Sarah’s question was so quiet, Eli wasn’t quite sure she’d heard her correctly, but when she looked up, she knew she had. “No.”

  Silence remained, aside from the breeze and the cattle in the distance. Eli walked to her truck and grabbed the quick-set cement she had brought. Slicing the top open with her knife, she dumped it down into the post hole until it was sufficiently filled.

  “Grab the water, would you?”

  “Uh…yeah.” Sarah turned to the bed of the truck and brought over two gallons of water.

  Once everything was done, Eli leaned against the back of the truck and sucked down a bottle of water. The sun was setting along the western horizon, and luckily, there were plenty of clouds in the sky that night to make it a gorgeous sunset.

  She was about to comment on it when Sarah sighed. “It’s so beautiful out here. We don’t get sunsets like this in Dallas.”

  “Too many buildings, I suppose.”

  “Yeah, maybe, or just not enough sky left since everyone seems to take it up.”

  Eli clenched her jaw and tried to loosen her stance. “I went to school in Kansas City. Finished my four years, and that was good enough for me. No desire to go back to crowds like that.”

  “No? Not even to visit?”

  “Not often.”

  “I don’t mind big cities. Easier to not be seen in them.”

  Eli froze at that. She was putting up the gate on the truck when she finished doing it slowly and gave Sarah a hard stare. “Why would you not want to be seen?”

  “Escapism, really.”

  “Life can’t be that hard that you need to escape.”

  Sarah played with the gloves still in her hands. “Only some days.”

  Eli’s heart went out to Sarah. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to walk down the sidewalk in a major city and be recognized, but to be fair, she probably did understand it. Everyone in town knew who she was—there was no escaping. They were all up in her business both in ways she didn’t want and in ways she did.

  Reaching out, Eli ran a hand up and down Sarah’s arm, then patted her shoulder as she stepped in closer. “Sometimes it’s good to be seen.”

  When Sarah’s gaze finally moved up to Eli’s eyes, she had tears brimming in them. “Sometimes. Most of the time, I’d rather not be so seen.”

  “Sounds like you work to maintain that.”

  Sarah snorted. “As much as I can. Are we done here?”

  Eli took the change in topic for what it was. She turned to call Cassie over, her voice echoing through the field. Cassie came immediately, and she waited until there was very little space between them. Moving up next to the cow, Eli patted her neck and scratched her nose.

  “Now, Cas, I fixed the fence. Don’t go breaking it.”

  Cassie snorted and moved to the fence line. Eli caught Sarah tensing out of the corner of her eye and sidled up next to her to calm her down. They watched for a few minutes as Cassie checked out the job they’d done and then keened before sauntering off.

  Eli shook her head. “I give it two weeks before she finds a new way out.”

  “She’s that smart?”

  “I’m not sure smart is what I’d call it. Determined and stubborn perhaps. And bored. She gets bored here. The grass is always greener on the other side, right?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  Eli wasn’t quite sure why Sarah’s tone had suddenly changed from conversational to not, but she didn’t want to pry since Sarah was quite obviously a private person. “Come on, it’s dinner time.”

  “I can cook something, if you want.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Sure, why not. It’s the least I can do.”

  Eli smiled. “Any time a woman says she’ll cook for me, I’m not gonna tell her no.”

  The resulting blush that crept into Sarah’s cheeks had been unintentional, but it was welcome nonetheless. It added a nice tone to her normally pale skin. Eli got into the truck and waited as Sarah followed. They’d at least found some sort of rhythm that afternoon, even if it had some awkward moments here and there.

  As soon as Sarah had her door shut, Eli licked her lips. “Know how to drive a stick?”

  “No.”

  “Want to learn?”

  “Yes!” Sarah’s eyes lit up with excitement.

  “Then scoot over. You can drive us back to the house.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.” Eli jumped out of the truck and rounded the hood. When Sarah hadn’t budged, she made a scooting motion with her hands. “Come on, you’ll never learn if you don’t get behind the wheel.”

  With hesitation, Sarah slipped over to the side Eli had just vacated. It may have taken them three times as long to get back to the house, but the lighthearted laughter every time Sarah stalled the engine was well worth it.

  Chapter 11

  It was mid-afternoon when Sarah glanced out the front window and saw Eli doing something with two horses by the front deck. Excitement and fear entwined together in her belly, her anxiety reaching full force when Eli looked up and caught Sarah’s gaze, grinning.

  When she came in the front door she’d left her boots on, which Sarah slowly realized was odd. But Eli stopped short just inside the door. When she didn’t come closer, Sarah stepped toward her, her blunt nails digging into the palms of her hands before she made them relax, and wiped the sweat on her worn jeans.

  “I thought maybe I could take you on a trail ride today.”

  “A what?” Sarah’s eyebrow rose in curiosity.

  “A trail ride. We take the horses, go out into the fields and such, ride around. It’s really rather simple.”

  “You want me to ride a horse.”

  “I do.” Eli grinned, the dimple that ran deep in her cheek coming on full force.

  Sarah’s stomach twisted every time she saw it. “Okay.”

  “That’s it? Just okay?”

  “Yeah. I mean…yeah. I’ve ridden a horse before.”

  “Have you really?” Eli shook her head. “And here I thought I was giving you the full round of new experiences.”

  Sarah smirked. She wasn’t about to tell Eli that the horse she rode was at the circus when she was a small child and was probably actually a pony and not a horse. She’d leave that to Eli’s imagination.

  After she got her boots and a light jacket on, Sarah met Eli on the deck. The horses looked far larger than what she remembered, so she was pretty sure the horse she had ridden as a kid was a pony in disguise. She swallowed as she stared the horses down.

  Eli grabbed her hand and placed a small brown thing in it. “Keep your hand flat.”

  Taking Sarah’s hand, she offered it to one of the horses, who nibbled the treat off her palm and snorted in delight. Sarah grinned.

  “This one will be yours. She’s better behaved. Her name is Mercy. She’s a well-broken mare, trust me.”

  “I do,” Sarah answered on a whisper, suddenly realizing how true that was.

  Eli scratched her own horse’s large snout. “Know how to get on?”

  “It can’t be that hard, can it?”

  Eli came around to the side of the horse and patted its back before sending Sarah a serious look. “Come along.”

  Sarah followed her and gripped the saddle where Eli had put her hands. With Eli’s fingers digging into her waist, she pulled herself up, Eli steadying her as she went. Once she was seated with the massive beast between her legs, Sarah felt a little steadier. Eli pulled the reins from the deck railing and handed them to her.

  “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “Not planning on it,” Sarah whispered down to Eli, who still had a hand on her thigh.

  Eli got up on her own horse. It wasn’t long until they were slowly walking toward the field, the same route they had taken with the truck days before to fix the fence line, but this time at a much slower and smoother pace.

  “You said you went to school in Kansas City,” Sarah started. “What’d you go to school for?”

  “Biology.”

  “Not Ag?”

  Eli snorted. “No. I think I know enough about Ag to teach those classes.”

  Sarah clenched her jaw nervously. “I never went to school.”

  “It’s not for everyone. It wasn’t really for me, but I went to satisfy my parents.”

  Sarah’s heart hammered. “Yeah, I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to go my own way. My parents were pretty supportive so long as I was working and making money and could pay my own bills.”

  “Sounds like you’ve got good ones.”

  “I do.” Sarah smiled. “Your parents didn’t want any of you to take over the clinic?”

  “They did, I think, in some form or fashion, but they didn’t expect it of us, which was nice. I do not have a head for school. I barely graduated with my bachelor’s degree. My brother is crazy smart. He’s a lawyer down in the city. My sister couldn’t care less about school. All she wanted was babies. And that’s what she got. She lives about six hours from here.”

  “You see her much?” Sarah’s voice carried in the wind as they moved down a small hill.

  Eli shook her head. “Not every day or even every week, if that’s what you’re meaning. She’s got four kids.”

  “Four? Crap.”

  “Yeah.” Eli chuckled. “The oldest just started kinder this year. She’s pretty consumed by them right now.”

  “I bet your parents are excited about being grandparents.”

  “Sure they are. Who wouldn’t be?” Eli clicked her tongue and turned her horse.

  Mercy followed in line. Thus far, everything had been smooth sailing. Eli took them through the fields, walking along the grass and around the cattle. Sarah felt on much more even footing with the cattle who were milling around.

  The babies played with each other, chasing one another around the cows, through their legs even. Sarah bit her lip and dared herself to ask Eli the question that was burning in her mind. “Is Buddy around here?”

  “Nah, Carmen sticks to the lower field mainly. She likes it there for some reason. We can go down if you want.”

  “Can we?” Excitement bubbled in Sarah’s chest. “I haven’t seen him since that morning.”

  Eli chuckled. “Sure, we can.”

  They moved through the fields, Sarah becoming more comfortable on her horse as time went on. They stopped at some point, and Eli helped Sarah off Mercy. They let the horses graze while Eli checked on the fence line they had fixed. Thus far, according to Eli, Cassie had not found a way through it yet.

  As they got on the horses, Sarah noticed for the first time how relaxed she had been the entire time. None of the regular anxiety that plagued her had been there—well, as soon as she’d gotten comfortable on Mercy’s back and used to the rocking motion.

  It was mid-afternoon when they got to the lower field, and Sarah immediately saw Buddy. He was running circles around another cow, one she wasn’t quite sure was Carmen. Eli pulled them to a stop, and they sat a good distance off watching them. Sarah chuckled when Buddy tripped and nearly fell head-over-hoofs but caught himself.

  “Babies of just about any kind are always fun to watch,” Sarah commented a bit to her own surprise.

  “Yes, they are.” Eli responded. “There’s bingo in town tonight. Did you want to go?”

  “Bingo?”

  “Yeah. It’s a big town-wide to-do. Anybody who is anybody and even those who aren’t will be there.”

  “Sure. Not like I have any other plans.”

  Eli smirked. “I’m sure I could find something to occupy your time.”

  Sarah snorted. “Like make dinner.”

  “Hey, everything you’ve cooked so far has been amazing. Hands down, no contest. I’ll eat your food any day of the week.”

  “Well, that’s good to know.” Sarah’s cheeks warmed at the compliment. “I don’t get much time to cook in general, but I do love it. Always have.”

  “Why don’t you get to cook much?”

  Panic welled in Sarah’s chest. She almost let it spill what she did for a living, but reining herself in, she found a way to avoid it. “Uh…my job doesn’t allow it much.”

  “Makes sense. I usually cook up one big thing and eat leftovers all week unless I have a guest at the house or family in town.”

  Sarah nodded, glad she had side-stepped that one. It was getting harder and harder to have deep conversations with Eli and not spill what it was she did. While she was proud of her music and her career, which had not been easy to build up, she sometimes wanted to play the role of someone other than Sadie Bade, singer-songwriter. Sometimes it was nice to just play music for fun and hang out with people who didn’t know who she was.

  “When is bingo?”

  “Six.”

  “It’s nearly five.”

  “Yup,” Eli answered. “So we’ve got to get these horses cleaned up and head out. We’re trotting back to the barn.”

  “We’re what?” Fear lanced through Sarah’s body.

  “Trotting. Come on.” Eli dug her heels into her horse’s haunches. Mercy didn’t hesitate as she quickened her pace to keep up. Sarah gripped the reins tightly, holding on for dear life until they came to a stop at the barn.

  It took longer than she expected to get the saddles and everything off, but Eli turned the horses out into the field after giving them a good drink of water. Then she focused on Sarah with a sly smile. “Might want to change before we head to town. Horses are stinky buggers.”

  Sarah paused at the heated look Eli was giving her. Those looks never got old, but she was still just as confused by them as she was the first time she’d noticed them. Giving as good as she got, Sarah raised her eyebrows and stared into Eli’s light brown eyes, wishing she had a window into everything Eli was thinking and feeling. It would make conversing with her that much easier, not to mention, she was damn curious what was going on behind the mask Eli seemed to wear every day.

  “You changing?”

  “Yes.” Eli’s answer was short and clipped. “You’ve got ten minutes.”

  “Shit.” Sarah chuckled. “That’s not a whole lot of time.”

  “You wanted to see Buddy.”

  “Oh, so this is my fault now?” Her tone was slightly accusatory, but Sarah knew the smile on her face made her comment come off as a tease.

  “Always,” Eli answered, a breath in her word. “Now get. I’ve got to finish putting this stuff up.”

  Sarah gave Eli another once-over before she slowly made her way out of the barn, secretly hoping Eli would catch up to her before she made it to the house. She was curious what Eli would wear to town for a night out or if her standard uniform of a cotton button up, jeans, and boots with two braids would be it.

  Sarah was pressed into the passenger seat of Eli’s nice new truck, staring out at the expanse of land before them, which wasn’t hard to do. Eli kept stealing glances in her direction, wondering what was going on in Sarah’s head. Eli pulled out onto the highway as she turned down the radio so they could barely hear it.

  “Penny for your thoughts.”

  “What?” Sarah spun, her eyes wide.

  Eli grimaced. “What are you thinking? You seem miles away.”

  “Oh.” Sarah shifted her shoulders, rolling them, and settled into the seat again. “I was mostly just thinking about how I’ve done more things I’ve never done before in the last week than I ever thought I’d do.”

  “Like what?” Eli asked, but she pretty much already knew the answer. Sarah was a city-slicker, and she was pretty sure anything Eli did or asked Sarah to join in with was brand new.

  “I have never fed a baby cow before.”

  “They’re charming, until they’re not.”

  Sarah chuckled. “I miss Buddy.”

  “There will be more Buddy’s.” When Eli risked a glance at Sarah, she had a wistful and dreamy look in her eyes, those dark eyes that she was finding so much harder to stay away from as the days went on. Since their stint fixing the fence, Eli had found she was enjoying Sarah’s company far more than she had thought she should.

  Sarah’s voice was clear when she asked. “Will there?”

  “Every year.” Thin lips bowed into a smile, and Eli couldn’t help the reciprocating grin she gave. “What about bingo? Have you played bingo before?”

  “Probably not like this, but yes, I have actually played bingo before in a competition setting.”

  “Have you now?”

  Sarah chuckled. “My gran used to take me with her to play at the senior center, or really, she took me more so she could cheat.”

  “How do you cheat at bingo?”

  “Oh, those ladies there are very serious about their bingo.”

  Eli cocked her head to the side. “Seriously, though, how do you cheat at bingo?”

  “Switching out cards, throwing in extra number balls, distracting the other little old ladies so they aren’t paying attention when their number is called.”

  “Devilish, weren’t you?”

  “Still am in some ways.” Sarah laughed, her quiet voice echoing in the cab of the truck.

  Eli’s heart danced around and sent her stomach into a spin of nerves. She had no idea why she was nervous, but there had been a definite shift in how she and Sarah interacted in the last day. They seemed almost like friends.

  “My parents used to drag me to play with them, which was fine when I was young and could just run around outside with the rest of the kids. I stopped going when I was in high school but started up again recently.”

  “Why go?”

  “I’m a business owner in town, and the money goes to support our schools’ athletic teams. It’s important people in town think I’m generous. Usually it’s just a gossip pit, though.”

  “Oh. You…you don’t think they’ll talk about us, do you?”

  Eli furrowed her brow. “What do you mean talk about us?”

  “Just…that I’m still here. You took me to the sausage supper. I don’t know. I was just—”

  “You’re a guest at Indigo. I often bring guests to town events. It’s part of the package deal. They won’t think anything of it.” Eli’s stomach clenched. She hadn’t realized Sarah spending time with her in public was going to be such an issue in terms of Sarah’s public view of the world. Apparently, that was all Sarah was concerned about.