Author's note: Hey, guys! Guess what I got for you... a triple update! Have at it! A little late, but Happy New Year! As always, thank you so much for the reviews and comments! The feedback is so sweet and constructive. I'm beyond thankful and flattered.

xxxxx

"Chelsea, you look well."

"I feel well... I was doing really bad for a while there."

"Seeing you come in limp as a doll last time was a frightful sight. By the looks of it, Denny nursed you back to health, hm?"

"He sure did..."

"I'm glad he was there, then."

Seated on the examination table covered in paper, Chelsea winced at the texture. The table's paper lining crinkled, worsening the farmer's squeamish behavior. Pulling her hands in to her lap and squeezing her thighs close together, a shiver visibly wracked her body.

"It's sanitary." Trent consoled her.

"I know... I just hate the feeling of it."

"You wouldn't be the first to tell me that. If you're the last, I'd be surprised."

Filling out some paperwork, noting Chelsea's vitals and such, Trent went quiet for a minute. The scratch of his pen on paper carried on and the meantime, Chelsea tried working up the will to ask for contraceptive. She'd already asked for the morning after pills... this was technically not much different. If Denny went in and casually asked for condoms, then she could ask for birth control pills.

The quiet atmosphere of the clinic didn't do much in terms of soothing her racing thoughts. Aside from Trent's pen, the room was unbearably silent. When the doctor did speak up again, Chelsea flinched at the sound.

"Alright, Chelsea. I'll file this and you can be on your way."

"Erm, actually... I wanted to ask for something while I'm here."

Trent looked up from his clipboard, calmly eyeing her. Patiently, he waited for her to ask for what she wanted. But, the lack of curiosity on the doctor's face suspiciously left Chelsea with the impression that he already knew what it was she was looking for. Still, he let her say it.

"...You wouldn't happen to have any birth control available at this clinic, would you?"

"I have an oral contraceptive available, yes. Standard pill regime."

"Could I...um..."

Professionally, Trent nodded and left the room to ease Chelsea of her embarrassment. Her cheeks were red and she wouldn't look the doctor in the eye. He came back with the pills still wrapped in their pharmaceutical packaging, explaining it was a twenty-eight-day cycle.

"There are twenty-eight pills, make sure you take the pill every day around the same time. The last seven pills are just sugar pills but they help to keep you on track, so make sure you take them."

"I can do that, thank you."

"Would you like condoms while you're here? It usually takes one or two cycles for the contraceptive to take effect."

Again, the way Trent addressed the topic left Chelsea certain that he already knew what Denny and she were up to. And that they were up to it, together. Making it worse, Trent offered condoms as almost as an afterthought. Normally, doctors adamantly pushed condoms on their patients.

"If you already have some, that's okay...make sure your partner wears one every sexual encounter until the pill is effective. Even then, it'd be wise to use one anyways. Can never be too safe, and they prevent sexually transmitted diseases." Trent assured Chelsea when she froze at the question, tongue abruptly having become useless. "It's important for both sexual partners to be actively involved in their reproductive health... or, preventative measures."

Chelsea could have died, but at least she now had the birth control in hand. That's all that mattered, really.

"...In addition, I'd recommend coming to see me a few days before these pills run out to ensure that you have them. Try not to leave it until the last minute."

Already terrified that she'd forget to pick up her birth control and find herself at the clinic door too late, Chelsea asked for a second pack. The last thing she needed was to be back at the clinic for the morning after pill in the scenario that a condom ripped.

"Could I buy two packs today to avoid chancing it?"

"I encourage you to do so."

Getting another pack, Trent handed it off and Chelsea paid. When leaving, she bargained with the universe to keep her out of that damned clinic until Wintertime, in the least. Next Spring would've been even better, damn it!

Xxxxx

"I think the doctor knows what we're up to."

Forking some coleslaw in to his mouth as Chelsea reached across the table for another homemade fishstick, Denny tilted his head and began a slow chew.

"What we're up to? We felons now, Chels?"

"Don't be an idiot. I think he knows we're shacking up."

"No better place to do it than an actual shack..."

Underneath the table, Chelsea kicked Denny without any force. Denny flicked open the cap to some tartar sauce and squeezed some out on to his place.

"He offered me condoms in a way that made me feel like he assumed I already had them... like he was sure of it. I've never asked him for condoms. And, you'd literally just left with some before I went in there."

"Goddess forbid two healthy, consenting adults have safe sex."

"You're missing my point!"

"You're paranoid, I know."

Dropping her fishstick back on to her plate in disgruntlement, Chelsea crossed her arms. She stared over at Denny with a scowl, blue eye peeking out from brunette bangs.

"Chels. He's a doctor. I'm willing to bet my freaking boat he doesn't give a crap what people are doing, so long as they're taking care of their bodies in the process." The fisherman suggested, sure of himself as he leaned in to push the fishsticks towards his girlfriend with a fork. "Eat your dinner while it's hot."

Since Trent was a doctor, if anyone was going to know what the pair were doing behind closed doors, Chelsea preferred that it be him. He was the least likely to judge or gossip. Hippocratic oath and all.

"It's not like he can gossip, I guess." Chelsea mused, taking a bite of her food. "Legally, he can't."

"You're thinking too much in to it. Worry about something else."

"Like...?"

"Like how you're gonna get back to your house. It's nice having you here and I don't plan on letting you leave."

Wiping some crumbs from her fingers, Chelsea began cleaning her hands with a napkin before wiping her mouth.

"I must look super sexy eating fishsticks or something."

"You're always sexy."

Having had enough to eat, Chelsea washed her own plate and silverware in Denny's small kitchen sink. He loved his beach shack but the living situation was cramped. Which was saying something because Chelsea's farm house was a modest size and she still managed. Denny's place made her feel claustrophobic at times. It was half the size of her small house.

"How do you live here?" She asked, shaking off a wet plate and setting it aside. "This shack is smaller than my house."

"It's a fisherman thing. My life is on the sea. This shack is for my bed, mainly. Shelter from the elements."

"Better you than me, I couldn't do it."

"Your house doesn't bother me at all. Guess we're all set."

Denny's bed was clean and made, ready for any potential sleep over. Despite the grungy, smelly reputation that fishermen generally had, Denny was a hygienic person and didn't fit the stereotype. He could come back from the sea smelling like high hell, but once he finished up with any manual labor that he had left for the day, his priority was a shower. Drying her hands with a clean rag, Chelsea laid out over Denny's bed as the fisherman went to clean his own dish, along with the serving platter they'd been picking from.

"Making yourself nice and comfy?"

"Not too comfy."

"Heartbreaking, really."

Shoes left on the floor by the door, Chelsea rolled over on to her stomach and calves bent up. Her feet wiggled, ankles crossing back and forth as Denny looked over his shoulder with a soapy sponge in hand.

"We're going back to my place." Chelsea concluded.

"Oh?"

"Mhm."

Chelsea laid her head out on the mattress, hair spilling along the bedcovers. Seemingly bored, she stared across the room.

"If you took a few things off you'd be plenty comfortable over there."

"The whole point is to not get comfortable."

Drying off his hands, Denny strolled over, coming to crouch at the foot of the mattress. He met Chelsea at eye level. He stroked a piece of her bangs back, gently appreciating the silky texture of her beautiful light brown hair, caressing from root to tip.

"This shack gets lonely."

Plucking her strand of hair back from Denny's fingers, Chelsea tickled the tip of his nose with the feathery ends.

"That why you were always sniffing around my farm?"

"I wasn't sniffing around your farm, I was sniffing around you."

Denny went in for a kiss and Chelsea held a finger to his lips.

"My house."

Pecking the digit, Denny held her hand with both of his.

"Have it your way. Head back home, I'll meet you there."

Xxxxx

Rapping on the farmhouse's front door woke Chelsea up the next morning. Dragging herself out from the sheets, she climbed over Denny. Dead to the world, he didn't stir at all and proved to be quite a hurdle to physically maneuver over whilst half asleep.

"Lazy fisherman." She half grumbled, not meaning it at all. "I need to get the door."

Making it to the front door, Chelsea was careful to open it just enough to peek her head out being Denny was sprawled out with just a shred of bed sheet to cover his hips.

"Morning, Miss Chelsea." Gannon greeted her in his booming voice.

Standing beside the large stalky man was Vaughn, of all people. Vaughn who was impressively tall and could possibly see over her head through the crack in the door if he tried hard enough. Luckily for her, he was looking right down at her face and nothing else.

"Mornin'." he greeted her, too. "Looks like you slept well."

"Huh?"

Gannon discreetly motioned towards his head. Chelsea reflexively brought one hand up to her hair and felt pieces sticking up out of place. Blindly smoothing it out as best as she could, Chelsea chose to breeze past the incident. She'd literally just rolled out of bed, what did they want from her? It was barely six in the morning!

"Morning, guys... is there a reason you're both here so early?"

Both men blinked in unison.

"The barn and coop?" Vaughn questioned, rhetorically. "It's being built?"

"Oh! Yup, yup. That's right." Chelsea laughed tiredly. "Sorry, I'm still kind of groggy. Also, wasn't expecting you to show up with Gannon...he's the one building it but you're here, too."

"I'm overseeing the project. Can't take any chances."

The cowboy wasn't defensive, but he stood his ground on the matter, leaving no room for argument had Chelsea decided to protest. The memory of animal carcasses scattered along Mirabelle's property gave her no incentive to protest the arrangement. Chelsea understood. After the last storm, there could be absolutely no weak points anywhere on the new farm buildings. They needed to withstand brutal conditions or Mirabelle's business would shut down. They had just enough money for one more try.

"So, are you guys just dropping in to let me know you're here, or...?"

"We were also lookin' to show you the blueprints, see if it's to your liking. Mind if we come in and look this over?" Gannon asked her, holding up a large rolled up sheet of paper. "Can't build without your approval. Your property and your money goin' in to this."

With Denny lying around, and indecently at that, Chelsea couldn't let either of the two in.

"I've got a bit of a mess going on in here right now." the farmer excused rigidly, hand tightening on the door. "I'd rather not have anyone in here...you know, end of season hustle and bustle. I haven't cleaned up yet."

"It happens." Gannon consoled her.

"Thanks for understanding."

Gannon unraveled the first blueprint right there and gave her a briefing of what he planned to do towards the back of her land. A large chunk would become a construction site for the rest of the week.

"Vaughn here thinks we should start with the barn." Gannon stated, showing the layout. "See here? A nice ol' barn."

"Cows and sheep make more money than chickens. They take more time to set up." Vaughn explained matter of fact. "Better to get them set up first. Chickens are much easier; less work goes in to them."

Following the conversation, Chelsea kept an ear out for Denny in case he woke up. A creak of the bed or a sleep grumble and the cat was out of the bag. She needed to get them away from her farmhouse.

"Right, right. That makes perfect sense. Go on ahead and start with the barn."

"Okay, and here's the coop-" Gannon began, getting cut off by Chelsea.

"Hey, I don't really know much about barns and coops yet, so why don't I leave this to Vaughn?"

Surprised, Vaughn quirked a silver brow from underneath his cowboy hat.

"You've been doing this for a long time, right? Anything I'd have to say really wouldn't matter, you know?... So, you be in charge."

Gannon looked up at Vaughn, gauging the cowboy for a reaction at the responsibility that Chelsea had dropped on him right then. Vaughn didn't seem bothered in the least. The usual stoic expression he wore lightened just enough that approval emerged in his violet eyes. It was faint and hard to spot, but it was there.

"Done." he agreed. "I ain't scared to be in charge."

"That's perfect. Vaughn can be in charge and you two get started. I'll come over and check how it's coming along later on."

The men left and Chelsea waited until they were a few yards away before retreating her head back inside and locking the door. Denny was still asleep, unaware of anything that had happened. Dragging a hand over her face, Chelsea contemplated how to ask Denny to put clothes on before falling asleep next time. For now, she needed to figure out how to climb back in bed with him sprawled out over the small mattress.

Seeing as there was no way to get back in without waking him up, Chelsea threw in the towel and just climbed over him. She moved his arm and laid herself underneath it, unsurprised when Denny stirred awake and tugged her in closer.

"Bathroom?" he asked.

"Door." she replied as Denny stifled a yawn. "My farm buildings are being built."

"Nice. Kind of early, though."

"Eh, better not to waste daylight."

Invested in falling back asleep for a couple more hours, Chelsea shut her eyes. Denny spotted the irony in the situation.

"What was it you just said about wasting daylight?"

"Go back to sleep, Denny."

"I actually like getting up early, so that's going to be a 'no' from me. Since you're up, you going to set your field up today?"

"Mhm, later."

Offering to stick around and help, Denny didn't expect Chelsea to decline the offer.

"You don't want help?"

"You have stuff you need to do, too Mr. Early riser."

"The fish will be there all day, Chels. The field needs to be weeded, tilled, seeded and watered. That's a lot for one day."

Yawning and rubbing at an eye, Chelsea lifted her head and adjusted her pillow. She gave it a good beat, fluffing it up before laying her head back down.

"Start of the season is always a lot of work. I've grown to accept that. Don't you have shipments that you need make? You know, your income?"

"I don't need much. A roof and dinner, and I'm set."

"I've got the farm covered, today. Get your shipments."

When Chelsea went quiet, Denny began pestering her with playful kisses to the back of her neck trying to wake her up. Hands rubbed over her hips and the brunette nudged the fishermen with an elbow in warning.

"I'm trying to sleep."

"And I'm trying to wake you up. Besides, you need a bigger bed."

"Are you going to buy me one?"

"If you want me to, yes."

The offer was sincere but Chelsea clarified that she, herself, would buy a bigger bed at some point. Hopefully the local store would have something from their catalogue that she could order. Because, if she were honest with herself, she couldn't take much more of the cramped sleeping arrangement.

"I think I'm going to go ask Chen about a bed today." she mentioned after re-thinking it. "If I have to sleep all cramped up like this much longer, I'm not having any more sleep overs with you."

"If you can't afford the bed, tell Chen to put it on my tab."

"Oh, shut up. I'm paying for the bed."

"I'm serious. We're getting a bigger bed as soon as possible... in the meantime you could always sleep over my place. My bed is a full size."

While hanging out at Denny's was fine, she could only handle it in small doses. Creeping across town early in the morning after a night together wasn't a good look, either. Taking the walk of shame every morning didn't seem appealing or helpful, at all. Especially with Gannon and Vaughn expected to be around for the time it took the farm building to be built. Then, Vaughn would be on the farm for hours to care for the animals and transport their products back to Mirabelle's shop... Sleepovers at Denny's were out of the question.

Xxxxx

Chen sat at his counter, sipping from a cup of freshly brewed tea when Chelsea came in that afternoon. Charlie laid out over the floor, moving a toy horse back and forth.

"Giddy up! Trot, trot, trot, trot..."

Stepping over him carefully, Chelsea greeted Chen and picked out her seeds as the man grabbed the crate for her to choose from. Pulling out what she needed, she placed them on the counter then tapped her nails.

"Chen, I'm looking to order something special while I'm here."

"Is it a horse!?" Charlie asked from the floor.

"As fun as a horse would be... it isn't a horse. Heh. I'm looking for furniture."

The little boy pouted in disappointment but resumed playing.

"My son wants a horse. I don't have anywhere to put a horse." Chen informed Chelsea with a wistful sigh. "Let me grab you the catalogue."

The catalogue Chen offered didn't have much in it. There were beds...only, there weren't any full-sized adult beds available to order. She made the discovery with a sinking feeling in her stomach. Chen was the only person who dealt furniture on the island.

"Chen? How would I go about getting a bigger bed in these parts?"

Setting his cup of tea down, Chen went in to the back of the shop. He came back with a folder of papers, pulling one out and sliding it over to Chelsea.

"Request form?" She read aloud.

Chen nodded with an apologetic smile, tucking the folder under his arm.

"Go on and fill that out with what you want and my supplier will send the product over."

"Oh, alright. Sounds simple enough."

"Once you're done with that you can go on and hand it over to that Vaughn fellow."

Pausing as she used a nearby pen to fill out the sheet on the counter, Chelsea raised her eyes up.

"Pardon?"

"Vaughn, the cowboy. Tall, silver hair. The muscular man who handles the animal shipments on the boat and he works at Mirabelle's shop." Chen described as if Chelsea hadn't a clue who he was. "Fellow sulks around-"

"I know who he is, why would I need to go see him though?"

Charlies toy horse trotted by her foot as Chen explained that Vaughn comes to the island via the boat that also ships everything else.

"The boat he takes goes to the mainland. He mostly handles livestock for Mirabelle but if you want something in particular, he's the one who will find it for you."

Had innocent little Charlie not been behind her, less than savory language would have fallen out of her mouth. Holding it in for the sake of the child's innocent ears, Chelsea finished filling out the request form and folded it in half, pondering how she'd bring herself to hand it over. It would probably take her days. If the local shop didn't supply larger beds, all Chelsea could assume was the town was horribly old-fashioned.

"I guess I'll have to give this to him one of these days..."

"Vaughn is only around on Wednesdays and Thursdays." Chen reminded her as parting words, pointing out the evident time restrictions. "It's Thursday, so if you'd like that bed by next week I'd suggest you hand that over to him today."

Since Vaughn was on her farm overseeing that Gannon followed procedure in building a secure and stable barn, he wasn't hard to find. As she approached him, he had his back turned. Chelsea silently thanked her luck because she approached awkwardly, trying to rehearse in her head what she was going to say. Every excuse as to why she wanted a bigger bed seemed too scripted. First the doctor, then Chen, and now Vaughn. It felt like before the year was up everyone on the island would know what she was up to.

"Vaughn?"

He flinched and turned quickly to see who had popped up behind him. Looking over his shoulder at the soft voice that had spoken up, the silver-haired cowboy almost thought a child had walked up behind him. Chelsea had barely been able to force sound out of her vocal cords, creating that soft, hesitant voice.

"Don't startle me like that." he scolded, wary of the farmer's meek approach. "What do you want?"

"I was just at Chen's shop and he said that you handle special orders?"

"That's me. Did you need something?"

Reluctantly, Chelsea handed over the paper detailing that she wanted a full-sized bed. Vaughn looked it over and simple as could be, accepted it. He tucked it into the pocket of his black button-down shirt, an air of indifference.

"This is easy, I can get it to you this upcoming Wednesday."

"You can? That would be great."

"I'll bring it to your house when I get off the boat and get the animals over here."

Gannon called Vaughn in to pass him a new box of nails and the cowboy stepped away to do it. As Vaughn opened up the box, Gannon decided to strike up casual conversation.

"Too bad you're leaving tonight, Vaughn. Harvest festival 's tomorrow. You're going to miss it."

"I don't care much for most of these festivals."

"What about you, Miss Chelsea? You going to the festival?"

Unaware that a festival was even taking place the next day, Chelsea was taken back like she'd been caught off guard. Festival? Tomorow? No one had told her.

"There's a festival tomorrow?"

"It's more of an over glorified hot pot." Vaughn retorted bluntly, clearly unimpressed with the whole event. "Everyone puts something in the pot. Stupid Festival, whoever the hell came up with it should've just put a hole in their head."

"...uh, a hot pot doesn't sound that bad."

Disgusted, Vaughn made a sour face.

"They make a stew. Someone always throws shit like carrots in the damn thing, can't stand it. I stopped staying for that festival."

"I take it you don't like carrots?"

"Hate 'em. Nasty things."

Gannon found Vaughn's food aversion funny to some degree. Calling him out on something, Gannon began tapping a nail in to the wall he was building.

"I don't know how you grew that big without eating your vegetables." Gannon jested in a fatherly manner. "This one doesn't like too many of them, Chelsea."

Intrigued, Chelsea eyed Vaughn almost in disbelief.

"You don't like vegetables?"

"I'm more of a dairy person. The closest thing to a vegetable that I really like is mushrooms. I like them with rice."

"Mushrooms aren't a vegetable, they're a fungi."

"Exactly."

Gannon, having known the cowboy for a while, threw out more information than Vaughn approved of.

"This one eats like a lad. Pudding, ice-cream, milk, chocolate..." Gannon began listing. "Rice with scrambled egg, pancakes-"

"Alright, that's enough."

"All I'm saying is you're a simple man. Sweets are nice but doesn't leave a dent in the belly. How do you survive on any of that? "

"I eat plenty of it. That's how."

Since Vaughn came across as so stoic and manly, Chelsea never would have pegged him for a picky eater. With the newfound information, she looked at him in a different light for a moment. He ate like a child...how scary could he really be? Somehow, the information made him look less intimidating.

"What? You got something to say?" He bit at her sharply, catching her lingering stare.

"N-No... it's just sort of funny. You really do eat like a little kid."

Gannon erupted in a hearty, full blown laugh.

"Biggest little kid I've seen in my life. He and my little one would get along just right."

"Eliza likes the same things, huh?"

"Aye, she does."

Vaughn became aggravated that Gannon had told his secrets to begin with. Granted, they hadn't actually been secrets... but at least he hadn't been the punchline to a joke before the guy decided to open his mouth.

"If you want your bed, I suggest you drop it." Vaughn advised the petite woman, voice growing an edge. "Don't fucking encourage him. Don't you got work to do or something?"

"Heard you loud and clear. See you Wednesday."

That intimidation factor that Vaughn had returned full force. Turning on her heels, Chelsea left without another word. Gannon laughing carried on for a bit, eventually stopping once Chelsea disappeared inside her farm house.

"Ah, Vaughn. You scared her. The poor lass."

"I've heard enough out of you for one day, Gannon. Do me a favor and stay on task."

Xxxxx

"So, did you know there was a festival today?"

"Did you not?"

"No, I didn't. Not until Gannon filled me in yesterday."

The festival grounds had picnic blankets laid out over the grassy area. Seated on one underneath a tree, Chelsea crossed her arms as she watched people walk in with various ingredients to add to the big pot. Baskets and bags in hand, villagers wore smiles on their faces anticipating the community meal. Denny peered down at Chelsea's contribution for the festival.

"Left over corn from Summer?."

"It's not fresh picked but it's still good."

A few chopped up ears of corn sat on the picnic blanket in front of the pair, waiting to be added to the pot once they got the event up and running. Some villagers were seen pouring water and seasonings in to the large pot once the fire beneath it was lit, bringing it to a boil.

"Looks like they're getting the broth started." Denny observed, resting an elbow on the cooler he had sitting next to him. "This fish I caught is going to make that broth nice and savory."

"I hope everyone likes fish..."

"That pot is so big, this isn't enough fish to overpower it. It won't be fishy so don't worry."

Taro called for everyone to start lining up and dropping their ingredients in to the pot. Denny hoisted up his cooler and Chelsea slung her bag over the bend of her elbow. The broth plopped with the ears of corn Chelsea dropped in, followed by the large mackerel that Denny had descaled and cleaned prior to the festival early that morning. Looking in, different vegetables could be seen floating around. A large ladle stirred the contents.

"It smells good..."

"Pot usually simmers for few hour before anyone eats. Wait until it's ready, it'll really smell nice."

"Mm, I'm kind of looking forward to eating now."

Walking away so others could drop in their contributions to the pot, Denny put his hands in his pockets leading the way back to the picnic blanket. Chelsea sat with her legs crossed, glancing back at the large black pot as someone dropped a bunch of carrots in. Plopping down on the picnic blanket, Denny laid out with his arms bent under his head, staring up at the clouds

"Any reason you weren't looking forward to eating before?"

"Vaughn made it sounds so gross...going on about carrots in the pot. And how people can throw in whatever they want."

"That guy is such a bummer. "

Denny's deadpanned commentary concluded with a sour expression.

"...is there a problem?"

"Not really. People like him rub me the wrong way, is all. I'm all about being positive. That guy wouldn't know a blessing if it stared him in the face."

Xxxxx

"It's looking like I'm all done here, Miss Chelsea."

It took Gannon a few days, but he completed the barn, a few days after that the chicken coop was up. Vaughn hadn't been around to oversee the entire project, but Gannon followed his guidelines down to every last detail. Nothing was taking down those buildings. Proud of himself, Gannon packed up his tools and anticipated Vaughn's inspection once returning to the island the next morning.

"You worked late today. It's dark out."

"Vaughn's bringing the animals tomorrow. Couldn't risk him chewing my backside."

Standing in the doorway to the chicken coop, Chelsea stepped aside so Gannon could leave. He thanked the farmer for her patronage and left.

"Drop on in when you need something else built. Time for me to tuck Eliza in for bed."

The empty farm buildings stood ready for occupancy, awaiting Vaughn's arrival. Eventually, the buildings would be hers to use. Dropping all that hard-earned cash for buildings she couldn't yet use to her own advantage felt like it was the right thing to do be it that Mirabelle's business would have immediately gone under otherwise... but now she had to have faith in Vaughn to utilize the investment. Because that is exactly what the buildings were, investments.

"This better work, Vaughn." Chelsea whispered, having second thoughts on their deal despite it having been her idea to begin with. "Don't let me down."

Hand on the strap to her rucksack, she grimaced. All she had to her name were the farm buildings and the money nestled away in her bag. Any further construction ventures would have to wait.

"Shea...I'm so sorry."

Xxxxx

As promised, Vaughn delivered Chelsea her bed. Ready to work, she stepped outside not expecting it to be right at her doorstep. Still incased in its packaging, the piece of furniture would need assembling. Leaning up against the side of the house was a mattress still wrapped in plastic and on top of that was what looked to be new bed linens to fit the mattress. Unsure if to drag it all inside and leave it for later, or put it together right then, Chelsea scratched her head.

"There isn't time for this right now, I need to water the crops... it's hot out today."

The overhanging sun was powerful for an Autumn day, threatening to dry out the field if she didn't put her watering can to use soon. Green sprouts in the soil spurred Chelsea to leave the bed right where it was. If the new sprouts shriveled, they'd die.

Morning time passed in to Noon and the sun's rays grew more powerful. Sweating, Chelsea wiped at her forehead and tugged at the hem of her shirt to alleviate the heat. Field watered, it was Chelsea who now desperately needed a drink. Cursing the sun as she dragged her feet towards the farmhouse, mild grumbles followed Chelsea in her pursuit for water.

"It's been cool... why is it so hot today?"

Going back inside, she drank directly from the faucet. A knock on her door startled her, water sputtering from her mouth and further soaking the front of her shirt. Dabbing it with a rag the best that she could, she left it on the counter.

"C-Coming. Hold on."

Using the back of her arm to wipe her mouth, the brunette answered the door. Vaughn stood there, hand on the large box he'd left for her.

"It's you." she greeted, out of breath. "What's up? The animals all settled in?"

"Yep. They're right at home." he drawled. "Hoping by Spring we can start constructing our own buildings, again."

"I hope so, too. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

Noticing Chelsea's sweaty and flustered state, Vaughn asked if she was okay. The brunette farmer nodded, fanning herself with one hand.

"It's so hot out today. It's Autumn. How is it this hot out?"

"Least you're working hard. I've known grown ass men who would've slacked off on account of a little heat."

"I can't afford to slack off. If I don't work then I don't eat."

Eyes darting to the box Vaughn had his hand on, Chelsea remembered that she owed a payment for the purchase. Duh.

"I need to pay you." she reminded herself, wiping at her forehead again. "Give me a second. I'll grab my bag. What do I owe you for all this?"

"10,000 G"

"..."

Alarmed, Chelsea dumped out what she had left of her funds and began counting it on the table. Embarrassed when she came up short, Chelsea scooped it all up and held it out to Vaughn.

"I only have half after paying Gannon and buying seeds for the field... I'll have the rest when a patch of crops grows in."

Unlike most kitchens, there was no food in plain sight. No bowl of fruit on the counter, no basket of vegetables on the floor. Even the typical bag of bread one may have set out wasn't around. Silently inspecting Chelsea's Kitchen, the cowboy didn't take the money.

"A harvest takes time. What are you going to do for food?" he patronized. "You can't have nothing on you."

"I have a few things in the fridge. You need to be paid-"

"Keep it."

Insistent that Vaughn take the money, Chelsea persisted.

"Here. I'll forage around and catch some fish. I'll be fine."

"I'm not one to let a lady starve. Consider the bed interest for the buildings you're loaning us."

Trying to put the money in the cowboy's hand, Chelsea was thwarted. Vaughn turned his back to her and began dragging the package in to her home. He tossed the new bed sheets on to the table top, then retrieved the mattress.

"I feel bad not being able to pay you, Vaughn. Please take the money and I'll get you the rest when I can."

"I ain't takin' that so quit the bullshit. I won't miss the money but you'll sure as hell miss eating."

"You're not paying out of pocket for my bed!"

"Can't you just shut up and be grateful? You broads can be so aggravating."

In an instant Chelsea went from pleading to angry. Having to replay what he'd said to her inside her head, she let it sink in.

"What did you just say to me?"

"I said to shut up because you're aggravating me. Not my fault you can't listen. Or say thank you."

"I'm just trying to pay you back what I owe you. You don't need to be an ass about it."

Losing his patience, Vaughn pointed a stern finger down at her.

"Drop it already. You deaf or somethin'?"

Vaughn's sharp tone and withering stare wilted any feisty retort Chelsea had ready for him. The scowl on his face, mixed with the cowboy's deep voice and brooding size sucked the nerve right out of her. A soft tremble shook her body, and she looked down at the ground. Her blue eyes only shifted up to check if the man standing before her was still mad. He was.

"...I've got work to do." he grumbled, making his exit. "Just take the fucking bed."

Chelsea's front door swung shut as Vaughn just let it go. The loud bang resonated within the home's four walls. Money curled in her fingers, she brought her hands up to her chest and clutched it. A tear slipped from her eye.

xxxxxx