The work was hard and the day was long but by the end of the day the group of men and one Robin managed to clear the land and get the foundation mixed and poured. Now the fun part started waiting for the foundation to harden. Kurt walked around the outside of the foundation placing metal post joints in to the cement he was followed by Joe who pushed bolts in to the joint whole in to the cement. They were followed by woody to check the level of each so when the cement hardened all the joints would be flat and even so they wouldn't have to fight to fix it.
Kurt stood and stretched his back before walking to the stump with the cooler on it and pouring some cold sweet lemonade from it. Robin watched him still curious about what he meant the night before. She slid from the saw horse she was on and walked over to him. She got herself another cup of lemonade and took a sip from it casually.
"What did you mean, last night?" She spoke in a whisper knowing he heard her because of the sideways glance he gave her.
"Woody", Kurt spoke quietly, walked over to him and spoke to him for a brief moment before joining Robin again, "Lets go."
Kurt grabbed the bag of trash they made and the cooler jug before walking off. Robin was confused but realized what he was doing and grabbed the empty lunch boxes and chased after him to catch up. She frowned because he didn't wait and because he invited himself to walking with her. Some gentle man, he was being very rude.
"No one knew I went to the inn last night." Kurt spoke bored. "As to what I mean, it's exactly what I meant. Watch your back."
"Watch it from what?" Robin snapped out at him. "Is something or someone going to try to stab me in the back?"
"Possibly," Kurt's voice was unwavering. "Someone is out to ruin farms and ranchers and the only reason Hank, and Liz is still open are because they sell more than just produce."
"You are genially worried someone might try something." Robin looked to him rather shocked
"No, I just want to restore my innocence." Kurt looked to the ground as they reach the inn door. He handed the cooler to her. "Here you go I should leave before Gwen sees me alone with you."
Robin nodded and took the cooler before watching him walk off. She bit her lower lip thinking about what he said. She only just met him and she could tell he was innocent though others didn't think so. She pushed the inn door open and smiled as the large Saint Bernard let out a loud bark letting everyone in the building know someone else had entered.
"Gwen I am back." Robin placed the boxes and cooler on the counter before seeing Gwen walking out of the kitchen.
"Oh good." Gwen took the boxes and cooler "Follow me in to the kitchen. Tell me how the day went."
Robin walked in to the kitchen with Gwen telling her how the day went. Robin removed her gloves and smiles as she started helping by doing the dishes, washing them. Gwen smiled and started to dry and put away dropping a plate and turned quickly hearing Robin say she walked back to the inn with Kurt.
"Robin, stay away from him. He could have hurt you. He could have pulled you in to a thicket and hurt you real bad." Gwen spoke very worried as she grabbed the broom and dust pan to clean up the shattered plate.
"I don't think he is as guilty as everyone thinks he is. A guilty person does have such sadness in their eyes as he does." Robin spoke softly looking down to the soapy dish water, "Besides you did say they could not prove it was him, what If was telling the truth when he said it wasn't him."
"That's a big what if, especially because we caught him holding the empty box of salt that time." Gwen swept the mess up. "Just please stay away from him. I don't want to see you get hurt and leave."
Robin smiled and nodded weakly. She finished the dishes and helped make dinner. She ate with Gwen and Doug before they headed their own ways. Robin went to her room to think. She was at a loss, she didn't know if she should believe him or if she should just ignore him like everyone else in the village does. She shook her head and went to bed letting sleep take over for the night.
The rest of the week was uneventful but her house was finished in time for the Cow festival. She smiled and went to the festival with everyone look at the chickens and eggs there. She saw the young man dressed in a poncho. She smiled to him waved as she walked over.
"Hello you are Jamie right? My name is Robin." Robin extended her hand to him.
"Hmm." He looked to her hand then to her. "Why are you here?"
"Moved here because my I couldn't care for the farm my father left me." Robin lowered her head a bit.
"Sorry to hear. You are going to start one here?" Jamie watched her very quizzically.
"I might, I have the knowledge because of my father teaching me." Robin smiled to him. "Might just start a small crop then grown slowly so I can see how much I can really handle."
"Very smart, if you ever need help let me know. I can show you a few tricks" Jamie have a slight smile. "I will be great to become friends. I can teach you what I know and you can show me what you know."
"Yea should be a lot of fun." Robin smiled. "Well it's getting close, I hope you win."
"Thanks but I always win. Excuse me" Jamie smiled rather smugly before he turns and walked to his chicken
Robin hummed and crossed her arms. She didn't like the look of his smile, he seemed too sure of himself. She shook her head lightly and looked over the Theodor as he called everyone over to declare the winner of the contest.
"This year's winner is Jamie. " Theodor called out as everyone clapped and cheer a good job to him. "Care to share any secrets with us Jamie?"
"Just to love your animal and care for it like you would a loved pet." Jamie smiled and looked to his cow up and patted it lovingly.
Everyone soon departed and Ellen walked over to Robin quickly. She hugged her and smiled brightly as they started to talk about how the festivals work and what has to be done in order for everything to run smoothly. With a few laughs Ellen and Robin walked home arm in arm laughing and having fun unaware they were being watched.
"Kurt, HEY KURT!" Joe yelled up a tree looking to Kurt who was sitting on a branch watching the festival.
"What?" Kurt jumped down and looked to his brother.
"What were you doing up there?" Joe watched his brother turning his head to see what Kurt was looking at. "Oohh, you were checking out Robin? Or Ellen? Ooh I will tell Carl you're after his woman!" Joe laughed punching his brother's arm lightly.
"I was not looking at Ellen." Kurt snapped out before crossing his arm, turning his head away in a stubborn way.
"Oh ho you were checking out Robin." Joe smiled devilishly.
"NO!" Kurt spurred quickly back and started to walk off. "Such an idiot."
"Oh goddess that is great." Joe laughed and slapped his knee looking up to Katie when she came over. "You will never guess."
"What?" Katie smiled as Joe was still giggling when he spoke.
"I think Kurt has a crush on Robin." Joe laughed again.
"That's not funny." Katie swatted his arm. "It's romantic; though I am sure her taste in men does not include Kurt."
Joe smiled and pulled Katie close to him kissing the side of her head gently. Shaking his head he wasn't going to argue with her, he knew better. He started walking as he was going to walk her home because it was rather late now that the festival was over. His only worry as his walk home was if his brother was ok, he didn't mean to hurt him or anything just teases.
Ellen and Robin got to the Ranch that Ellen lived at, Blue sky Ranch, and walked in. Robin was greeted by a puppy yipping and yapping by her feet. Robin loved animals and couldn't resist kneeling and petting the puppy.
"You want a puppy?" Ellen looked to Robin as she played with the puppy.
"I would love to have one but I don't think I can keep one though." Robin smiled up to Ellen before looking to the puppy as it bit at her hair.
"You can have him daddy is looking for a home for him. It doesn't take much to keep one, just feed him every day and love him." Ellen smiled. "If you want I will give you a month of dog food to get your started with your new family."
"Thank you Ellen I will pay you back."Robin smiled and picked the puppy up. "I will call you Shadow. Looks like it will be just you and me in that big house shadow."
After a while of laughing and talking Robin got up and headed home. She lifted her new puppy, Shadow, up and waved her good bye and left. The walk was short, just across the road, and she was home. Walking in, she placed the puppy on the carpet next to her bed before she walked to her little bath room, washed, and went to bed.
The morning came quick and Robin was up and doing her morning routine plus two more steps. She fed Shadow and placed water down before she picked him up and showed him where to go to eat. She herself soon made her breakfast and ate. It was a lazy morning right now but nothing to stressful. She dressed and brought her puppy out of the house and let him run around the front yard.
"Hey" A deep voice called over.
"Yo!" Another voice sounded as Robin turned her head and smiled.
"Good Morning, Joe and you too Kurt," Robin walked over to the fence of the front yard."What brings you two out today?"
"Errands" Kurt spoke quickly and kept walking by.
"Yea," Joe stopped and leaned against the fence. "We have to fix the chick coop roof for Hank and prep a delivery spot for Siabara's wood order, the usual. Are you doing anything today?"
"Just going to stop by the Flower shop and pick up a few bags of seed." She smiled. "It's almost summer time, so I thought I would buy now so I can just start as soon as I can."
"Good idea," Joe leaned in to her "Just between me and you, Kurt like tomatoes." With a wink Joe walked off whistling and waving a farewell to her.
Robin looked to him a little confused by what he had said. After a brief moment she turned red in the cheeks and covered her mouth quickly. Joe had just told her what Kurt likes, and dropped the hint that he thought she liked Kurt or maybe the other way around. She turned and leaned back against the fence thinking of everything quickly not sure what to think.
"You ok? You should go rest if you're not." Jamie walked down the path and looked to her. His voice was very dry.
"What? No I am fine, just a sudden realization of something that was a little embarrassing." Robin smiled weakly hoping he wouldn't drop it and not say anything else. "What are you doing?"
"I am going to the flower shop to pick up seed for the summer," Jamie sounded like he was offended she asked him. "You want to join me?"
"That would be nice, let me get my basket" Robin called her puppy over and brought him in to the house putting him down and grabbing her shopping basket joining Jamie for the shopping trip. "So tell me do you win those festivals a lot?"
"Yea, after my third or fourth year here, I have never lost." Jamie smiled smugly at what he said. "Why do you plan to join in the competition?"
"Someday maybe, right now I just want to try and start farming like my father and my mother both did." Robin smiled and looked up to the sky. "Though I don't know how well I will do. They left me the land after they passed on and everything went downhill."
"Really, what happened?" Jamie spoke quietly listening to her wanting to learn everything he could about her and maybe any tips on farming.
"Well dad got sick and passed away soon after. I cared for the animals but the cows stopped giving milk, and they couldn't birth anymore, but mom and I didn't have the heart to sell them. Mom and I cared for the farming until the winter in the spring she passed and it seemed when she did the ground did. No matter what I did nothing grew." Robin sighed softly and looked down. "Soon I had to sell the animals because I couldn't afford them. First the chickens, then the sheep, and lastly the cows were sold. The horse was old and died as well as the family dog. With nothing to hold me back, I sold what I didn't need and left to come here."
"Wow I am sorry to hear that." Jamie's dry voiced tried to show some sorrow for her though it wasn't working very well. "So what makes you think you can do it now?"
"Determination, knowledge, and my father's green thumbs," Robin smiled and looked to him. "One thing my mom told me was to have plants grow good is that you should not only fertilize and water them you should also sing to them. She says singing alone will make your plant happy and bloom more beautifully"
Jamie smirked and nodded. He had heard of that before but didn't believe it was true. They reached the Flower Shop and walked in together. Nina was singing and bouncing around the store happily and stopped hearing the bell of the door. With a big smiled she skipped over and hugged Robin tightly.
"So what can I get you two today?" Nina cheered out walking them to the counter.
"I need three bags of corn, two tomatoes, and one flower mix." Jamie spoke up and slid his list across the counter to her.
"The usual for you and what can I get you Robin?" Nina smiled to Robin as she pulled the bags out for Jamie "That will be 240G Jamie."
"Here you go." Jamie handed the money over and walked away from the counter.
"Can I get a bag of tomato seeds and a bag of corn seed" Robin smiled and pulled her purse out handing her 90g before taking her seeds. "Thank you Nina."
Robin left with Jamie as they walked down the path. It was getting closer to midday and the sun was making the land warmer and warmer. Robin looked to the water as they crossed the bridge stopping and looking down. Jamie stopped and put his bag down thinking.
"If you want to grow good plants then you should sift the soil for any rocks" Jamie spoke softly.
"What?" Robin looked to him not sure what he said.
"If you want to grow good plants, you should sift the soil to remove any rocks." Jamie looked to her again
"Oh, thank you. I know one thing my father did was he used fertilizer and every third day he watered the plants with two cups of milk mixed in the watering can." Robin smiled glad to have someone she could talk to about farming and gardening.
"Interesting," Jamie thought about what she had said. "I would like to talk more, care to join me for dinner at the bar, tonight?"
"I would like that" Robin smiled and blushed a bit before lifting her basket up and parted ways with Jamie going home. She closed the door and spoke to herself "Could this be considered a date?"
Robin checked her calendar and stared planning her approach to the summer gardening. She would plow and sift the ground before the season stared so she could just plant and take care of things. She took a while making her plans and before she knew, it was late and she needed to wash so she could get to dinner. Quickly she ran in to the bathroom and washed before dressing a nice denim skirt, and vest set with a white shirt and her father's red bandana. She was ready for diner and was heading out the door.
She walked down the simple brick road to the moonlight tavern smiling once she saw Jamie leaning against the fence post waiting for her. She smiled and waved as she met him before looking to the tavern. He sat up off the fence post and waved his hand to the door escorting her in, holding the door. Once they walked in they saw many people from the town inside talking and having a grand time.
Dan was having fun getting drunk and laughing, Blue was minding his business, and Bob and Gwen were having dinner. Eve was working by taking orders, and duke was mixing drinks and making food. Basil was sitting at a table enjoying a cup of herb tea with Ray while he at a fresh fried fish.
Jamie and Robin had a nice dinner together. They talked about their past a bit and what future plans were. Robin was surprised to find that Jamie was looking for a partner and wanted to grow a family someday. She found a few other things about him to, like how he struggled in the beginning and because he never gave up he was successful today. He moved away from him family who all lived in the cities. She had a lot of fun getting to know him better and what charmed her even more was that he insisted he bought her dinner. He was being quite the gentleman and she felt a little flick of feeling for him.
Jamie walked her home and to her door saying good night with a kiss on the cheek. Robin went in to her home and shut the door locking in. She peeked out the window watching Jamie walk down the path before she squealed and spun quickly. She lifted her puppy and smiled to him.
"Shadow, this was the best day ever." She tossed her puppy in to the air before she put him down and changed for bed. "I think I am starting to like him. Oyo I cannot wait for what tomorrow brings"
Robin went to bed as the last day of spring was the next day and she needed to get ready for summer. She pulled her Shadow on to the bed and before curling up to sleep. She smiled as she turned the light off and he walked around a moment longer before curling by her feet to sleep for the night.
The Morning came and Robin was up with the sun. She dressed quickly and ate an apple and drank a glass of milk for breakfast before heading outside. The sky was clear and the day was already very warm. She walked around to the back of her house grabbing her hoe from the side of the house and looking to the mess that was her yard. She never bothered to clean after the house was finished so the yard had small bits of wood and rock scattered through.
Putting the hoe back she grabbed a rake and started raking the yard trying to collect the debris in to one pile. As she worked the sun grew higher and the day grew hotter. Before the sun stole every bit of shade from the land Robin took a rest by her house. She was tired and the job was bigger then she thought. Though her land was not very big it was still a lot of work. While she rested she heard a loud whistle from the back fence that surrounded her yard looking up she saw Basil, Ann, and Nina standing there.
"Hi, what brings you three here?" Robin got up and wiped her brow with her hand.
"Well I thought I would come by to visit and see if you want help and I asked Basil and Ann if they wanted to come too." Nina chirped out as she skipped to the opening in the fence.
"Yea, I saw your yard yesterday walking by and when she asked I figured why not. We can help and get to know you better." Basil smiled fallowing Nina around the fence.
"I thought it was a good Idea too, that and I could give you something I found in the shop. I thought it would be helpful." Ann smiled as she lifted the large mallet, "Thought you could use it being a farmer girl and all."
"Thanks for the help I could really use it. I didn't think it was going to be as bad as it is." Robin looked over her back yard. "I was hoping to get my land clean and tilled before night fall. "
"Well with for people working we can do it." Nina cheered as she tightened her apron strings.
The four of them set to work. Ann moved out of the way with Robin, Basil cut wood and put the lumber in to the wood box while Nina pulled up weeds and trash. Basil removed her coat so he only had a short sleeve white button down shirt on and his pants. Ann pulled her red flannel off so she just in her shorts and white t-shirt left. By about five the four finished cleaning the yard up and all sat down and relaxed.
"Thanks again you guys. I don't think I could have ever got this done. Why don't you all come in I will get drinks and make dinner." Robin pushed herself to her feet and headed in to the house along with the other three.
Robin passed out large glasses of water along with a cut lemon. She smiled before headed to make them all dinner. Dinner was simple hotdogs and hamburgers with fries. The four laughed and spoke while they had dinner getting to know each other better.
"So Nina, tell me how long have you and Basil been together?" Robin smiled to them watching Basil turn red.
"Hmm about seven months now?" Nina looked to Basil to make sure getting an agreeing nod. "He is easily embarrassed. But I wouldn't change him for the world."
"Can you guys tell me more about Jamie?" Robin looked to them. "I went out to dinner with him last night, and I think I like him."
"You like Jamie?" Ann looked to Robin surprised. "I didn't think he was anyone's type."
"Thanks Ann, I feel like I got some disease now." Robin gave her a flat look.
"Oh no, no," Ann sighed "Anyways he is quiet tends to keep to himself, but always pays for things. I don't think he has a tab anywhere with anyone. He is a hard worker and if you need help just ask and he will help."
"Yea he seems very cold be he is very nice underneath. I think he is just protecting himself because of his past." Nina spoke softly.
"Really what happened?" Robin looked to Nina getting very curious.
"Well when he first came here he was so happy, very social, and very outgoing. He used to speak of a girl that he loved all the time" She spoke quietly afraid that maybe Jamie was listening."But no one ever saw her or a picture of her."
"She was supposedly so beautiful, with violet eyes and long flowing violet hair. Her voice was like that of an angel. He always spoke of her and he came here to make a home that she could come to. But then one day he was just very cold and closed up." Basil looked down looking very sad "When we asked what happened he refused to say anything and when he did all he said was love is a pointless emotion."
"He has been so closed up since then maybe he found someone to open up to." Ann spoke with a smile. "It Might be good that he finds someone to open up to after so long."
Robin nodded and smiled feeling better about the fact that she had dinner with him. She thought about the dinner and that maybe he might like her and might even try to go out with her. She smiled again and finished dinner before she collected the dinner plates and put them in to the sink.
"I think I might pursue him then. He was really nice when we had dinner last night." Robin Blushed deeply. "Oh this is going to be fun."
After a while later Ann, Basil, and Nina headed out to go home. Robin bounced around her house a little bit more and cleaned before she went to bed. She was so excited she never had a boy show interest in her in anyway. She smiled and bounced around before she took a shower and went to bed letting the thoughts of what she learned dance in her head.
Outside that night a person peered in to her window watched her walk and clean before going to the shower room. They moved quickly and quietly to the yard and waited till they were sure she was in her bed and not getting up. The person grabbed the garbage barrel that had all the trash and debris in before dumping it over her land and then stomping it to the ground. They grabbed a large bucket and pulled water from the river and soaked the ground ruining all the tilled ground. To finish off the deed the person broke open the Wood shed and threw the wood all over before seeing her tools. With a smirk and a bit of effort they snapped the heads of the tools off and then ran away leaving no trace.