A/N – Just a fun little one shot! If you've ever heard the song "Farmer's Daughter" by Rodney Atkins, you know the plot for this story. I hope you all enjoy and I would love a review!
Farmer's Daughter
Johnny walked around the super market, looking for any kind of cheap food he could find. He had been making a cross country road trip, but now he was going to have to stop for awhile. He was running low on cash and all he had in his pocket was a wrinkled ten dollar bill and some change. There was no way he was calling home to ask for help, either. Part of the reason he was on this road trip was because he was trying to escape his father.
Johnny felt like he should have some freedom in his life, but his father had other plans for him. Anthony constantly forced Johnny into business meetings and tried to bring him into the family company. Johnny had done all his father asked of him, but two weeks after he turned twenty-one, he had enough. He packed up his truck and set out, leaving a note for his parents saying he would call when he had figured out what he was going to do with his life.
Johnny stopped in front of the beverages and contemplated blowing the rest of his money on a six pack. Sure it wasn't the most responsible thing in the world, but the alcohol looked really good to him. Of course, then he would really be in a bad spot. His ears perked up at the sound of two older men talking to each other further down the aisle.
"My help quit on me this morning," the gray headed man said.
"Bad timing," the other replied.
"I know," the gray headed man sighed. "I think I worked him too hard."
"That's the problem these days, man," the other said, shaking his head. "No one is willing to get their hands dirty and do a full day's work from sunrise to sunset."
"You're telling me," the gray headed man nodded. "If I could find myself a guy with a truck, who can lift anything and would work the hours I need, I would be all set. And it's not like I don't pay well."
Johnny stopped eavesdropping and started thinking. He could work long enough to make some money and then get back on the road. He looked in the mirror that was above the aisle and smiled to himself. He was strong and could lift things. He had a truck and, if it meant he had money to eat, he would get dirty. This was exactly what he needed.
Johnny walked outside and jumped in his truck, waiting for the gray headed man to leave the store. When he did, Johnny followed him back to his farm at a safe distance. Johnny pulled up to the house and smiled at how nice it was. He went up to the door and knocked a few times before the door opened.
"May I help you?" the gray headed man from the store asked.
"Hi, I'm Johnny," he said, introducing himself. "I hear you're looking for help."
"How did you hear that?" the gray headed man asked.
"I was in the super market earlier," Johnny answered. "I think I'm the kind of guy you're looking for."
"What makes you think that, son?" he wondered.
"I'm willing to do anything you need, as long as I get paid enough to pay my way in this town," Johnny replied. "You know, rent and food."
"I have a little bunk house out by the barn," the man said, pointing toward the house. "It's not much, but your meals would be free, too."
"I think that means I'm your man," Johnny smiled.
"Okay," the man nodded. "The name is Luke Spencer. When can you start?"
"Right now," Johnny offered.
"Fantastic," Luke said, sticking out his hand. "Good to have you on board."
Johnny smiled and shook his hand. Luke led Johnny out to the bunk house and Johnny put the two bags he had with him down. Luke showed Johnny around quickly and Johnny nodded as he told him about his family. His son had grown up and moved to the city, but his wife and nineteen year old daughter still lived in the main house. His daughter was apparently on vacation with her friends, but would be back by the end of the week.
"Okay, son," Luke muttered, pointing to the field. "That fence on the far side of the field needs to be repaired. After that, the peaches need to be picked. When you get all that done, it will be time to bring the cows into the barn for the night. Then you can come up to the house for some food."
"Yes, sir," Johnny replied.
And the work began.
Johnny had only been working three days, but he was almost at the end of his rope. His back ached, his shoulder hurt and he was exhausted all the time. He knew it was bad when the job with his father's company started appealing to him. He pulled his truck to a stop in front of the barn and jumped out to unload the hay. His aching muscles didn't appreciate the strain, but he continued on. He had to stay at least two weeks or he wouldn't earn enough money to make it back home.
When he finished with the hay, he started feeding the pigs. This was actually one of the easiest parts of his job and he always took the time to think while he performed the task. Usually, he tried to focus on something that had been good during the day, but all he could focus on was how hot it was. Blistering July heat was causing the sweat to bead all over his body. With the pigs fed, he had a little time before he needed to move on to his next task, so he walked over to the creek that ran behind the barn and splashed some of the cool water on his face. He splashed some on the back of his neck as well and smiled at how nice the water felt.
Relief was only temporary, however. Johnny heard Luke calling for him to help fix the broken down tractor and he pulled himself away from the refreshing water and went back to work in the blazing heat. He headed over to Luke and soon was alone underneath the tractor, trying to determine what the problem was. Johnny raised up too quickly and hit his head on a low hanging part of the engine.
"Damn," Johnny groaned, rubbing his forehead.
He slowly pushed his way out from under the tractor, still touching his hand to his head and checking for blood. He didn't know if the money was worth it anymore. Whoever had said you couldn't hurt in more than one place at a time was dead wrong because he hurt everywhere. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead before standing up to stretch. He closed his eyes as he tugged his shirt off over his head, trying to get some sort of relief from the heat.
When his eyes opened he saw a convertible in the driveway, the top down and two girls laughing inside. The girl with the long blonde hair climbed out and pulled a bag from the back. She waved goodbye as her friend left and turned to the house. Before she could move an inch, Luke was there and hugging her. She smiled at Luke and Johnny realized that she must be Lulu, the much talked about daughter.
Luke took her bag from her hand and headed into the house. Lulu looked around and her eyes settled on him and wandered his exposed chest with an appreciative stare. She waved coyly and then walked slowly inside behind her father. He shook his head slightly, wondering how it was possible that he was no longer feeling the heat outside, just inside his veins.
"Damn," Johnny muttered again.
Johnny had survived the first meal with Lulu without staring at her too much. She was definitely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and it was all he could do not to blurt that out in the middle of dinner. He made his way down to the creek to sit and watch the water for awhile. It was peaceful there at dusk and it helped him relax after his long day of work. He heard the snapping of a twig and looked to his left to see Lulu sitting down beside him, wearing a tank top and short denim shorts. He tried not to stare, but she made it hard.
"So, my dad says your name is Johnny and you're a hard worker," Lulu said, glancing at him before fixating her stare on the water.
"That's nice of him to say," Johnny replied, watching her closely. "He tells me your name is Lulu and you're the pride of his life."
"That's a dad thing to say," Lulu said, shaking her head.
"My dad never said it," Johnny muttered.
The quiet over took them, but it wasn't awkward. Just peaceful silence as the water trickled along in front of them. She glanced at him again and smiled.
"You know, it's funny that you're out here," Lulu whispered. "This has always been my favorite thing to do at night around here. And even when I was in Panama City this last week, with the beautiful ocean out in front of me, I missed this. Can't beat it anywhere."
"It's nice," Johnny agreed. "It relaxes me."
"I'm sure you need to relax after everything you do during the day," Lulu commented. "My dad wonders why my brother moved so far away, but it's obvious to me. He got tired of being the helper and he needed to escape."
"Do you want to escape?" Johnny asked.
"I kind of thought I did," Lulu admitted. "That was part of the reason I went on the vacation. I wanted to see everything I was missing by staying at home, but I realized I wasn't missing that much. I would rather be surrounded by my family every day of the week than out partying in the city. Plus it's never quiet there. You can never have a second to just gather your thoughts."
"So, you're here to stay?" Johnny wondered.
"Yeah," Lulu nodded. "What about you? Do you miss whatever it is you left behind?"
"I miss my mom, a little," Johnny replied. "But the rest of it, not at all. I feel free here and I wasn't back home."
"Well, you can always call your mom," Lulu suggested. "She's probably worried about you anyway."
"What makes you think she doesn't know where I am?" Johnny questioned.
"My dad might have told me more about you than I let on earlier," Lulu said, smiling slightly.
"Well, I wish I could say the same, but I can't," Johnny laughed. "Your father failed to mention that you were drop dead gorgeous."
Lulu blushed and looked down at her knees that she had pulled up in front of her. Johnny smiled and kept his eyes on her, daring her to meet his gaze. She finally did and she blushed an even deeper shade of red.
"I should get back to the house," Lulu muttered. "It's been a long day."
"Yeah, I need to get to bed anyway," Johnny said, pushing himself up.
He reached over and helped her stand to her feet, her body almost coming into contact with his. She was standing close to him and looking into his eyes like she could see all the way to his soul. And Johnny suddenly found a new reason to love his job. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it gently, smiling as she blushed again.
"Night, Lulu," Johnny whispered. "It was nice meeting you."
"Nice meeting you, too," Lulu breathed. "Goodnight, Johnny."
It was a late August afternoon when Luke and Laura went to visit Lucky for the weekend, leaving Lulu behind because she wasn't feeling well. Johnny waved from his spot out in front of the barn as they drove away. He went back to work, but it wasn't long before he heard someone whistling from the front porch. He blushed as he saw Lulu standing there, staring at him with hungry eyes.
"I thought you were sick," Johnny said, watching her come closer.
"I think a weekend alone with you would make me all better," Lulu smiled, running toward him and jumping into his arms.
He kissed her sweetly as her legs wrapped around his waist and he carried her to his truck. Over the last six weeks of him working for Luke, he and Lulu had gotten to know each other pretty well. They would talk all night out by the creek and when he got bold enough, he kissed her for the first time out behind his truck so her parents wouldn't see. Lulu loved his truck and he would often park it out of eyesight of the main house so they could sneak off and have alone time inside of it. Which was exactly what they were doing on the day her parents left.
Their legs were tangled together and their arms held each other tightly. The kiss that somehow hadn't broken was only getting hotter and his tongue invaded her mouth hungrily. She sighed and pressed her body against his as he pushed her back further against the window on the driver's side. He broke the kiss and trailed his lips down her neck, but stopped when he heard her start to laugh.
"What?" Johnny asked, looking up at her in confusion.
"It's nothing," Lulu said, shaking her head. "I just find it funny that we were both looking forward to the alone time this weekend so much, yet as soon as my parents leave, we're doing what we always do when they're here."
Johnny laughed as well and sat up, untangling himself from her. She blew a whisper of a kiss against his lips and hopped out of the truck, running for his bunk house. He chased her all the way and caught her just as she got inside. He picked her up and kissed her before placing her back on the ground.
"I wish I didn't have to do any work this weekend," Johnny muttered.
"So do I," Lulu agreed, wrapping her arms around him.
"You know, you could help me and it would probably go faster," Johnny suggested.
"Oh, no," Lulu said, shaking her head. "I prefer to watch you work."
She smiled seductively and brought her hands to the hem of his shirt. She worked it slowly over his head and then placed a soft kiss to his lips before stepping back and giving him a once over with her eyes.
"I really prefer to watch you work without a shirt," Lulu smiled, turning to walk away with his shirt still in her hand.
Johnny shook his head and followed after her, letting her watch him as he labored away in the sun.
On a warm night in early October, Johnny found himself bringing a couple of blankets out to the place by the creek. He didn't know if the warm air would hold up all night long while he and Lulu talked, so he wanted to be prepared in case. She came out of the house after her parents had gone to sleep and she immediately kissed him when she reached their spot.
"How was your day?" Lulu asked, settling down on one of the blankets Johnny had stretched out.
"Pretty long," Johnny answered. "My favorite girl didn't meet me in my truck today."
"Sorry, I had to have tea with my mom and her ridiculous club friends," Lulu said, rolling her eyes. "I wanted to be with you in my truck more than anything."
"Your truck?" Johnny asked. "Why do you always call it yours?"
"What's yours is mine," Lulu said simply, leaning in to kiss him.
"And?" Johnny probed, evading her kiss.
"What's mine is mine," Lulu said, giggling when he pouted.
"You're mine," Johnny said, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close.
"Prove it," Lulu suggested, brushing her lips against his.
"Out here?" Johnny asked, looking around.
"Are you scared?" Lulu wondered.
"No," Johnny said quickly. "But it's the first time and-"
"And it should be where we spend the most time together," Lulu finished. "Don't you think?"
Johnny nodded and kissed her, slower this time. He wanted to take his time on such a special occasion. They had been fooling around and teasing for months, but they had never actually made love to each other. But they both wanted to on that night and their simmering passion for each other erupted and lasted the entire night.
The first signs of daylight came and Johnny gave Lulu one last kiss before they both redressed. He watched as she cautiously crept back inside her house. She opened the curtains of her window to let him know she made it and he smiled. He put up the blankets and sighed to himself, knowing it was time to start his day. Without a wink of sleep. He shook his head, thankful that he would at least get through the day rather easily because Lulu's scent lingered on his clothing and on his skin.
His first task of the day was to shred a field and he mounted the tractor to get to work. The whole time all he thought about was the look in Lulu's eyes the previous night as they spent hour after hour completely entranced by each other's body. He could feel the sun pounding down on his skin as he shredded the field, but it didn't bother him. He had come to like the warmth of the sun, just as he enjoyed the warmth in his heart that Lulu brought. Just as he enjoyed the love he felt for her.
Over a year had gone by since Johnny started working on Luke's farm. He had eventually, at Lulu's urging, called his parents to tell them he was okay and where he was staying. His father was less than pleased that his son was choosing a life as a farmer, but softened up in a way that surprised Johnny when he heard of Lulu. Apparently, Anthony was a sucker for love and romance.
After making love to Lulu under the stars that night, Johnny had decided that a secret relationship with her wasn't enough. He went to Luke and admitted the feelings he had for Lulu. To his surprise, Luke was very supportive and happy for them. On Christmas Eve, Johnny proposed to Lulu in their truck. She said yes right away and they celebrated the engagement all night long.
Johnny and Luke spent the next three months working on expanding the small bunkhouse into a bigger house that Johnny and Lulu could live in, while Lulu and Laura planned the wedding. They got married in early April and had been blissfully happy ever since. Johnny couldn't imagine living a life better than the one he had on that farm.
He still hauled hay to the barn and fed the pigs every day. The summer sun was still burning him up and he would sweat through his shirts most days. Of course, Lulu always encouraged him to do without a shirt altogether and sometimes he would, just to please her. But everyday, he would take a break in the afternoon to go cool off in the creek behind their house. She would bring him out a glass of sweet ice tea to help cool him down, never realizing that her being near him had the opposite effect.
"How much more work do you have today?" Lulu wondered, leaning against him as they watched the water.
"Just a little shredding to do," Johnny replied. "And bringing the cows in for the night, of course."
"I'm making fried chicken strips tonight," Lulu smiled, knowing it was Johnny's favorite.
"I'll be sure and work quickly," Johnny promised, leaning over and giving her a kiss.
He stood up and went back to work, smiling the entire time he was on the tractor. Just the thought of her made him happy and made him wish all of his work was done so he could back in her arms again. He finished his work as fast as possible, grinning when he got the last cow in the barn just as the smell of fried chicken was starting to fill the air.
He walked inside their house and saw her setting the table, absolutely loving coming home to her every day. Although the smell of her cooking was calling to him, there was another call that he needed to answer first. He crept up behind her and kissed her neck, letting her know exactly what he wanted to do first that evening. She turned in his arms and smiled at him lovingly. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom as fast as he could get there.
It may have been over one hundred degrees every day outside, but the hottest spot in the world was always inside their bedroom at night. Johnny knew that the best decision he ever made was taking that job on the farm and falling in love with the farmer's daughter.