Head Over Boots For You // Jenlisa

3: Casual Familiarity

Lisa

The wind was warm on her skin. All around her, stalks of grass fluttered in the breeze, and Lisa watched their bowing forms create waves that moved across the plains. The browning grass was peppered with the occasional wildflower, their pink and purple petals bright in the sunlight. All was calm, moving at nature's slow pace, and although Lisa knew there were probably a million things she and Jennie should be doing, for some reason she couldn't remember a single one.

Lisa wasn't sure exactly where they were, which was how she knew this wasn't real. She always knew where she was on the ranch, could always point back to the cabin as if there was a string connecting her to it.

But even though this was just a dream, it was a nice dream. She and Jennie had been wandering side-by-side for what felt like forever. They walked up one grassy slope and down the next, saying nothing to each other but not needing to. Sometimes Lisa would look over and see how the sky was reflected in Jennie's eyes as she gazed upward. Lisa felt a soft touch on her hand and realized that Jennie had intertwined their fingers together. It was the most natural feeling in the world.

But Lisa felt the sunlight dim. The smell of moist earth and sweet flowers faded. She tried to cling onto the open sky and verdant hills and Jennie's hand but no matter how much she fought, the softness of her sheets, the tangle of her hair atop her pillow, and the sliver of sunlight just peeking through her window broke slowly into her awareness.

With a tinge of disappointment, Lisa knew she was back in her own bed, but she swore she could still feel the sun warm on her cheeks and Jennie's hand in her own. She closed her eyes and tried to remember it all... if only because it had been so tranquil, and Lisa needed more of that before she had to face the challenges of the day.

It had nothing to do with how Jennie had held her hand.

But even as Lisa tried to imagine herself back in the grassland, something was different. She took in a deep breath. Was that...

Bacon?

Lisa opened her eyes, squinting only slightly as the sun crested the horizon outside her window. The scent of cooking bacon was unmistakable now, and Lisa didn't know how she had managed to ignore it for so long. She felt a dim pang of regret as the last remnant of the dream slipped away.

She sat straight up in bed with a jolt, realizing that this was the first time she would see Jennie since she had given her the package of clothing two days ago. She hadn't been avoiding her, of course, but the day had been very busy... Lisa had met with her cattle buyer, who would be purchasing her calves at the end of the season; she had visited Irene's office to discuss her financial plans, which were looking more stable; and she had even found herself dropping by Wendy's home as well to discuss how her business was doing. Once she had returned to the ranch, she immediately went out on horseback to check on the herd and stayed there for hours. In any case, she hadn't had time to see Jennie.

But she had not been avoiding her.

Regardless, Lisa's priority now was finding out who was cooking bacon in her kitchen. Irene was a vegetarian and refused to even look at meat (ironic, considering that most of her accounting clients were in the beef industry). Wendy's sense of protocol was too strict to allow her to ever drop by unannounced. And Jennie, based on the last two months of evidence, was barely able to cook macaroni and cheese out of a box.

So when Lisa stepped out of her room in her navy blue pajama pants and old T-shirt, she wasn't prepared for the sight of Jennie standing in front of the stove, spatula in hand, flipping bacon in one pan and eggs in another.

Luckily, Jennie didn't turn, which left Lisa the chance to rush into the bathroom and shut the door silently behind her. She brushed her bangs, bound her unruly hair up into a braid and stared at herself in the mirror until she thought she looked less tired. Until today, she had always been awake before Jennie. Lisa prided herself on being an early riser: it mean that she normally accomplished more by noon than most people did in their entire day. Having someone else in the cabin awake before her threw her off-balance. She liked appearing collected and in control at all times, but that was hard to do if her sleep-disheveled hair was sticking out in every direction.