A/N: I own nothing except for my words. This fanfic is inspired by the television show, Wildfire.
Barbra
"I'm confused… Can you start over again?" Finn asked to his mom, Carole. She had called him into the house, making him stop giving Travis a good scrub down. Travis, his black and white horse, was the closest thing to a best friend that Finn Hudson had, except for his human friend, Puck. But Noah Puckerman was kind of an asshole, so Finn considered the thoroughbred horse better company.
"Do you remember my friend Janice?" Carole asked patiently, used to having to explain things to Finn numerous times. They both sat at the kitchen table, which was a bit empty since they were the only two at home anymore.
"Yeah," Finn replied. "She's the lawyer, right?"
"A public defender," Carole said with a nod.
"Right. So what about her?" Finn asked.
"She has this case she's working on. There's this girl that's gotten into some trouble. Janice can tell that she's not really a bad kid, so she talked the judge into making a deal," Carole explained.
"What kind of deal?"
"She's going to work here while on probation instead of sitting in jail," Carole said.
"Wait, you already said yes?" Finn asked, his voice growing louder. "Why didn't you ask me first?"
"Because last time I checked, it was my decision to make, Finn. Not yours," she said kindly. "Janice is my friend and I'm going to trust her judgment of this girl."
"What did she do?" Finn asked.
"Janice didn't really say the details, but it involves theft of some kind," Carole said, a little uneasily.
"So you're gonna let a thief into the house?" Finn asked incredulously. "What if she steals something, mom?"
"Honey, what is she going to take?" Carole asked with a smile. "One of the pigs?" Finn shrugged. "Finn, people make mistakes and she's paying for it. I want you to be nothing but nice to her."
"She just better not get in my way," Finn grumbled.
"Finn," Carole said warningly. "This ranch is too big for us to do all of the work ourselves. Just think about how much free time you'll have since she's helping us."
Finn thought for a few moments. "I guess it won't be that bad," he concluded.
Carole smiled. "That's right," she said. "Now, don't forget that your uncle's horse is being dropped off today, too."
"I already got a stall ready for her," Finn said. "What's the girl's name anyway?"
"Rachel Berry," Carole replied.
"Alright. I gotta get back to Travis," Finn said before standing up and walking toward the door.
"Keep an eye out for Rachel," Carole called. Finn raised his hand, signaling to his mom that he heard her.
Despite his mom's insistence, he still wasn't too excited about this.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
Rachel Berry looked out of the window of the cab, frowning slightly at her surroundings. She already missed the hustle and bustle of the city of Denver, Colorado. Sure, it probably wasn't as busy as New York or something like that, but it was still busier than this place.
Springfield, Colorado. The place where the farm animals outnumbered the people.
It's not that the wilderness wasn't beautiful – Rachel thought the scenery was stunning. But a city girl like her wasn't used to working on a ranch. She didn't know the first thing about farm work.
That being said, she had no idea why Janice insisted that working on a ranch would be a blessing for Rachel.
Well, it was probably better than jail.
"It's right down this road," the cab driver said. That was the first time he'd spoken throughout the entire hour-long cab ride.
Rachel craned her neck, trying to look around the new place she'd be living and working. To her left, she saw a white fence, surrounding what she thought must have been the property of the Hudsons. She didn't know much about the family other than their name and the fact that Janice was a friend of the owner of the ranch.
A smile automatically grew on her face when she spotted a few horses grazing within the confines of the fence. Rachel had always loved horses ever since she was a little girl. Her fathers weren't the kinds of fathers that promised their daughter that she'd have a pony one day, so Rachel never thought she'd be around horses. Now it seemed like she'd be taking care of some.
The road was longer than she expected, meaning the Hudsons had a large piece of land. She really hoped they didn't expect her to cut the grass or anything.
Finally, the house came into view. It was only one story, but it was pretty large and very well taken care of. It was mostly made of dark red brick, with beautiful, different colored flowers everywhere the eye could see. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad living here.
The cab came to a stop and Rachel climbed out before walking around to the trunk. The trunk popped open and Rachel started pulling her bags out. She had one large suitcase and two duffel bags which she carried away from the cab, setting them down on the ground close to the house. She then closed the trunk and walked to the driver's side of the car.
"How much is it?" Rachel asked, pulling the money Janice had given her out of her pocket.
"Fifty six bucks," the cabbie read off of the display. Rachel's eyes widened, but she grabbed three twenties and handed them to the cab driver, leaving her with ten dollars.
"Keep the change," Rachel said with a small smile.
"Thanks," the cab driver said with a smile. "Have a nice day."
"Thank you," Rachel said. "You, too."
She backed away from the cab as it turned around, heading back up the driveway. The tires of the cab made dust rise up into the air, causing Rachel to cough a bit. She figured she'd have to get used to that.
She walked up to the door timidly, not sure of the kind of reception she'd be getting. It wasn't every day that people welcomed someone like her into their home. Rachel knocked three times lightly before stepping back. She waited patiently, and moments later, the door was pulled open.
A beautiful middle aged woman stood there with a warm smile on her face. She was taller than Rachel and her smile made Rachel wonder how her mother looked when she smiled.
"You must be Rachel," Carole said, snapping Rachel out of her thoughts.
"Yes, I am," Rachel said, flashing her brightest smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Hudson." Rachel held out her hand, but Carole pushed it to the side.
"We hug around here, sweetie," Carole said before stepping forward and pulling Rachel in for a hug. Rachel was surprised for a moment but hugged her back tightly, not remembering the last time that she was hugged like this.
"Now, Finn should be around any minute and he'll show you where you'll be living," Carole said. "I hope you don't mind, but there's a small trailer around back that'll be all yours."
"That's fine," Rachel said quickly. "I'm just grateful that you're letting me stay here at all."
"You're so sweet," Carole said with a smile. "And adorable. I was expecting someone more…"
"Delinquent-looking?" Rachel asked with a laugh.
"Well, yes," Carole admitted, her cheeks blushing.
"I understand," Rachel said. "Don't worry about it."
"Now, Finn will explain to you what you should do every day. We need help with the horses and the other animals, along with the basic upkeep with this place. You're so tiny, so I hope you can handle it," Carole said.
"I'll try my best," Rachel said with a smile. "If you don't mind me asking, will I be meeting anyone else in the family? I just want to get to know the people I'll be working around."
"It's just me and my son, Finn," Carole said. "My other son, Kurt, is living in New York. He's in college. Their father died a while ago."
"I'm so sorry," Rachel said quickly, embarrassed that she had brought it up. "I'm sure that's still painful for you to talk about. I shouldn't have said anything."
"Honey, don't worry about it," Carole said warmly. "It's alright." Rachel nodded with a small smile, still mentally kicking herself.
"There's Finn now," Carole said, looking past Rachel with a smile. Rachel turned slightly, wanting to see the guy she'd be working alongside for the next couple of months.
She had to keep her jaw from dropping.
He was gorgeous. He was so tall, taller than her meager 5 foot 2 inch frame. And had a very kind-looking face. Well, except for the slight frown he was sporting.
"Finn, this is Rachel," Carole introduced as he walked closer.
"Hey," Finn said nonchalantly. Rachel was caught off guard. She expected him to be more kind like his mother was.
I guess the apple doesn't fall anywhere near the tree, she thought.
"Hello," Rachel said, still smiling positively despite his slightly cranky demeanor.
"Finn, can you show her to the trailer in the back?" Carole asked. "I put clean sheets on the bed in there this morning, honey. It's all fixed up for you," she said to Rachel.
"I really appreciate that, Mrs. Hudson," Rachel said, her smile not leaving her face. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. But please call me Carole," she replied.
"Okay, Carole," Rachel said.
"Where's your stuff?" Finn asked in a monotone voice.
"Right over there," Rachel said, pointing to her bags. Finn walked over toward them and grabbed the suitcase and one of the duffel bags. "Finn, I can carry those."
"I got it," he replied.
"O-okay," Rachel said, slightly intimidated by his tone. "Thank you."
"Yeah," Finn replied. He then started walking. "Follow me," he called behind him.
Rachel hurriedly picked up her other duffel bag, heaving it over her shoulder before following Finn.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
Finn still wasn't very happy about this whole setup. He was caught a little off guard with how Rachel looked, though. He was expecting a tough-looking chick with tattoos or something, not some tiny chick that was actually kind of hot. Still, he didn't think that she'd be much help around the place since she was so small.
"I really hope you have work boots," Finn said when they came to a stop outside of the trailer. He set her bags down before looking down at her feet, noticing that she was wearing gym shoes. "Those will get ruined in, like, ten minutes."
"Janice bought me some," Rachel said in a small voice. She was quieter now, not sounding at all like the same girl that was talking to his mom.
"Good," Finn replied. He turned back to the trailer and opened the door. "This is where you'll be staying." He grabbed her bags and walked up the stairs, with Rachel following close behind. The trailer was actually pretty nice. It was the place where their old farmhand, Mr. Schuester, had lived until he got engaged. Then, he moved out, leaving Finn and his mom to handle the ranch themselves.
"You've got an A/C and bed. And a small fridge and a whole bathroom," he said.
"This is great," Rachel said, looking around. She had a small smile on her face while looking around, and Finn wondered why she seemed so damn happy. He thought she'd be complaining about having to live in a trailer as opposed to the house.
"I'll, uh- I'll give you a while to unpack," he said. "Change into your boots and meet me at the stables when you can. Just go back toward the house and keep walking. You can't miss it," he said.
"I will. Thank you, Finn," Rachel said with a smile. He nodded before walking back down the stairs of the trailer.
By the time he made it back to the stables, he still hadn't stopped thinking about Rachel's smile.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
Rachel had unpacked her things quickly, not wanting to set a bad impression her first day. Well, it already seemed like Finn didn't like her, but she hoped to change that quickly.
She laced up her boots and put her hair into a ponytail before observing herself in the mirror of her new bathroom. She was wearing a form-fitting gray t-shirt with a pair of jeans. Since Rachel didn't have any "farm wear," Janice had taken her shopping at a secondhand store before sending her to the ranch.
She looked different than the Rachel from Denver, but maybe it wasn't such a bad thing.
With one last smile at her reflection, she left her trailer, walking in the direction that Finn told her.
He was right. It was impossible to miss the stables. The building was painted a bright red with crisp white trimmings, the colors reminding Rachel of a candy cane.
She walked inside slowly and her nose scrunched up at the smell of the place.
"You'll get used to the smell," she heard Finn say. She turned to the right and saw him looking at her from inside one of the stalls. He even had a tiny smile on his face, which Rachel thought made him look quite handsome.
"I hope so," Rachel replied. "So… what should I do first?"
"Well, you can help me with these stalls," he said. "The horses are out grazing. We need to clean them out and put in new hay before bringing them back in."
"Okay," Rachel said. "So what do I do?"
Finn chuckled and Rachel saw some adorable dimples for two seconds before they vanished. He walked out of the stall and led Rachel toward a wheelbarrow.
"Here's some gloves," he said, handing them over. "Those are yours now, so don't lose them." Rachel nodded. "Now, you use this rake-looking thing and scoop the horse shit into the wheelbarrow."
"Um, okay," Rachel said uneasily.
"It's not that bad," Finn said. "The faster we get this done, the faster you get to meet the horses." This brought a smile to Rachel's face and she grabbed the gloves enthusiastically, putting them on quickly. She then maneuvered the wheelbarrow over next to the one beside where Finn was.
She then picked up the horse pooper scooper (which she thought was a better name than rake-looking thing) and walked over toward the mess the horse made in the corner.
Holding in a groan of displeasure, she scooped up the dirtied hay.
"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you make money by running a ranch?" Rachel asked when she was on her third stall.
"People pay to keep their horses here," Finn replied from the stall next to her. "We also fatten up pigs and sell those and chicken eggs."
"Why do you fatten up pigs and sell them?" Rachel asked curiously. Honestly, her arms were starting to hurt from scooping, but talking with Finn kept her distracted.
"Well, we sell them to slaughterhouses," Finn said. It all made sense now.
"Oh," Rachel replied in a quiet voice.
"Why'd you say that like that?" Finn asked after a few moments.
"I used to be a vegan," Rachel explained. "The thought of eating animals is still hard for me to accept."
"Why'd you stop being a vegan?" Finn asked.
"It became difficult to continue over time," she said. "It's hard to stay vegan when the only things you can eat are non-vegan foods."
"I don't get it," Finn admitted. "Why could you suddenly not eat vegan food?"
"It's a long story for another time, Finn," Rachel replied. She didn't really feel like talking about her entire messed up life right now.
"Okay," Finn replied. Rachel was grateful that he dropped the subject.
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
"And this is Travis," Finn said, rubbing the horse's nose. "He's mine." Rachel smiled at the tall horse before reaching out and carefully rubbing the side of his face.
"He's beautiful," Rachel said. "So Travis and Daisy are yours, right?" she asked.
"Yeah. Daisy's my mom's horse," Finn replied.
"Does Kurt have a horse?" Rachel asked.
"No," Finn laughed. "Kurt hates horses."
"How can anyone hate horses?" Rachel asked, stroking Travis's face again.
"He got bit once," Finn replied. "He's hated them ever since." Rachel couldn't help herself – she laughed along with Finn. Travis was the biggest of all eight horses at the ranch, which made sense since Finn was so tall.
Rachel pulled her hand away from Travis and he made a whining noise before stepping toward her and bumping his nose into her. Rachel laughed before petting him again.
"I think he likes you," Finn said, still petting Travis's side.
"Well, I like Travis, too," Rachel said, smiling at the horse.
"Well, we still got some stuff to do," Finn said. "I'm gonna put Travis up. Follow me and I'll give you the food for the pigs."
"Alright," Rachel replied. Finn grabbed Travis's reins and clicked his tongue. Travis started walking beside Finn, with Rachel following the two of them.
The bucket of slosh that was for the pigs was heavier than Rachel expected – and it also stunk horribly. Her already sore arms were straining as she awkwardly walked over toward where the pigs were kept.
There were four large pigs on the inside of the fence. They were covered in what Rachel hoped was mud, but they still managed to look incredibly cute.
"Poor little things," she whimpered. She knew that pretty soon, these adorable pigs would be killed just so that people could enjoy bacon and other foods.
For Rachel to feed the pigs, she had to lift the bucket up over the fence, which was as tall as her chest. She grabbed the handle of the bucket and lifted it with everything she had, grunting a little out of exertion. Once the bucket was lifted high enough, Rachel set it on the top of the fence and held it steady.
The bowl where she had to put the food was right underneath where the bucket was, so she just had to tip it over gently and let it fall into the bowl.
Easier said than done.
As she tipped the bucket over, it fell out of her grasp and landed upside down in the food bowl. The pigs started going crazy and pushed the bucket out of the way with their noses in an attempt to get to the food.
"Crap," Rachel whimpered. How the hell was she going to get the bucket back? It was too wide to fit between the gaps in the wooden fence.
Well, she could climb the fence and reach over and grab it.
With a nod of determination, Rachel placed one of her feet on a wooden beam of the fence and pulled herself up. She then tried to reach over and grab the bucket, but her fingers barely scratched the bottom of it.
So, she climbed up another rung of the wooden fence and reached over farther.
The pigs were snorting as they still ate and she was afraid that they were going to bite her, but it was her first day and she was going to get the bucket back. If she messed up over something as simple as feeding the pigs, Finn would laugh at her and Carole might reconsider having her around.
She pushed the bucket onto its side, jumping a little and pulling her fingers away when a pig came close to her fingers.
"Be nice," she chided. She reached for the bucket again and almost had it when her balance got away from her, sending her falling forward into the pigs' pen.
She was sure she was going to get a face full of mud when, for some reason, she stopped falling.
"What the hell are you doing?" she heard Finn ask exasperatedly. She then felt his hand on her leg, holding her upright.
"I was trying to get the bucket back," she grumbled. Finn then grabbed her arm and pulled her upright. She climbed down off of the fence and faced Finn, who was smiling widely.
"What?" she snapped, embarrassed that he caught her in such a strange position. Wordlessly, he walked around to the other side of the fence and unlocked it before walking inside. Rachel could feel her face growing red as Finn grabbed the bucket out of the bowl and walked back out. He locked the fence, looked at Rachel and laughed.
"Well, I didn't see that gate there," she said, crossing her hands over her chest.
"Obviously," Finn chuckled.
"Well, they were fed, weren't they?" she asked in a huff.
"Yeah they were," Finn agreed. "And you almost face planted in pig shit," he chuckled.
"I was going to thank you, but since you insist on making fun of me, I won't," she said. She then turned on her heel and marched away. She went into the stables and sat on a bale of hay with her arms crossed tightly across her chest.
Moments later, she heard Finn's heavy footsteps entering the stables. She looked at the ground, still embarrassed, as he came to a stop in front of her.
"Rach, I didn't mean to laugh at you," he grumbled. Her eyes widened at the nickname, but she didn't comment on it.
"Yes, you did," Rachel replied quietly.
"Well… yeah, I mean… it was funny, but I shouldn't have laughed," he replied.
Rachel looked up at him and could tell that he looked really sorry.
"I'll forgive you if you answer a question for me," Rachel said.
"Okay. Shoot," Finn said before putting his hands in his pockets.
"Earlier when I got here, you didn't seem too fond of me. Now you're… tolerating me. What changed?" she asked curiously.
Finn took a deep breath before answering. "Honestly, I thought you'd just come here and complain and not really help. But you didn't complain and you helped me clean the stalls in half the time it would have taken me to do it on my own," Finn replied. "You're pretty cool, Rachel. I just wasn't expecting that."
Rachel was taken aback. She was just looking for an explanation, not a compliment.
"Well, thank you, Finn," Rachel said. "You're not so bad yourself." He smiled and she saw those dimples again. She couldn't but think that he was incredibly handsome and cute. Most guys were one or the other, but Finn was both. Oh, and sexy, too. She looked away from him quickly. She shouldn't be thinking these things. Someone like Finn would never go for a girl like Rachel Berry.
They both turned toward and looked toward the barn doors when they heard the sound of a large vehicle pulling up to the barn.
"Were you expecting someone?" Rachel asked.
"That's probably the new horse we're getting," Finn said. Rachel smiled and jumped up quickly, walking outside ahead of Finn.
The black pickup truck had a horse trailer on the back of it. It came to a stop right outside of the stables. Rachel rushed up to it to get a glimpse of the horse.
It was a beautiful cinnamon color with random splashes of white. It was probably one of the prettiest horses that Rachel had ever seen.
Finn went over to talk to the driver of the truck while Rachel reached her hand inside to pet the horse. It was tall, so she could only reach the side of its stomach, but she felt warm as she pet the horse. Warm and loved.
"She's pretty, right?" Finn said as he walked back to Rachel's side.
"Pretty is a major understatement," Rachel replied, her hand still rubbing the side of the horse.
"Help me get her out, will ya?" Finn asked
"Of course," Rachel replied. She pulled her hand back and followed Finn around to the back of the trailer. He unhitched the heavy lock and pulled the door open. The horse made a strange vibrating sound with its mouth closed.
"What was that?" Rachel asked.
"It's called a nicker," Finn said with a smile. "It's the sound a horse makes when it's saying hello."
"How do you know that?" Rachel asked.
Finn shrugged. "Grow up around horses and you learn a thing or two," he replied. "All right. C'mon, sweetie," he crooned to the horse. The horse walked forward and went straight for Rachel.
"So I'm guessing she's a girl," Rachel said with a smile. The horse stopped right in front of her and Rachel ran her hand down its face, stroking it gently. The horse made the same noise as before.
"Yup," Finn replied. "And she really likes you."
"What's her name?" Rachel asked.
"She doesn't have one," Finn replied. "My uncle got her when she was young. He didn't really want her anymore, so he sold her to my mom for a good price."
"Hmmm… We need to think of a name for her then," Rachel said.
"You can take her to her stall. I'll go thank Chuck for bringing her down," Finn said. With a nod, Rachel grabbed the horse's reins and clicked her tongue like Finn did earlier to Travis. She smiled widely when the mare followed her right away.
She walked her to the second last stall and led her inside.
"Good job, girl," Rachel said happily. She reached her hand up and petted the horse's side as she had before. The mare made the same noise as before, making Rachel smile. "Hello to you, too," she laughed. She continued petting the horse and heard Finn walking toward the stall.
"How was she?" Finn asked, walking into the stall.
"Just fine," Rachel said with a smile. "But she needs a name."
"You're right," Finn agreed. He stepped forward and stroked the horse's other side. "Any ideas?"
In an instant, the perfect name popped into her mind.
"Her name's Barbra," Rachel replied, smiling up at the horse.
Finn laughed. "Alright. Barbra it is," he said, his smile matching hers.
As Rachel nuzzled against Barbra's side, she could tell that this was just the beginning of a beautiful relationship.
TBC
-GLEE-GLEE-GLEE-
A/N: So, what did Rachel do to get her in trouble? Will she be able to handle life on the ranch? Please keep reading to find out! The next chapter will be posted soon :) Oh, and please leave reviews to tell me if you like it!