[Harvest Moon: A New Beginning] Rio to the Rescue

Three Little Words pt. 1

Rio woke up the next morning feeling exhausted. She had tossed and turned all night, all of her dreams involving being chased by an unknown figure. Usually that meant something big was bothering her, which means it was time for some girl talk. She sat up in her bed, wishing she didn't have to do anything today. She sighed and shuffled her way to the kitchen.

A cold nose poked at her hand as she was preparing her cup of tea. "Huh? Oh, Goldie. Wanna go outside?" The dog wagged his tail furiously and spun around in excited circles. She cracked a smile, unable to resist her dog's excitement. "I take that as a yes. Well c'mon then cutie"

Once she opened up the door Goldie took off into the fields. She smiled at the scene, for some reason animals always made her feel better. She took a sip from her mug and admired the view, it was the start of summer so none of her flowers were blooming, but it was a beautiful scene all the same.

She heard a noise to her left, which was unusual at this time of day. Turning to investigate the scene she spotted Neil dropping off supplies next to the coop. "Morning Neil, busy already?"

He turned at the sound of her voice and shot her a half smile. "Mornin' Rio. Not really, just figured I'd get this out of the way before the day starts, that way I won't have to move all this stuff in the heat." He walked up to the patio and plopped down on the steps in front of where she stood.

She sat down beside him and set her mug beside her. "Well, it would help if you didn't wear that jacket everywhere. Seriously, who wears a jacket in this heat?"

He rolled his eyes at her and snickered. "You're one to talk. Nice PJ's."

Rio looked down at her clothes and blushed. "I was a little tired this morning, guess I forgot to put real clothes on."

"Whoa, no snappy response? You must be sick." He smirked at her. "I could always take care of you again."

She felt her heart quicken at his comment and immediately stood from her spot. "Yeah! Um, anyway...I need to get a start on chores, so I'll see ya later!" She then made her way quickly into the house, closing the door behind her. She thought, "I need to talk to someone now."

Neil, still seated outside, stared at Rio's door wondering why she was in such a rush. He thought things were going pretty well, but then she started acting weird. "Hmm," he thought, "What made her leave so fast?" He thought back to their conversation and wondered if his comment about taking care of her made her feel awkward. It wasn't his intention to make her feel that way, he was just joking around. He stood up and brushed himself off, wondering what was wrong with Rio today. He needed some advice and knew just who to ask.

_____

Rio wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed. "Finally done!" She called for Goldie who ran towards her, barking happily the whole way. "Ready for lunch?" Goldie barked in response. "Aright, let's go!" She felt as though she had been neglecting her dog since she started hanging out with Neil more and was making an effort to be a better owner.

After feeding Goldie and herself, Rio decided to shower off before heading off to find Felicity. She was tired of wearing farm clothes and decided to throw on something a little nicer. She went with short denim shorts trimmed with white lace, a dark blue V-neck t-shirt and a pair of brown sandals. She gave Goldie a good belly rub and promised to be back as soon as possible. She then grabbed a light jacket in case it got cool and headed over to the Inn to find Felicity.

She peeked into her bedroom and found it empty, so she made her way to the salon. She pushed open the door and saw Felicity flipping through a magazine in a chair near the entrance. Before she could ask Felicity anything she heard two male voices coming down the staircase. Seconds later, Allen and Neil's figures made their way into the room.