Sienna laughed and tossed more hay. “Okay, yes, that wastechnicallya surprise for both of you. But you’re welcome.”
I stared at her. “You’re not evenpretendingto be sorry?”
“Why would I be?” She shrugged. “It worked.”
“Worked?How in the world did itwork?”
“You two had coffee, didn’t you?”
“Yes, and I wanted to crawl into a compost bin afterward. That’s not a win, Sienna. That’smortification.I never want to show my face around him again.”
Sienna snorted. “You say that, but Millie called me an hour ago.”
My stomach flipped. “Milliewhat?”
“She called. Wanted to let me know she saw you two at Buttercup Java, and she’s absolutely certain, and I quote,he’s smitten with Fifi, dear.”
I groaned, dropping my forehead against the fence rail.
Sienna chuckled. “You’re welcome.”
I lifted my head, frowning. “Is that supposed to make me feelbetter?”
She grinned. “Well, you’re standing upright and not sobbing, so I’ll take it as progress.”
“You’re the worst.”
“Debatable.”
I lunged toward the hose resting in the grass and turned on the spigot without thinking.
Sienna’s eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t.”
I raised the nozzle as if it were a sword. “Apologize, traitor.”
She started backing away, hands raised. “Okay, okay—truce! Think of the goats!”
“They’re rooting for me.”
I sprayed a quick arc of water, catching her on the sleeve. She squealed and darted behind the feed bin.
“This is abuse!” she shouted through laughter.
“This isjustice!” I called, giving chase, spraying a mist in her direction.
We darted around the paddock, giggling like we were eight again, our laughter tangling with the warm afternoon air. The sun caught the water droplets, casting rainbows through the spray. Gerald bleated his approval, or maybe indignation, but neither of us cared.
My heart pounded, but it wasn’t from anger anymore. It was light, loose, and free.
For the first time all day, the weird buzzing in my chest quieted.
I stopped near the fence, breathless, hair damp around my face, and grinned at my soaking-wet sister. “I should drown you in the duck pond.”
“You’d have to catch me first.”
“Oh, I will.”
She leaned against the fence, wiping her face with her sleeve. “You needed that.”
