“This is it,” Mom said, as we approached a farmhouse on the right. I leaned out of my window and studied it. The place was obviously well kept, with what looked like a fresh coat of white paint and light-blue trim. Flowers were everywhere, both hanging from baskets on the porch, and planted in small gardens around the house. A large, faded-red barn sat about a hundred yards away, along with various other small buildings.
But what struck me most of all was the isolation. There was nothing else around – just fields and trees in all directions, as far as the eye could see. How could people live like this?
We pulled into the gravel driveway and crunched to a stop. Mom turned off the engine, and we sat there waiting for something to happen. Like maybe someone coming out to greet us.
“Let’s get out,” Mom finally said.
“You sure?” I replied. “I’ve seen horror movies that start like this.”
She laughed and opened her door, and I followed. We stood there in the quiet sunshine, listening to the birds chirping.
“You sure this is the place?” I asked.
“This is it. I recognize it from the pictures Lauren sent me.”
When my mom said ‘sent’, I knew she really meant sent, and not emailed. She had already informed me that they didn’t have any kind of internet access here, and didn’t even own a computer. Which prompted me to ask if Lauren’s family was Amish.
I was about to ask if the photos were black and white, when the front door burst open and a smiling blonde woman came rushing out.
“Maggie!” she called. “You made it!”
“Lauren!” my mom exclaimed, “It’s so nice to see you!”
The two women hugged tightly, and kissed each other on the cheek. It was almost to the point of awkwardness when they finally stepped back, still clutching each other’s hands.
“You look wonderful!” Lauren said, “It’s like you haven’t aged a day in twenty years.”
“And you’re still as good a liar as ever,” Mom replied, and they giggled like schoolgirls, causing me to wince.
“Seriously though,” Mom added, “you look amazing, Lauren. Country life must agree with you.”
Our host nodded. “It does. It’s lovely out here. You’re going to have so much fun!”
I was looking around skeptically, when she said, “And this must be your daughter.”
“The one and only,” Mom replied. “Lauren, this is Kristen. Kristen, this is my friend Lauren.”
“So nice to meet you,” Lauren said, coming at me with arms wide. A moment later I was in her tight embrace, and she was kissing me on the cheek.
“Nice to meet you too,” I said.
She leaned back and held me by my shoulders, scrutinizing me for a moment. “Yes, I see it. You have your mother’s eyes.” Her gaze travelled down and then back up. “And her body. Are you a wild child like she used to be?”
I gave her a puzzled look. “Wild child? Mom?”
“Um,” Mom said, “we better get our stuff unloaded.” She pressed a button on her key ring to pop the hatch. “Come on you two, give me a hand.”
Lauren winked at me. “I’ll tell you some stories later. Not all of them, of course.” She winked again and headed over to my mom, leaving me half grossed out, and half intrigued.
After we got our bags moved into the house, Lauren showed us to our rooms. Mom’s was the guest bedroom on the second floor, and mine was a small room up on the third floor, which used to be an attic, but had been fixed up into some kind of studio. Large, round windows at either end provided plenty of light, and I had to begrudgingly admit it was beautiful.
“Glad you like it,” Lauren said. “It’s my favorite room in the house. I love to spend my mornings up here painting.”
“I’m sorry I’ll be keeping you from that,” I replied.
She gave me a wave of her hand. “No worries. Your mom and I will be keeping busy while you’re here. We have plenty of catching up to do, don’t we Mags?”
“Where’s everyone at?” Mom asked her friend.
“Robert is out with his tractor, plowing the back fields. Jamie is in the barn, feeding the cows. Perhaps you’d like to go and introduce yourself, Kristen?”
“Um,” I said, thinking that was the last thing I wanted to do, “maybe I’ll unpack first.”
“Nonsense,” Mom said, putting her arm around my shoulder and guiding me towards the door. “You’ll have plenty of time for that later. Go say hello.”
“Mom.”
“Go,” she repeated, and I knew it was an order.
Chapter 4
I trudged down the two flights of stairs, located the back door, and went out into the sunshine. Walking to the barn, I breathed deep, enjoying the freshness of the air. But as I got closer, I stopped breathing, as the smell of cow manure became overwhelming.
“Ew, disgusting,” I muttered, clamping my hand over my nose, hoping it would serve as some sort of filter. But it didn’t.
I stopped at the large, open barn doors and peeked inside. Compared to the bright sunshine, it was dark inside, and I didn’t see any movement. Maybe Lauren was wrong, and her son wasn’t out here. I was about to turn around and go back to the house, when I saw a bale of hay fall from the ceiling at the far end. Curious, I stepped inside.
The cow stench was even worse with no breeze to carry it away, and I tried to breathe through my mouth as I made my way across the wooden floor. Another bale fell, and I saw there was an opening in the ceiling where they were dropping from. I also heard the sound of someone singing.
“I danced with my baby in the clear moonlight, and she felt alright, yeah she felt alright.”
I grinned. I had never heard the song before, but his voice was clear, and he knew how to carry a tune. As he continued, I tapped my foot, and then began a little dance to accompany it.
“And when we were alone I held her tight, and she felt alright, yeah she felt alright.”
I was smiling and dancing when a pair of boots appeared on the ladder leading down from the loft, and began descending.
“She shared her love all through the night, and she felt alright, yeah she felt alright.”
I grimaced, feeling embarrassed I hadn’t announced myself. He probably wasn’t going to be happy to find out I’d been standing down here eavesdropping on his personal performance. But I lost my train of thought as he came into sight.
He was a big boy, and even through his denim overalls, I could see his powerful body. As he moved down the ladder, the muscles of his ass worked, and my eyes moved upwards, over his trim hips that flared out to his broad shoulders. I felt a flutter go through my tummy.
From behind, his curly brown hair hung down over his neck, and when he stepped off the ladder, he reached for a pitchfork that was lying against one of the stalls.
“Yeah, and since that night we’ve been alright, yeah we’ve been alright.”
To my surprise, he held the pitchfork like it was a guitar, and began to strum it in time with his song. He did a little dance of his own, and spun on his heel as he continued singing.
“Yeah, we’ve been alright, we’ve be–”
Suddenly, he stopped, and his eyes opened wide as he noticed me. For a long moment, we just gaped at each other without speaking.
Finally, I broke the silence. “Hi. I’m Kristen.”
He snapped the pitchfork down and began poking at one of the bales of hay. In the dim light, I could just make out a blush rising on his cheeks.
“Hi,” he replied, his eyes looking downward.
“Your mom told me to come out and say hello.” This was my way of letting him know it wasn’t my idea to come out and spy on him.
He nodded without looking up. “Ok.”
“Hey, look,” I said, “I’m sorry. I should have said something. But I was really enjoying your singing. It even had me dancing a little.” I gave him a demonstration, swaying my hips slightly.
He looked up, and a small grin curled up on his lips
. “You were?”
“Yeah. You have a great voice.”
His smile widened, and his eyes focused on mine. I felt another flutter in my stomach. His eyes were light-colored, and hard to tell exactly what color in the faint light, but it was his face that drew my attention. It was a mixture of boyishness and masculinity, a strong jawline combined with a mischievous smile perched on full lips. His nose was straight with a small upturn at the end, matching the rest of his features perfectly. My god, he was gorgeous.
“Sorry, I’m being rude,” he said, and stuck out his hand. “Hi Kristen, I’m Jamie.”
I held out my hand, and it was engulfed in his large, calloused grip. Unlike Billy’s, these hands were strong and used to hard work, and for a brief moment, I wondered what they would feel like on my body.
“Nice to meet you, Jamie.”
“I hear your mom and my mom were good friends.”
I nodded. “They’re in there yakking and reminiscing. Although your mom’s been telling me things about my mom I’m not sure I want to know.”
He chuckled. “My mom has an odd sense of humor.”
“So, Jamie. What’s there to do for fun around here?”
He shrugged. “Lots of stuff.”
“Like what?”
“Like hunting.”
“Hunting? Like shooting Bambi?”
He grinned. “I don’t give them names.”
“What else?”
“Fishing.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you do anything that doesn’t involve animals?”
“We have a pond down in the woods where we go swimming.”
I nodded. “That’s a little better. But I’m thinking more like something for fun. Like where do you go on a Friday night, you know, to meet girls?”
“Oh, you mean like the Longhorn?”
“The Longhorn? What’s that?”
“It’s a bar on the other side of the county. I used to go there to hear the bands.”
“Now that sounds like fun. What do you mean you used to?”
“Mom says the place is nothing but trouble. She won’t let me go there anymore.”
“Maybe I can talk her into letting us go together.”
“I doubt it.”
“Do you hang out with friends from school?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t been to school in two years.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I used to take the bus and it was an hour each way. Mom said that was too much time to waste away from the farm, so she pulled me out and has been home-schooling me since.”
“Don’t you miss seeing your friends?”
“Yeah. But I’ll see them in the fall when I go to college. Most of them will be going for agricultural degrees, like I am.”
I nodded. “I’m going to college in the fall too. Back home, I mean.”
“You looking forward to it?”
“Very much. Cause I just broke up with my boyfriend, and I’ll be able to–” I stopped, realizing he probably wouldn’t want to hear about my plans for getting laid in the fall. “Um, yeah, I am. How about you?”
“Yeah. I do get lonely around here sometimes. I mean, my mom is great, but…”
“Hey, you don’t have to explain to me how much a pain in the ass mothers can be.”
He grinned.
A shadow fell over us, and I jumped as a deep voice spoke.
“Jamie, are you feeding those cows?”
“Yes, Dad,” Jamie replied, and quickly began stabbing the bale of hay with his pitchfork, pulling it apart.
I heard heavy footsteps walking our way, and turned to see. My eyes opened wide. I immediately saw where Jamie had gotten his size and looks. Mr. Cooper was huge – a man-sized version of his son. And while his face was rugged and unshaven, he was very handsome. But right now, he didn’t look too happy.
“It doesn’t look like you’re feeding them. Looks to me like you’re standing around bullshitting.”
“Sorry, Dad,” Jamie said, and began poking the hay faster.
“It’s my fault, Mr. Cooper,” I said. “I shouldn’t have been bothering him while he was working.”
He gave me a disdainful look. “I guess you’re Maggie’s daughter.”
“Yes. My name is Kristen. It’s nice to meet you.” I held out my hand.
He ignored it, and said, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t keep my son from his chores.”
I quickly pulled my hand back. “Sorry.” Then I had an inspired idea. “Hey, since I held him up, maybe I could help.”
“Kristen,” Jamie said quickly, “you don’t have to–”
“I think that’s a great idea,” his dad said. “Why don’t you grab that bucket over there and use it to fill the cows’ troughs with water?”
I grinned. “I can do that.”
“The spigot is over in the corner,” he said, pointing. With that, he turned and walked out.
“I’ll do it,” Jamie said, “don’t worry about it.”
“Hey, I may not have grown up on a farm, but I can manage to fill a bucket.” I grinned at him.
He met my grin with his. “Fine. If you want to water the cows, go ahead.”
I made several trips between the spigot and the troughs, while Jamie pitchforked hay into the stalls. The cows seemed appreciative, and mooed loudly, causing me to giggle. It was odd, but I could hardly smell them anymore.
We finished about the same time, and stood together looking at our handiwork. I held up my hand. “I think that deserves a high five.”
He grinned and slapped my palm. “Have you ever been on a farm before?”
“Nope. This is my first time, why?”
He shrugged. “You look like a natural farmer.”
I smiled. “You know, that was the last thing I expected to hear today.”
He laughed and then said. “Hey, do you like horses?”
“I love horses. Well, I mean in books and stuff. I haven’t ever met one in person.”
“We have a few in the corral. Do you want to see them?”
“I’d love to.”
Chapter 5
He led me out of the barn, and I finally got to see his eyes, which were light blue. We walked down a path to a smaller building, which turned out to be the stables. Inside, there were a few empty horse stalls, and we went through to the corral on the other side. There, wandering around grazing, were five chestnut colored horses. I stared in amazement.
“They’re beautiful,” I said.
“Aren’t they? Four of them are mares, which are ours, and the fifth – that stallion over there with the white star on his forehead – is on loan from a neighbor.”
“On loan? You mean to work on your farm?”
He looked down. “Um, yeah. Something like that.”
“Can I pet one?”
“Sure.” He held out his hand and gave a low whistle, and two of the mares walked over and nuzzled into his hand. “Go ahead,” he said to me.
I reached over the fence and patted the first horse on the forehead. The hair was short and velvety, and the animal felt firmer than I thought it would be. I imagined it feeling like a dog, but it was much more muscular. The horse moved its head up to my hand, and I pulled it away.
“It tried to bite me.”
He laughed. “No, she’s just looking for food. Do you want to feed her?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Here, I’ll help you.” He walked back into the stable and came out with a bucket full of brown pellets. “Take a handful.”
I did as he instructed.
“Now, when you hold out your hand to them, make sure you keep it flat.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because, while they won’t bite you on purpose, if you have a finger sticking up, they may accidentally chomp on it.”
“I don’t think I want to do this.”
He smiled. “Come on, you’re a natural farmer. You can do this. You’ll be fine.”
“Promis
e?”
“Promise.”
I stuck my hand over the fence, so intent on keeping it flat it was bending the other way. Jamie did the same with the horse on his side.
The mare nuzzled into my hand, and I felt its rough tongue begin to lick up the pellets. I giggled. “It tickles.”
When the pellets were gone, the mare switched over to Jamie’s hand, head-butting the other horse and trying to nose in on its food.
“Don’t be rude,” Jamie said to the horse. “You can give her some more, Kristen.”
I reached into the bucket and pulled out another handful, but when I turned back to the fence, all of the horses were standing there looking at me expectantly.
“What should I do now?” I asked.
“Feed Blaze first. The mares won’t try to take it from him.”
“Typical male,” I said, rolling my eyes and smiling. I held out my hand to the large horse with the white star, and he licked the pellets away, then kept licking my hand.
“Looks like he likes you,” Jamie said. “See if he’ll let you pet him.”
I reached up and caressed the side of the stallion’s long face, and he let out a small snort. “What does that mean?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, but he’s letting you touch him, so that means he likes you.”
I grinned and petted him some more. “Aren’t you a pretty boy?”
Meanwhile, Jamie was trying to satisfy all the mares, moving his hand between them, keeping their head-butts to a minimum.
I gave Blaze another handful of food, and he snorted again when he finished.
“That should be enough,” Jamie said. “Don’t want them ruining their supper.” He carried the bucket back into the stable and came out without it, and the horses began drifting away, including Blaze.
“He’s like a typical guy,” I said. “He got what he wanted, and now he just leaves.”
Jamie laughed. “Hey, we’re not all that bad.”
I rubbed my hands together. “That was fun.”
He grinned. “See, we do have fun around here.”
I turned and leaned my back against the corral fence, taking in the farm. Somehow, it seemed much more welcoming now, as I looked over the small rolling hills, patchworked by plowed fields and woods. “Yeah, I guess you do,” I said, hearing the wistfulness in my voice. I thought about my neighborhood at home, and decided it was pretty mundane compared to this. We certainly didn’t have horses to feed.
First Time Tales - Farmboy Page 2
