her grandmother called. “That Langston boy is out front.” Jessie came out of her darkroom, coaching herself not to run to the doorway. “Seth?” she asked as she peeked out the front window. All day Sunday she had relived their kiss from the night before. And the last little peck he gave her, as if to tell her that she wasn’t running the relationship, he was. But it wasn’t Seth. Chase stood in her driveway having just got out of his newly repaired pickup truck. It was Monday afternoon. Another week had passed. Another week of avoiding Seth, which was proving to be impossible, counting and recounting her escape fund, and making sure that her grandmother took her medication. Nothing had changed. Not really. He’d kissed her and walked with her at Cattle Days. Nothing overly special. So why did her life feel so complicated? Normally she would have run down the porch steps and flung herself into Chase’s arms, but not today.
