Go live on a farm, he says! It'll be fun he says! I'm going to kick his ass. I think to myself as I walk into Forget-Me-Not-Valley. It was the middle of winter, and I was stupid enough to not have a coat in my two bags of luggage. But how was I supposed to know? I've lived in the middle of California my whole life, so I've barely ever felt any cold weather. Then again, I did check the weather in the Valley before I left for my flight…
There was a sudden burst of cold wind against my face, making me shiver as I walked down the long path by the entrance. Where the hell was I supposed to go anyways? My father had told me that he would meet me by his farm, but I couldn't tell where I was supposed to go through all of the snow. Squinting, I could barely make out the silhouette of a building in the distance. Sighing in relief, I picked up my bags and jogged over to it.
Warm air radiated off of the wood walls, and I could smell something like peppermint cooking inside. Knocking on the door, I rubbed my hands together, desperately trying to keep warm.
"Hello?" A voice says as a man opens the door. I can't make out the features, but his voice was deep enough to tell me he was a man.
"Is this Sunshine Ranch?" I ask, my voice shaking. I can feel my toes go numb as they become submerged in snow. "I'm supposed to meet my father today, but I can't tell where it's at."
"Marlin! Close the door! You're letting in all the cold air." A husky woman's voice calls from inside the house.
"I know, I know." He calls back, and then looks down at me. "No, this is Vesta's Ranch. Sunshine Ranch is down south."
"Damn…" I mutter, looking down the long path that he indicated to. "Okay, thanks." He nods at me and closes the door, cutting off the warm air from my skin. I sigh and start walking down the street again.
I'm Jade. Jade Jenkins to be exact. I've lived in California most of my life, like I mentioned earlier, so the country life is brand new for me. My momma died a couple years back from cancer, leaving me alone in the large state with barely enough money to get me through. Freshly out of college, I managed to get a job down in Napa Valley making wine from my degree in agriculture. Scraping through my bills, I finally got a letter from my father a month ago, telling me that he was willing to let me work on his farm for a living. Of course, I had said no at first. You see, my father was never the best at taking care of a family. That's why my mother, Celia, left him when she was eight months pregnant with me. Since then, I had no idea my father was still alive. Until a month ago, that is.
Eventually I agreed, once the government forced me out of my house. I hopped on a plane to the Valley that night, not even calling my dad to tell him I was coming. From what his letter said, I was supposed to go to his ranch Sunshine Ranch if I wanted to. So that's why I'm at where I am right now. Cold, hungry, and without a clue where I am.
Crossing over a bridge, I was suddenly pelted with a snowball from behind a tree. Feeling my face go red, I threw my bags on the ground and picked up a glob of snow. Try that again, I thought, I dare you. Sure enough, another snow ball came from the tree, and I quickly darted to the side, chucking my glob at the tuff of blonde hair hiding behind the bark.
"Nice shot! You're the first to fire back!" A male laughs, coming out from his hiding spot. Unlike the other male, I was able to see all of his features. He was blonde, which had snowflakes dripping off of the strands, and brown eyes dancing in amusement. Underneath the blue sweater and jeans, I could see his finely tuned muscles. I had to admit, he wasn't that bad looking, but I put on an expressionless face before he could see my attraction to him.
"Well when someone attacks me, I plan to fight back." I sneer, narrowing my eyes. "Plus, you got my stuff wet." I indicate to my luggage, covered in the shattered remains of his snow ball.
"Oh, someone's a little pessimist I see." He chuckles, walking over and picking up my luggage, brushing off the snow. "I'm Rock, and unlike you, I like to have fun."
"I'm Jade, and unlike you, I have a brain." I give him a wry smile before starting to walk away.
"Now hold on there," Rock calls, catching up to me, "Where are you going? You aren't from around here, are you?"
I round on him, glaring, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
His hand suddenly grabs mine, holding me back. "Yes, I would. I may not have a brain, as you so kindly put it, but I know that a young lady like yourself should have a place to stay for the night." My eyes go wide, and I slap him on the cheek with all my might, fuming.
"How dare you! I would never go with you even if I was confronted with a thousand swords."
"Jade, I was only saying that you don't seem to know where you're going." Rock's eyes glittered in amusement as he rubbed his cheek.
"Oh, oh…" I stutter, looking down at my luggage. "Well, for your information I do know where I'm going. I'm going to see my father, Jack Wilson, owner of Sunshine Ranch."
Rock raised his eye brows at me. "So you're the legendary Jade, huh?" He looks up and says, "Well, the ranch is right behind you, for your information."
My head snaps up and sees the large sign above the opening to what seemed like another ranch: "Sunshine Ranch: Where you can get all of your animal needs!" Muttering to myself, I start to gather all of my stuff, when I realize that Rock's hand is still holding mine. He seems to notice this too, and immediately puts his hands inside his pocket.
"Well, I'll see you around then, Jade." He says with a wink before walking off. His arm brushes against mine, and I couldn't help but smell the scent of cinnamon on him. No, he's naïve and immature. You are not attracted to him. Focus on going to Dad's ranch.
Picking up my suitcases, I walk through the entrance to find a man walking out of the door of the large barn. His brown hair was in dark curls, surrounding his dark green eyes, which stood out the most against his tan skin. His muscles where bulging underneath the white long-sleeved shirt and overalls, obviously due to years of farming. Immediately, I don't know how, but I could tell that that was my father. It was odd, I didn't look like either of my parents, but I just figured that I would look more like them as I grew up. Guess not.
Jack turned around and spotted me, his eyes growing wide as he walked closer to me. "Jade?" He breathed. "Is that you?"
"Hello, Dad." I say, walking over to him. There was an awkward pause where we both just stood there; drinking in each other's appearance. I had a sudden feeling that I should hug, him, but as he leaned in to do so, I started walking towards his house.
"Can I get you anything?" He asks me, walking in after me. Sitting down on his double bed, I shake my head.
"I'm good, thanks. Just need to know where I'll stay."
Jack looked down at the ground, obviously hoping I wouldn't say that. "Well, you see, I was going to get your bed when I offered for you to stay with me, but since you said no… Well I didn't get it."
I blinked, pursing my lips together. "Do you have a sofa?" I ask, praying that he did.
"No, just my bed. If you like-"
"I'll just stay at the Inn until we get a bed." I say quickly. There was no way I was sharing a bed with a man I hadn't seen in eighteen years.
"I'll get it soon; I promise!" Jack says, his eyes pleading me to not leave the Valley.
"Ja- Dad, I'm staying in the valley. I'll just stay in the Inn until we get a bed. If you want, I'll go to a store nearby and get a sleeping bag so that I can sleep on the ground."
My father bit his lip, "Well we don't really have a shop…"
I froze, my expression cold. "You don't have a shop?" Not good. Shopping was my way of getting all of my anger out. Spending was my guilty pleasure, and it made me broke. "Well, what do you have?"
"We have a vender that comes on the days with a three and an eight on the end of them each month. Other than that, people walk the hour walk to Mineral Town up north to go to their shop."
I close my eyes, holding in my angst. "What day is today?"
"Today? December 19th." My father says in a soft tone. That's one thing I think I will appreciate about my dad while I'm here: he seems to know what I'm feeling.
"Well I'll stay in the Inn until the 23rd. I'll by some groceries, a bed, and winter clothes for me. Don't worry," I say, noticing his worried face, "I'll use my money on the clothes and food."
"Well… Alright. But I want you at the farm at 7:30 every day. I'll pay for your clothes and bed, along with the food, but it's coming out of your pay." Jack says, his tone stern as I pick up my bags.
"Don't worry, Dad. I'll be back tonight at dinner." I smile, kissing him on the cheek before walking out into the cold. He stood there for a moment, stunned by the sudden affection, but then nodded, closing the door behind me.
Sighing, I walk out of the farm, the cold air nipping my nose. Luckily for me, the Inn was right across from the farm, so I wasn't in the cold long. The place smelled heavily of spices and food, welcoming me in as I opened the door.
The room was covered with knick-knacks from around the world, giving it an exotic aura to it. I walked up to the front desk, ringing the bell once to announce my presence. I hear an abundance of whispering and shuffling around in the room across from the desk, and suddenly a short, Asian woman appears at the door.
"Welcome to the Inn!" She says in a piping voice. "I'm Ruby. What can I do for you?"
"I'm Jade." I smile at her, shaking her hand, "I was supposed to stay at my father's ranch, but since he lacks a bed for me, I would like to stay here for about four days."
Ruby giggles, going behind the desk and opening up a large book. "Well aren't you polite. We have a room open upstairs that recently opened up that you can stay in." As she spoke, her eyes suddenly started watering up. "Oh, pardon me for being so rude. My daughter was the one that recently left, and I still haven't quite gotten over it."
I awkwardly looked down at my luggage. "Oh, I'm sorry, m'am. I can stay in a different room if you like."
"No, it's the only one we have open. Don't worry about little old' me." She says with a smile. "I'll have my son bring you to your room." She hurries off into the side room again, and out comes Rock.
"Now, where have I seen you?" He says with a crooked smile, propping himself up on the desk with one arm.
I shake my head, sighing to myself. This was going to be a long four days.