For two weeks, Ford helped Holly around the house and farm. Occasionally he would have to leave to assist with another patient, but for the most part he spent his days with her. Every now and then another villager popped in to check up on her. To Ford's dismay, Ludus seemed to check in almost daily.

Today Ford looked at her foot and it was almost completely healed. Ford looked up at her and gave her a half-hearted smile. "You should be able to work on your feet now. Just start off slow." Holly jumped up happily and winced in pain. She started to lose her balance, but Ford caught her. He irritably mumbled, "What part of start off slow didn't you understand." He then let her go and said, "I have another patient to tend to today. Can I trust that you won't get into any more trouble?" Holly nodded. He picked up his briefcase and started out the door, when he stumbled slightly on her ripped boot that was left on the floor. He picked it up and noticed the number 8 on the bottom. He threw them out the way before making his way out the door.

…

As Holly stepped into her fields she felt at peace. She wiggled her toes in the dirt to feel the earth beneath her. This was her destiny, and she knew it. She filled up her watering can and started to work.

About an hour later, she saw Ludus walking towards her property. He waved and started to approach her. "It looks like you're feeling better," Ludas commented.

She nodded and replied, "It's still a little sore, but Ford has me back to working condition. I am grateful."

Ludas sneered at the mention of his name and asked, "Don't you think he is a little strange?"

Holly shook her head, "Nah, it takes some time to warm up to people, but he is a good person."

Ludas crossed his arms, "I just don't trust him. He seems like a jerk to me." He paused for a moment and continued, "Anyway, I should get going. I am glad to see that you are feeling better.

…

Ford looked around Mirabelle's while he waited for her to sew the last button on his new lab coat. He saw the boots he was looking at a few days ago and lifted the shoe up. On the bottom of the shoe, he saw that it was a size 8. He debated a few minutes on whether he should buy her the boots or not, but eventually gave in. He picked up the boots and carried them to the register. Mirabelle looked surprised, but she checked him out without a word.

…

Back at home, Ford looked at the boots irritably. Now that he bought her the boots, he didn't have the courage to give it to her. He paced back and forth in his practice, when he heard a bell jingle. Ford looked up at the door and noticed Wayne.

Wayne saw the lady's boots and asked, "Am I interrupting something?"

Ford shook his head and explained, "I bought these boots for Holly, but I can't bring myself to give them to her."

"I have some mail to deliver to her house. Do you want me to drop it off?" Wayne asked.

Ford nodded and said, "That would work," before placing the boots in a box, and handing them to his friend.

…

Wayne stopped at Holly's farm and knocked on the door. When no one answered, he placed the box in front of the door, and left to continue his route.

…

Around noon, Ludas made his way towards Holly's farm. Something about her just tormented him. He needed to have her. The memory of her by the pond was enough to make him go wild. He stepped up on the porch and knocked on the door. That was when he noticed the box. He picked it up to see who it was from and noticed that it didn't have an address on it.

"Hey Ludas, what are you doing here?" a girl's voice asked from behind him.

Ludas turned around with the box in his hands dumbfounded and said, "Uhhh, this is for you…"

Holly blinked in surprise and reached out to open the box. She pushed some paper out the way to find a beautiful pair of embroidered brown leather boots. Her fingers touched the beautiful embroidery in amazement and asked, "Are these for me?"

Ludas stood there with his eyes as big as a goldfish and nodded. Holly gave him a peck on the cheek and said, "Thank you so much Ludas. I needed a new pair of boots, and these are the prettiest boots I have ever seen. You are so thoughtful. She pulled them on her feet and continued, "They fit perfectly. How did you know my size?"

Ludas finally came out of his stupor and looked at these boots as an opportunity. "I took a wild guess. I saw them in the store and the beautiful flowers made me think of you. I am so happy that you like them."

Holly then asked, "Would you like to come in for some milk and cookies?"

Ludas smiled and nodded before following her into the farmhouse.

…

Ford decided to walk over to check on Holly's injury… Or, at least that was going to be his excuse. The truth was, he just wanted to see if she liked her gift. He knocked on the door and was surprised when Ludas answered.

"What are you doing here?" Ford asked. He looked past Ludas and saw Holly digging through a box for some dishes.

She looked up and noticed Ford standing in the doorway, "Hey Ford, come on in. We were just about to have cookies."

Normally Ford would have rejected the invitation, because he was always health conscious. But, today was different…He couldn't leave her alone with this blue haired freak.

He sat at the table and watched her as she poured each of them milk. He noticed she was wearing the boots and said, "They look nice on you."

Holly looked down and smiled, "Thank you, Ludas got them for me."

The hair raised on the back of his neck as he stared Ludas down. He couldn't believe that punk said that they were from him.

Ludas had a good idea who actually bought her the boots. So, he quickly finished his cookie and said, "I gotta go Holly, but thanks for the snack."

Ford let out an irritated sigh when he left. He looked at Holly and said, "I just wanted to check in on you. Is your foot any better? Holly nodded. He then continued, "Very good, I must be going. Take care."

Holly watched him as he walked away from the farmhouse. She had a feeling that something was wrong with him, but she didn't know what.

…

Ford and Wayne sat at the Garden Grill eating dinner. "How did Holly like her boots," Ford asked Wayne, knowing that Wayne didn't give the box to her.

Wayne wiped his mouth and said, "Actually, she wasn't home. So, I left it on her door step. But, they are pretty so, I am sure she like it. Why do you ask?"

Ford pushed around the food on his plate angrily and replied, "Just curious." He knew it wasn't Wayne's fault, but he still felt irritated that he didn't hand it to her directly.

…

The next day, Holly stopped by Mirabelle's to make a few deliveries. "Good Morning Mirabelle," Holly greeted.

Mirabelle pulled a box up from beneath a counter and said, "Good Morning." She looked at Holly's new boots and said, "Oh, you must be the girl Ford bought the boots for."

Holly shook her head and replied, "Ludas gave me these boots, not Ford."

Mirabelle shook her head and said, "No, I only had one pair of these in my shop, and Ford bought them yesterday."

Holly gasped in shock. If this is true, that would explain Ford's distant behavior yesterday.

She grabbed the package that Mirabelle wanted her to deliver and asked, "Who does this go to?"

"Wayne," Mirabelle said.

Holly nodded and left. She looked over to Wayne's house and shook her head. She had to apologize to Ford.

She placed the package in her backpack and headed to the clinic.

….

As she entered the clinic, she noticed Ford Standing with a medical book in his hand. He looked up from his book and shut it with one hand before saying, "Holly, how can I help you?" She walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar of his lab coat and kissed him passionately on the lips. Ford was so shocked by the action he dropped his book. He placed his hands on her waist to deepen the kiss. That was when he felt a tear drop hit his cheek. He pushed her away and said, "Holly, this is highly improper. What has gotten into you?"

Holly wiped her tears and said, "I am sorry Ford. I should have known that it was you that bought me the boots. Ludas was standing on my porch with them, so I just assumed they were a gift from him. I am such a fool."

Ford pushed her hair behind her ears and said, "It has been rather slow today. Why don't you finish your work, and join me for lunch upstairs?"

Holly, nodded and left to make her delivery.

Ford watched her leave and went upstairs to start preparing something. His heart was pounding in his chest as he thought her kiss. How could one tiny woman have such an affect on him? He then smiled and thought, 'At least she liked the boots.' He started to pull out ingredients to make pistou soup, only to discover he was fresh out of carrots. So, he picked up his wallet and left for the general store.

…

Holly stopped at the Post office to deliver a package to Wayne. Wayne was helping a customer, so she waited a moment before she approached him.

"Well, look at you and those fancy boots. Ford really picked out a beautiful pair of shoes." Wayne said.

Holly looked up in surprised, "You knew he bought them?"

Wayne chuckled a little before answering, "Of course, Who did you think they were from?"

Holly was about to answer when she saw a flash of blue walk in the door. She turned around quickly and saw Ludas. She handed Wayne the package and said, "Excuse me," before approaching Ludas. She walked directly in front of him, "How dare you tell me that these boots were from you?"

Ludas's eyes widened in surprise and said, "I meant to tell you the truth, but you were so happy…I just didn't want to disappoint you."

"Well, you did disappoint me, but for a different reason. You lied to me. After all that crap you said about how I shouldn't trust Ford, and how you thought he was a jerk…It was you who was the liar and the jerk this whole time. Don't bother me again. I will find another carpenter to fix up my house," she said before she left the post office.

"But I am the only carpenter within 100 miles," Ludas called out to her.

The door slammed and Ludas heard the clicking of a tongue. He looked over to Wayne, who said, "Smart and pretty is a deadly combination Ludas. Maybe you should find another filly to chase." Ludas slammed his package down angrily and left.

…

Ludas ran after Holly and grabbed her by the wrist, "Holly, I'm sorry."

"Let go of me," she said angrily.

"No, not until you listen to me!" He shouted as he tightened the grip on her wrists.

His shouts caught the attention of surrounding shop keepers and a doctor who just stepped out of his practice.

"Please, Ludas. Let go. You are hurting me," she said as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

Ford couldn't hear her, but he could see the way Ludas was holding her. He started to run down the cliff.

"Holly, I know that I lied to you, but Ford is not right for you. You should be with someone who can protect you. He is so scrawny, you could hardly call him a man. You deserve better." Ludas said angrily as Holly continued to struggle.

"He is more of a man than you will ever be! Now let me go you jerk!" She screamed at him.

Ludas laughed, and pulled her closer to him, "Make me….ouff…" Something ran into him, knocking him to the ground. Ludas looked up to see Ford standing in front of Holly, gasping for air.

"Ford are you alright?" Holly asked panicked.

Ford was too out of breath to answer, so Ludas got up off the ground and said, "You want a fight little nerd, you got one."

Ludas raise his fist up to strike, when he felt someone grab him by the elbow. He looked behind him to see Holly's uncle Frank. "Pick on someone your own size Ludas," he said before letting him go.

Ford reached into his pocket and pulled out an inhaler. Holly placed her hand on his back and said, "Come on, I will help you get back to your clinic."

Ford nodded and allowed her to help him. Once they had a chance to sit for a few moments Ford said, "I didn't have a chance to make us lunch."

Holly started to laugh and said, "Is that really what you are worried about right now? I can fix something if you are hungry."

Ford shook his head and asked, "Let me see your arm?"

Holly touched the spot where Ludas had grabbed her, and thought for a moment before saying. "It's fine Ford. Worry about yourself right now."

Ford shook his head and said more sternly, "show me your arm."

Holly let out an irritated sigh and started to unbutton her shirt. She took the shirt off and showed him her forearm.

Ford swallowed hard and said, "You could have just rolled up your sleeve."

"My sleeves are too tight to roll. If you would prefer, I can put on one of your shirts," Holly replied truthfully.

Once she had a t-shirt on, Ford was able to concentrate. He looked at her arm and closed his eyes angrily. 'How could Ludus do something like this to her,' he thought to himself. Now that he was having an easier time breathing, he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a silver tray with medicine and first aid supplies in it.

Holly watched as he made some herbs and oil into a paste for her bruised skin. She looked at the deep purple color and frowned.

Once he applied the paste, she stood up and said, "Get some rest while I fix us some lunch."

Ford nodded and went to sleep.

***Ford's Dream Starts***

Ford was standing in his mother's home looking disgusted. Boxes of junk were piled up to the ceiling, beer bottles were scattered across the floor next to the sofa, and the trash can was overflowing on the floor again. Ford let out a sigh and grabbed a bag to pick up the mess once again. He started picking up the beer bottles off the floor, when he smelled smoke.

He ran to the kitchen to investigate to find it in flames.

***Ford's Dream ends***

With the smell of smoke fresh on his mind. Ford quickly got up and hurried into the kitchen. Seeing Holly in the kitchen made him lose it. He pulled her away from the oven, grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed it on the food.

"Ford, what are you doing?!" Holly screamed, both confused and frustrated. Holly removed the oven mitts from her hands, shoved it into Fords hands, and simply said, "I'm leaving."

Ford stood motionlessly in the kitchen, completely dumbfounded by his actions.

…

Holly made her way up to the grill. There was no way she was going to cook anymore. Wayne noticed her as she walked in and said, "Hey Holly, where's Ford?"

Holly walked straight past him, without giving him an answer. Wayne knew instantly that something happened, so he finished his meal and was about to leave, when Brad called him over,"Hey Wayne, would you deliver this to Ford for me. Holly is upset with him for some reason, but she doesn't want him to go hungry."

"I was headed over that way anyway," Wayne said, "Leave it to me."

…

When Holly arrived at the clinic, he noticed a closed sign on the door, which was unusual for Ford. He walked upstairs and found him sitting in the kitchen with his head in his hands. He looked around the kitchen and saw the oven still open and a fire extinguisher sitting next to Ford. "I take it Holly is not much of a cook," Wayne said as he sat across from Ford at the table.

Ford shook his head and replied, "There is nothing wrong with her cooking… There wasn't even a fire. I just had one of those night terrors, and I sprayed down the food with the fire extinguisher.

Ford and Wayne have been friends since they were children. So, he knew exactly the dream he meant. "I thought you were taking medicine for that."

Ford nodded and answered, "I am. But, post-traumatic stress disorder isn't that simple." Ford rubbed his temples and continues, "Holly probably thinks I am crazy after today."

Wayne smiled mischievously and agreed, "Probably, but at least we know she still cares about you."

"And, how would you know that?" Ford asked.

Wayne sat the takeout bowl on the table and said, "Because she bought this for you. I didn't look inside, but it smells like pistou soup."

Ford let out a sigh and grabbed the bowl and plastic spoon.

…