Here we go again! Another chapter! Now things shall become more interesting – I hope. I'd like to thank everyone for reading everything thus far!

Chelsea did upgrade her house some days after her birthday, and she was happy not to have drafts every night - of course Lucky cuddled with her every night, keeping her nice and cozy.

Lucky was already becoming a good herding dog – he kept chickens from straying too far. However, Abby mostly ignored him. He was still small, only a little bigger than a chicken. Chelsea found it hard to believe that Lucky would one day possibly grow to be up to her hips when he was on all fours.

Chelsea emerged from her house, taking a breath of the fresh morning air. She began working the fields, waiting for Mark to join her. It was a cool morning, though Chelsea knew it would get hotter over the next few days, as summer was approaching.

Soon enough, Mark came walking across the bridge to Ranch Island. Chelsea ran to greet him, and Lucky ran up soon after.

"Hi, Mark!" Chelsea gave him a hug.

"Morning." Mark replied, sleepiness was in his voice.

"You ready for work? We have to finish harvesting these crops and prepare the fields for summer." Chelsea said, leading the way back to the crops.

Mark, followed, but a little hesitantly. "Speaking of work…"

Chelsea turned. "What is it?"

"Well you see, er, I need a pay raise." Mark muttered.

"Why? Is the rent at the Hotel that high? Are you thinking of building a house?" Chelsea asked.

"Well it's not that exactly…" Mark began, "I have a sister in the mainland, you see, and she needs medical care because she has a weak immune system, and I have to support her."

Chelsea nodded. "I'm so sorry about your sister! How much will you need?"

"About two thousand as a raise."

"Sure, anything. I'll give it to you when Taro gives me the money from the shipping box at five."

"Sounds good. Oh, and I'm going to the mainland tomorrow to drop the money off for my sister."

"Okay, how long will you be gone?"

"Three days – it takes a little while to get into the city where she is." Mark said.

"You're a good brother, you know?" Chelsea smiled, and Mark chuckled uncertainly.

"No… I just want to take care of my sister. We should get to these fields." Mark began pulling weeds out of the ground.

"Yeah."

/

The team of two prepared the fields for the coming summer in relative silence. Chelsea had tried to strike up light conversation, but Mark seemed distracted. Chelsea figured Mark was thinking about his sick sister, so she let him be for the moment.

/

Throughout the rest of the day, Mark was oddly quiet, even as he and Chelsea put some fish into the shipping bin. The only time he spoke was at the end of the day, when Taro gave Chelsea the money for the day.

Chelsea counted out Mark's portion of the money and handed it to him. "Here you go!"

"Thanks." Mark murmured.

"So you leave tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Chelsea, I have to go get ready – my boat leaves in the morning, so…"

"Okay, see you…" Chelsea watched Mark walk away, but she couldn't help feel a little hurt that Mark refused to share anything about his sister, and on top of everything, he had ignored her for most of the day. Chelsea refused to let the negative thoughts get to her too much, so she walked over to see Julia and chat for a while, and get ready for the next few days without Mark's help.

Yay! Another chapter down! I realized that these chapters are super short and this story is just beginning! Wow! Things are beginning to develop, and there shall be flashbacks to some characters' pasts, just any other story out there – not too sure if it's a good or bad thing. Anyways, see you next chapter!