that. If Sarah thought she was weird or mean, then she would have to worry less about the star-struck crush she still couldn’t get rid of.

  With Sarah’s first week almost halfway over, she knew she could make it through the rest of the two weeks fine. She’d keep her distance, and everything would be perfect. Without Buddy around, she’d likely be seeing a whole lot less of the curious Sarah anyway.

  When her stomach rumbled in the early afternoon, she knew she had to go into the house and get something to fill it. Not to mention exhaustion had seeped into her bones, and food would no doubt help. Eli still had to fix the darned fence Cassie kept breaking through, and this time she had to really fix it. But to do that, she was going to need two people.

  Sighing, she rubbed the headache building in the back of her skull. Sarah would be the obvious choice since she was around and not really doing anything, not to mention she did seem interested in what it meant to be a rancher. Most people who stayed with her didn’t. They wanted the grand tour, to do the fun stuff, and didn’t really want to do the stuff that sucked, like mucking out stalls, or having to put an animal down she desperately liked and didn’t want to see gone. Cassie was going to be one of those cows when her time came. As much as she irked Eli with her antics, she’d been around for years, and Eli loved her quirky personality.

  She parked her truck, moved through the barn to get everything ready for fixing the fence, and to check on the horse she had stalled since he was having some eating issues. His grain seemed to be gone, so she let him be after a few pets. She’d have to take him for a ride sooner or later. She missed riding, but she had been so busy lately there wasn’t a chance.

  Eli left the barn door open as she trudged her way to the house. It had warmed up since early that morning, but the air still had a chill to it. It was certainly not the time of year when she’d want to be fixing the fence line, but it had to be done. She sat on the chair outside the back door and untied her muddy boots so she could leave them there.

  Her old and cantankerous dog meandered toward her. She petted his head with a chuckle as he set it on her thigh, and she closed her eyes. Sarah was playing. If she hadn’t known who Sarah was before then, she would have known after. It was her most recent number one hit, but it was just her and the guitar.

  Sarah’s voice was firm, loud, and confident as it echoed through the house and out to where Eli sat. As much as she wanted to go inside, she didn’t want to disturb music in the making, and the last time she had snuck in on Sarah, she’d stopped playing immediately and had looked utterly embarrassed and closed off, which had seemed odd for someone whose literal career it was to perform.

  Eli relaxed as Sarah’s voice filled her head. Her voice was clear, firm in each note she sang, the emotion from the song no doubt leading her. That had been why Eli had been attracted to her music in the first place. Sarah hit the pinnacle of the song and lingered on one of the high notes. Eli drew in a shuddering breath, opening her eyes and staring at the door.

  She had to go inside. As Sarah began singing again, and knowing there was only a fraction of the song left, Eli turned the handle on the doorknob and slipped inside as quietly as possible. She shucked her jacket in the kitchen, hanging it on the hook by the back door, and padded in her socks through the kitchen, down the hall, and toward the den.

  Sarah sat facing the window and away from her. Eli leaned on the wall, holding herself up. Sarah didn’t budge as she moved right from one song into the next. Eli’s heart pounded, a voyeur in her own home, witness to something that was by far one of the most intimate things she had ever walked in on.

  With her head bent over the strings, Sarah strummed. This time much quieter than before. She hummed through the melody first, then repeated herself. Eli held her breath tightly in her chest and watched in awe as she was pretty sure music was being created right in front of her. Eli’s stomach tightened. She was intruding, but she couldn’t stop listening.

  The third time through, Sarah’s tender voice made words, humming some of the places where she obviously hadn’t figured out what to say yet.

  “It’s a playful kind of love…”

  Eli swallowed. She should leave, but she couldn’t make herself turn around and go, couldn’t make herself move. Sarah’s fingers slid back and forth on the neck of the guitar as she played different chords repeating and alternating.

  “Hush little baby doesn’t seem right, this is a playful kind of love.”

  With no idea who Sarah was singing about, Eli sighed. It was beautiful to watch her like this, so focused, so narrowed in on what she was doing. Eli wondered briefly how long Sarah had been singing and playing that day. The piano was also uncovered and the bench askew, so she’d obviously worked on the piano as well as the guitar.

  Taking a huge risk, Eli stepped closer and down the two steps into the den. She kept her feet as quiet as possible as she inched forward. She came to a stop at the long couch that faced the window where Sarah sat, continuing to play. Eli rocked up on her toes, her gaze skimming up and down Sarah’s lithe body.

  She was smaller, but she wasn’t small by any means. Sarah had height on her rivaling Eli’s, but when she sat like this, half-covered by the guitar, she looked much smaller. Her hair moved to obscure her face, and Eli imagined her eyes were closed as she focused on what she was doing next. Her heart pounded in her chest as Sarah strummed a chord multiple times in a row as she listened and then changed it.

  Sarah licked her lips and tilted her head back as she hummed again, the melody echoing in the quiet of the house. Eli didn’t want to disturb her, didn’t want to mess up the beauty Sarah was creating right in front of her, but it seemed she wasn’t going to get much of a choice. Her stomach grumbled, rather loudly, and Sarah jerked with a start.

  She twisted around, and Eli stood up straight, her hands out to her sides with her palms facing out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to disturb you.”

  Sarah didn’t answer.

  “Whatever you were creating is beautiful.”

  Sarah’s cheeks paled, her thin lips thinned even more, and she gave Eli a blank, hard stare. Eli wasn’t sure what she’d done to piss her off, but she hoped she’d be able to make it right in some way.

  “I uh…I just came in from the fields and was getting lunch and heard you playing.”

  Again Sarah didn’t answer.

  Eli, thoroughly confused, pointed over her shoulder with her thumb toward the kitchen. “Uh…I’m just going to get food, I guess. I’m sorry, really. I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m so sorry.”

  Backing away until she reached the stairs, Eli then turned on the balls of her feet and booked it for the kitchen. As soon as she was away from Sarah, she pressed both her hands to the cold granite counter tops. Whatever she had done had been the wrong thing. She should not have eavesdropped that way.

  Yelling at herself internally, Eli grabbed a plate and the makings for a sandwich. She was halfway through when she felt Sarah in the room. Eli wondered if everything was going to unravel in that moment, if she’d have to confess her star-struck crush or if she’d get away with hiding it for longer, but she was pretty sure her entire heart was about to be laid bare.

  “I…I don’t normally play in front of other people when I’m writing something.”

  Eli’s shoulders tensed as she slid the knife along the flat side of the bread, spreading out the mayonnaise. She had no idea what to say.

  “You just took me by surprise is all.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, Eli nodded. “Like I said, I’m sorry. I came home to get a late lunch before I go out to fix the fence. I didn’t mean to disturb you. You can go back to playing if you want.”

  “I don’t.” Sarah’s voice had an air of resignation to it.

  Eli skimmed her gaze up and down Sarah’s form. Her shoulders were drawn in, and her eyes cast down toward the floor. Her hair was a mess, like she hadn’t brushed it in days, and all Eli wanted to do was walk toward her, tangle her fingers in Sarah’s mess of hair and kiss her senseless. Swallowing down the feeling, she focused on her sandwich.

  “You eat yet?”

  “No,” Sarah’s voice was quiet.

  “Want one?”

  “Sure.”

  Eli set out a double helping of what she was making. When she turned around with Sarah’s food on a plate, she set it down in front of her. Sarah slid onto the stool and took a tentative first bite. Eli went to the fridge and grabbed some waters before she stood across from Sarah, not daring to get any closer to her. Her crush was only growing instead of dissipating like she had hoped earlier when out in the fields. She was going to have to watch that.

  They ate mostly in silence, and just as Eli was finishing up and about to wash her plate, Sarah’s voice distracted her.

  “You said you were fixing the fence?”

  “Uh…yeah. I can’t keep having Cassie getting out and eating Bill’s wheat.”

  Sarah nodded, her dark eyes locked on Eli’s face. “Can I help you?”

  Stunned, Eli wasn’t quite sure what to say. “You don’t have to work for your room and board, you know.”

  “I know.” Sarah shrugged. “Thought it’d be nice to get outside for a bit instead of staying cooped up.”

  “You don’t want to…you know…” Eli waved her hand toward the den “…finish writing whatever that was.”

  Sarah’s lips quirked into a half-smile. “It’ll take weeks if not months to get the full song out. I need a break from it. Breaks are good.”

  “Oh. Okay. I mean, I guess you can come. Have you ever dug a post hole before?”

  “No.”

  “Ah.” Eli leaned against the sink, facing Sarah. “Got gloves?”

  “Work gloves? No.”

  “Didn’t think so. I’ve got some. You’ll need them, especially if you want to play guitar tomorrow. Don’t need blisters on those pretty hands of yours.”

  “Pretty?”

  Shock ran through Eli’s chest. She hadn’t just said that, had she? She had no idea how to backtrack out of that one, so she turned around and started the water to wash dishes before they left. “You’ll need that jacket I lent you.”

  “Anything else?”

  “The boots.”

  Sarah brought her plate over to the sink, their shoulders brushing as Eli moved to rub soap over her plate. Embarrassment still echoed through her chest at her stupid comment. When Sarah settled her plate in the bottom of the sink and turned, she gripped Eli’s elbow and squeezed.

  “I’ll just be a minute.”

  “Take your time.”

  Sarah grinned and turned slowly away before heading through the house upstairs. Eli relaxed when she was gone and out of sight. She finished the plates and dried them, setting them back into the cabinet where she’d gotten them. She cleaned up the rest of the mess and was finishing just as Sarah came back down. It was going to be a tediously long afternoon. She only hoped she didn’t say anything else stupid.

  They walked quietly down to the barn, but instead of going inside, Eli veered toward the opposite side where her shed was. With a glance over her shoulder, she knew Sarah was confused, but she didn’t explain anything. They were there to fix the fence. Surely Sarah could figure out they needed supplies to do it.

  Ducking into the shed, Eli pulled out the post hole digger and shoved it at Sarah who took it with some hesitation. Eli pulled out two fence posts, some two-by-fours, nails, hammers, a shovel, and a whole lot of attitude. She was going to bar that part of the fence so much that Cassie wouldn’t know what to do with herself when she tried to get out.

  Grunting, Eli lifted the two-by-fours onto her shoulder and started toward the truck. She ditched everything in the bed and turned to see Sarah staring at her from the shed. Confused, Eli narrowed her gaze and put her hand on her hip. “I thought you said you’d help.”

  “Oh!” Sarah lifted the post hole digger and started for the truck.

  Eli didn’t wait until she got there. She headed back for the pile of crap she was going to need. She was going to bridge the gap with two more fence posts and some two-by-fours at an angle, along with the wire—barbed since Cassie was so insistent on getting out.

  Once they had everything loaded, she jumped into the driver’s seat and started the engine, giving the truck a little gas to try and get it going good so Sarah wouldn’t freak out that it wasn’t going to start. She really had to fix that at some point. Sarah slipped in next to her, and when she turned to Eli, she had a grin on her lips.

  “You’re not taking any chances this time, are you?”

  “Not one,” Eli muttered. “I’m tired of chasing her down.”

  “How old is she?”

  “Five.” Eli clenched her jaw and threw the truck into reverse, putting her hand over the back seat as she turned to see where she was going. Sarah’s shoulder was so close to her hand that she could reach out and touch it if she wanted, tangle her fingers in Sarah’s messy blonde hair. Curling her hand into a fist, she resisted the urge and stepped on the gas a little harder than intended. “My dad got her for me as a birthday gift. He regretted it from day one, I think.”

  “You got a cow for your birthday?”

  Eli snorted. “Best gift ever, minus the annoying exploits.”

  “You wanted a cow?”

  “I did.” Eli grinned as she stopped and turned the wheel, shoving the shifter into first so they could go forward.

  “I can’t imagine getting a cow for my birthday.”

  Eli dared herself to ask. “What’s the best gift you’ve been given?”

  “My guitar.”

  “The one you brought with you?”

  “Yeah.” Sarah sighed. “I learned how to play on it. It’s so beat up, but I can’t give it up. It’s just…it’s that special to me.”

  Eli chuckled. “How old were you when you got it?”

  Sarah turned in her seat to stare directly at Eli. “I got it on our fourteenth birthday.”

  “Our?” Eli raised a brow.

  “My sister. Twins.”

  “No shit.”

  Sarah chuckled. “Unlike what you see in the news, my sister and I don’t do everything together and are vastly different. We are not Drew and Jonathan.”

  Eli laughed. “She your only sibling?”

  “Yes. You?”

  “One of each, no twins in our family.”

  “Lucky,” Sarah sighed wistfully. “I always wondered what it’d be like to have a brother.”

  Eli grumbled. “It’s not as great as it seems.”

  Sarah didn’t answer that. A few more seconds of silence passed while Eli got to the fence line and parked before Sarah asked, “Your parents, what do they do?”

  “They’re retired.”

  “Yeah, but what did they do before?”

  “They were the local vets.” Eli sighed and opened her door. She didn’t really want to play twenty questions. When Sarah got to the back of the truck, Eli took pity on her. “Being the daughter of the local vets means I know everyone in this county and most everyone in the next three counties. It also meant we were the flaming liberals in the area, even though my parents—well, my dad—isn’t that liberal. He is in some ways, in others not so much.”

  “What?” Sarah’s eyes were wide.

  Eli grunted as she pulled down the gate and dragged out the supplies. “My parents are both fine with folk like me. Others around here? Not so much. Just one of the ways people thought they were odd, but since Dad was from here they accepted us, especially since we’re the only vet clinic in a fifty mile radius.”

  “Well, that’s one way to corner the market.”

  Snorting, Eli dropped he post hole digger in front of Sarah and handed her gloves. “You’ll want these. You ever used one before?”

  “Uh…can’t say I have.”

  “Joy.” Eli moved over to the fence and waited for Sarah to join her. Once Sarah was there, Eli showed her with the tip of her boot where to dig the post. “Pretty much, you lift it up, slam it down, and then push out. Pull out the dirt, stack it on my land please, and then we’ll stop when it’s deep enough.”

  “How deep is deep enough?”

  Eli shrugged. “We’ll measure.”

  She watched as Sarah lifted the digger about half as high as she would and dropped it, not very forcefully onto the ground. Smirking, she stalked back to the truck.

  “Do it like you mean it, Sarah.”

  It didn’t take Eli telling her twice. Sarah dug halfway down the first hole while Eli set everything else up. Then it was her turn. She took the wooden digger from Sarah and went to town on the hole, making sure it was done quickly and efficiently. She did not want to be out there any later than necessary, and she wanted the job done before nightfall because no one wanted to be tracking down Cassie in the middle of the night. Since she no doubt knew they were messing with the fence—she’d followed the truck over there—she would surely check it out when they were finished.

  Breathing heavily, Eli shoved the post into the ground to measure its depth. Deciding it was good enough, she left it and started on the next one while Sarah watched her, leaning against the bed of the truck. “So why do you stay?”

  “What?” Eli stopped, sucking in a deep breath of cool air.

  “Why do you stay if you’re the token flaming liberal in town?”

  Resting on the post hole digger, Eli stared Sarah up and down before she shook her head. “This is home.”

  “Home could be elsewhere.”

  “Yeah, but it’s not. I like it here. I like the job, and this is home.” Eli slammed the digger down before Sarah’s voice stopped her again.

  “Would you ever move?”