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“Well, if they take to each other, you’ll miss out on Buddy since he won’t be in the barn.”
“Hmm.” Sarah stared out at the street and passing cars. “I guess I’ll go.”
“Good. He’ll have to sit in your lap.”
“What?” Sarah’s eyes were wide.
Eli laughed again. “Joking, but heisgoing to fit in the cab of the truck with us.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Sarah scrunched her nose. “Not in the back?”
“No. He’ll fall out.”
“Fine.”
Eli knocked her shoulder into Sarah’s. “Come on, let’s get out of here. Follow me back.”
“Absolutely. I do not want to get lost again.”
“Yes, let’s try to avoid that.”
With a new smile on her lips, Eli headed toward her truck. She got in and waited until she was sure Sarah had her car started up. Pulling out into the street, she waited until Sarah was behind her before taking off toward home. Tomorrow would be interesting for sure. Maybe she could turn Sarah into a country girl.
Chapter 9
Sarah layon her bed that night, staring at the ceiling, her precious phone charging next to her as it blinked to life. Dinner had been far more entertaining than she had anticipated. She hadn’t expected Eli to also be gay, or lesbian, or whatever—she didn’t expect Eli to be interested in women at all.
Something about coming to the middle of nowhere out in the country, she hadn’t expected anyone to sway her direction, and it intrigued her. She turned on her side and stared out the window—she’d kept the drapes open every night since she’d been there.
She hadn’t expected to do that. In Dallas, she was fastidious about closing the curtains and keeping her room as dark as possible, but out here she loved to turn over in the middle of the night and gaze at the stars until she fell back asleep. Sarah checked the time on her phone before she stood up and moved to the window to look outside. If she was lucky, maybe she would see Eli walking out to the barn to get into her truck for those three-in-the-morning checks she was always going on about.
Eli was such an enigma. She wasn’t what Sarah would call outwardly sexy, she had a feminine feel to her but also a masculine one—and she owned both sides of herself—but Sarah had honestly thought Eli was about to break down outside that church building. She’d hesitated even driving back toIndigoin a separate vehicle, wanting to stay as close to Eli as possible and make sure she was okay.
But she hadn’t felt comfortable asking, or implying that she should stay with Eli. Her heart went out to Eli for sure. Breakups were a nasty thing to handle, and she was curious as to why they had broken up, especially considering Eli had said they were both still hurt by it.
Holding the curtain, Sarah stared out into the dark sky around her. It was nearly pitch black save for the moon and stars, and the lights Eli had around the house and the barn—which in the grand scheme of things was not a whole lot. Sure enough, like clockwork, Eli stepped off the covered deck and moved toward the trail that would bring her down to the barn.
Sarah’s breath caught in her throat. If only she was the type of person who could handle a quick fling, but she wasn’t. Even though most of her relationships had been short compared to others like Kara, Sarah was not someone who dabbled in one-night stands very often. And with her career, she had become far more picky and careful than before. The higher her records climbed on the charts, the more closed off she became. Perhaps it was her age, too, if she really admitted it. She was tired of the drama.
Sarah watched as from a distance Eli jumped into her farm truck, backed out of the drive, and headed down the dirt road. Sarah kept her eyes locked on the taillights for as long as she could, then turned back and grabbed her guitar. The wee hours of the night were the prime time for some music.
The first strum of the strings made her heart sing. She played around, making different chords, letting the sound echo loudly in the room since she knew she was alone. Her voice rang out as she vocalized however it pleased her. It didn’t take long for a new melody to start to show its face in her playing. Sarah pressed on with it, trying new things here and there, letting some fail and fall to the wayside. Eventually, she gave up and set the guitar down as she moved back to the window.
She wanted to see Eli return. Perhaps she could go out and feed Buddy since she knew that would be Eli’s last stop before coming in for the night. Then Eli wouldn’t haven’t to do it. But she wasn’t quite sure either of them trusted her enough yet to feed the calf on her own.
Sarah stood by the window, her hand planted on the glass as the cold seeped into her fingers and her bones. Sure enough, Eli’s truck bumbled its way toward the barn. Sarah’s breath caught in her throat again. Eli was stunning, in her own way, and Sarah was pretty sure the younger woman had no clue just how stunning she really was, how she outshined Bridget day and night.
A week and a half were left until she was back to reality and nose deep in a six-month tour that would take her all over the country. She would be consumed by it, not just by the music and the performing, but all that went with it. The budget, the finance, the analytics of which stops were worth it and if they would go there again the next time—because yes, there would be a next time.
She’d dreamed of a life on the road when she was younger. The few times she’d gotten to travel as a kid had been a dream, and she’d loved every moment of it. Her sister, on the other hand, was a staunch supporter of stay-at-home-and-never-move, which was why she still lived ten feet from their parents, in the house next door.
Eli left the barn. Sarah pulled her lip between her teeth and stared carefully as Eli walked up the trail she’d obviously memorized. She disappeared right at the hill and popped up a minute later at the top. Instead of walking straight for the house, she stopped, her gaze reaching up to Sarah in the window.
Sarah’s heart clenched, and her breathing quickened. She’d forgotten about the light on the bedside table. Eli, no doubt, could see her standing there. Sarah didn’t move, trapped between not wanting to be caught and wanting to walk downstairs and greet Eli in person. The breath she held in her lungs burned until she forced her body to release it with a hiss.
