Page 4

Finally, after dinner, Esther went out to sit on the front porch and Mina followed.

She wasn’t sure how she’d be received, but she knew she’d kick herself if she didn’t at least try.

If Esther pushed her away, then that was her sister’s decision, Mina had done the right thing.

At least, she knew that’s what her therapist would say if she’d had the opportunity to ask ahead of time.

“Hey, how are you doing?” she asked, sitting down on the front stoop next to her sister, keeping a few inches of space between them.

They’d never been the touchy-feely type, even though it seemed like Esther was that way with all her actual friends. Just not her sister.

“I got fired,” Esther said bluntly, staring at the sky, which was just starting to dim as the sun began to go down.

Mina sucked in a shocked breath. Fired? Esther? “What? Why?”

“Downsizing. They’d rather have AI do my job, even though it fucks up half the time.” Esther shook her head. “At least it’s fucking up for basically free.”

“That’s insane.”

“I’m not going to argue with you.” Esther shook her head. “I should have gone into cyber security like you. Now there’s job security.” Esther sighed, dropping her head down.

“It’s not too late.” Mina’s hand settled down in the space between them.

An offering. In case Esther wanted to take it.

Though she doubted her sister would. But she was wrong.

Maybe Esther was just in such a bad spot that she didn’t care it was Mina’s hand, because she reached down to take it and give it a squeeze.

Mina’s next words came out in a rush, trying to pretend Esther hadn’t just shaken her to her core with worry.

“You’re smart. I bet you could learn it and I could help. ”

“Thanks, but I’m not sure that’s what I want to do. Hey, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” Her sister still hadn’t let go of her hand. Whatever Esther needed right now, Mina was going to give it to her, because she was obviously in a very bad spot.

“Why did you stay here? Why didn’t you leave? You could work from anywhere.” Esther waved the hand that wasn’t holding Mina’s, the gesture encompassing their childhood home and the street that they’d grown up on, the city they’d lived in for Mina’s whole life.

Esther had been the success story who had gotten out of their small town, working a better job. No one knew that Mina was a success. She didn’t really talk about her job, she didn’t have any friends from school who’d stayed around, and she still lived in town.

But she could have left.

She shrugged.

“I don’t like change.” Which was an understatement. It wasn’t the whole reason either. “I don’t know where I’d go.”

It wasn’t so much that she was dedicated to living here, she just didn’t know where else she’d want to go.

She’d traveled some. Cities were fun to visit, but she couldn’t imagine living in one.

Her brain would explode from overstimulation.

She could only handle three nights in New York City at most before all the lights and noise got to her.

Suburbs… maybe she was being judgmental but she just didn’t see the point.

If she was going to have space, she wanted sp ace. Not a teensy bit of lawn while still being able to peer in the next door neighbor’s window. And the cookie cutter developments gave her the creeps. Too Stepford.

Moving to a different small town… well, what was the point of that? Especially since her family was here.

So she’d stayed.

Plus, the cost of living elsewhere compared to her income was crazy.

She maxed out her 401k and IRA every year, she had an emergency fund that she’d never touched just racking up interest in a high-yield savings account, and she’d started investing on her own as well for fun.

She was on track to retire in her early thirties if she wanted to.

There was no good reason for her to move, so why would she uproot herself?

But Esther had always wanted to move to something bigger and better, so Mina wasn’t sure her sister would understand any of that and she didn’t want to break this odd sisterly moment by trying to explain.

Plus, if Esther had gotten fired, Mina wasn’t sure what her sister’s finances looked like at the moment, and Mina didn’t want to seem like she was bragging.

Esther had moved to a city for her job, and Mina knew it had to have been expensive to live there. Especially since Esther liked clothes, socializing, and going out with friends.

“I have to move back here. I’m moving back in with mom,” Esther said glumly. “I’m a failure.”

“You are not! You’re just… having a setback,” Mina said firmly, nodding her head.

Esther looked at her. Mina looked back. And then Esther snorted and started laughing. She did let go of Mina’s hand then, because Esther was reaching up to cover her face, but Mina didn’t mind. She’d made her sister laugh. And she couldn’t remember the last time that had happened.

“Just a setback,” Esther said, laughing hard enough that she had to wipe some tears away from her eyes. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“Any time.”

“I think I’m just freaking out because I’m thirty and I haven’t done any of the things I thought I would do by now. Have a successful job. Get married. Have a kid. Buy a house.” Esther sighed regretfully.

“If it helps, real estate isn’t the investment it used to be,” Mina said. “And men kind of suck. You did have the successful job, and I fully believe you’ll get another one. Probably a better one.”

“Here’s hoping.” Esther turned her head, smiling at her. “Thanks. I appreciate that.” She sighed. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom, I swear I’m not just running away.”

Mina laughed. “Go, I don’t want you to pee yourself on top of everything else.”

She’d made her sister laugh again. It was a good day.

It got even better a few minutes later when her notifications dinged with the email she’d been waiting for. Her heart jumped in her chest as she opened it and read it faster than she’d ever read anything in her life – and that was saying something.

Rawhide Ranch, here I come.