Well I was in the car on my home from work when the song Farmer's Daughter came on the radio... and for some reason, I just got the idea to write this... I know Jace and Clary aren't really in character, but this was just too cute not to write. So enjoy :) Review and lemme know what you think! ^ ^
Jace's POV
My eyes skimmed over the morning paper's classified section as I drank my coffee in old man Hodge's Diner. "Hey Wayland, whatcha' lookin' for in there?" Hodge called walking over to refill his cup. I shrugged.
"Need a job." I muttered taking a sip of the coffee. It scorched my tongue but wasn't too uncomfortable. I was used to it by now. I never drank my coffee any other way. Black and hot was how I liked it.
"Well down the road a few miles is ol' Garroway ranch, I think he's hiring someone about like you. Gotta be able to work till late an' all…" My mind zoned out slightly as the man droned on. I wouldn't mind working on a farm, I've done it before.
I set the paper down and stood up, cutting Hodge off from whatever he was droning on about. I smirked. "Thanks for the info and the coffee." Hodge straightened up slightly and nodded curtly. I tossed a few dollars down and walked out, my mind already thinking about the opportunity as I hopped in my truck.
I figured I was at the right place when I pulled up and saw a large G hanging up on the metal gate. I pulled my truck down the driveway and stopped as I saw the house. It had a nice country feel to it. Wrap around porch, white and wooden, little balcony up on the right side of the second floor. Down a ways to the right was a large bright red barn, I also saw horses and cows in the pasture out back. I grinned to myself. Perfect.
The man who I assumed to be Garroway walked out of the house and up to my truck as I was getting out. "Mr. Garroway?" I asked. He nodded and stopped before me. "I'm Jace Wayland, old man Hodge up at the diner told me you were hiring someone about like me."
Garroway looked him up and down, he held out his hand with a smile. "Call me Luke. I assume you can work all day and aren't afraid of dirt or workin' till the sun goes down?"
I shook his hand. "No sir, not afraid at all. I've helped run a ranch a few years ago before I moved out here. I'm your man, I can start right now." Luke nodded and shook my hand again. The job was mine. He put me right to work, fixing fences, picking peaches and bringing the cows round front.
I'd been working for about a week and the days just got hotter. I was hauling hay out back in the truck to feed the hogs. The summer sun sure had me sweatin' like a dog. I peeled off my shirt and took a dip in the creek to cool off before I got back to work in the Texas heat. I wasn't the only worker Luke had, he had another, went by the name of Alec who seemed nice enough. He was quiet and didn't like to joke around much. Alec though stuck to the stables whereas I worked everything else. Horses and cows were his specialty. I just rounded them in, he took care of them. We had a nice system going.
The sun had me cussin' out loud, thinkin' about quittin'. I wouldn't though. I needed the job and it wasn't anything I couldn't handle.
Another week rolled by and Luke had hired another boy. I didn't know if the kid would be cut out for doing what Alec and I did. He was scrawny and wore glasses. He looked more like a comic book nerd than a ranch hand… but Luke hired him and had him workin' in the house on wiring and doing some other pansy tasks. I didn't like him. He was a suck-up nerd kid that could hardly lift a sack of potatoes. Jocelyn, Luke's wife on the other hand thought he was just 'darling' as she put it. So it was her idea to keep him as the technician for everything.
I sighed and sat down for a minute, looking up at the house. A new car in the driveway piqued my interest as I sat there on the back of my tailgate drinking my water. In the two weeks I'd been there I'd never seen the car. My thoughts were still on quitting when up on the second story balcony a girl in white shorts and a white halter-top with flaming red hair like Jocelyn's stepped out. I could barely see her face from the distance but I could tell when she smiled. I'd caught a glimpse of the farmer's daughter.
My phone started to go off causing me to jump as if caught looking at her. I fished it out of my pocket and answered it. "Wayland."
"Hey Jace, why don't you come up to the house, got someone I want you to meet." Luke said through the phone.
I grinned knowing who it was already. "Yes sir, I'll be right up." I hopped off the tailgate and was in my truck speeding up to the house in an instant. I pulled in behind the little red car, stopping to check it out slightly as I walked by. I walked in the house, relishing in the Air Conditioning. I walked around to the dining room where I heard the sound of a young girl's laughter.
"Ah, there's Jace did you finish feeding the hogs?" Luke asked as I walked in. I nodded in reply. He was seated at the table with Jocelyn and the girl I'd seen from the balcony. Her back was to me. "Clary, this is Jace." The red head turned around and smiled at me. She had the brightest red hair and green eyes. I smiled and stepped forward outstretching a hand which she took and shook, her cheeks lighting with a slight bit of pink. "Jace this is my daughter Clary."
She grinned and looked back at him. "Luke's my stepdad. He and mom married a few years back, though he did help raise me about my entire life." She clarified looking back up at me. Our hands were still interlocked and unwillingly I released it.
Luke chuckled. "Clary just got back from Panama City with some friends." I took the seat beside her as I listened to some of the stories with them. I learned by watching and listening to her that she liked to smile a lot. She was tanned up and though not my type… my kind of pretty. She looked back at me, our eyes locking and I realized I loved my job. Luke let everyone off for the day in celebration of his little girl being home. We all hung out in the back as Luke grilled. Two of Clary's friends had come over, a girl named Isabelle and a gay looking boy named Magnus. Alec, Simon and I were all there hanging out. Luckily Isabelle seemed to talk to Simon more and Magnus tried to get Alec talking by flirting with him. Jocelyn was occupied helping Luke so I got to talk to Clary.
I smiled at her as we sat on the grass under a tree away from everyone. We talked about everything from her trip to my job to why the sky was blue. I couldn't tear my eyes from her. I flirted with her of course and to my surprise, she flirted back.
At the end of the day, I couldn't wait for work the next day.
The days grew shorter and our talks got longer. We'd spend hours out by the creek or in the field or in my truck just talking. Luke and Jocelyn didn't seem to mind us hanging out; in fact they seemed to encourage it. They would send Clary on little runs down to wherever I was working with a drink or something to snack on.
I was down by the creek just cooling off when she walked down from the house. I finished washing off my face with my shirt and stood back up to greet her. Though wet, I reached around and hugged her tightly, picking her up and swinging her around. Her giggles were like honey to my ears. I placed her on her feet easily and we walked to the tailgate which had a little tray of food and drinks that she must have set down before I noticed her.
"So Jace, Luke and Mom have gone out for the night on a date, Isabelle's taking Simon out shopping, poor guy, and Magnus is out flirting with Alec in the stables again, though not getting anywhere by the sound of it." She giggled. "So it's just you and me. I made sandwiches and iced tea." She announced proudly as we sat down on the tailgate, the food on her left, me on the right.
I smiled. "Well I like the sound of that, just you and me… alone." I said grinning with a wink… Her cheeks lit up a bright pink as they usually did when I would say things like that. I wrapped an arm around her waist and picked up a sandwich from her other side. She handed me the tea and we ate and talked like usual.
When we were done, the tea and tray no longer needed, we laid back into the bed of the truck and looked up at the stars. She was animatedly telling me about the different constellations while I tried to pay attention, but kept getting distracted. Her arm was pointed up in the air, pointing out the different stars. My head turned and took in the sight of her. She was beautiful; her eyes were gleaming in the moonlight, her hair spread out around her, her figure slender and perfect. She must have noticed my 'attempted' reactions to her teachings when her arm lowered and she turned her head towards me. I sat up on my side and brushed a stray hair out of her face, letting my hand linger on her cheek. I could feel her blush as she smiled at me. Then for some reason I leaned over and kissed her softly. She tasted sweet and when I pulled back, her eyes were closed, her lips still parted. I chuckled. "You're too cute for your own good." I muttered kissing her again.
As the weeks went by, the kisses got sweeter and the feelings got stronger. So we'd hop in the truck and head down to the river and get all tangled up every chance we got. We'd be down by the river all night long. By morning I was sneaking her home and hauling my butt to work with the smell of her perfume on my shirt.
While I was on the tractor, she was on my mind. I couldn't think of anything else but Clary. Clary, Clary, Clary… Just with the sun beating down on my back, I didn't know it could get any hotter… I fell in love with the Farmer's Daughter.
One night, months after Clary and I had been seeing one another, we were down by the river in our usual spot. We were both lying down in the grass looking up at the stars. It was like the night I first kissed her. This time we were silently laying there appreciating the view and just being together. I sat up on my side and cupped her face turning it towards me. Her smile was breathtaking. I smiled and leaned in kissing her briefly before pulling back to look into her eyes. "I love you Clary." I said softly before I could chicken out of it.
Her eyes got large briefly before her face lit up with a glowing smile. "I love you too Jace." She said placing her hand on my cheek. My face mirrored hers as I leaned in and captured her lips with mine. I loved this girl, she was mine.
We got married last spring. The wedding was beautiful, but Clary was even more beautiful. She was dazzling in her white dress. Luke walked her down the aisle looking like a very proud father. When I'd first went to Luke to request his daughter's hand in marriage. I wasn't sure he'd say yes which scared me. After I'd asked though, he'd smiled and clapped me on the shoulder saying 'of course'. Then on the day I proposed, by the river in the spot where it all seemed to begin for us, and she'd said yes, I knew I'd be the happiest man alive. There isn't a better life for me…
I'm still haulin' hay and feedin' the hogs and that summer suns got me sweatin' like a dog. So i cool off in the creek and she brings me outta glass of sweet ice tea. Now I'm on my tractor she's on my mind and I can't wait till its quitin' time and just when i think it can't get no hotter, I come home to the farmer's daughter. Yeah the farmer's daughter.
"Hey Baby."
