Somewhere in the midst of the conversation, Anna found herself being coaxed into Tamsan’s truck. She was too far gone to operate the seat belt so Tamsan did it for her. It was nice, Tamsan’s capable, able hands moving over her body with a touch that wasn’t exactly erotic in intent, but which Anna managed to interpret that way regardless.

“You’re so fucking hot,” she slurred as Tamsan leaned over her.

“Glad you think so,” Tamsan said, clicking the seat belt into place. “Let’s get you home.”

“The stars are so pretty,” Anna said whimsically as they drove. “They were never pretty back in the city. They were just little twinkly winklies all far away. Here they’re close. Here I can eat the moon.”

“Eat the moon, huh,” there was a smile in Tamsan’s voice.

“It’s not cheese, you know. They say it’s cheese, but it’s not. It’s white chocolate, but it tastes like milk chocolate. And it has a berry filled center with a core of crispy nuts.”

“Are you hungry, by any chance?”

“Oh my god, I am SO hungry,” Anna exclaimed. “How did you know?”

“Call it a hunch,” Tamsan said, turning her truck through the Sun Ranch gates. “I’ll make you something when we get in.”

“I hope it’s grilled cheese. I like grilled cheese.”

“It can be grilled cheese if you like,” Tamsan said indulgently.

As it turned out, it was grilled cheese. It was a great thick grilled sandwich made in a frying pan, with orange jack and cheddar cheese melting all out its edges in yummy crispy bits which Anna shoved into her mouth with great eagerness. It smelled of goodness and content, and it tasted like comfort.

“You make the best food,” Anna said, chewing happily. “This is the best food.”

“Better than the moon?” Tamsan sipped the tea she’d made herself. Anna hadn’t known that there was even tea in the kitchen, but Tamsan had clearly ferreted it out with her colonial instinct.

“Much better than the moon,” Anna said. As she ate, a certain amount of clarity began to return. She was still very drunk, but the coherent kind of drunk, the other side of drunk. “I’ve made a mess of things,” she confessed to the crumbs on her plate. “I’ve made a mess of everything.”

“Don’t worry about that tonight. Just eat your sandwich and go to bed.”

“I’m not tired, and anyway, if I lie down the room will just start spinning.”

“Probably,” Tamsan agreed.

“I’m going to stay awake until the room gets solid again,” Anna said. “I don’t like it when it spins.” She finished her sandwich and realized that Tamsan was sort of just sitting there, looking at her. “What?”

“Just wondering what I’m going to do with you.” The dimple in Tamsan’s cheek made an appearance. “You sure know how to make people talk. There’s not a hand on a ranch that hasn’t heard about what you did today.”

“People can talk all they want,” Anna shrugged. “People talked about me my whole damn life. They probably talked about me even when I wasn’t here.”

“It’s not a bad thing. You took a stand. And sure, you lost a couple of good hands, and your ranch foreman, but that’s not the end of the world. You’ve got me, if you want.”

“I turned you away today too, remember?”

“Sure I remember. But I told you I’d be here to help you out if you needed me. And it looks like you need me.”

“I need someone,” Anna mumbled down at her plate.

Tamsan crossed the room and squeezed her shoulder. “It’s going to be alright, kid. You’ll see.”