The Farmer's Daughter

Chapter Ten

It'd been about three hours since I joined Rodney in picking peaches from the ripe peach trees when he said, "Goodness, it sure is hot out here." I chuckled and wiped sweat from my forehead, "I couldn't agree more. You wanna go down to the creek to cool off?" He smiled, showing off his glistening, white teeth, and nodded his head. So I jumped off the truck bed and swung my leg over the seat of my dirt bike. "I can give you a ride, if you'd like." Rodney offered as he climbed up into the cab of the truck. Now it was my turn to smile and nod as I hopped off the dirt bike and climbed up into his truck. I shut the door and buckled my seat belt as he started up the engine. "So where are we headed?" He asked. "I'll show you how to get there, don't worry." I assured him.

To get to the little creek that wasn't too far from the orchard, I led him out of the orchard, turned left down another dirt road, and then stopped at an empty field. "We used to keep cattle here, but they were too far away for us to look after them constantly, so we don't really use it anymore." I informed Rodney, as we hopped outside. I opened a gate that led into the field, and gestured for him to follow with a wave of my hand. He walked through the gate, then I started walking through the field, leaving the gate open. "The creek runs right along the field, just up here." I pointed towards a clump of trees that shaded the fence that boarded the field. Once we reached the trees, the creek's position was quite noticeable, as the sparkling, clear water weaved in and out of the trees. "C'mon!" I said, since Rodney was just standing there, with his hands in his pockets.

I darted into the trees, quickly reaching the stream, with Rodney chasing at my heels. We kicked our boots off, stripped off our socks, then Rodney rolled up his jeans, and we slowly stepped into the cold stream. The cool water instantly relieved the heat that had built up from the sun, and we began walking through the stream. "Hey, Rodney!" I yelled when I'd gotten a mere ten feet away. As he turned towards me, I dipped my hand into the water, flicked it upwards, and sent a huge splash his way. After I'd soaked him, he stood with a shocked look on his face, his blue eyes wide with surprise. Then he flashed a big smile and kicked his foot up, sending a wall of water to soak me, as well.

As we kept drenching each other in the stream, then sun set lower in the sky. "Oh no, we better be gettin' back before Daddy comes lookin' for us in the orchard." I said as I looked up at the setting sun, as it had just touched the ridge of the mountains. We quickly wrung out what water we could from our clothes, grabbed our boots, and dashed back to Rodney's truck. He started up the truck as I shut the gate, then I hopped into the passenger side, buckled my seat belt, and pulled my boots back on. We rode back to the orchard in a comfortable silence, until the silence was broken by Rodney's laugh. His laughter hung in the air, like chiming bells, until I asked, "What's so funny?" as he stopped the truck at the peach tree we had been harvesting earlier. Rodney looked at me, his gaze looking straight through mine, and replied, "I just-" He unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door, sliding out of his seat, "I can't believe I just spent my evening with a girl I hardly know, at a creek, when I could be fired for it." I jumped out of the truck and follow him to the truck bed, where we resumed picking peaches, "I'm sorry, I'll take the blame if my Daddy finds out." I said, worriedly. Rodney turned to me and smiled, "I didn't mean that in a bad way...I had a really swell time with you, Lacey."

After a couple seconds of eye contact, I shyly looked towards the ground, then began picking peaches again, "Oh...thank you. I had a great time too." As soon as we'd began picking peaches again, I heard my Daddy yell from the end of the row, "Lacey! It's time for dinner!" I jumped off the truck and walked over to my dirt bike, glancing back at Rodney, "Uh, thanks for today. See you tomorrow." He nodded, and sent a subtle wink my way. Subtle, but definitely not discreet. I took a U-turn around the row and quickly shot past Rodney's truck, riding out of the orchard as fast as I could. I'd just gotten home by the time my Daddy had pulled into the driveway. Once the dirt bike was secured in the barn, I jogged back to the house and had started up the stairs when I heard Daddy behind me, "Lacey, darlin', why are you all wet?" I turned around and smiled, "Oh, I was just gettin' really hot out in the orchard, so I took a quick dip in the creek, then got straight back to workin'. Don't worry Daddy, I wasn't gone more than ten minutes." He nodded, then walked past the stairs and into the dining room. After he was gone, I darted up the stairs and into my room, where I kicked off my boots and changed into a dry pair of denim shorts and a purple t-shirt. 

Dinner went by in a flash, as Daddy and Mama talked about what the weather was like and how we should have our old family friends join us for dinner, but my mind was preoccupied. "Lacey, you're bein' awfully quiet, is everything alright?" Mama asked. "Oh, yeah, just tired, that's all." I replied. I mean, it wasn't a complete lie. I was tired, but I was tired because I'd used all my energy that evening in the creek with Rodney. Rodney. He was all I could think about, which was preposterous, I barely knew the guy. Still, he stayed stuck in my mind for the rest of the night. From when I helped Mama with the dishes, to rinsing off in the shower, to when I crawled under the covers and closed my eyes. Rodney. I couldn't wait to see him again tomorrow, and I wondered if he thought the same thing.

Hey y'all, you've been requesting I update this story, and I hadn't been keeping up in a few months, so I thought I could write you two chapters. Let me know if you are liking the story or if you have any suggestions to add to the story. Thanks, and enjoy!