Page 21 of The Write Stuff

I could have let it go, but I didn’t. “I know Ellen was the face of lesbians everywhere for a time —”

“She was a trailblazer,” Lucy agreed.

“She’s kind of hated now, though,” I argued.

“Who could possibly hate Ellen?”

“All the people who said she was mean behind the scenes of her show.”

“Oh, that’s just gossip.” Lucy waved off the suggestion as if swatting at a gnat. “I don’t believe Ellen was anything other than amazing.”

“Okay.” If she wanted to believe that, who was I to tell her otherwise? “If you’re trying to find a soulmate — which is always what you’re trying to do — don’t you think you should go with somebody a little more family-friendly as an advertisement?”

“No.”

“Okay, then.” I sighed. “How is the hunt going?”

“Well, not as well as I hoped.” Lucy’s lips turned down. “Did you know there aren’t a lot of cowboy lesbians?”

“Is that an overall thing, or just a Wyoming thing?” With Lucy, you never knew. Her head was all over the place.

“So far, it seems to be a Wyoming thing. It could be an overall thing, though. I’m going to find out in three days.”

Uh-oh. The look of determination on her face told me she was going to be on the move again. “Where are you going this time?” I was resigned to whatever came next. Lucy was incapable of sitting still.

“I have some feelers out,” she replied. “I’m waiting for responses from ranches in Texas and Oklahoma. There weren’t a lot of options for a fast transition.” She looked legitimately upset, so I didn’t say what I wanted to say.

I told you so.

Whenever Lucy made a move, I carefully broke down why it probably wasn’t going to work. I wasn’t trying to be a jerk — I was a legitimately worried older sister after all — but she always took it that way and did the opposite of what I suggested she do.

That’s why I had to bite my tongue this time.

“Oh, just say it,” Lucy said after several seconds of uncomfortable silence. “I know you want to.”

“No, you don’t like it when I interfere in your life,” I countered.

“That’s never stopped you before.”

“I know, but —”

“Just say it.”

I bit back a growl and gave in to my worst possible instincts. “It’s stupid to go to Oklahoma. You’re going to have the same problems there that you’re having in Wyoming.”

“What makes you say that?” Lucy didn’t sound mad as much as curious.

“Do you know a lot of stories coming out of Oklahoma that revolve around happy lesbians?”

“No, but I don’t know a lot of stories about happy lesbians in Texas either.”

“True, but there are pockets of openness in Texas. Like Austin. Did you put in for a ranch close to Austin?”

“No. The only opening was near Odessa.”

I had to look up Odessa on my phone and cringed. “Have you thought that maybe ranch work isn’t your forte?” I asked, changing tactics on the fly.

“I want a sexy cowgirl,” Lucy complained. “I can’t help it if my loins demand it. The heart wants what the heart wants.”