I stood in the center of the room and looked around. A plain bed, a nightstand next to the bed, a wooden dressing cabinet, a desk and a chair were the only pieces of furniture adorning the smallish room. All of the furnishings seemed to be made of a light oak or pine. The floor and the walls seemed to be made of the same. However, any shortcomings in the furniture were quickly overcome by the fact that any little detail in the room that could easily have the color changed, had been changed to a very light, soft baby blue. Blue being my favorite color, this made me crack a grin the size of a melon.

I turned to Chelsea, who was standing in the doorway, having just led me to the room which I was to occupy while I worked here, "This room is perfect!" I walked over to the desk, across the blue throw rug, and gently stroked a finger across the petal of the gently blue flower that was sitting on said desk. "I'm glad you like it," Chelsea said, smiling, as I crossed the room and sat on the blue coverlet.

"Well, I'll just leave you to get settled and change before dinner." Chelsea's cheery voice snapped me out of the daze I had drifted into as I sat, trying to decide whether or not to ask Paolo, my boat captain, if I could maybe have that gorgeous little painting that had been in my cabin on the boat. I had grown quite fond of it in the months I had spent on that ship.

"Quite right, I'll be out there shortly," I managed with a small smile before Chelsea, beaming, closed the door behind her and hurried off to make dinner. I think I'll be able to manage quite well here, I thought to myself as I hung up my clothes in the cabinet. As I continued unpacking, my mind drifted back to the beach earlier today.

Chelsea laughed, still beaming at me. I realized she probably didn't get what I was trying to say, but so few people did, when I even bothered myself with attempting to warn them, that I decided to just let it slide. She'd find out soon enough.

She appeared to be no more than twenty years of age. She was slight of build, and her chestnut brown hair was a bit past her thin shoulders. Her eyes of brightest blue looked like they had never done anything but smile. If I had to guess from her present demeanor, I would say she was one of those people who was perpetually cheery and could almost never be angered. I smiled inwardly. She seemed to be just the sort of person I was looking for. Someone who would notice immediately if I was surlier than usual, who would force me to be in better spirits simply by being themselves.

We both turned, a little surprised and a lot embarrassed, as we were brought to the realization that we had completely forgotten Blondie when he cleared his throat. Chelsea gave an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of her neck as she said to him, "Oh, sorry," his horse snorted as she said his name," my bad. This is Cara, she's going to be my new farmhand." I was a little annoyed that I hadn't been able to hear his name, but I decided to ignore it. I'd have plenty of chances to hear it later.

"Ah, so that's what she was doing on the beach by herself." He smiled with these words. "Well, we'd better get going if we're going to get home by dark." Chelsea excused us and tugged gently on my arm. I followed her up the path, wondering about Blondie-Boy.

I finished putting my things away in various places about the room and grabbed my work clothes. As I looked down at the black skinny jeans and fitted, cap-sleeve shirt, I realized it had been quite some time since I had had occasion to wear these, much less my black riding hat with the scrolling silver trim about the brim and my black, high-top boots. I pulled on the almost pure black outfit and slipped on my boots. I also usually wore a worked leather belt to keep my pants from sliding too much. They weren't really as tight as they looked, and when I worked they loosened considerably. I looked in the small mirror by the door and jerked back as I realized how badly I needed a haircut. My braided hair was simply too long to look good when I was wearing my work clothes. Ah well, it would have to wait.

I stepped out and closed the door to my room snugly behind me. The smell of stew was wafting down the hallway, pulling me to the kitchen. My nose held high, the better to see if I could smell what variations had been made to the stew, I entered the kitchen to see Chelsea ladling out two bowls of the stuff.

"Is that Mountain Stew?"

"Yes indeedy!" Came the chipper answer. We sat down and, surprisingly, ate the meal in silence. I had thought Chelsea might try to make conversation. "So, what'll be my work?" Chelsea looked up from her stew with a look of mild surprise. It was no wonder, as I had already slipped into work mode, which meant that my voice had become quieter and rougher. A lot of times, people would describe me as an anti-social cowgirl. Those were the people I worked with though. The people I liked usually said that I was somewhat like a mustang, wild and hard to get to trust you at first, but fiercely loyal and affectionate when that trust was gained.

"Well, I was thinking of having you take care of the livestock and, when it comes around to it, help with the planting, if that's okay with you. Maybe help me with clearing the field in the winter." I nodded my head.

"Sounds good. Do you want me to ship all the produce from the animals or hold some back for the house?"

"Umm, I'm not sure. That will probably be a day-to-day sort of thing, but I think it would be best if you just shipped it unless I ask for some to be held back."

"A'ight. I think I'll head to bed now." She nodded and I stood, placed my bowl and spoon in the sink, and turned towards the door. "Goodnight." I added as an afterthought. "Goodnight." Chelsea replied softly.

Next morning, I was up with the sun. My clothes were pretty similar to last night, the only real change being that I was now wearing a blue T-shirt that made one think of a deep, clean river. I opened my door to find Chelsea, with her hand raised as if she had been just about to knock.

"Oh, good morning! I see you're up already."

"Yeah, G'morning. And of course I'm up, I got to go feed everythin' afore breakfast, don't I?" was my ever so polite reply.

"Wha..? Oh no, I'm not expecting you to-"she was cut off by me raising my hand. "The way I do things is based off the idea that you get everything done earlier rather than later, that way you got some time to relax before it's time to go into town. That's how I was taught and that's how I work best, so if you'll excuse me, I'll go feed now." I stepped past her into the hall. "And if it'll make you feel better, I'll do the milking and the brushing after breakfast." I added, for she still had that look on her face that said she wasn't too happy with this.

I crossed the large field, skirting the boulders and the stumps, and leaping over the smaller rocks and branches. This was going to be ugly to clear later, but at least it didn't look like I would have to pull too many weeds. I hated pulling weeds. I reached the barn and stepped inside. It now appeared to me that Chelsea must have been on this island a long time and must have been doing very well before she decided to seek an extra helper. This knowledge was brought to my attention by the dozen or so cows and sheep that filled the barn. If I had to bet, I would say the coop next to the barn was at full capacity as well, to say nothing of the stable I had spotted by the entrance to Ranch Island.

Shaking my head, I went to the feed dispenser and started pulling out bushels of feed. Once I finished with the barn, it was time to take care of the chickens. Sure enough, I walked in to be greeted by a little beady eye peering sleepily at me from every single corner of the coop. I started spreading the feed around, but suddenly the thing I could see was white. Apparently, feeding was the only thing that could wake them up. I gasped as a beak bit into my hand. Next second, the flock of birds had scattered as I kicked blindly in the direction the peck had come from. I looked around and saw a little Silkie rooster, glaring at me defiantly. "So you think you can show me whose boss, huh? Well, I got news for you kiddo." I stooped and picked it up. It squawked and flapped its little wings indignantly. "It ain't you!"

Once I had finished with the animals, I knew it was time to face Chelsea. I had started the day off on a somewhat rude note. I knew she would want answers sooner or later. I walked through the door and hung my hat on the hook by the door. I could smell bacon and eggs and pancakes. Chelsea's head popped out of the kitchen.

"Oh, you're done already? Well, that's probably a good thing, 'cause the pancakes are almost done. Would you mind watching the bacon for me?" I nodded and stepped over to the stove. "I see what you meant yesterday." Chelsea commented ten minutes later, as we were eating our bacon and pancakes. I looked up, a slightly surprised look on my face. Chelsea didn't seem to notice as she kept eating with her head down and said "The comment you made at the beach, about how you'd hardly seem the same once you'd changed clothes. You were right, it's hard to see that the person sitting in front of me is the same girl I picked up at the beach earlier." I just looked at her for a moment. She looked up and smiled at me. "Don't worry, this doesn't change anything. You still have a job here and you still get paid the same amount we agreed on. Actually, I think we should discuss your pay. You work a lot harder than I expected. I was thinking that rather than the 15,000 G a month we agreed on, a good 25,000 G would be better." I stared at her. 25,000 G? That was a lot of money. "I hardly think getting up and feeding 2 hours earlier warrants a 10,000 gold raise."

"Well, maybe it doesn't, but I think that you'll end up exceeding a lot of the other expectations I had. Come on, by the time you finish with the rest of the animal care, I should be done with the watering, and we can go in to town and I can introduce you to the rest of the villagers." Chelsea stood and we cleared the breakfast dishes. I went and set about finishing my chores. As I stood in the coop and held the little rooster from before, I realized that I was actually nervous to meet the people in this town. I wanted them to like me. I wanted to stay in this town and make friends. It would be nice to settle down and stay in one place longer than a few months. Actually, I thought, stroking the little rooster, whose name I had found to be Jamie, I think the last time I stayed for more than three months was Jill's place. I wonder how she's doing? Maybe I should send her a letter. I set Jamie on the ground and went to hold the last chicken in the coop to require attention. After this, it was time to head to town.

I think that before I post another chapter, I would like for the number of reviews to match or exceed the number of chapters. I feel so excited, this chapter is almost as long as the other two combined. It is my hope that you who are reading this enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. I am on vacation at the moment, so I might be able to get another chapter up by the time I go home to resume my duties on Wednesday. Who knows, I might be in a writing mood on my birthday tomorrow.

Many thanks to Magiclicious1348 for giving me the encouragement necessary for this chapter. I swear I really was going to upload it, but stuff got in the way. Honestly folks, it doesn't take much to get me writing. One little reveiw. If you review my story, I will go and reveiw one of your stories. Magic, your's is coming soon, I promise.