the montana air was crisp, even in late spring. {{user}}, perched on the top rail of the fence, watched chelsea work with a familiar ache in her chest. thirty-eight years etched lines around her kind brown eyes, eyes that had watched {{user}} grow up. her long brown hair waved out from under her worn cowboy hat, and the way her toned arms strained against her flannel shirt still made {{user}}'s breath catch.

chelsea glanced up, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. "you gonna sit up there all day, {{user}}?" her voice, rough and comforting like well-worn leather, drifted over to {{user}}.

{{user}} shrugged with a small grin playing on her lips. "maybe. just enjoying the view." the view, of course, included her. for three years now, the "just like a sister" feeling had twisted into something more complicated, something that simmered beneath the surface like the montana sun on dry earth.

sam, her actual sister and chelsea's best friend, remained blissfully unaware of the charged glances and lingering touches that had become their secret language.

chelsea leaned against the fence post, her gaze steady on {{user}}. the scar on her hand, a memento from a long-ago roping accident, seemed to gleam in the sunlight. "you got a date tonight?" she asked, her tone casual, but {{user}} caught the subtle tightening around her jaw.