The day had come…Holly was finally strong enough to leave the clinic and her uncle would be there shortly after breakfast. Ford sat silently with Holly not eating much of the breakfast he had prepared. Holly waited for Ford to say something… anything that would make this day a little less sad. She had gotten used to spending time with the doctor and was hoping that he would still want to be friends after. After a few minutes Holly asked, "Doctor Ford, I have been here for quite a few weeks. I am sure I don't have enough money to pay you right now for your services. Would you mind if I take on some odd jobs at the clinic to help cover my expenses until I can fully pay you back?"

What Ford said next surprised her, "For now, hold on to your money, so you can buy the seeds and tools you will need to get your farm up and running. If you find yourself running short on cash, I do occasionally post jobs on the bulletin board down the road from the clinic. The truth is I make the most of my money with my medical experiments and invention. This allows me to keep my clinic costs low. Now if you still insist upon paying me back, you can help me beat Brad in the beverage bash coming up next week."

"Beverage bash?" she asked curiously.

Ford said with a sly smirk, "Yes it's my favorite festival of the year. Everyone in town brings an ingredient to add to a pot of tea. Tea has several medicinal qualities, and it is always great to see a holiday that encourages a healthy habit. Any way it takes four people to make a team, and the team with the best tasting ingredient combination wins a prize. I don't particularly care about the prize, but I would like to wipe that ever-gloating smile off Brad's face. If you help me win this bash, you can forget about the bill."

Holly's eyes lit up and said, "I will try my best. Thank you, Doctor Ford."

At that moment, Uncle Frank walked in the room and asked, "Holly, are you ready to go."

She nodded, and said, "I hope to see you soon."

Ford replied, "Come by anytime. And don't hesitate to stop in if you are feeling unwell."

Holly struggled to pay attention to the landscape as her Uncle rode her back to her grandfather's farm. She would be on her own now and would have to use her memories of her summer trips here to help her learn how to cultivate the land. As she pulled up, she realized the farm was much worse than she remembered it. The buildings were rundown, fields littered with weeds and stones, and she is pretty sure she just saw a racoon coming out of the doghouse.

She walked up the porch with her Uncle Frank who unlocked the door for her and let her in. As she walked in and looked around she noticed all the furniture was covered in at least an inch of dust. She walked by the bed and noticed something moving in the bed sheets. Carefully she pulled the top sheet back some and found a snake. She screamed at the top of her lungs and the snake lunged at her. She took off out the door running straight into Wayne on the way out.

"Woah there, little filly! What's got you jumping like a bull frog?" Wayne asked.

"Snake!" She hollered as she ran right past him.

Wayne laughed and said, "What, you are just going to leave your Uncle and me here to get eaten?"

She ignored his question as she ran for cover. Wayne shook his head and walked in the house to collect the snake. He carried the snake by its tail and said, "Awe this is a cute little guy! You want to pet it?"

Holly peaked out from behind the barn she was hiding behind and screamed back at him, "Wayne are you crazy? Put that thing down!"

Wayne smirked and walked towards her saying, "You sure have gotten talkative since the last time I saw you. Maybe I should introduce you to my little friend… I think I'll name him Ford."

"Well you best hope that snake has a medical license, because I am going to kill you if you bring that thing any closer to me," Holly retorted.

Finally, Wayne admitted defeat and carried the snake towards the further edge of the property. Uncle Hector walked out the house and said, "I checked all over the house, there are no more snakes or signs of snakes if you want to come back in here."

Holly hesitantly walked back into the house and looked around again. Wayne followed her in and commented, "Boy this place needs a good dusting. You better not invite Ford here until you clean up some. He would have a conniption fit. Anyway, I just came over to deliver this to you. The owners of the Garden Grill Brad and Carrie would like to meet you. In order to welcome you into town they have offered you a free dinner tonight."

"Thank you, that sounds nice," Holly replied.

Wayne then tipped his hat and said, "Well, I will likely see you then. I eat dinner there almost every night. Good luck with your new home."

Later that evening, Wayne was the center of attention in the garden grill as he recounted his story to everyone in the bar/grill. "And then she said, 'that snake better have a medical license, because I am going to kill you.'"

The whole room rumbled with laughter. Even Ford looked mildly amused by Wayne's story. At that moment Holly walked in and looked around nervously. Ford noticed she put on the white eyelet dress without the apron. A woman with curly hair pulled up in a bun approached her and said, "Oh my, you sure are a pretty young thang. It's no wonder you're the talk of the town right now. I'm Carrie, my husband Brad and I run this establishment."

Holly smiled at Carrie and held her hand out to shake, but instead Carrie said, "Now Honey, I don't know where you came from but out here we do this." Carrie pulled Holly into a big bear hug, which caused Holly to gasp in pain.

Ford stood up and said, "Let her go Carrie, she is still sore."

Carrie quickly let go, and Holly reached out to a nearby table to steady herself. Ford walked over and said, "I think you should sit down." Holly's face was white as a ghost as she nodded in agreement. Ford pulled out a chair and helped her sit down.

Carrie looked ashamed of herself and said, "God, Holly I'm so sorry. Let me go get you something to drink."

"Thank you," Holly croaked out.

Ford looked her over and asked, "Would you like me to go over to my clinic to pick you up a pain pill?"

She shook her head no and said, "The pain is starting to fade. How is Trouble doing?"

Ford chuckled a little and answered, "In a day or two he won't need the bandage anymore. It's unfortunate, but I have grown rather fond of the furball. I think I am going to keep him."

Holly squeezed her hand in pain and smiled, "I'm glad. Maybe I could come visit him from time to time."

"I think he would like that," Ford replied simply.

A man with a chef's hat and Carrie came over with a number of plates. The man with the chef's hat introduced himself, "Hello there, I am Brad, Carrie's husband, and we would like to welcome you here to Westtown."

Carrie interrupted him and said, "We have brought you out some of our most popular dishes for you to try, and if you are free tomorrow, I would like to invite you over in the morning to have a girl's day with me and my best friend Lisette."

"Sure, I will come right after I finish my chores on the farm," Holly agreed.

Holly then turned to Ford who was sitting with her and asked, "Ford, there is far too much food here for just me, would you care to join me?"

He was surprised for a moment, but he missed having meals with her at the clinic. So, he agreed.

The next day, Holly got up early to sow and water the seeds she purchased at the general store. She wanted to make sure she had plenty of time to get cleaned up before heading over to the Garden Grill where they were meeting.

When she entered the grill, Carrie ushered her up to the second floor where a beautiful girl in a floral dress was putting up her hair. "Hello Holly, my name is Lisette. I have heard so much about you from the town folks."

"It's a pleasure," Holly replied.

Carrie then said excitedly, "We have decided that since you are new in town, we are going to give you a super cute make over, and then go introduce you to everyone in town. Doesn't that sound like fun? Lisette does the hair for all the folks in town, and I have quite a talent with makeup."

Holly hesitated but eventually said, "Well, I suppose."

Lisette looked at her dress and said, "Well that is just the prettiest thing I have ever seen, so let's jump straight to hair and makeup."

"How would you like your hair done?" Lisette asked.

Holly thought really hard for a few moments and said, "I want it short…really short."

Lisette was surprised by the answer and said, "How about we start of with shoulder length and then you can tell me if you want it shorter."

Holly nodded and Lisette cut large chunks off the back of her hair until it was all shoulder length. "How's that sugar?" she asked Holly.

"Could you go shorter please?" Holly asked, "I really want it cut super short."

Lisette got to work again and still it was too long for Holly's taste. Finally, Lisette gave her a bob cut and showed it to Holly. This time an old scar was visible and it reminded her of one of her worst nights with Neil. Holly broke down in tears and both girls looked at each other wondering what to do. Carrie looked over to Lisette and whispered, "Lisette Honey, why don't you go grab Ford. She seemed pretty close to him yesterday. Maybe he can figure out what's wrong."

Lisette nodded and quickly ran off to find him. Meanwhile, Carrie noticed Holly kept holding her hand on one particular spot. She gently moved Holly's hand and gasped when she saw a scar that looked like a blade mark on the side of her throat. "Holly, what happened?" Holly cried on Carrie's shoulder, completely inconsolable.

Several minutes later, Lisette walked in with Doctor Ford who immediately became concerned when he saw the emotional state Holly was in. "Would you girls mind leaving us alone for a few minutes," he asked.

Ford approached her and she clung to his lab coat and desperately. Her legs were wobbly and her breathing was ragged. "Please, tell me what happened… All of it…" He whispered softly.

It took her a few minutes to get her breathing in some semblance of control before she whispered, "I…I wanted Lisette to cut my hair short enough to…to where no one could hurt me again..."

"Someone hurt you?" he asked, although he already knew part of the story from Frank.

She nodded and said, "My former fiancé… I came here to escape him... T..That's all I can tell you for now."

She rested her head on his chest and continued, "I actually wanted my h..hair shorter than this, but I saw an old scar and I…" She couldn't say anymore and just nuzzled herself deeper in his chest.

Ford moved her hair slightly and saw the mark she was talking about. He pulled out his purple pocket square and gently pushed her back slightly so he could tie it like an ascot to hide the mark. He then turned her towards the mirror and asked, "Why don't you ask Lisette to teach you how to put your hair in a bun, rather than cut anymore off. You can always cut more off, but you can't put it back on." Holly agreed and he called Lisette back in the room.

After Lisette put her hair in a bun, she realized how compassion seemingly flourished in this city. She turned to all three of them and thoughtfully said, "I don't know if I should stay in this town, but I do know that you all make me feel like I belong here. Thank you for your kindness."