Holly, looked out into her fields and saw her first crops were ready to harvest. She excitedly went out to the fields to pick her turnips. As she picked them she was calculating approximately how much money she would make from the harvest. Once she got paid, she would check out what seeds were available at the general store and put what was left into saving for her first renovation.

…

Wayne sat at the counter of the Garden Grill with Brad. He was describing Ford's interactions with the new girl Holly to see if he too thought that Ford might be gaining feelings for her. Brad contemplated, "Well, it certainly is out of the ordinary for Ford to do this kind of thing, but I wouldn't say it is definitive of him having feelings for her. Maybe you should do stuff to get the two together and see what happens."

"Well the Goddess Festival is coming up, maybe we can convince Ford to tell her about it…Not ask her out on a date… we both know he won't do that. But, simply convince her to come to the event," Wayne suggested.

Brad thought about it and said, "That's not a bad idea. We can even go a step further and ask Marco's friend, Megan to ask for us. If an elder asks, he won't suspect our involvement and he will be more inclined to do it."

"That's a great idea Brad. I will go ask Megan now," Wayne said excitedly.

…

The next day, Ford was working on creating a new medicine, when he realized that he was out of Magnesium. He decided to go to the general store to place an order for the mineral. When he got there, he greeted the shop keep Miranda, "Morning Miranda, how is Noel doing?"

Miranda smiled, "She is doing wonderful. She just won her class spelling bee. What can I do for you today?"

Ford nodded and was about to ask for the magnesium when Megan came down the stairs, "Ford, I thought I heard you. Can I ask you a favor?"

Ford bowed out of respect and replied, "What do you need Megan? Is your back acting up again?"

"No Ford, my back is fine. But, I am awfully tired today. I had planned on inviting that new girl…hailey…I think…to the Goddess Festival. Unfortunately, I just feel too run down today to do it . Would you invite her for me?" Megan asked.

"Actually, her name is Holly. And sure, I can invite her. When is it again?" He asked.

"It's in two days," she winked at him and continued, "If you ask her nicely, she might even honor you with a dance."

Ford rolled his eyes and replied, "And miss out on a chance to dance with the Westtown heart throb, Wayne, I highly doubt it."

Ford then ordered his magnesium and left the shop.

Ford then made his way toward Holly's farm. Ford found Holly working diligently in her fields. She was working so hard, she didn't even notice his arrival until she saw his shoes next to where she was working. She looked up and greeted, "Hello Dr. Ford," she wiped some mud off her face with the back of her wrist and asked, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Ford suddenly became nervous, he suddenly felt like he was asking her on a date. Would she get the wrong idea if I asked? Ford shook his head, regardless of what she thought, he promised Megan that he would invite her. "The town elder, Megan, was not feeling well today and asked me to invite you to the upcoming festival. The Goddess festival is a celebration of the Harvest Goddess. The whole town gathers to eat pizza and dance. Would you like to come?" Ford asked.

Holly nodded and replied, "It sounds like fun. Sure, I will come."

"Great, I will see you soon then," He said as he waved goodbye.

Holly dusted off her hands and walked to the pond to clean herself up. She looked at her reflection in the pond water and wondered, "What am I going to wear?"

…

The next day, Holly headed into town. She hoped to buy a nice dress to wear to the festival. She entered the General store and greeted Ms. Miranda for the second time that week, "Morning Miranda, do you sell clothes?"

"I sure do, what are you looking for?" Miranda asked.

"I just wanted something different to wear to the festival tomorrow. I will likely be meeting the rest of the town, and I want to make a good impression," Holly stated.

Miranda frowned, "Well, I won't be able to have the outfit done by tomorrow. I sew them myself. However, Lisette might have something you could borrow. Let me go ask her."

Miranda walked her next door and explained the situation to Lisette. Lisette smiled at Holly and said, "Actually, I have a dress that I bought, but it just doesn't fit right. Maybe it will fit you. If it does, you can have it."

Holly looked hopeful as Lisette pulled a light blue dress out of her closet. "It's beautiful," Holly commented, "Are you sure you don't want it anymore?"

"If it fits you keep it. I have tons of dresses," Lisette answered. Holly stepped into the bathroom to try on the dress. It fit perfectly, she looked at herself in the mirror and was surprised at how pretty it looked on her. She stepped out the room and Lisette squealed, "That dress was made for you honey!" She then started to play with her hair and said, "Why don't you wear your hair down tomorrow? Without these braids, you have such beautiful curls." Holly looked back into the mirror and nodded.

…

The next morning, Holly started to get dressed. She pulled down her curls like Lisette suggested when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door to find Wayne standing on her porch.

Wayne took off his hat at the sight of her. "Good Morning Holly, you are too pretty for words today. I was wondering if you needed a ride to the festival?" he said as he pat his horse slightly on the side.

"That sound's great, I am not quite sure where the festival is located anyway. Ford told me, but I have a terrible sense of direction. Do you mind waiting a couple minutes for me to finish getting ready?" Holly asked.

Wayne smiled and said, "I always have time to wait for a lady." When she went back inside Wayne mentally cheered, Ford actually invited her. Now it was time to initiate step 2. He was going to bring Holly to the festival to make Ford jealous and hopefully cause Ford to make a move on her.

"I'm ready," Holly said as she came out the door.

On the ride over, Wayne made small talk. He wanted to find out if she had any interest in Ford. After all, he didn't want to go through all this to get Ford to ask her out, only to get turned down. "So, what do you think about my best friend Ford? He's a pretty cool guy, huh?"

Holly answered casually, "He's a little quiet, but sweet. I am kind of surprised that he isn't married. He seems like an honest and loyal man. You definitely chose a good person to be best friends with."

Wayne's eyes opened in surprise, he wasn't expecting such an elaborate answer, but he was appreciating it at the moment.

They pulled up to the party and as expected, Ford was there early. He watched Wayne help Holly down from the horse. Ford crossed his arms, 'Typical, Wayne swoops in with flowery words and steals her heart.' He looked her over, she was wearing a new baby blue dress with a white apron on top. Her hair was in curls and she wore her signature straw hat with it. She looked gorgeous. Ford suddenly felt self-conscious. He knew he could never win her heart over his best friend. He turned away from the scene and decided to avoid her.

Holly noticed that Ford seemed to be scarce. She tried to speak to him several times, and he found an excuse every time.

The town shared the pizza and Holly seemed pretty bummed out. Wayne had watched the two the whole evening. Maybe he had gone too far by asking Holly to ride with him. He approached Ford and said, "Hey buddy, what are you doing?"

In a hollow voice Ford answered, "Nothing, just enjoying the pizza."

Wayne nudged his friend and said, "You know, the party is almost over and you haven't asked Holly to dance. I know she wanted to dance with you. Why don't you go ask her?"

"Holly came with you, why don't you go ask her," Ford replied in a slightly bitter tone.

"Came with me?" Wayne said as he pointed to himself, "Oh no, she is new here so I knew she would have a hard time finding this place. I simply gave her a ride. There is nothing going on between us."

Ford looked mildly surprised, "Oh," he said, "And you think she might want to dance with me?"

"I know she does. She said so on the ride over," Wayne answered with a white lie.

Ford thought about asking her, but he was scared to. After all, he never asked a woman to dance before. He saw her approach the two of them and his heart started to beat faster. Was she going to ask him?

She looked up at the two and said, "Wayne, I am going to head home, but I wanted to thank you for the ride."

Wayne nervously said, "Wait a second Holly, Ford was about to ask you to dance."

Holly's face turned red, "Well then, he shouldn't have ignored me all day today." She walked past the two feeling angry that Ford would even bother invite her if he wasn't going to talk to her.

Ford realized what just happened and felt crushed. She really did want to spend the festival with him and he just ignored her. He ran after her and stopped in front of her. "Holly, please at least let me walk you home. I can explain my poor behavior tonight."

She nodded and started to walk.

Ford took a deep breath, "I thought you were on a date with Wayne when I saw you two ride in together. Wayne is my best friend and I didn't want to interrupt his date with you. That is why I ignored you tonight. Holly, I am very sorry for how I treated you and I would like to make it up to you… If you will let me." She nodded and he continued, "I was planning on cooking a vegetable lasagna at the clinic tomorrow. It is one of my favorite dishes and I always make too much, would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow?"

"That sound's nice," she replied. Now at the farm house she told him goodbye and walked into the house. She wondered if he really was going to ask her to dance earlier, but knew that it was too late to worry about it.

…

After gathering her turnips this morning, she decided to plant some potatoes and strawberries in her field as well. She was starting to get the hang of growing crops and wanted to branch out. After sowing her seeds in the ground and watering her plants, she decided to clean herself up in the river before she headed towards Ford's clinic. She grabbed her nice blue dress and walked towards the pond. She was excited to have dinner with Ford, so she washed up quickly. Pulling on her dress and boots she walked over to glance at her reflection when she heard a loud snap. Suddenly her foot was in severe pain and she looked down to see her ankle was caught in an animal trap. She saw the blood and started to feel sick. She let out a scream and quickly fell into oblivion.

…

Ford paced back in forth in his clinic. Dinner was ready half an hour ago. 'Where is she,' he wondered, 'Maybe she changed her mind about coming.' Feeling remorseful, he decided to put away the dinner he had cooked, no longer feeling hungry. He then blew out the candle and decided to go to bed early. He knew he should have just focused on his career.

…

Wayne was on his way back from a delivery in Lulukoko, when he saw someone asleep near the pond. Curious, he walked over to investigate and saw Holly. He was slightly amused that she chose here to take a nap. So, he dismounted his horse and walked over to wake her. "Wakey Wakey Holly, you were supposed to have a date with Ford, remember?" He said to her. When she didn't move, he took a closer look at her. Her face was pale and sweaty. He shook her gently and when she didn't wake up, he realized something was wrong. "I need to get you to Ford," he said to no one in particular as he tried to pick her up. That was when he realized her boot was caught in an animal trap, which was attached by a heavy chain on a nearby tree. He tried to pull her boot off but quickly realized that was doing more damage when she yelled out in her sleep. Without any more ideas, he hopped on his horse and sped off to Ford's.

…

When he arrived at Ford's clinic, he started banging frantically at the door. When Ford finally made it to the door, it was clear he was in a sour mood. "Someone better be dying for you to wake me like this," Ford said irritably.

Wayne replied, "No, Holly she…"

"Yeah, I know she stood me up. Did you really come by to remind me of this?" Ford asked.

Wayne's face turned red, "No asshole, she's hurt. I need your help."

Ford's demeaner changed instantly. He grabbed his bag before saying, "Let's go."

Ford was not used to riding on a horse so he was nervous the entire ride. Especially since Wayne was pushing the horse to go as fast as he could. As they approached the pond, Ford's face drained when he saw her. He jumped off the horse before Wayne could stop and ran over to her. He tried to pry the device's teeth off her boot, but the trap was too strong. "Come over here and see if you can help me pry this open," he instructed Wayne. Once again, the trap was just too strong.

Ford had to come up with something quickly, she was losing a lot of blood. "Wayne, go see if she has an axe. It won't be able to pry the trap off, but we can at least cut the chain off the tree and bring her to the farm house." Wayne did as he was told while Ford checked her vitals. 'If I can get her leg free, she will be okay,' he told himself feeling inadequate at the moment. He held her hand and silently prayed for her.

Wayne came back with the axe and Ford gently moved her leg as far away from the tree as the trap would allow. "Cut the chain's," he ordered Wayne, "And, for the love of God don't miss!" Wayne Carefully but forcefully swung her axe and severed the chains.

They both let out a breath and Wayne said, "All three of us are not going to fit on the horse. You need to take her. I will meet you there."

"I can't drive a horse," Ford argued.

"And, I can't perform an operation. Which of these do you feel is more hazardous to her health," Wayne countered.

Ford shuttered at the thought of Wayne trying to sew stitches and replied, "Valid point," before taking the reins. Before he left he said, "You might want to let her uncle know what happened."

He then took off towards her farm. He laid her across the bed and looked around for a face rag to clean the blood off her boot. He needed to take a closer look at the wound. He put a pot of water on to boil, but he couldn't find a rag. So, he took off his lab coat and ripped a piece of that off. He placed the scrap into the pot to sterilize before cleaning her boot. The contraption's teeth dug into both her boot and her heel. He knew that he didn't have the strength to open it with his hands so he looked for a weak spot in the trap's design. He noticed there were two screws on the side and wondered if those would break the trap.

Hector walked in with his tool kit at that moment and saw Ford working on her. Ford signaled for Hector to come over and said, "take out these screws." Hector did as he was told and Ford let out a breath of relief as he saw the trap fall off. As carefully as he could, he slid the boot off her foot. She whimpered in her sleep and he realized that she would be gaining consciousness very soon. Once the boot was completely off he saw just how deep the teeth had made it into her skin. If she wasn't wearing her boots when this happened, it would have cut her to the bone.

Ford's face turned red with rage. He turned to Wayne and Hector to said, "She is going to be fine. But, I want you to find out who placed these traps. It is bad enough that this happened to Holly, but this could have been a child!"

As Hector and Wayne left, the doctor pulled out some supplies he needed to stitch her foot back up. As he was digging for his needle, he heard a groan and looked up to see Holly was conscious. She looked down at her ankle and turned pale. The doctor handed her a bottle and she asked, "What is this?"

"Alcohol, it will numb the pain some while I stitch your foot up." He informed.

She took a swig from the bottle and shivered, it burned as it went down her throat. "Gross," she said as she placed the top back on the bottle.

The doctor chuckled as he stitched up her foot and replied, "You're not much of a drinker I see."
She shook her head and he continued, "That's a good thing. My mother was an alcoholic and her addiction accidentally caused her to set our home on fire. She was also a bit of a hoarder, so the house was devoured in a matter of minutes." His eyes as he talked about his mother showed great sadness.

"I'm sorry," Holly said, not really knowing how to react. "Why do you use alcohol after it caused you so much pain?" she asked.

Ford looked up at her and answered, "I use it to sterilize my tools and in accidents like this, it comes in handy. I don't like having it in my home, but I also don't buy it unless I need it." He finished stitching up her foot and said, "take it easy for a few days. You don't want to that to heal improperly."