Free And Then He Kissed Me by Kim Amos

next to her coffee. She used it for coaching, and it was scrawled with drills and practice ideas. It included everything from weight-lifting regimens to how to divvy up the workouts to ideas for getting enough protein into athletes. She’d pulled it out after her run with Alexis, wondering if she’d have the chance to really use it again.
    The thought had her smiling slightly when Casey finally answered.
    “Hello.” The word out of her sister’s mouth was a statement, a period in a conversation that hadn’t even started yet.
    “Hi, Casey,” Audrey said. She heard the rustle of papers in the background. “Are you at work already?” It was barely eight o’clock.
    “I’m doing a round of tax prep for some of the companies with extensions past April fifteenth,” Casey said, sounding distracted. “The date for filing never moves, but you’d be amazed at how many people can’t get it together.”
    Audrey pictured the rows of manila folders in her home office, each one neatly labeled thanks to her sister, and knew she’d probably be one of those late-filers if it weren’t for Casey.
    “Long day, then,” Audrey said, trying to sound sympathetic, even though she knew her sister loved her job. Casey worked as a corporate accountant about an hour up the road in Eagan, a suburb of Minneapolis. She spent most of her time in a small office on the sixth floor of a glass-walled office building that had a shallow man-made pond out front. Audrey never could get past the smell of the place—a mixture of paste and paint—or the way the plastic leaves on the fake plants in the atrium collected dust. But Casey was there day in and day out, promoted again and again, and never seemed to tire of the columns, spreadsheets, and forms that comprised her successful career.
    “Any movement on the employment front?” Casey asked. The question’s phrasing had Audrey picturing soldiers lined up to do battle, pressing into enemy territory.
    “It’s, um…” Her eyes tracked the birds fluttering past her window. “It’s not what I expected.” Her stomach sank at the evasion. It wasn’t a lie, not technically, but guilt still weighted her insides.
    “There’s nothing in that town,” Casey said. “You need to move up here.”
    Audrey forced a smile, reminding herself that if her sister was opinionated, it was only because she was used to playing the role. The two girls had lost their parents when Audrey was ten and Casey was thirteen. They’d gone to live with their aunt Lodi, who was struggling to get by on her own—never mind having two girls around. Casey was the one who’d had to grow up too quickly and become the adult, making sure Audrey ate, making sure she had clean clothes, making sure Audrey did her homework and stayed out of trouble. It was because of Casey that Audrey had tried out for the track team in high school and had gone to college on a track scholarship.
    It’s because of me she’s in that office right now, Audrey thought, her heart constricting. If Casey hadn’t had to care for Audrey for so many years, maybe she wouldn’t have grown to expect that responsibility was always hers to shoulder—a trait she never lost. These days, she applied it to her job, working almost constantly. Audrey pictured her sister’s bare left hand and swallowed back still more guilt. Would her sister be married if it wasn’t for Audrey? Would she be happier?
    “I’d love for us to live closer,” Audrey hedged, “but I’m still looking into a few job opportunities in White Pine. There’s more than you think.”
    Casey sighed. “Well, in the meantime, I’ve got some potential leads for you up here. I’ll keep you posted.”
    Audrey clutched the phone. She tried to summon the boldness she’d felt in her Harley clothes, the same emotions she was able to channel at Lumberjack Grocery, in order to tell her sister she didn’t want to move to Eagan. She’d loved so many things about her P.E. job—the kids, the