The Farmer's Daughter

Chapter Eight

Once I'd fed my horse and refilled her water bucket, I went in the corner to where Aurora's saddle bags were, took them off where they were hanging on the wall, and set them on the floor next to where I then placed her saddle, saddle pad, and bridal. After putting the insulated bag in one side of the saddle bags, I occupied the other side with a few apples from the trees next to the house to feed the horses. Now that everything was set out, I led Aurora outside the barn and first set the saddle pad on her, then strapped the saddle on with the saddle bags, then I pulled the bridal over her head right as Carmen rode down the driveway. I waved at her, then tied Aurora to a post as I ran into the house so I could write a note to let my parents know where Carmen and I had disappeared to.

" Decided to take the horses for a ride on our property with Carmen, be back later. " I wrote on a piece of paper, then stuck in to the fridge and made my way back outside to where Carmen was tying Sierra to the post with Aurora. " Wanna tell me why you have to bring saddle bags? " She raised an eyebrow at me and gave a quick smile. " Well, " I adjusted my hat then explained, " I decided we might as well have a picnic if we're gonna ride a ways out. " She enthusiastically agreed to the idea, then we untied and hopped onto our horses. " Ok, this way. " I directed us through an open wooden fence and across the pasture.

After about half an hour of riding through the field and a bit of a forest, we came to where a clearing led to a small creek, where we then tied the horses to trees near the stream so they could rest and get a drink, then I pulled the food out of the saddle bag. " Here ya go, " I said as I handed Carmen her sandwich, fed each horse an apple, then finally retrieved my sandwich and sat against a tree next to Carmen where we ate in silence. After the silence carried on a bit longer than expected, I spoke up by singing a line from Frozen, " So how were the sandwiches? " She began to laugh, " I was wondering how long we could stay quiet. " I nodded, " How's life? " She leaned her head back against the tree, " You'd know how life is since we see each other practically everyday. " I agreed, " Yeah, so are you going to summer camp this year? " She finished her sandwich then answered, " I don't know, probably. "

I nodded and retrieved the water bottle so we could get a drink then get the horses ready for our trip back. After each horse was fed another couple apples and given time to drink from the stream, we untied them and hopped back on so we could venture back to the house. About twenty minutes had passed before the house came into view, " Hey, " Carmen commented, " there's your Romeo. " I smirked, " Uh huh.. " She laughed, " Look at him, loading bales into his truck bed like it's no work at all. " I glanced at her, " You are such a creep... " She laughed, then I distracted her with an idea of sorts. " Carmen, betcha can't beat me to the barn. " She sent me a glare, then gave Sierra the signal to go faster. I took this challenge and hit my heels against Aurora so she'd work up to a gallop. A minute into the challenge, I was ahead of Carmen, and quickly approaching the barn.

I glanced around and saw Rodney subtly watching us from where he was in the middle of the field, so Aurora picked up speed, then finally I pulled back on the reins and leaned back as I harshly said, " Whoaaa " so that Aurora would slow down, then she came to a stop at the barn door. I pulled the reins to the left so she'd turn around in order for us to watch Carmen come barreling in after us, out of breath from her asthma. I began to joke, " Good ride Carmen, only a few hundred miles behind us, " I laughed while she objected, " Oh please...it was...a few...seconds! " I shrugged my shoulders, " Whatever helps you sleep at night. " She rode right up next to me and tried to smack my hat off in a playful manner, " Well someone's not a team player, " I joked and rode through the barn and to the driveway, where Carmen followed me.

We hopped off our horses, then she took the saddle bags off and set them where they go on the wall, while I carried the saddle to the wall right after her. " Thanks Carmen, " I told her as she just waved a hand at me while I led Aurora into the stall and took off her bridal, " No problem, actually, lemme get the grooming bucket thing. " I laughed, " Great grammar there. " She smiled and handed me the bucket with Aurora's brushes and other grooming tools, " Oh, shut up. " About ten minutes later, Carmen and I had finished cleaning my horse, we went back outside to where Sierra was tied to a post. " I'm gonna take off now, gotta get home. " Carmen said while she hugged me. I hugged her back and said, " Alright, I'll probably see you tomorrow. "

She got back into the saddle and waved to me before commanding Sierra down the road and back to her house. Judging from the sun's position, it was probably around noon, which meant I had the rest of the day to do whatever I pleased. As I began to sprint towards the house, a figure appeared from around the side of the barn just a split second before it was too late. " Oh shoot, " I murmured as I attempted to regained my balance from running directly into the figure, " I'm so- " I looked up to see Rodney's blue eyes looking at me, which caused a slight pause in my sentence, " uh, so sorry, that was my fault. " I kept apologizing while he just smiled and hushed me with a simple, " No worries. No harm done. " I did my best to accept his reassurance, but I didn't have much of a choice when he asked me a question that brought me out if my haze, " What's your name? "

Allowing my eyes to wander back to his, I replied, " Lacey..and you're Rodney, right? " He stepped back in surprise, " You know me? " I laughed, " Well yeah, I mean, sort of...you work for my dad, and he talks about you pretty often. " Rodney tilted his head, " Alright, all good things I hope." I smiled and nodded, then got back to earlier actions, " You sure you're ok? " His short, golden bangs loosely fell around his eyes as he nodded and replied, " Well I'd hope I'm strong enough to take the impact of an angel. " My gaze was diverted to the ground as I fumbled for words to reply, but instead he spoke, " Well, I better get back to work, I'd prefer to not be fired..especially now. " I watched after him as he jogged past me and into the barn. What just happened!?

As I continued to walk to the house, the past couple minutes kept repeating in my head, and I was more confused about my feelings with each second. " Hey honey, " My mom cheerfully greeted me at I opened the door and walked by the kitchen where she was sweeping the floor, " how was your ride? " I smiled, " It was really nice. " She nodded and went back to her cleaning while I continued up the stairs and into my bedroom. The door clicked shut, then I took a few steps and fell onto my bed. What. Just. Happened.