The Farmer's Daughter

1.

Marley

"He's not going to last an hour" Marley hears her little sister Madelaine say from the sun room, and she lifts her head from the computer screen. "Marley, come look at him"

She sighs and stands up, stretching her back as she walks into the room. Lainey is leaning into the big picture window that overlooks their backyard.

"I didn't think Dad would find someone that quick," She states, joining Lainey and peaking out the window. Their dad is talking to his newest employee, if you can even call him that, down by the road. The boy is wearing athletic shorts and a tank top that fits loosely on his thin shoulders. Leaning against what looks to be his deep maroon truck, their dad doesn't look pleased.

Lainey chuckles, "look at the size of his arms. Their twigs. Mine are probably bigger"

"At least Dad had someone to work for him now. He really needs it." Marley mumbles the last part, and Lainey frowns slightly.

"The last guy was twice his size and quit. How do you think he's going to hold up to even do the work needed by Saturday?" Lainey looks at her finally, her forehead wrinkling up as she questions her sister.

Last weeks scene plays in Marley's head. They were sitting similar to how we are now, only she was the one who saw Darren first. He was turning onto the road from grass, stacks of hay in the bed of his truck when the back broke and hay flew out. It being august, they had a ton of hay from the fields that needed to be transferred to the barn, but since the only road cut through the orchards, he couldn't use a big trailer.

They had watched as he slammed his door in frustration before pushing the rest of the small bales off. He kicked a few, smashing them out of their ropes before flipping everything off. He turned in circles, middle finger raised. Then he just left, and never came back.

"Awe come on Dad" Lainey snaps her sister out of her trance. "He's making him pick some peaches. I could do that, I did it yesterday and didn't even get payed!"

"Laine, you filled one bucket" She rolls her eyes

"Still. Those bales aren't going to move themselves." She hopes done from where she was and starts to make her way out.

"He'll get harder work soon Laine, just wait" Marley follows her out of the room and back into their kitchen, where she takes a fresh peach from the basket and sits down next to her older sister at the counter.

Marley opens her computer again as she hears Lainey's teeth bite into the fruit, it's skin crunching with a crackling sound. She sucks the dripping juice off the bite before chewing then taking another large chunk out.

"Watcha working o-?" She questions, but stops short when a peach juice drips down her chin. She wipes it with her finger then sucks on that while Marley types in her Lainey proof password.

"The school said we're getting our class schedules today, so I'm waiting for it," she mumbles, logging into the school website under her own name.

"Boring." Lainey comments, standing up again. "I like the surprise. Print mine out and stick it into my backpack so I don't know my classes until the first day of school." She struts away as Marley shakes her head 'no', too concentrated on the loading page to say anything snarky back.

Yes, she mentally celebrates when her new schedule shows up. She snaps a picture and sends it to her friend Emily. Her response comes a minute later.

Yay! We have English and Chem 2 together... but that's it :(

What about Riley? Have you asked him yet?

Why don't you just ask him yourself? You're the one crushing on him

True true. But don't say I'm crushing on him... it's sounds pathetic. I like him, and basically everyone knows it.

And he likes you back...

He never actually confirmed that Em. Plus it was a while ago, things change. Either way, I hate summer romance. It's too complicated for new couples.

I think your getting ahead of yourself Mars Bar :)

Lol maybe I am. But please, stop saying that name when I'm around him. It sounds babyish.

Sooorry. I can still text it though. But stop talking to me, get that hottie's schedule

Kay kay, love ya

Marley does what her friend told her to but Riley doesn't respond right away. She looks at the time, and smiles. Of course he wouldn't respond. Football practice goes from one to four in August, and it's currently around two.

"Hey, hey, hey!" She jumps when Lainey walks up behind her with the pit of her peach in her hand. She tosses it into the compost bucket under the sink the turns around with a smirk on her face. "Did ya see that loverboy was in the newspaper?" she giggles and pulls it off the counter.

Not the headline article but still on the front, is a picture of Riley with his helmet off, sweaty and smiling, high fiving another teammate not in the picture. It reads:

Della Mae's Panthers Varsity team take their second win, and are promising a good season.

She looks back up at Lainey's face, a smirk still plastered on her face. "Cute picture" she says, then pushes her little sister from where she's practically laying over the counter. She lands softly on her feet, but not after having to grab the edges to hold herself up, a look of surprise stealing her smirk.

"Bet you can't wait for next monday?" Lainey recovers quickly and smiles wide.

"Oh, you know it."