The Farmer's Daughter

Chapter Seven

" I don't even know if he's on Facebook. " I told Carmen as she began searching through everyone named "Rodney" on the social media site. " Please, " She teased, " I'll bet you two are already friends on here and stalk each other daily. " I stared at her, " Um, no, that's just creepy. " She finally gave up searching for "Rodney's" in our area, and began questioning me about him again. " So, you gonna actually talk to him instead of staring at him and occasionally drooling? "

I made a face, " Oh, come on! Isn't there anything to talk about besides a guy? " I exclaimed while punching her arm, although she just kept laughing, " You know it's truuue! " I readjusted my headband to keep my hair back, " Uh, not really. You'd know what I mean if you saw him. " She raised her eyebrow at me, " Sooo? Let's go to your house! "

I finally agreed after spending some time stalling her, but I didn't realize exactly what I'd gotten myself into until I rode down the driveway on my dirt bike with Carmen sitting on the back with her arms around my waist in order to keep her balance, then she practically jumped off to go search for Rodney, which is when I began worrying about what she may do if she found him.

After placing the dirt bike in the barn, I sprinted outside to find her looking confused, " Where is he? " I laughed, " Seriously, there's a lot of acreage and he could be anywhere. But he has to leave sometime this evening so we can just wait until then. " While I felt like somewhat of a stalker, Carmen was totally ready for relaxing on the porch swing while we passed time playing random games from our childhood and trying to remember our handshake from previous years. Finally, Rodney came out of the barn and started walking towards his truck, which was right in our line of sight.

" Carmen, " I whispered, " that's him. " I nudged her arm in his direction. She glanced up and spotted him immediately, " Oooh! I do see what you mean now. McDreamy all the way. Legit. " I began laughing, which caught Rodney's attention as he glanced our way. " Oh shoot... " I sighed, slightly embarrassed. He just gave me his little half smile and hopped up into his truck. I looked at Carmen, but she was already glaring at me with her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, " I saw that. " I avoided looking her directly in the eyes, " Saw what? "

She began laughing, " Oooh! You're blushing! " I began pulling on my hair as a distraction, " No I'm not...it's just really warm out here. That's normal. " She just laughed and sarcastically agreed with me. " Hey, Carmen, " My mama said as she walked onto the porch, " wanna stay for dinner? " Carmen smiled and nodded, while I was just happy to be off the subject of Rodney. Seriously, when have boys ever made an impact on my life?

During dinner, I was slightly worried that the ranch hand would be brought up, but to my surprise, he wasn't mentioned even once. The phone rang so my daddy answered, " Uh huh, yes, of course, anytime, yes, have a good night. " He hung up the phone and turned to my best friend and I, " Carmen is going to spend the night here tonight. " We looked at each other and gave a knowing smile, then simultaneously bolted up the stairs and into my room. " So, I've been meaning to tell you, " Carmen started as we sat on my bed, " Abby is having a get together at the powerhouse the day after tomorrow. "

I was familiar with "the powerhouse" as a place where locals from our little town visit to go swimming, since there is a small river that runs off a waterfall where a powerhouse used to be many years ago. " I'll be there, " I state, " I haven't been there for a while, but I've been wanting to go back there. It's so cold, but so fun to jump into the water off the rock edge. " I smiled at the thought of the last time I jumped off the edge and into the freezing water. Some of the more daring people jump off the small bridge that is above the water hole, but I've never been brave enough to do that.

" I'll check the time details when I get home then let ya know. " She informed me while I agreed to make an appearance. " Well I don't know about you, " Carmen started, " but I'm exhausted. So, I'm gonna go to bed. " She went on about her day and how she was about to pass out as she sat on my bed and watched me create a makeshift bed on the floor, as I always do when I have guests sleep over. As soon as I turned out the light and crawled under my quilt, Carmen got into the bed, then we continued quietly talking until I heard her soft snores. " Alright, " I whisper, " goodnight Carmen. "

Then I curled up on my side and hugged the blanket around my shoulders and slightly covered my face with the quilt, as I usually do. The crickets outside turned into a lullaby, and I was asleep in a matter of minutes. " Psst! " I heard, causing me to wake up and open my eyes, which made Carmen laugh as I gave her a strange look. " Is there a reason you woke me up? " I whisper as my eyes adjusted to the dark, since it wasn't light yet outside.

" Well, " She started, " I was thinking that I could leave early to get Sierra, then by the time I get back, you'd be ready with Aurora, and then we could go riding. " I smiled as I realized how long it'd been since we'd ridden together, so I quickly agreed and got out of bed. Glancing at the clock next to my bed, I saw it was 4:57 in the morning. Well, I'd usually get up soon anyways. After I changed into jeans, a purple t-shirt, and my usual black boots, Carmen and I quietly made our way downstairs and outside to the barn where I retrieved my dirt bike and pushed it onto the driveway.

As soon as I started it, Carmen hopped on the back and held onto me and we shot down the driveway and headed to her house so she could get her horse and herself ready. Once we were sitting in front of her house, we bid each other farewells and then she got off the bike and disappeared into the house, then I turned around and rode back to my house so I could get Aurora ready for riding. Although Carmen and I had agreed on just a ride, I had an idea by the time I got back.

So, I left my dirt bike in the barn and skipped back to the house, where I went straight to the kitchen and grabbed whole grain bread, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, turkey, lettuce, and cheese. After placing all of those ingredients on the counter, I grabbed a knife and cut four slices out of the bread, then spread mayo and mustard on the bread. Next came sliced pickle, turkey, cheese, lettuce, and another piece of bread to top off the sandwich.

With that, I put each sandwich in plastic wrap and placed both into a insulated bag. Then I filled a stainless steel water bottle with water and set that next to the sandwiches in the bag, then closed it and set it in the refrigerator while I went back upstairs to the bathroom. I quickly washed my face and re-braided my hair so it didn't look like a rat's nest, then I went back in my room to acquire my cowgirl hat, and ventured back downstairs to retrieve the insulated bag from the fridge, then I was out the door to the barn.