It was another hot summer day in Forget-Me-Not Valley. The sun didn't seem to let up at all, with s little breeze. The beach was the perfect spot for the folks of the Valley to retreat to. It was also a perfect excuse for Jill to take a break from work on the farm. She took care of her cranky cow Martha along with her baby, Tabitha who was trotting alongside her mother with noodle legs in the pasture.

"So cute~" Jill smiled, holding a bucket of milk that she just received from Martha.

"Maybe that'll be you one day," Takakura grumbled as he strolled behind Jill.

"Me? Not anytime soon. Not from what I can see," She scoffed, turning to see that Takakura was already elsewhere. Jill let out a sigh, setting the bucket down to wipe the sweat off her forehead using her arm.

From afar she was greeted by Rock, who was already in his swimming trunks. "Jill!" He called out, walking towards the pasture. Jill flinched at the sound of his voice. "Yes, Rock?" She slowly answered. Rover automatically started chasing after the blond when he came close.

"Crusherrrrr!~" He laughed out loud and scooped the dog up, giving him a cuddle. He stood in front of Jill. "Want to go to the beach? You can work on getting a nice tan~" He wiggled his brows playfully.

"Oh? I'm sorry but do you not see the tan I already have from working?" She motioned to her shoulders, stretching her arms to show him.

After a few licks to the face, Rock set Rover down. "Aw! babe! That's no way to get a tan! Don't you want to work on the rest of your bod-"

"No," She sharply said.

Rock grinned. "Come on! I overheard you telling Muffy how you wanted to get out of the heat," He leaned in a bit closer to her to tease.

She leaned back, crossing her arms. "I do. But not with you."

Rock frowned, giving a little pout. "Trying to hurt my feelings?" His expression quickly changed as he chuckled. "Nice try babe! See you around though!" he gave a wave and patted Rover as he left.

The dog happily pitter pattered behind Rock with heavy panting.

Jill kept her defensive stance as Rock soon became out of sight. She let out a heavy sigh, picking up her bucket of milk and put it safely into storage for shipping. When she walked out she pondered a moment. "Takakura, I think I'm going to take a break!" She called out loud, the old man wasn't visible but she knew he was around.

She walked inside the house and changed into a two-piece bathing suit, wiggling into a pair of shorts and gathered up a few things as she put them in her rucksack. She crossed the bridge and headed to Vesta's. Marlin was plowing a few crops in front as Vesta was on her knees plucking weeds away from some melons she was growing in the back further away.

"Marlin!" Jill ran towards him, holding onto the straps of her backpack.

As she stopped in front of him Marlin raised a brow, engulfed in sweat and in a tank top. He stood up straight and leaned on his hoe. "What's with the top? Shouldn't you be working?" He asked.

"I'm taking a break. Do you want to go to the beach with me?" She asked sweetly, waiting for a snide remark.

"A break?" Sweat dribbled down his sideburn. "Yeah, right. There's a lot of work to do Jill. You should be making sure your crops are well watered," He said, starting to plow again. He shook his head in disbelief.

"Why not? You're going to take a break anyway! And it's not good for you to overwork yourself in this heat! It's bad for your health!" Jill nagged.

Marlin shot her the dirtiest look, resenting her comment. "I know what's good for my health! You wanna go to the beach? Fine! But don't call me up later and ask me to come over when your crops wilt!" He looked away from her as he continued his work.

Before Jill could say a word Vesta piped up from the back. "Both of you better stop that bittering! You ain't even married and you're already driving me crazy!" Her voice boomed.

Jill sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "Heh, Sorry Vesta," She said softly.

The door to the store slowly opened as Celia poked her head nervously. "Um, Jill," She smiled. "I'm sorry but I overheard. I'll go to the beach with you," She blushed.

"Really?" Jill lighted up a bit but couldn't help her bitterness. "Are you sure Marlin will let you?" She sneered, only to get under her partner's skin.

"H-huh?" Celia had the look of innocence on her face. "W-well, I figured if I go Marlin can also take my place in the store where it's cooler," She said coyly.

Marlin said nothing, biting his tongue not to give Jill the satisfaction. "Celia will go with you. Now will you get off my back?" He set the hoe down against one of the greenhouses and walked towards the store. "Thank you, Celia. For your thoughtfulness," He spoke kindly to her.

"Oh, you're welcome Marlin. Jill's right. If you don't want to go to the beach, you should at least stay out of the heat for a bit," She kept her chipper face, inching away from the two of them and headed inside. "I'll be out in a minute Jill!" She said, opening the door to the house and stepped in.

Jill nodded to Celia and put her hands on her hips, following Marlin into the shop. "Now I know you're just being spiteful!" She hissed.

"Being spiteful? At least I'm not the one nagging," Marlin said coolly, turning his back to her and started to move boxes around to organize.

"No, you're being spiteful. We haven't done anything together in forever!"

"We went to the beach opening," He kept his composure.

"That was in the beginning of summer! And it hasn't rained lately so I haven't seen you outside of work much!"

"And that's why you should be watering your plants!" He dropped a box down to the floor with a thud.

"You're such a stubborn old man Marlin!" She huffed and stepped out of the store, slamming of boxes could still be heard.