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.
* * *