The Farmer's Daughter

Chapter Four

The dust flew up behind me as I rode my green dirt bike down the excessively long driveway back to my family's farm. As soon as I rode over the hill and closer to the barn, I slowed down and eventually took it out of gear. With no power in the bike, I hopped off and wheeled it into the barn and propped it on the kick stand. " Ha, almost forgot 'bout that. " I laughed to myself as I saw the imprint the handle had left on my hand.

Standing up, I made my way to my horse's stall so I could groom her, clean the stall, and change out the food and water. I unhooked the latch and swung the door open, and there stood my beautiful paint mare. " Aurora! " I excitedly squealed as I threw my arms around her neck while she rested her head on my shoulder in response.

" I've missed ya, " I began talking to the horse in a calm voice, " Yeah, how's it been, huh? Have I missed out on much 'round here? " I led her to the back door of the barn and into the field where I then hooked a long rope to her bridal and tied it around a wooden post. " Alrighty, I'm gonna go clean out your stall now, be back soon. "

In the corner of the barn closest to the stall was all of Aurora's necessities, so I grabbed a scooper and a wheel barrow and began cleaning out all the dirty hay, then wheeled it outside and dumped it into a pile on the outside of the barn. Once I put the wheel barrow and scooper back in the corner of the barn, I grabbed a bale of hay and threw it in the stall, then I untied the twine and spread the hay somewhat evenly around the floor.

I left the stall door open and grabbed a bucket of different combs, brushes, and hoof picks, then brought it outside to where Aurora was standing. " Alright, time to clean you up a bit. " I told the horse. I grabbed a soft bristled brush and swept it across her multicolor coat to brush off the majority of dust that had accumulated upon her.

Once I was done with her coat, I threw the brush in the bucket and grabbed a wide tooth comb so I could comb out any knots that had formed in her mane and tail. Luckily, there weren't many knots so I could move along to her hooves. With the hoof pick in hand, I lifted her hoof between my knees and began scraping out all the dirt that was stuck in it, along with the horseshoes.

A few minutes later, I was finally done with grooming so I put the bucket back in the corner of the barn, and went on the final chores for Aurora, which was food and water. In the stall was two hooks with buckets hanging off of them, I took the water bucket and dumped it outside, then took a hose and cleaned the inside of the bucket.

I left the hose to fill the bucket as I went back into the barn and took a scoop of grain and put it in her feed bucket, then went back outside to retrieve the water bucket. Using my surprisingly strong arms, I carried the bucket of water back to the stall and placed it on the hook, right next to the feed.

Now that I was done with the horse related chores, I decided to just spend some time with Aurora. I went outside and began to braid her mane while talking about useless things, but it's not like she could understand what I was saying anyways, so I continued to talk to her. As I finished braiding her tail, I led her back into the stall and closed the door, " See ya later Aurora. "

Once I got closer to the barn door, I heard an unfamiliar truck coming down the driveway. " That must be about the new ranch hand daddy was talking about, " I thought out loud to myself. I considered going out and introducing myself, but since I can be a bit..awkward, I just leaned against the door and listened to what was going on outside.

" You here for the job? " I heard my daddy ask. A voice replied, " Yup, and I'm your man. I can start right now and work 'til the sun goes down. " I heard a silence, then my daddy said, " Well, the fence needs fixin', the peaches need pickin', and the cows need bringing 'round. "

" Thank you sir, I won't let you down. " I heard the voice assure my daddy. " You sure you're up for this? Workin' out here ain't easy for some people. " My daddy told the stranger. " Well, " The stranger replied, " I got a truck, two strong arms, and I ain't scared of dirt, so I think I'll do just fine here. "

I stepped away from the barn door and headed back to the horse stall, " Ya hear that Aurora? " I said to the horse, " Looks like we're gonna have to get used to a new face 'round here. " Leaving the barn, I made my way back to the house and found my daddy, " Hey daddy, who's the new ranch hand? " I asked. " His name's Rodney, and I expect you to treat him nicely. He'll be here all summer unless he decides to quit. " My daddy informed me.

" Well if you need me I'm gonna be riding Aurora. " I told him as he nodded, " Just be sure to be cleaned up by dinner. " I agreed and went back to the barn to prepare for riding. After placing a blanket and saddle outside, I led Aurora to the wooden post where I lay the blanket across her back, and strapped the saddle on top of it.

Her bridal with reins was next, and then it was off to the field. There was hundreds of acres to ride on, but my favorite place to ride was a small trail near the edge of our property. I rode down a dirt path that was next to the fence, and finally came upon the beginning of the trail. Riding is one thing I missed a lot while I was gone, so I took this opportunity to do all the things I hadn't done for a while.

" Ready, Aurora? " I spoke to the horse as I gave her the signal to jump over a fallen log. " Yeah! " I said in excitement. After a few more jumps and riding around, the sun began to set. " Oh shoot, I have to be home by dinner. " I realized, and quickly turned Aurora around and began to give her signals to go faster. Once we exited the trail and were in the field, she began galloping until I pulled her back as we neared the barn.

" Whoaaa.... good girl. " I hopped off and took the saddle and blanket into the barn, then led Aurora into her stall and took the bridal off, " See ya tomorrow. " I spoke while stroking her neck, then I turned on my heel and jogged back to the house as I saw the new ranch hand's truck leaving down the driveway. " Sorry, sorry, I know it's late. " I apologized as I ran past my daddy and up the stairs so I could change out of my clothes, which were now a bit dirty.

Once I changed into a light yellow sundress, washed my hands and face, and took my hair out of the braid so it fell into blonde waves and curls across my shoulders, I went downstairs and sat at the mahogany dining table with my parents, as we proceeded to talk and eat my mom's homemade dinner. " Thank you mama, that was really good. " She nodded as I went around the table and took everyone's plates so I could put them in the sink, ready to be washed later.

" I'm gonna turn in a bit early, goodnight mama, " I gave her a hug, then turned and did the same to my dad, " goodnight daddy. " They both said goodnight and then I went into the bathroom and took a quick shower to rinse off all the filth that had accumulated while riding, then changed into pajama shorts and a tank top, brushed my teeth, and pulled my hair back into a braid. Now that I was done for the day, I turned off the light and crawled under the quilt on my bed, and was soon fast asleep.