Disclaimer: I own Harvest Moon; yes it is I who created something that simple and became a mulit-millionaire! MU HA HA HA! wakes up Darn; so close.

Author's Note: Thanks for reading this, to whoever's reading this! The first chapter was just kind of an introduction to the girls feelings, this chapter, a little more happens...

Letters, Love and Lies
Jack the Smitter

"Karen!" Ann screamed, her hands balled into fists. "Where were you?"

Karen's eyes clouded over. "What do you mean--" then she saw the other girls, sharing cookies over a picnic she had neglected to remember. "Oh, I totally forgot!"

"This isn't the first time!" continued Ann, her face now a rich shade of crimson. "You're always blowing us off for no reason! What the hell is wrong with you? It's like you don't even care about us at all!"

"Well excuse me for having a life!" Karen yelled back. "I have other things to do you know. I can't help it if I find more interesting things to do than to waste time arguing with you Ann!"

"You're supposed to tell us you're not going to make it ahead of time! It's called manners, you know! What's so important that you ditch us without even a word!" By now, Ann was on the verge of crying or throwing punches.

"I was helping Jack with his work on the farm! I was trying to make him feel welcome you know! Of course Ann, you wouldn't care enough to help someone other than yourself!"

"Look who's talking!"

"Hey hey!" Jack took a step in between the two. "Calm down, you guys. It's okay."

"No it's not okay!" Ann protested, her eyes filled with hot tears. "Karen thinks it's okay to just use her friends. We're nothing but a way to kill time for her! We're just here to entertain you until you find something better to do, aren't we!"

"You know that's not true!" Karen boomed. "And even if it was, what do you care!"

"Just get off my farm!" she pointed the direction out. "I never want to see you here ever again, you hear me!"

"Gladly!" lowering her voice to a whisper, she turned to Jack and looped one arm with his. "C'mon Jack, let's go."

Jack shook his head. "Well, I gotta get some chicken feed, I'm running out. And I need to find out some things about sheep before I buy one. That's kind of why I came here."

Karen squinted her eyes angrily and took a step back. "Fine, whatever. I'm leaving!" with that, she stomped off the Green Ranch.

"Don't let the gate hit you in the ass on your way out!" Ann taunted, satisfied. She turned to the rest of the girls. "Okay, let's finish up dessert."

Popuri shivered. "Wow Ann, I've never seen you blow up like that."

"Well, she deserved it," Ann pointed out. "What kind of friend stands you up like that anyway?"

"I'm sorry," Jack apologized. "I didn't know you guys had plans. If I knew, I wouldn't of let her stay..."

"It's not your fault Jack," Ann said with the first smile she had all day. "You didn't know. Besides, Karen didn't even care enough to remember."

"Let's drop the subject, okay?" Elli pleaded. "Jack, why don't you sit down and have some cookies? We have a lot left, and I don't think the four of us could finish it alone."

"D-don't you have s-some w-work to do?" Maria sputtered nervous. She obviously didn't feel comfortable with the fact of sharing food with a young man she didn't know too well.

"Of course he doesn't!" Popuri argued. "C'mon Jack, take a seat!" She took his arm and forced him to the ground.

"Well, all right," he chuckled. "I guess I could use a rest." Elli handed him a cookie. "I'm really sorry about Karen though."

"We told you, it's not your fault," insisted Ann as she poured him a cup of milk. "That Karen... she's not a good influence."

"Should we be talking about Karen behind her back?" Maria whimpered, looking nervous.

"Who cares?" Ann remarked sharply. "It's not like Karen doesn't ever do that."

Jack bit into the cookie. "Oh, this is delicious! Elli, did you make this?"

Elli blushed. "Yes, thanks. They're just an old recipe."

"They're really good," complimented Jack. "Your cakes are delectable too. You're really talented at this kind of thing." He gobbled the rest of the cookie in seconds.

"Thank you Jack," Elli giggled, still blushing.

"Oh," Jack called out as if struck by memory. "Maria, I have my library book with me." He slipped off his orange back pack and pulled out a copy of 'The Hobbit'. "I just finished it last night."

Maria accepted the book. "T-thank you. Did you enjoy it?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "I loved it! I especially liked the part with the trolls at night. That was really funny." He chuckled.

"T-that's my favourite part too..." Maria gasped. "Wasn't it so sad when Thorin died at the end?" Her voice was no longer shaky, but excited.

"Yeah!" Jack agreed, his head bobbing up and down. "I didn't think he was going to die either. After surviving so much, and dying from an arrow, it seemed so tragic."

"Yes, I didn't really like that part," Maria whispered, her eyes misty. "I... I tend to skip those pages when I read that book..."

"Hey Jack," Popuri interrupted, oblivious to the fact that Maria was actually talking. "I've seen your farm and you have a lot of really nice flowers growing there. How do you get your flowers to grow so big?"

"Oh," Jack thought for a moment. "Well, I don't really do anything special. I water it everyday and I try to keep the soil from getting too wet when it rains. I use fertilizer to plant my flowers because it gives it a lot of nutrients."

"And do you use pesticides?" Popuri asked again.

He shook his head quickly. "Oh God no! I don't believe in that stuff. It's not good for the earth." Popuri nodded, impressed.

"So Jack," Ann began. "How's Magic doing?" Against her brother's wishes, Ann had given away Cliff (the horse)'s younger brother away to Jack. Ann missed him dearly, and wanted to know everything about Magic's progress of growing up. "Is he big enough to ride yet?"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, he is now. I ride him everyday, just to keep him happy and in shape. He's doing great! Thank you so much for him Ann. He's very helpful to my farm."

Ann smiled again. "It's great to hear that!" She especially liked the fact that Jack mentioned he rode Magic everyday. It's important to do so to maintain a healthy and loving relationship between you and the animal.

By then, Ann had realized how smitten she was with Jack. He cared about other people, animals and the earth. He was sensitive but strong too. No wonder Karen seemed to like him so much. But as she studied the look on all the other girls faces, they looked pretty love-struck as well. She started to panic inside. Uh oh, warning bells rang in her head. We'd better be careful, or we might find ourselves in a heap of trouble.

Ooh! A little conflict now eh? It's getting somewhere! Now I've kept you reading long enough, but pleeeeeeeeeeease review! It would mean soooooooo much if you did! Thankies! Oh, and could someone tell me if the horses's name is Cliffguard of Cliffard? I can't remember... heh heh... blushes.