"It isn't what you see in the magazines, but it's got a field and a barn and a coop."

She leaned against the siding of the house. "Sounds like a ranch to me."

The realtor handed her the key to the house, the rest on the loop jingling together. "Should unlock every building on the property, the supply shed's always been a bit tricky to get open, but…" He eyed me up and down. "Little thing like you able to run this place?"

She clenched the keys in her fist. "I bought it, didn't I?"

He nodded quickly, taking a last look around. "Well, the ranch is yours. Sure the dog's glad to get out of the city too."

The border collie at her feet twitched his tail, but didn't follow as the realtor left the property.

"Welcome home, Rex."

She spent the next day really getting to know the place, Rex weaving around her feet or chasing crickets in the barn. A window in the chicken coop was busted, and the feeder in the barn could use some patching up, but the kitchen at the house seemed the top priority.

"Water barely runs."

She thwacked the faucet once, wiggling a few pipes around, and finally sat back on her heels. No wonder the place was a steal.

"You home?"

Stupid dog hadn't even barked. "Hang on!"

The door opened with a squeal, the old man scuffing his feet as he entered. "Let myself in."

Come on in, she thought wryly. She shut the cabinet beneath the sink, "Are you from the island south of here?"

He stuck out the hand that wasn't holding his walking stick. "Name's Taro! Figured you could use a hand and a hello."

She shook it and grinned, "I'm Rachel, and that sounds awesome."

The old man toured the place without her, tapping his stick a few times whenever something caught his interest, then moving on. Rachel waited in the kitchen for him; too few of her belongings were unpacked to make her feel intruded on.

It didn't take long. "You're dumb as a rock, girl."

She blinked.

"Only an idiot city girl would waste good money on this place."

"But – !"

"But, with a bit of work, maybe we can make this hovel something you can take a bit of pride in, hmm?" He waggled his rather impressive eyebrows.

She relaxed slightly against the counter.

"Now, what you need is Gannon – he's on Verdure island, east of Sprout island – to take care of those pipes for you, and to patch up the barn and coop. How much money you got left, girl?"

She blinked, "I – I think I've got enough – "

"Ah, good. Then what you want is Chen to get you a good deal on a fridge and decent kitchen supplies, and some seeds for the season. Should be enough summer for you to grow something profitable. You ever grown anything?"

"I had a little vegetable garden, on the roof of my apartment."

"You're out of the city now! Going to need more than a few carrots to get any money off this place. After that, you'll want to talk to Mirabelle to see what sort of animals you'll be able to afford, chickens most likely for now, and some feed…"

Her head began to fuzz over once he reached the topic of hammers and scythes, Rachel merely nodding at what seemed the right time until Taro ran out of steam.

"Right, you got all that?"

"Yup."

He looked her over much like the realtor had. "If you've got any muscle in those skinny arms of yours, I'll put some faith in you girl."

She flexed them half-heartedly. "I'll come visit once I settle in up here."

He tapped his walking stick once. "That's right, you march right down for a visit with my daughter and grandchildren. We'll fix you something."

She grinned, "Thanks!"

He nodded, leaving.