Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harvest Moon

"We've got to keep this quiet," Karen had said, sitting on the edge of my bed and buttoning up her blouse in the predawn hours. "My father is forcing me to go out with Kai as an incentive to get him to stay and keep working the vineyard. If Father were to find out about us, he'd go ballistic. Whatever you do, don't let him find out about us, or that I told you that."

I stuck the last chunk of potato into the soil and rocked back on my heels, exhausted. In the week since that first night that Karen had spent with me, I had managed to clear out most of my field. I now had grass growing in over three-quarters of it, and had almost a thousand gold worth of potatoes growing in the rest. It would take a lot of effort, I knew, but I would work my fingers to the bone growing crops so that I could afford to start raising livestock. I knew that doing that would make me a lot more money in the long run.

Looking up at the sky, I noticed that the sun was nearly touching the mountains. I had been intending to run by the vineyard to pick up a bottle of wine, but I knew that if I was going to make it I had to be fast with my shower. I hurried as fast as I could, barely taking the time to towel myself dry, and I still hardly made it to the vineyard before it closed.

As I walked up the pathway, I was greeted by shouting. "Well, you should let me have my way!" Karen's voice blistered the air. "You're such a horrible father!"

She stomped down the path towards me, apparently not even noticing that I was there. I reached out to grab her arm. "Karen, what's—"

The brunette girl jerked her arm away from me, sending her bleached bangs flying. Her green eyes flashed. "Don't talk to me!" she hissed. "Leave me alone!"

Although I knew why she acted like that, it didn't stop the sting. Over her shoulder I could see Kai watching us in the background, his purple bandana covering his head. Karen kept walking, and a great mountain of a man was now stomping towards me.

"Karen! Come back here!" he bellowed, before letting his head hang. "Why are you such an undutiful daughter?" his voice dropped to a whisper.

I nervously walked up to the man, holding my hand out. "Mister Gotz, right?" I asked.

He jerked his head up to me, his eyes red as though he was so stressed that he was going bloodshot. After a moment of staring at me, a semblance of a smile overtook his face. "Well, if it isn't little Jonathon!" he chuckled. "I haven't seen you since the last time you visited your old grandpa. You're taking over the farm now?"

"Yeah," I answered, shrugging in embarrassment. "It's starting to work out for me. And I go by Jack now."

"Good, good." Gotz's attitude seemed to have changed in an instant. The giant patted me on the shoulder, nearly bowling me off of my feet. "So what brings you out here?"

"Actually, I was hoping to pick up a bottle of wine," I replied.

He shook his head. "We don't sell it by the bottle over here," he told me, his voice getting quiet again. "You wouldn't want any wine from our vineyard, anyways. The grapes just haven't done right since my mother died. I'm headed for the bar, so if you want a bottle than come on. Duke'll sell you some."

The bar was a pretty lively place. Zack, the crop buyer, was there, and so were Gray, Jeff, and Hal. Gotz lead me over to a corner table that was about as far from the door as you could get. He ordered two glasses of wine which our waitress, Karen, promptly brought over. The old man watched his daughter walk away.

"She just doesn't realize it, Jack," he sounded melancholy talking to me. "I try so hard to not be stressed, but I have to deal with the pressure of the fact that I'm running my mother's legacy into the ground. The lack of success of the vineyard weighs on me like nothing else, and I just wish Karen could cut me some slack. Be a little more understanding."

I had a feeling that he wasn't looking for an answer, so I took a sip of my wine and watched Karen bus tables while he talked; something told me that he just needed to talk to someone, not be talked to. Every once in a while, Karen would throw me a hidden smile, one filled with promise.

I got caught looking.

"So, you still like her huh?" Karen's father asked me. "Sasha and I, we figured there was something there when she ran away to your house in the city. I messed with that, though."

"Oh?" I asked, already knowing what he was referring to.

Gotz's second glass of wine arrived, and disappeared just as fast. The old man was silent until he had downed half of his third glass. "The vineyard needs everything we can give it, Karen, Kai, and I," he explained. His face took on a pained expression. "It takes everything the three of us have to put out a really poor wine. I can't afford to lose Kai. So, I . . . ." he paused to down the rest of his glass of wine, then ordered a shot of whiskey from Duke.

"You . . ." I prompted, taking another sip from my glass.

He frowned at me. "I made Karen start to go out with Kai, to keep him here," he explained. "I know you like my daughter. I've known since the two of you first met fifteen years ago. But if I lose Kai, this town will go under. There won't be anything to bring money into it."

I leaned forward on the table. "Come on," I cajoled, "there must be some way that she and I can work out."

Gotz looked down at his array of empty glasses and laughed. His words were starting to slur. "Sure kid. Sure. I tell you what, you make the grapes as good as they were when my mother ran the place, and you two can work it out. Then I won't need a helper; I could make enough money just on what I can do."

At that, he got up and lurched his way across the floor and through the door, heading home. I waited until I caught Karen's attention, and then wiggled my eyebrows at her. She smiled at me again, and gave me a look that made my knees week. Somehow, I made myself get up to the bar where I bought a bottle of wine. Duke wouldn't let me pay for the drinks; he said that the first round for the new guy was on the house.

I took my time walking back to my house, whistling happily. From our silent exchanges in the bar, I knew Karen would be coming over tonight. It would be the first time since that first night, but I had a feeling that she was looking forward to it just as much as I was.

When I woke the next morning, sunlight was shining in through the skylights. I sat up with a start. "Damn!"

Next to me, Karen started to stir. "What?" she asked sleepily.

I grabbed my alarm clock to look at the time. "It's already ten o'clock," I told her. "Sleeping in like this is not going to keep us a secret from your father."

"Don't worry," she mumbled, pulling back down into a sleepy kiss that woke us both up. "Today is Sunday. I normally spend Saturday night at Ann's, and Sunday either with her or at the beach. She'll cover for us."

"So Ann knows about us, too?" I asked before returning the kiss. Karen's green eyes started to light up.

"Of course," she murmured into my ear before blowing in it. "Ann's my best friend. No secrets there."

Well, I thought as she covered my neck in little kisses, I should at least try to put up some resistance. Just because she doesn't have to work today doesn't mean I don't. "I do have plants to water, you know."

She kissed me again to keep me quiet.

At almost one o'clock, someone knocked on the door and startled me out of my slumber. "I'm coming!" I shouted, trying to find my pants and shirt. Luckily, they were both lying together, and it only took me a moment to pull them on.

Ann was waiting at the door with a smirk on her face, but I could see something dark hiding in her eyes. "I was wondering if you've seen Karen," she asked sweetly. "I was supposed to meet her for lunch at the beach, but didn't see her."

I smirked back at the rancher's daughter. "If I see her, I'll tell her to get down there," I answered. Both of us heard the mumbling from the other side of the wall that was behind me.

Ann turned to go, her smile getting wider. "I'll see you later Jack."

After waving her off and shutting the door, I started picking up some of the assorted clothing lying around the floor. I threw Karen's clothes at her. "You have a lunch date that you're late for," I reminded her. "Get dressed and get out there."

By the time Karen left, I was so engrossed in watering my plants that I didn't even see her go. I finished the day off by taking my sickle to the tall grass lining my farm. I would need it for fodder, I knew. I was determined to make this work: the farm, Karen, my new life. All of it.