At First Sight

As I canter through the south hay field, I see Ellis sitting on his porch. I had called him ahead of time to warn him of the situation I found myself in. He has a coffee waiting for me in its usual place and he has a weary look on his face.

I dismount and tie Dolly's reins to the hitching post in front of his house

"How are you today?" I ask as I walk up the steps

"Better than you, I would assume" He replies as he smirks and takes a sip of his coffee

I shake my head in response and sit in the rocking chair next to him. I take a big whiff of the coffee and spot Liz's car coming up the lane way. 

I take a rather large gulp of the coffee in hopes it would help me explain the situation better. 

Liz steps out of the car and slams the door as she makes eye contact with me. Fuck.

I set down my coffee as she makes her way up to the house

"Why the fuck is the house empty?!" she yells 

"Liz" I start to say but she interrupts

"No, don't you Liz me. Did you sell it?" She yells again

"I couldn't afford the inheritance tax, I had no other options" I say with a sigh

"Without consulting me?!" she asks pointing at herself

At this point, I know I should have kept my cool. But the anger from the past year has just been eating me alive. 

"Consulting you?!" I ask, quite aggressively I may add 

"You're joking. You left me Liz. Our parents died and you dropped off the face of the earth. No calls, no texts, nothing. If that's your way of handling grief than that's fine. But don't you dare criticize me for the way I had to handle mine" I say sternly

Liz's face dropped for a moment but then anger returned

"If I would have known the situation" she started, but this time I interrupted

"Bull. You knew the situation Liz. How could I have afforded that property? Even if I did have enough in my savings to cover the taxes, how would I be able to keep the place running on my own. I'm one person Liz. I stayed home so you could go to school. I put up with our drunken father for years while you got to make a future for yourself. Then when we loose our parents, what do you do? You leave, again. I am forced to sell the property I made a lively hood on, the only thing I know how to do is ranch, Liz. You didn't think once that maybe you should check in on me while I was drowning in bills and chores? Of course you knew, you're the smart one Liz." I say as I take off my hat and toss it on the chair

"I could have helped" she said with a sad tone

I shook my head in response and turned back towards her

"It was mine to deal with. You got away, you were free of all this Liz" I reply 

She walked up to me and wrapped her arms around me, pulling me in tightly. 

"You're more of an older sister than I've ever been" she says into my shoulder as she holds the hug 

I hug her in return and sigh, feeling as though a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. 

We drink our coffees on the porch as Liz tells us all about her new life. She got a job at an elementary school, teaching grade 3. Her smile reaches her eyes as she tells us all about it.

She stops talking and nudges my knee with her own. 

"What?" I ask

"Sooooo. When do I get to meet him?" She asks with a wide grin

"At the wedding?" I reply, hoping to get a rise out of her

She smacks me on the shoulder as Ellis laughs

"Whenever you want to I guess" I say

"Great, I am in town for a week so we will get that done. Also, I need to know when the big day is so I can book it off" she says as she takes out her phone

"Yep, sounds good" I reply as I take the last sip of my coffee

I notice she is still looking at me. I glance at her phone and notice she has her calendar open. 

"Oh I haven't picked a day yet" I say

Liz furrows her brows 

"Time range will do for now" She replies

I smile weakly at her, knowing I have not given it all that much thought

She shuts her phone off with a sigh "Lilibet Masters, you will be the death of me" 

"I'll work on it" I reply with a chuckle

______________

The fire crackles in the background as I sit on the couch with a blanket on my lap. I open my laptop and go through a Pinterest board my sister has already shared with me. I am looking at all the extravagant dresses when I hear the door open.

"Hey honey" I hear Lee say

I turn towards him and smile

"Hey, how was your day?" I ask

He takes off his coat and hangs it on the hook, then starts to remove his boots

"Good, new hire and Kolby are watching the herd tonight. Dad's taking the boys out to the rodeo- woah" he interrupts himself as he stares at my computer

I turn and look back at the dress on the screen. It is completely covered in lace and frills

"Yeah, don't worry. These are some options Liz sent me. I won't be wearing anything like a doily" I reply with a chuckle

He chuckles as he leans in and gives me a kiss 

"So the conversation went well then?" he asks

"I mean" I reply as I shrug my shoulders "We let out some anger but in the end we were fine" I say as I close my laptop 

Lee lays on the couch, resting his head on my lap and closes his eyes

"So does that mean we aren't going to the rodeo?" I ask

Lee opens his eyes and looks at me for a moment before he rubs his face with his hand

"Did you want to go?" He asks with his eyes closed

"Lord no, I just wanted to see your face when I asked" I replied with a smile