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Chapter 20

Eli floppeddown on Azalea’s couch late on a Thursday night, huffing out a breath. Azalea had seen that look of pain in her friend before. It was a look she was going to see again and again as long as she stayed with Sarah. Azalea grabbed the hot water for tea and poured them each a mug, letting the tea bag steep as she brought it over.

“She leave again?”

“Yes,” Eli sighed. “These are the worst days, you know?”

“I can only imagine.” Perching on the edge of the couch, Azalea gave her friend a soft look. “I guess that’s part of dating Sarah, though.”

“It is. I’ll fly out to see her right before harvest, but it’ll be a short trip. Then I’ll have to wait until she has a break before I see her again.”

Sadness rang through every word in Eli’s tone. “I imagine she’d feel the same if she were stuck at Indigo while you were out calving or harvesting.”

“Probably.” Though the sentiment didn’t seem to bring Eli any comfort. “New topic. I heard a rumor the science teacher is dating the music teacher.”

“Did you now?” Azalea took a sip of her steaming tea with an entertaining side look in Eli’s direction.

“Somehow you don’t seem surprised by that.”

Azalea tried to hold back her own satisfaction that her plan was indeed working. She and Jewel had officially been together for little more than a month at that point and to find out the rumor mill was churning with stories and speculation about them was highly amusing. She’d never thought she’d like gossip this much, but it did have its uses on occasion.

“I’m not,” Azalea finally answered after another long sip of her herbal tea. “I expected it, honestly. This is a small town. I knew it wouldn’t take long for the rumors to kick up again.”

“Kick up again?” Eli frowned into her mug. “What do you mean?”

“You were probably too young the first time they started. It wasn’t with Jewel. I think I’d been here three years? Maybe it was two. Either way. There were concerns because I wasn’t dating, you know, men, and because I wasn’t in the process of getting married and popping out kids. People who defy the norm in small towns tend to get gossiped about, and that was me. Is me still in a lot of ways.”

Eli gave her a careful look. “You said first time.”

“I did.” Azalea snuggled into the cushions on the couch. “They’ve started up several times randomly over the years. Any time I turned a well-intentioned gentleman down or when gossip got slow. But they started up heavily when Jewel moved to town. First when she was here for student teaching, but then when she moved here and our friendship resumed, seemingly for those who were talking.”

“You two never stopped talking?”

“No.” Azalea smiled at the memory. “We emailed weekly through the rest of her schooling. I was mostly trying to be supportive. But when she moved here? It was different.”

“I never once noticed.”

Azalea smirked. “I would hope not. You had your own problems to worry about. Not to mention, you’re never one to give much stock to the rumor mill.”

“That’s true.” Eli rolled her shoulders. “Do you think we can make it? Sarah and me, I mean.”

“I think you can, if you work for it. It’s just like any relationship, friendship or otherwise. Both people have to work for it. It’s easy in some ways and hard in others. You will both have to make sacrifices if you want it to last.”

“We do already.”

“Then there you have it.” Azalea reached over and patted Eli’s thigh. “I will say, Eli, I have never seen you like this with someone before. Even Bridget.”

Eli’s cheeks tinged pink. “You think so?”

“I know so. I’m glad you brought her here so I could meet her. I think she’s a good match for you.”

“Aww, shucks, teach.”

“Stop it.” Azalea rolled her eyes and let out a light chuckle. “You know that’s why you came here anyway.”

Eli whistled. “I came here because misery loves company.”

“Well, I am far from miserable.”