The Wild Card [Harvest Moon: Sunshine Islands]

Chapter 3

Standing at the door inside the feed store, Vaughn pulled his hat down lower over his eyes.

"Go on now, git!" Mirabelle scolded him from behind the counter, and he turned and glared at her. "Oh, for Pete's sake, Vaughn! It's been years since there's been a real farmer on that island! Don't tell me you don't want her business? What are you gonna do, keep selling chicks to the islanders? You know you can't keep going on like this—you need her business, whether you like it or not!"

She was right, but knowing so didn't help matters at all. He hated talking to people, even when it was someone he knew. But a stranger—and a woman, at that. What kind of woman was crazy enough to take on that old wreck, anyway? He wondered if she was one of those idealistic hippy types, thinking she'd come out here and be all at one with the earth and live off the land and blah blah blabbity-blah. Or maybe she was just plain stupid. Either way, she'd be sure to pack it in and leave once it really sunk in just how much work it took even to just run a ranch, let alone to fix one up that was in such awful shape.

One thing was certain, though: he wasn't selling her any animals until he was damned sure she could take care of them. So reluctantly, he pushed open the door and stepped out into the road. Mirabelle might be pushing for him to get her business, but first and foremost, he wanted to assess this wannabe farmer and the condition of her barns before he even considered selling her so much as one tiny little chick.

As he crossed the bridge to Ranch Island, he could hear a big commotion. Sounded like hammering, he decided. That was a good sign, anyway. Belle had said she'd arrived just a couple days ago, so if she was already working on repairs, then maybe—just maybe—she was taking it seriously. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean she was fit for ranching, but still, it was something.

He stepped off the bridge and stopped short in surprise. Straight ahead of him was the battered old shipping bin, and sticking straight up out of the bin was the longest, leanest, tannest, downright sexiest set of gams he'd ever set eyes on. They were kicking energetically, and from deep inside the bin he heard muffled cursing. Obviously their owner needed help, and he knew he should go lend a hand. But those legs... he just couldn't take his eyes off them.

After staring for a few minutes, the owner of those legs finally gave a huge heave backward and propelled herself up and out of the bin. Landing with a dull thud on the hard earth, she stumbled a little before falling backward right onto her hind end with a loud "Ooomph!".

He blinked, staring down into eyes that shone like pools of golden honey in the sunlight. She gasped, then sputtered angrily as she scrambled to her feet. "Wh-what the... who the hell are you? What are you doing here on my ranch? And why were you just standing there staring at me while I was stuck?!"

"Name's Vaughn," he replied, tipping his hat partly out of politeness and partly to hide the red creeping up his neck and into his face until he could calm himself. "I'm the animal dealer here in the islands. Belle said there was a new rancher, so I came to introduce myself to you. If you want any livestock, I'm your man."

"Is that so?" she said acidly, brushing off the seat of her shorts and turning back to the bin and peering into it again.

"What's so damn fascinating about a shipping bin?" Vaughn exclaimed as she began to climb in again.

She stood up again, glaring at him. "I dropped something. I'm trying to get it back, but I can't reach the bottom. How does Taro do it? He's shorter than I am!"

Without a word, Vaughn sauntered over, grasped a lever at the side, and gave it a tug. There was a creaking sound, and when Colette looked inside, she saw the bottom of the bin rise up a little, then stop with a clicking sound. She stared at Vaughn, who gave it an additional tug, causing it to rise up a little more. Finally, the base was within easy reach of the top, and he reached in and pulled out a cell phone. He handed it to her, and she exclaimed in annoyance as she saw the shattered screen.

"Dunno why you bother with that thing anyway. No signal out here. Hell, most of us don't have regular phones even—just Taro, Regis, and the hotel front desk."

"It's none of your business what I do, is it?" she snapped, turning on her heel and storming back toward the house. He stood watching her for a minute, then shrugged and followed after her.

"What do you want now?" she said, exasperated, as he caught up to her in front of the old shack. Gannon was up on the roof, replacing the ancient decaying shingles with bright new ones.

"Look, lady, I just want to check the condition of your barns, then I'll get out of your hair."

"What, are you a code inspector now, too? Why do you care?"

Scowling, he stared fiercely at her. "I care about my animals, that's why. I'm not selling you so much as a hatching egg until I'm sure you've got a safe place for them and know how to care for them."

"Oh, really?" They stared at each other for several long moments, neither of them willing to give in to the other. Finally, she shrugged, surprising Vaughn into blinking. "Fine. I don't think it's any of your business what I do, but I don't have time for this. They're not suitable for anything yet, though. They're next on my list of repairs, as soon as Gannon here's finished my house. When he's done, you can come wallow with the rest of the pigs to your heart's content."

Then she pushed past him and stormed away, leaving him standing there glaring after her.