Candace's hand skated over the silk skirt of Renee's wedding dress. She wanted just one last touch before it was zipped up in a garment bag and delivered to the bride-to-be.

She couldn't believe that this was her creation. She'd been sewing or knitting in some facet since she was a small child; it was the only thing she was good at, really, and she supposed that after all these years that finishing a project would lose its satisfaction. But nothing pleased Candace quite like stitching in the final thread of an article of clothing. What had at one point only been an idea, she could transform into something real and tangible.

Just that Renee had commissioned Sonata Tailors to make her wedding dress was an honor in itself, and Candace couldn't remember another time that she'd been so eager to begin a project.

A dreamy smile formed on her lips when she imagined Renee walking down the aisle of Celesta Church in that dress, ready to begin the rest of her life with Toby. Stitched entirely around the hem were golden sunflowers, and the bodice was gathered together in a criss-cross of bright white and lemon-yellow chiffon. A matching silk yellow ribbon wrapped around the waist and tied neatly in the back.

It was enough for a pang of envy to rise up inside her. Not only could she never look as beautiful as Renee would in a dress like that, she knew she'd never even have the opportunity to wear a wedding dress of her own. This was the closest she would ever come to being married herself, having her handmade dress worn by a dear friend at their wedding.

No boy would ever care for her the way Toby did for Renee.

Candace fingered at the hem, the precise design of the sunflowers - her handiwork - shaking away the prospect of becoming an old maid. That was such a selfish thing to think about, with such a joyous occasion only a few days away. Still, it was the dream of every little girl to walk down that aisle, wrapped in a breathtakingly gorgeous wedding dress and whisked away to a new world with their proverbial prince, while friends and family watched and cheered. So maybe she shouldn't fret too much about letting herself mentally indulge.

"Candace!" Luna's voice broke into her thoughts, and Candace lifted her head to see her little sister at the doorway between their room and their grandmother's.

"Y-Yes?"

Luna clasped her hands together in delight. "Renee called about her dress, and I told her we just finished it this afternoon! She said she'd love to have you stay for tea if you wanted to bring it over now!"

"Really?" Moving to the closet she and Luna shared, Candace extracted an empty garment bag from the corner of it.

"Yes. Ugh, you're so lucky." Luna crossed over to help Candace stretch the bag over the dress and carefully zip it up. "Kathy and Anissa are there too, and I bet they're all just talking about the wedding. I promised Grandma I'd stay here and help her with the alterations to Toby and Paolo's suits."

"Oh, Luna." The two of them lifted the dress off its hook and began carrying it through the bedrooms, and out into the kitchen, Candace with the lower half and Luna with the upper. "If y-you'd rather take it there, th-that's okay with me. You'd probably have more t-to add than I would." Candace tried picturing herself having anything of substance to say in regards to a wedding, and nothing appeared. She'd just sit there staring into her tea and thinking about how undesirable she was.

"You can't send Luna over there with that. It's bigger than she is! She'll drag it all over the ground and ruin it!" A male's voice interrupted them from the shop front. Even with her back to the shop Candace knew it was Kasey, and was thankful that he wasn't able to see the faint blush that had spread on her cheeks.

Luna dropped her half of the dress with a growl and dashed over to where the farmer stood, several feet behind Candace. Candace turned just in time, dress spilling awkwardly from her arms, to see her sister kicking at Kasey.

"Shut up! No one asked for your opinion! Which, might I add, stinks about as much as you do!" She kicked at him again for good measure.

Kasey wrapped his arms tight around Luna, pressing her face right into his sweaty, dirty shirt. "Luna, what would I ever do if I didn't have you nagging me day and night?" She flailed and let out a muffled cry of discomfort, and he finally released her. He flashed her a cheeky grin as she pulled away spluttering, and wiping at her face.

"You wouldn't keep away from my sister, that's what, you lazy, good-for-nothing -"

"Luna!" Candace piped up, as much to her surprise as it was to Kasey's. Both he and Luna blinked at Candace's sudden burst of emotion.

Candace immediately dropped her head when Kasey's brown eyes met her blue ones. "B-Be nice to him. H-He brought us the yarn for m-most of the dress."

She neglected to add that Luna should also be nice to Kasey because he always took time out of his day to visit them. Every evening, maybe an hour or so after dinner, he'd stop by. Candace always looked forward to it. Sometimes he'd bring them yarn from his ranch and a few times, even, he'd brought them their favorite snacks, which she knew Luna was secretly grateful for, even if she constantly insulted him.

The gifts were very nice and she couldn't believe he'd give away such valuable items to someone as boring as her, but she wished she could tell him that they didn't really matter; she just liked seeing him everyday. His smile and his rich, clear laugh and how he'd always sound genuinely interested in how she, her family, and the shop were doing...she was so sad on the days he was unable to stop by.

From behind the bagged dress that lay bulky and uncomfortable in her arms, she caught Kasey flicking a sly smirk in her direction before he addressed her sister. "Yeah Luna, you heard the woman."

"Get out of here, you dumb, icky farmer!" Luna snatched up a bundle of green yarn from a nearby basket and chucked it at Kasey. "Go home and hug your goats or whatever it is you do!"

Kasey ignored her and approached Candace, who was still struggling with the dress, trying to find a way to position it in her arms, or over her shoulder. "You need help with that?" He took it from her easily, draping it over one of his broad shoulders with the hanger hooked in his forefinger. Another knee-weakening smile, and she knew his question was only a formality, that he was going to help her no matter what answer she gave.

"N-No, it's quite alright," she protested. "I'm s-sure you have much more important th-things to do." All the way to Horn Ranch with Kasey? Surely she would only make a fool of herself in that amount of time.

"I don't. I gotta go by Horn Ranch and get some more feed anyway. And it'll be almost dark by the time you head back, I don't want you going that far by yourself. Let's go together."

His free hand reached for hers and she was surprised that she didn't just crumple to the floor when they touched, though her legs wobbled and a feverish sensation clouded her head. "If you i-insist then I suppose..."

Kasey led her to the door, but Luna bolted in front of him, standing up on her tiptoes to her fullest height, which even then was barely enough to reach Kasey's shoulders. "If you let anything happen to her, I'll...I'll...I know where you live, okay?"

"Would I ever let anything happen to Candace?" Kasey replied, and though his voice took on the teasing tone it always did with Luna, it held a warmth and honesty that even Luna couldn't argue with.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Candace had been to the Flute Field several times, usually to visit Julius on his days off (not that she wanted to, necessarily, but otherwise he'd wander by the shop and Luna would shoo him away and she just hated any confrontation between them), but tonight it was like a strange new land. It'd been overcast and misty all day, had rained all day before as well, and the path was soggy, squishing under her clogs and Kasey's boots. The windmill that sat at the border of Horn Ranch rotated under a curtain of grey clouds that fell like a veil in front of where the moon should've been.

It was very ominous, like there was a monster waiting to be unleashed behind the blanket of clouds, and Candace was glad that Kasey had joined her.

She kept close and listened in earnest as Kasey told her about his day, about how the mining cart had almost exploded into splinters when Luke's idea of making it faster was wedging a lit firecracker left over from the Summer Festival between the rear wheels. And this was all while Bo was inside the cart, hammering in loose nails. Luckily Kasey had grabbed the firecracker and flung it off the edge of Garmon Mine's cliff, and Dale threatened to do the same to Luke when he found out.

Smiling politely, she wondered what it was like to be like Kasey. Someone who made friends so easily and always had so much fun; who others respected and wanted to be around.

"What about your day?" He glanced down at Candace, who quickly became focused on her muddy shoes.

"I f-finished Renee's dress. I'm sure Grandma would have been done faster, though. I-I just wanted to complete it to challenge m-myself." That sounded so boastful! She pressed her lips together and fooled with the cuffs of her cardigan. What a silly thing to say to Kasey.

They were now on the porch of Horn Ranch, and as Kasey reached for the door, Candace felt his eyes on her again. He said nothing.

If the sky hadn't been so heavy with the promise of rain, she would have turned right then and run all the way back to Harmonica Town.

Shrill squeals and the clamor of footsteps greeted them the moment they entered the ranch shop. Renee came speeding over with Kathy at her heels. Both sets of eyes were locked on the bag that was slung over Kasey's shoulder. They nearly knocked him over as they leapt and stole the dress away.

"Wow, this is just gorgeous!" Renee breathed out as she hastily unzipped the bag that Kathy held by the hanger, to reveal the upper part of the bodice. It reminded Candace of a butterfly ready to emerge from a cocoon, the way the dress lay beautiful and pure in its worn-out shell.

Candace didn't even get to reply - she wasn't sure if she should say "Thank you" or "You're welcome"- before Renee took her by the wrist and dragged her towards the rear door of the shop, that led to her bedroom. When she craned to check behind her for Kasey, all she got was a face full of Kathy following, toting the dress.

She wanted to cry out for Kasey to wait for her, to not leave until she was ready to go home as well, with the imminent storm brewing in the night sky, but how pitiful would that be? And, she reminded herself, he had so many other things to do. Being her escort, just because she was scared of the thunder and the dark, was not on the list of his duties as Castanet's rancher.

As she disappeared into the back, she could hear his voice ring with laughter as he greeted Hanna.

Soon she was immersed in the talk of honeymoons, of wedding tradition, of other topics that normally scared her into an even deeper silence. She missed most of the conversation though, her mind lingering on Kasey's smile, teacup trembling in her grip as she thought of how safe she'd felt in just that moment when he'd grabbed hold of her hand.

It was too good of a feeling, that Candace should've known it wouldn't last long.