Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harvest Moon

The rest of the week between the Flower Festival and the fireworks night passed quickly. The eggs I had been incubating had hatched and the chicks had finished growing up, leaving me with a full hen house. I had purchased a Miracle Potion from Ann's dad, and it was obviously doing its job since one of my cows was now pregnant. Basicly, between my animals and the remainder of my growing crops, I had my hands full and hardly left the farm.

When the first day of summer arrived, Karen came over just like Ann said she would. The two of us sat on the roof my house, wrapped up in a huge comforter as we watched the midair explosions.

The next morning, I went about my chores as normal while Karen slept. Apparently, she didn't need to head back to the vineyard until late in the afternoon, so she was intending to spend the day with me once she woke up. With that in mind, I had gotten up early to take care of my animals and limited shipping.

When I finished with my chores and started heading towards the house, I noticed someone sitting on the ground, leaning on the shipping crate by the mailbox. He had long, unruly brown hair and looked extremely dirty.

The young man looked like he was hardly breathing as he sat there. "Food," he whispered when I got close enough to him. "I need food." He sounded pretty bad, so I reassured him and went into the house to grab some rice balls. In the bedroom, I could hear the rustle of clothing as Karen got dressed.

When I got back outside, the young man scarfed down the rice with vigor. After he finished, I remarked, "Next time you're hungry you can just ask. Leave the acting to the professionals." I held out my hand. "I'm Jack."

He flushed a bright red, but chuckled and gripped my palm. "I'm—"

"Cliff!" Karen's happy shout suprised the both of us. She came flying through the front door and down the stairs to throw her arms around the man I was talking to. "Did you just get here? How long are you staying this time? Have you been to the vineyard yet?"

Cliff rolled his eyes. "Yes, I don't know, and, uh, no? If I had been to the vineyard already, I wouldn't have been trying to bum food off of Jack here. Thanks for the grub, though. I owe you one. " He looked over at a very confused me, his arms still around Karen. His eyes twinkled when he noticed Karen's bare feet. "Maybe I could get my cousin here to pay you back," he joked.

I found myself liking this young man. He had to have guts, I admitted to myself, to come onto a complete strangers farm to try to get food. "Do you need a place to stay?" I asked.

The young man nodded, but Karen answered for him. "Dad doesn't really get along with Cliff," she told me. "He thinks that someone who doesn't hold down a job isn't worth being around. That means that Cliff can't stay at my house. There's no way he could stay at the ranch, and no one else around here has any room for him."

"I'll probably stay up on the mountain in the Harvest Sprite's Cave," Cliff told me. "I need to be somewhere that Cain can go, too."

"Cain?" I raised my eyebrow.

Cliff let go of Karen and held one of his arms out. His shrill whistle sliced through the air, and was answered by a bird. With a whoosh! a huge hawk landed on his outstretched arm. "This is my pal, Cain," Cliff told me. "He travels everywhere with me."

I gave the bird of prey a dubious look. "I was going to offer to let you stay here," I remarked, "but I can't really afford to lose any chickens."

His eyes and Karen's lit up. "You would let me, a stranger, stay here?" he asked. "I can promise that Cain wouldn't touch any of your animals. He knows better: all he ever eats are rabbits and small birds."

"We can solve two different problems for you at once, then," I told Cliff, spreading my hands. "If you want a job, you can help me out here. I'll pay you, and you can stay rent free. You'll just be responsible for your own meals. You can take something of a pay cut and use a portion of the crops, or you can use your money to buy stuff from town. I'll pay you a hundred gold a day to start, and when I see how good you are, we'll adjust that."

Cliff jerked his arm, and Cain took to the air. He reached out and grabbed one of my hands. "That would be great," he gushed. "I won't impose on you. I'll stay in the barn with the cows; that's good because I like animals anyways. So, what do you want me to do?"

I barked out a laugh. He certainly was eager; this wouldn't be too bad, I decided. "Nothing for today," I told him. "I've already finished everything. Go ahead and get yourself situated, and be ready for work at dawn."

After he rushed away, Karen slid her arms around my neck and gave me a long, deep kiss that left my knees weak. "Thank you for helping him," she said. She let go of me and turned towards the path to the Greene Ranch and town. "I'll be back in a little bit," she called over her shoulder. "Why don't you pack up something to eat, and we'll head down to the beach for a swim? It's the middle of the day, so no one will be going down there. Oh," she finished, flashing me a secretive smile, "plan for four."

Just after I had started to make the sandwiches, Cliff knocked at the door. "Do you think I could use your shower?" he asked hopefully. "I hate to be a problem right off the bat, but I do sort of stink."

"Just through the door there," I waved in the right direction with a knife covered in peanut butter. "It takes the water a minute to get warm, so watch out." Cliff hurried past me, clutching a change of clothes and a towel. I stood still in the kitchen, waiting for a moment, and was rewarded with a shout when the water turned on. Chuckling, I shook my head and went back to making sandwiches.

About ten minutes later, Ann and Karen barged into the house wearing swimsuits. "All right," Ann huffed, trying to catch her breath. "Where is he?"

"He?"

The redhead frowned at me. "Karen said he was here, so where is he?" she demanded.

I was slightly taken aback. I had never seen Ann like this before. "He's a little indisposed," I answered delicately, packing the prepared food into a bag.

Ann rushed out the door, obviously looking for Cliff. Karen leaned against the wall, watching me. Somehow, I managed to keep my composure even with her standing there in a two piece bathing suit.

Behind me, I could hear the door to the bathroom squeak open. "What's the noise?" Cliff asked as he came out wearing shorts and a tanktop that showed off some well toned muscles.

Karen shook her head. "Nothing," she answered before I could speak up. "We're gonna head to the beach, you interested in coming?"

Cliff nodded. "Sure. Just let me go put my dirty clothes away." He ran out the door.

We heard a loud thud and a shriek. "You should watch where you're going, you oaf!" Ann screamed as Karen and I stepped out onto the porch. She was lying on her back on the ground, wearing an angry expression. "You can't just walk around running into people!"

The young man she was screaming at was scratching his head. "Sorry," he mumbled, extending his hand to help her up. When she had regained her feet, Ann looked into his eyes then threw her arms aorund his neck.

The four of us spent nearly the entire afternoon down at the beach, either swimming or tanning. For the first time, as I sat there watching Karen bask in the sun, I realized what Duke had been talking about: how she had been changing. Her hair was no longer dull, as it had been when I had first arrived. She seemed to have gained a little bit of weight and was no longer skeletal looking. Finally, just looking at her face, she seemed more alive and happier than she had when I had moved onto the farm. When it started to get dark, we all headed to our homes.

The Vegetable Festival came and went on the 9th of Summer. Much to the joy of both me and Zack, the buyer, my tomatoes won the competition, allowing us to charge more to sell my farm's produce to people outside of Flower Bud Village. My pockets were finally being lined with money. Now if only things would get worked out for me and Karen.