The Farmer's Daughter

Chapter Six

As I walked back through the barn door, I heard a mutter from the outside of the barn, " Oh shoot... " I quietly made my way to where I'd heard the voice, then leaned on a hay bale as I watched, who I guessed was Rodney, loading more bales into his truck bed. He must have sensed my presence as he turned around and acknowledged me in a silent way. My green eyes instantly locked as they met his frosty blue eyes.

After what seemed like forever, he finally ran his fingers through his golden hair and turned back to his work..but not before giving me a little smile, which I gladly returned. I walked back to the house with a spring in my step and a smile across my lips, and it lasted all the way up to my room, as I kicked off my boots, and as I hopped onto my bed and grabbed my cell phone to call Carmen, while being careful where I was in the room since cell service is extremely spotty in my area.

" Hello? " She answered in a confused voice. " Heyyy, so I kinda met Rodney. " I said in a high pitch voice, due to excitement. Since only silence followed my statement, I spoke again, " What's with you? " Carmen took a moment then replied, " Uhh, I may have been taking a nap..by accident. So uh, how's Rodney? " I smiled at the though, " I'll tell ya when you're actually awake. " I said my farewells as she gave me hers, then I hit "End" and put my phone back on the bedside table.

Suddenly, I was quite confused at myself for why I was acting this way. It's just a guy, so what? We don't even know each other or officially met. I shrugged off the questions and decided not to lose my happy mood to confusion, so I lay on my bed with one of my childhood books while letting the radio play my local country station. As I read Paint The Wind for the thousandth time, I replaced the main girl and horse with myself and Aurora, as I often did while adventuring through the story that is so familiar to me.

" Dinner! " I heard my mama yelling from downstairs. Sighing, I placed the bookmark between pages and set the book down besides the phone on the bedside  table, then I slid off my bed and skipped down the stairs and into a seat at the dining table. " Hey mama, how was your day? " I casually asked as she set a plate of rice, beans, potatoes, and chicken in front of me. I began pouring myself a glass of sweet tea while she told me of her trip to town and running into an old friend at the store.

" Thanks hon, " My daddy said as his plate was set before him. " Thanks mama, " I said as I agreed with my dad. " Lemme tell ya, " My daddy started again, " That Rodney fellow is really a help to me out here. I didn't realize how much I'd been working until now, but it's nice to be able to relax while letting a younger soul do the harder work. " Nodding in agreement, I took an opportunity to learn more, " So, where's Rodney from? "

My daddy squinted his eyes in concentration, " Well darlin', I don't reckon he actually told me where he's from or where he lives now. And I don't care as long as he keeps workin' like he does now. But now that I think of it, he was askin' some questions about you this evening before I sent him home. " I almost choked on a spoonful of rice and beans, " H- He did? " Daddy gave me a strange look as he slowly continued.

" Yes.. He was just askin' who you are and whatnot. Although I must say, he was mighty curious. " I nodded, " Well uh, yeah, I saw him earlier so he probably just didn't know who I was or somethin'. " Without further questions, I continued with eating dinner and occasionally commenting on my parent's conversation. After my mama and I had cleaned up the dishes and table, I went upstairs to take a quick shower to rinse off today's filth, then I changed into a tank top and pajama shorts, braided my hair, and crawled into bed as I prepared for a night of sleep.

Once the sun was above the edge of the field, I was up and out of bed with my usual routine. Get dressed, animal chores, and eat breakfast. But like the day before, a few of the animal chores had already been done by Rodney, although he was nowhere to be seen, and only his truck was proof of his existence on the property. So as soon as I had finished any chores I could and ate breakfast, I took the usual transportation of my dirt bike to Carmen's house, where I found her sitting on her bed on a laptop.

" Hey girl, " She acknowledged me as I entered her room, " Hey, " I replied as I sat on the other end of her bed. She tilted the screen down and met my gaze, " So... Is he McDreamy or McCreepy? " I stared at her, " Excuse me? " She laughed, " You're excused. Now, is that guy workin' at your place McDreamy or McCreepy? " I spoke slowly, " Well that's one way to put it... Anyways, he's a total McDreamy. Definitely around our age, golden hair, blue eyes, cute smile, perfect. "

Now it was her turn to stare at me, " Well, someone's got a cruuush! " I objected, " No! Not exactly.. I hardly even know the guy, we just saw each other yesterday while he was loading hay bales in his truck, then daddy said he'd asked about me that evening. But that's it. " She gave me a strange look, " That's it!? Girl, talk about interested! " I laughed, " No, no. He just didn't know who I was. " She waved her hand and tilted the laptop screen back up, " Whatever, let's find him on Facebook. "