Jovie wiped at her brow with the back of her hand, and hefted her basket with her last harvest of turnips of this Spring to the shipping bin. After she dumped it, she turned to survey her farm. She had decided she liked it in Mineral town the first morning she awakened and smelled the morning air. It had been a month since she took over the farm and she felt she was getting off to a good start. She'd gotten the land cleared within a couple of weeks of arrival, made over 30,000 gold thanks to shipping brooches she got with the medals won at the horse race, and had a coop full of four happy chickens. She'd made more than enough to invest in a few bags of pineapple seed, which were going to make her another pretty penny once they were full grown. She'd save some in her fridge to make desserts and juices with.

She had begun to make friends with the various people around town, especially those close to her age. The one she'd latched onto the most so far was Ann from the Inn. She reminded Jovie a lot of herself, being a tomboy who didn't really care what people thought of it. She had a sharp wit and a tongue that matched at times. Jovie found herself at the Inn a lot and was becoming fast friends with Ann. Ann's father, Doug, took a liking to her immediately. He was always attentive, making sure she was eating well and inviting her to come to the Inn to eat. She'd gone over there every day during the spring. She thought of him as a second father now, and Ann like the sister she never had.

Mary and Grey were becoming friends to Jovie as well as she went to the library often in what little spare time she had. Cliff was always at the Inn and buddies with Grey—they were fun to hang around with too. There was Elli, the brown haired nurse from the clinic, and Trent, the doctor. Karen worked at the grocery store with her parents, Popuri and Rick helped their mother with the poultry farm, and Harris patrolled the town. Jovie was fond of all of the girls, and chatted with them when she could.

What irked her is that she'd been having that same strange dream about the woman in the silver robes more and more since she arrived. She had it twice the first week, three times the second week, now it was more than every other night, but not every night. She had no idea what was triggering these dreams at all, and she certainly didn't have the time to look into it right now. So she put up with them. Otherwise, everything had been wonderful since she came.

Jovie sighed and stepped out of the farm. She began to head toward the beach to pick up said bags of pineapple seed. She ran into Popuri as she walked past the Poultry Farm. "Hi, Jovie!" she said cheerfully. "Leaving work to take a break for a while?"

"Sort of. I'm heading to Zack's to buy some seeds from Won." she replied. "You heading the same way?"

Popuri fell into step beside Jovie and they continued walking. "I am. Rick is throwing the Frisbee in tomorrow's competition for May and Barley, as neither of them can throw very well. They're going down to practice, and I'm heading down a bit early."

"Great!" They made random small talk until they got to the beach. Jovie took a deep breath of the salt air. "I love the beach. I'm going to have to find time to dig out my swimsuit."

"Me too. Rick hates it when I come to the beach, though. So I do it more often to irritate him."

Jovie grinned. "Is that all you do to irritate him?"

"Oh no, his biggest annoyance is about to arrive in town anytime."

"Aha! So the infamous Kai is going to make an appearance?"

"Yup! He's just a friend to me, but I like to let Rick think that I'm interested in him in a different way."

"You lead Rick on, or just don't deny any accusations?"

"The latter of the two. Kai is a really nice guy, but all the women in town think he's hot with two T's and he tends to be blunt when he speaks. So none of the men like him. I think Rick's got a bug because Karen chats with Kai, so he thinks Kai is trying to home in on his supposed turf."

"So if you don't like Kai, do you like anyone?"

Popuri sighed happily. "Harris."

"I had no idea!" Jovie said with a grin.

"The only ones who know are the other girls. If Rick knew, it wouldn't irritate him nearly as much as Kai does. Besides, you can't possibly think that chicken that escapes at least three times a week escapes by chance."

Jovie thought for a moment. Harris was always helping Popuri catch a chicken that had escaped from the Poultry Farm. She grinned at Popuri. "You've got that bird trained, don't you?"

"Of course! I may not seem like I'm with it, but that's part of my charm." Popuri flashed Jovie a grin and Jovie laughed.

"I knew I liked you for a reason!"

"Jovie! Popuri!" a little voice called. The girls turned around to see May and her dog Hannah running toward them, with Rick and Barley strolling behind. The girls smiled at the little girl as she ran up.

"Hi, May!" Jovie said. "I heard you guys came to practice." The girl nodded.

"Yup! I can't throw the Frisbee far enough yet, and Grandpa doesn't either. So Rick always throws for Hannah. You guys come and sit farther up the beach so you can watch Rick and Hannah practice! Sit with me!"

"I'll tell you what. Go put down your towels anywhere you want, and we'll come over as soon as you've chosen a place to sit down." May looked like she'd burst with glee.

"Okay! Come on, Hannah!" The girl ran off with the chocolate lab loping behind her.

"You three are so good with her. Thank you for that," Barley said. "I always feel like I don't have enough energy to keep up with her."

"Not a problem," Popuri said. "You know we're always happy to help, and May's such a good girl."

"By the way, Rick, it's really sweet of you to compete with Hannah in the contest," Jovie said.

Rick colored a little as he smiled. "Thanks. I like to do it, to help her out," he replied. "She's a good kid." They watched May spreading out her towel down near the Seaside Lodge.

"I think May's waiting for Kai," Barley chuckled. Rick scowled, but said nothing.

"She won't have to wait much longer. Here comes the Sun Skimmer!" Popuri said. Jovie was sure that a vein popped out of Rick's forehead as he caught a glimpse of the light yellow boat coming into the dock. Popuri was waving May over, and before she could say anything, Jovie was getting dragged by the wrist toward the dock. "Come on, Jovie! I'll introduce you!"

Popuri and May both had a wrist in hand and pulled Jovie up onto the dock. A light yellow cruising sailboat was coming in slowly. It finally came to a stop next to the dock, and Jovie heard a splash which she assumed was the anchor. A man in a purple vest over a loose white shirt, loose brown pants, and black boots climbed off the side with a huge rope and tied the boat to the dock. A purple bandana covered his head with its long ties blowing a little in the ocean breeze. He was tall with wide, toned shoulders and bronze skin. He grabbed a sack that he threw over his shoulder and started to walk down the dock toward them.

"Hi, Popuri! Hi, May!" he said with a grin, but the grin faded and he stopped suddenly when his dark brown eyes locked onto Jovie's. Something unseen seemed to crackle in the air and crackle right through her as she gazed into those eyes. She'd seen them somewhere before. Where had she seen those eyes before?

"Hi, Kai!" Popuri said. She walked over to him, dragging Jovie with her. When they stopped, Jovie just stared.

She could see why the men in town didn't like him: Kai's face looked as if the devil had chiseled it purposefully to bewitch any woman that set eyes on him. The man as a whole looked exotic, and for some reason, she could picture him with long, wavy black hair. He'd looked sinful anyway, but he'd be moreso with that hair.

"I've got a friend for you to meet! Kai, this is Jovie."

When Popuri and May let go of her wrists, Jovie just stood in front of Kai and stared. He seemed to be staring back with his jaw hanging open. Popuri and May sent each other questioning looks, then looked back at the two gawking people.

"Hi," Jovie finally said.

"Hi," Kai replied. "You weren't here last year." His voice was dark and smooth, like the deep brown his eyes were. She somehow found her voice again.

"Yeah, I just moved into the farm in the Spring."

"The old run-down farm?"

At that she smiled a little. "It's not run down anymore. It still looks a little bare, but I've got it cleaned up and I'm slowly getting around to making minor repairs to the buildings."

"By yourself?" When she nodded, Kai just dropped his jaw. "Wow. That's impressive."

They stood in silence for a while. Jovie started to feel a little odd. "Well, I need to get going. I've got to buy seeds and get them home so I can plant them tomorrow before the festival. And I have to clear out the old cucumber plants."

"Oh, do you have to?" May asked with a pout.

Jovie grinned and ruffled the girl's hair. "I do, May. So I can't watch you practice. But I'll be here bright and early to watch the contest, and I'll bring Buck to sit with us."

"Yay! I love your puppy! Okay, see you tomorrow, then!"

"Jovie, if you want, come by the Seaside Lodge. I own it, and I'm running it all summer."

Jovie looked at Kai again. No one's features had ever moved her before, but this man was different. She smiled at him. "I will. Popuri tells me that you make pizza, so you can count on me coming down for that. See you all later!"

Kai watched her go into Zack's. 'Wow,' he thought to himself. There went the most stunning girl he'd ever seen. And he swore he'd seen her somewhere before. He noticed May and Popuri grinning at him. Crap, did they notice him staring? He picked up his bag.

"Uh, I have to go get settled at the Inn and pick up my shipment from Jeff's store. I'll catch you guys later today, or at the Festival tomorrow." Popuri and May seemed happy with that, and they both said goodbye to him. He walked from the beach, noticing Rick's unusually harsh glare as he left.

Jovie was standing in front of a mansion on a large estate. A limousine drove up. A man with dark eyes and black hair got out, followed by a woman with deep brown hair, tawny skin, and hazel eyes. The woman carried a tiny bundle as they walked toward the mansion. She followed them into the house, where a butler, maid, and another woman were waiting. Greetings were exchanged, then the squirming bundle was handed to the other woman. The couple turned and walked into their generous parlor without a second look back at the au pair or their baby.