Free Loving Lauren by Jill Sanders

lips.
     
    “The little place by the stream needs some fixing up. I was just enlisting Grant here to help me out.”
     
    She felt her heart slow and the red haze behind her eyes slowly disappeared. “If there's anything major, just let me know. I'll have Jimmy take a look.” She saw Mrs. Roberts, one of the diner's regulars, waving from across the room. “Excuse me.” She left the two men and walked over to the older woman.
     
    “How are you today, Mrs. Roberts?” Lauren was happy for the reprieve.
     
    “Oh, just fine today, Lauren. I heard you were having some work done out at your place today. I hope you aren't having too many issues with the old house.”
     
    Lauren smiled, knowing how fast word spread in small towns. She figured she'd have to explain herself a dozen times by the end of the day. “No, just some minor issues with the plumbing. Billy assured me that everything would be back up by the end of the day.”
     
    “Oh, that's good. I was worried when I saw all those trucks heading out your way. Well, you will let me know if you need anything, won't you?” Mrs. Roberts smiled up at Lauren. Just then the bell chimed for the front door and Lauren looked over to see Mr. Graham and Mr. Holton walk in. The two had been her father's best friends, and since her father's death, their friendship had gotten even closer.
     
    “Lauren, dear.” The men walked over and took a seat in their favorite booth next to Mrs. Roberts. “We'll have our usual,” Mr. Graham said as she walked over with a hot pot of coffee. Pouring each of the men a cup, she walked back to place their orders. Mrs. Robert's words hung in her mind like a broken record. Trucks? What trucks?
     
    Four hours later, her mind was fried. She didn't know how Alex worked here thirty hours a week. She looked over at her sister and realized that, since she had arrived three hours ago, Alex's smile hadn't faltered once. Her makeup was still fresh, not a hair was out of place on her head, and she wore heels on top of it all. Lauren looked down at her black tennis shoes. Her feet were killing her and she desperately wished to soak them in a hot tub, which only reminded her that it might not be possible. A little more of her spirit slid to the floor.
     
    Three more hours. You only have three more hours, she told herself. Then you can go home and sleep in your soft bed. She felt a bead of sweat drip down her back and cringed again at the thought of no shower when her shift was over. Instead, she knew she'd have to make do with a jug of water and a washcloth, like she'd used the last few days.
     
    Growing up in East Texas, she knew that all it took in the summertime was a walk out to your car to be drenched in your own sweat, but spending seven hours on your feet, running around carrying hot plates and being around the hot kitchen, really did her in. She smelled like grease and coffee the second she stepped into the place.
     
    If there was any other place to make a decent day's salary, she would have jumped at it years ago. By the end of her shift, she was completely worn out. Just looking at her sister and noticing how cheerful Alex still looked in the seat beside her made her feel even more down. How could she have so much energy? Alex had always been like that though. Maybe it was the fact that her sister didn't have the burden of the ranch's fate on her shoulders. At least she'd given her sisters that.
     
    When they drove up the long driveway, her sister happily chatting about the day, Lauren looked at the house and hit the brakes, sending her sister jolting forward.
     
    “What?” Alex gasped, “Are you okay? You're not having a heart attack are you?” Her sister quickly unbuckled her seat belt and reached for her.
     
    “What? No!” She would have laughed, but her eyes were fixed on the house. “Look!” She pointed towards the large place. There across the field, with the sun setting behind it, stood her house with a shiny new metal roof