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“Exes come and go, you know. And sometimes, the ones you loved the hardest will always hurt, no matter how much time passes.”
Eli drew in a deep, shuddering breath. The sincerity in Sarah’s tone, the seriousness in her face, the truth of her words—they hit her all at once. She repeated exactly what she’d said moments before, barely getting the word out. “Yeah.”
“So, take it one day at a time, and maybe in twenty years you’ll be able to be in the same room as her.”
“Yeah.” Eli cursed.Couldn’t she say anything else?Definitely not with Sarah standing this close to her in the cold night air. The sun had set when they’d come to town hours before, and she was sorely tempted to lean in and press her lips to Sarah’s thin ones. Her gaze kept dropping down to Sarah’s mouth then back to her eyes. Shaking herself from the moment, Eli cleared her throat and sniffed again. “Yeah. Thanks.”
“I have my fair share of exes, Eli. Some are great to talk to. Others I haven’t spoken to since the day we broke up. Luckily, I have only a few who run in the same circles I do, and we get along decently well.”
“Good for you.” Eli clenched her jaw.
She’d gone from thinking they’d had a connection to wanting out of the conversation as fast as possible. She did not want to listen to Sarah talk about her exes or compare problems. Of course, that was the norm anytime someone brought up a problem, but she didn’t want to listen to it that night. She wanted to jump in her truck and head on back to her little oasis in the basement before she had to go out and do her nightly checks of the cattle.
Sarah must have gotten the hint because she stepped away and raised her chin up. “Thank you for bringing me here tonight. It was an experience I’m not likely to forget.”
Eli snorted. “Because I mucked it up.”
“No, actually.” Sarah grinned. “Because it was fun to see how a small town works. I’ve heard stuff, but since I’ve really never been to one, or lived in one, or been shown around by an insider, it was all very interesting.”
“How so?”
“Well, you know everyone, and everyone knows you.”
“Yeah?” Eli wasn’t quite sure she understood.
Sarah grinned. “It’s like the conversation never ends or starts. You all just pick up where you left off and leave off where you’ll pick up.”
Eli thought back to everything that had happened that night, and she supposed Sarah was right. “Huh. Never thought of it like that.”
“See? Interesting.”
“I guess.” She shrugged. “You ready to head home?”
“Yes! I need to check on Buddy.”
Laughing, Eli shook her head. “You and that calf.”
“What? I like him.”
“You’re going to spoil him so much he’s going to reject his mama when I try to stick him back with her tomorrow.”
“Oh.” Sarah stared down at her shoes.
Eli reached down to lift Sarah’s chin to look in her eyes. “I was joking.”
“Oh!”
“Want to come with me in the morning to see if they like each other yet?”
“Sure. When?”
Eli’s eyes crinkled as she grinned. “Bright and early. Six.”
“Ugh.”
“You asked.”
“Maybe I’ll skip.”
