Hey all, it's me again. Hold your applause *cough cough* I'm here with another Harvest Moon story. This one was intended to be inspiration from a conversation with a friend, but then it sort of went on a tangent, and ended up completely different. So please enjoy the product of what should have been homework time :)

"Chels, hurry up and get your ass out here, I have someone to introduce you to!" Julia called through the barn door. She seemed to be shuffling around out there, and I could see the shadow of someone else with her. Someone whom she was attached to at the arm.

"Gimme a break Jules," I shouted back, "You know MooLoo likes to make milking so fuckin' difficult it's ridiculous. You had a go just the other day, and haven't come back in the barn since!"
I heard a low chuckle, and the sound of Jules slapping her companion's arm.

"Hush," she whispered to the person.

"Just one more moment." I finished with MooLoo and got to my feet, dusting my shorts and heading out into the sun.

"What's up?" I asked immediately out of habit. Then I noticed who she was with. He was completely unfamiliar, but he was incredibly attractive. Sure, silver hair is a tad odd (I wonder how old he is?), but he managed to pull it off flawlessly, and the gorgeous amethyst eyes were so startling my jaw almost dropped. As for his attire, he was dressed like he was going to a costume party as a cowboy. Needless to say, his whole appearance drew my attention. "Who's this?" I grinned at him.

"This is Vaughn," Julia squealed. She flung her arms around him, and my first thought was 'damn, she's a lucky bitch'. That was, until he shot her a glare and pushed her off. Julia continued, "He's my cousin!"

The slight falter in my smile was replace with an even wider smile that before.

"Hey Vaughn, I'm Chelsea." He seemed to look me over, and then pulled his hat down over his eyes.
"I'm the animal dealer here," he said simply. "I'll also be watching that you are taking care of your animals properly." The intense expression on his face told me he was very serious about his job.

"Well okay, feel free to check up on me any time. You can have a look now if you want." I gestured to the barn behind me. He nodded, detached himself from Julia and headed inside. I followed tentatively, hoping that MooLoo hadn't done something bad in the past two minutes. I loved her dearly, but she could be very mischievous sometimes. Okay, scratch the 'sometimes'.

When I walked in, Vaughn was already kneeling beside my baby, stroking her nose as she mooed affectionate. I blinked. MooLoo never took to strangers so quickly. And here she was, putty in his hands.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked stupidly. Julia came beside me and grinned.
"That's Vaughn for ya," she said, "he's got this way with animals, it's uncanny."

My brow furrowed, and I approached the pair, watching MooLoo carefully. It was the strangest thing. As I came closer, she turned her head to me, and mooed happily. Vaughn gave a soft laugh, and continued to stroke her.

"You've got her wrapped around your finger, how did you do that?" I breathed. Vaughn looked at me and smiled. Well, half smiled. I get the feeling the corner of his lips never reach any further across his face than that.

"It's what I do," he said. "You've just got to know their personality and know it fast. Cows may seem slow and steady, but they do get impatient easily. But once you know how they tick, they'll do anything for you."

Vaughn spoke with such passion for the animal, I felt another jaw drop coming on.

"You are incredible," I muttered, staring at him. He glanced up, and unless my eyes deceived me, noticed a faint pink hue smudged over his cheeks. He stood quickly and moved away, resulting in a disappointed moooo from MooLoo.

"You've taken care of her well. Any other animals for me to check?" He asked, dragging his hat over his eyes again.

"Phar Lap in the stable," I said. Julia laughed from the door of the barn (I'd forgotten about her in the moment), and Vaughn smirked.
"Phar Lap?" He questioned.
"Yes," I answered stiffly, blushing a little.

"Let's check him out then," Julia sang, shooting out of the door, away from the slowly approaching MooLoo.

"So Vaughn," I said as I watched him with Phar Lap. Damn him, he is good with animals. "Where are you from?"

He looked up at me from patting Phar Laps velvety nose. "The city."

I rose an eyebrow, and sighed. We were silent for a few minutes, although it felt like hours.

"That's it, I'm outta here," Julia burst. "You two are so Goddamn boring."

"Uh, sorry Jules!" I called after her as she stomped out of the stable and off the farm property.

"Jeez, she's pretty pissed off," I muttered.

"She'll get over it, Vaughn answered, running his hands over Phar Lap's back in a strange twisting motion, triggering Phar Lap is whinny and shiver like a foal. I didn't realise his back was so sensitive.

"You must have a lot of confidence in him," Vaughn said, breaking his focus on the horse only to stare at me.

I fidgeted in his gaze.

"Why do you say that?"

"You named his Phar Lap," he made a face that clearly told me that he thought I was stupid for asking. "That's obvious you either had confidence in him, or you hoped to deceive people with the name of a famous racehorse. And you don't seem like a trickster."

"You underestimate me," I said, "I'm borderline pathological liar."

Vaughn raised an eyebrow, and watched me kiss my stallion's muzzle and run my fingers through his mane.

"You love your animals, don't you?"

"Of course I do," I smiled, "they are my babies. I only hope they love me as much as I do them."

"That wasn't a lie."

I frowned at him, and then sighed. "I suppose it wasn't."

"They do love you back, as much as you do."

"What are you, the cow and horse whisperer?"

"I just know how to listen to them."

"The cow and horse listener then.

"Chelsea," he warned.

"Oh, don't be a dickhead, I'm just joking around. Lay off the serious act."

"Whatever."

Both of us had moved from Phar Lap, and were now glaring at each other. I wish I could say I was winning, but Vaughn has a mean glare. But I didn't let that dampen my spirit. When he was so intently glaring at me, I leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. I swear, Phar Lap neighed a laugh behind, and I joined in at the startled expression Vaughn had produced. For a third time, he pulled his hat in front of his eyes, and it was then I realised that he did that when he was embarrassed.

"If you're so into animals, you can come with me to play with the stray dogs in the forest," I laughed. Vaughn stared at me curiously, before smirking.

"I suppose I'll come," he mumbled.

"Great!" I exclaimed. I grabbed his hand and headed out the stable door.

"Chelsea, wait!" In my rush, his Stetson had flown off his head, and as I looked back over my shoulder, Phar Lap was snuffling at it by the stable door.