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“Small town, and he was in my sister’s class. She had the biggest crush on him for years. I hated him though. Prick if you ask me.”

Jewel relaxed slightly, snorting at Eli’s last comment. “That he can be.”

“So we do agree on something, at least.”

“What have we not agreed on?” Jewel leaned her hip against the granite counter, eyeing her counterpart. This conversation was odd, even for the best of odd conversations before dawn. Eli was a strange soul, but she could see why Lea and she had connected so strongly. They were both on the outs with the norm, and Lea truly was a bleeding heart for anyone who was ostracized.

“Azalea.”

“What about her?”

“Nothing important, I suppose. I need to go check on a calf I brought in last night, make sure he’s warming up, but I couldn’t resist the call of coffee. I’ll take you on that trail ride Wednesday if you like.”

“Oh…um…sure.”

Eli narrowed her gaze. “Have you ever ridden a horse?”

“No.”

Eli whistled. “This’ll be fun.”

She muttered something else as she walked out the back door of the house with her coffee in hand. Jewel stayed put, staring after her. She stayed in the kitchen and finished her first cup of coffee. As the sun rose over the horizon and cast the house in pale pinks and oranges, she refilled her cup and made up a second for Azalea. The thought of using Lea’s proper name made her shudder. She couldn’t imagine it, but now she was curious and debated whether or not to ask.

Carefully, Jewel walked back up the stairs and slipped into the bedroom, finding Lea still sleeping in the same position she had left her. So strange. Lea never slept late in the mornings. She was insistent on being up at the same time every morning. Debating whether or not to wake her, Jewel opted not to. She left the coffee on the nightstand next to Lea and grabbed her own before heading into the bathroom.

With the light on, it didn’t take her long to take a quick shower, put her contacts in, and do her hair and makeup. By the time she turned the light off and opened the door, the sun was fully coming through the sheer curtains next to the bed. Lea was still asleep. Jewel put away her things and sat on the edge of the bed.

Lea had never looked so peaceful before. She’d never really taken the time to think about just what Lea went through every day, hiding so much of herself from the world. When had her hair gotten so long, too? Jewel’s fingers itched to reach out and run the soft strands through them, but she didn’t dare. It would be crossing a boundary she had set. But she was quickly losing track of why she’d set it.

What would it be like to kiss her? To press into Lea and know she’d press back? What would she taste like? Jewel had to stop that line of thinking. Unless she did something to change the conversation, it would never happen, but how would she even broach that topic?

Jewel snorted at the thought. She couldn’t just say, “Hey, Lea, tell me about your ex-girlfriend.” That would not go over well, she was sure of it. Lea was as closeted as they got, and while Jewel had been, she was beyond tired of living that way. She didn’t want to tattoo “pansexual” on her forehead, but she did want to live life to her fullest, and if that meant being open to dating women she was attracted to, then she wanted to do that. If it affected her job, so be it. It was the twenty-first century, and even though they lived in little America in the great West, she should be able to live as authentically as possible.

Settling into the idea, Jewel finished her coffee and stared at the window into the daylight. She could do it. Weeks of recognizing her attraction to her best friend had gotten her nowhere. If Lea truly was her best friend, even if the feelings weren’t returned, they would work it out. It might be awkward for a bit, but they would figure it out in the long run. They had to. Jewel knew everything there was to know about Lea, and she wanted it to stay that way.

“Lea,” Jewel said, her voice carrying in the quiet room. Other people moved around in the rooms nearby, doors opening and closing. The scents of breakfast wafted up under the crack in the door. “Lea, it’s time to wake up. It’s time for breakfast.”

Lea moved her face into the pillow and groaned. “I can’t have slept more than three hours.”

“Are you serious?”

Sighing, Lea flopped onto her back and shoved her arm over her forehead as she blinked slowly to clear the sleep from her eyes. “I smell coffee.”

“It’s right next to you.”

Grunting her thanks, Lea pulled herself to sit up in the bed and reached for the coffee. The first sip, she grimaced.

“It might be a little cold since you slept so long.”

“Long?” Lea raised an eyebrow but did take another sip. “I didn’t sleep long.”

Her voice was laced with weariness, hoarse from not having gotten restful slumber. Jewel cocked her head to the side. “When did you go to bed?”

“Maybe three.”

“In the morning? Jesus, Lea.”

She shrugged. “I don’t sleep well in places that are new to me. It’s why I don’t travel much.”