Chapter Seven: Broken Fence

The day started to go downhill right before breakfast when Natsu made his way toward the house. The first thing he saw was Lucy dressed in brown pants and a white blouse, sweeping the front steps. She managed to look marvelous with her hair pulled back in a braid and a old farmers straw hat. He thought the previous night's truce would extend to today with a hospitable Lucy waiting to greet him.

"Morning!"

Somehow he managed to startle her. Alarmed, she spun hitting him with her broom. Natsu barely managed to dodge her well aimed kick to his groin. Grabbing her fist before it could hit his face, the lawman questioned, "Is there a time when you aren't trying to kill me?"

She had the good grace to blush before saying, "Still sneaking around unsuspecting women, I see."

"Fairly impressed that you used the broom in a side slash before following it up with a round house kick and an attack to my face." He nodded in approval, realeasing her hand.

She backed away with folded arms. "My butler Capricorn taught me basic martial arts before my dad had him fired." Straightening her clothes, she went back to sweeping.

"Not going to talk?"

"Well I would if you were up at a normal hour... If you are expecting to help around here, you are going to have to do better than this. Breakfast was thirty minutes ago."

"You didn't tell me what time I should be up. At least, I'm here. The only reason I am awake now is because Jelly woke me up getting ready for bed. Did he pull an all nighter?"

"Jelly?" Her mouth twitched before she grimaced. "And yes he did, which I am eternally grateful for. It gave everyone a chance to catch up on some sleep after the excitement yesterday. Now we don't have time to talk. So go on in the kitchen. Hopefully, Mira and Levy haven't completely cleaned up the food."

He nodded, taken aback by the slight sharpness in her voice. Everything had been fun and games last night but there was tension now in Lucy's shoulders that she wasn't hiding any more. Observing the bags under her eyes, he wondered if she slept at all after their meeting.

Wanting to throw her off balance, he leaned in close threatening, "I'm not one of your hands that you can snap at for being late."

He expected her to verbally berate him or even slap him for imposing into her personal space.

Natsu was half rewarded.

The girl put a hand on his shoulder and attempted to shove him away, "Don't worry. I would never mistaken you for anyone I would hire."

Unexpectedly, she then proceeded to shoo him to the kitchen with her broom instead of arguing with him. Natsu danced away at her feeble attempts to sweep his legs out from under him. His stomach rumbled at the smell drifting to him as he entered the house. Inside the kitchen, he found the other two women abuzz like bees serving potatoes, steak, and eggs. He picked an apple from a fruit bowl as he waited for Mirajane to fix him a plate only to have Levy slap his arm before he could take one bite. He whined at her with large puppy eyes. She giggled before switching the apple for a full plate already fixed.

"Thanks ma'am." He tipped his head toward them, wishing he still had his hat.

They winked at him before going back to their conversation.

To escape their excessive chatter, he went to the porch to watch the sunrise. Most farmers and ranchers started their day before the sun came up. They could be out doing work when the temperature was cooler. Most likely why Lucy probably wanted him to start his day earlier. A bit of guilt started creeping into his conscious. Elfman and Sting were apparently already up.

The pink haired man watched Lucy hang a door mat on the clothes line. She then proceeded to beat the ever living snot out of the rug. He had to wince before she brought it back to the porch steps. Hopefully, she wasn't releasing pent up aggression toward him.

Natsu expected her to ignore him after her snappy greeting. When the blonde saw him, she became as talkative as the two inside.

He sighed already missing his normal solitary breakfasts. All he could do was nod as his mouth was stuffed with food.

Did the woman ever shut up? She talked incessantly through the whole meal, telling him about the history of the ranch and her favorite things to do. Never once did she run out of a topic.

Or take a breath.

It wasn't a normal type of conversation. She seemed to have nervous energy. Something had the girl wound up.

At some point, her little friend Levy came out waiting on Lucy to finish the house chores. Taking a moment, Lucy perched on top of the bannister and continued to chat. Natsu finally stopped long enough to warn her of an impending fall if she sat there.

She laughed, "I sit here all the time."

Levy added, "Lu hasn't fell yet."

"Fine." Natsu had warned her so if she fell, he wasn't going to catch her.

When he finished his plate, Natsu asked, "So what are your plans for today?"

"Well after I tour you, I'm going into town with Elfman. Ah, before you even ask. I will buy you a new hat. It's first on my list of things to do. Anyway, we will talk about that later. You seem hungry. Go tell Mira to get you some more."

The two girls left Natsu to go gather eggs from the coop and vegetables from the gardens. Natsu ignored their exit as he went back inside. Lucy wasn't a know-it-all but she sure came close. And if she didn't know something, her little blue haired shadow did.

Even though she was bubbling with energy, there was a faint trace of anxiety in her eyes. It would explain her dramatic mood swings from being depressed to aggressive to overly friendly. Something was bothering her. And before the day was over, he intended to find out what was wrong.

Lucy and Natsu headed out to view the livestock and pasture right after he handed Mira his plate.

Dark stratus clouds billowed in the distance, a faint sign if the turbulent weather to come. The breeze being stirred up by the impending bad weather, made the ride decently enjoyable. It was cool enough to enjoy the morning so both set their pace at light trot.

Natsu's horse was a fierce black Arabian named Pantherlily. He still could not get use to a new mount after being with Happy for so many years. Lucy sat astride a docile, white mare called Shagotte. Natsu arched a brow at how Lucy managed to ride the horse in such an unladylike position in boy's pants and still manage to look regal while doing it. The way the wind chased a few strands of hair across her choulder was mildly distracting. He tried to focus more on the land than on her.

Together they road the many acres owned by the Dreyar family. Their two horses actually had a daughter, name Charla, who was left back in the stable. Lucy dotted on the white filly, but the bipolar female manage to nick Natsu's arm. He wanted to introduce Happy to the hostile female. They would make some strong offspring. He wondered if he could buy breeding rights. Lucy seemed pretty attached to the girl, but he knew her ranch needed money. The Dragneel's own horse ranch was always looking for spirited animals of good breeding. He wondered if Lucy would accept his money to buy the horse. Natsu decided he didn't even want to offer. She would most likely take the money and then hate him taking one of her pets away.

Natsu didn't like the idea of her hating him.

The ranch had other horses. Currently, the only other one not being used was Fro, a pink and green painted pinto. And there had been no way in hell that he was going to ride that one after a giggling Lucy told him his hair matched the horse's spots. Lector and Nichiya had been ridden out that morning by Sting and Elfman. Like Happy, Lector was a palomino yet his color was brown. He also seemed a bit haughty toward strangers unlike Happy. Nichiya was probably the largest Clynsdale that Natsu had ever seen, and seem to fit with Elfman's character.

Lucy, or Queen Bee as he had started to call her in his mind, already sent her cousin and Elfman into the north pasture to fix a fence. Natsu had volunteered to help after eating, but the ladies had declined wishing him to travel with Lucy before he started work.

He was starting to suspect that Levy and Mirajane were dishing out more than food from that kitchen, and their main plotting was focused on matchmaking him with their resident mistress.

Natsu groaned.

Sure, Lucy was pretty and interesting, but she should be the target of someone willing to settle down, marry, and have kids. Not someone like him. His family had been trying for years to make him retire, but adventure was in his blood like his father. Igneel hadn't stopped roaming until his wife held a gun to his head demanding he help raise his three boys.

The Queen Bee had become quieter during the ride except for the occasional pointing out a landmarks. Natsu actually enjoyed that they didn't talk. Preferring the comfortable silence. He actually came to the conclusion that she was tired, even though the time had not yet reached eight o'clock.

The ranger could have tried to fill in the void with conversation, but Natsu decided trying to make small talk with her would only heightened any previous awkwardness between them. And if he turned the chatterbox back on, the ride would become annoying real fast.

There were two water sources, which made the Love and Lucky's land much more valuable than others. First there was a cowpond close to the house. It attracted copperheads and cottonmouths in spring and early summer, but in the late summer it would dry out. This lead the workhands to move the herd toward the secondary source, a creek flowing from Phantom S into Dreyar land. That was why he hadn't seen any animals so far. The herd was being kept over the hills in the woods close to the creek. That was where the fence broke and where the night watch was having to be kept. Lucy was sure Phantom S had taken the fence down to steal a few cows.

"The creek is good for fishing catfish and brim. Occasionally you'll see wolves, coyotes, wild turkeys, mountain lions, bears and snakes. Normally we wouldn't travel alone here, but since there are so few of us, as long as we have a gun with us at all times than we are good. One shot will usually bring someone to check on you. Two shots is the signal for needing help immediately. Three shots means you want people to stay away. I added that one even if it is never used in case Phantom S set up a trap."

"You are very paranoid about them."

"Yes. And now I regularly take Loke around the property lines to keep most of the animals away. The wild beasts don't like his scent. And the neighboring horses think twice before coming into his territory. Do you remember the signals?"

"A shot fired means come. Two shots means come fast. Three shots means a trap so stay back."

Finally they made their way to where Elfman and Sting were working shirtless.

Natsu had thought that someone had cut the wire fence from the way Lucy described it, but turns out that the whole section of fence was missing. The wire and the poles, for a good thirty-five feet, were gone.

"I know between you three that this will be fixed in no time."

"How did someone manage to remove all of this in one night?"

"We think it was a group of people. Not just one."

"So this is what I need to be doing?"

"Yes you can help them fix it."

"You mean rebuild it." Natsu climbed off his horse, tying him up next to the other horses. He then pulled his shirt off. He just happened to glance at Lucy when he did to notice the suptle red climbing in her cheeks.

Secretly amused, he threw his shirt at her.

"Why don't you hold this for me Queen Bee?"

Without thinking she grabbed it, he smirked knowing it would take her a few seconds to realize he was messying with her.

"Ew" she flung it away. "Hang it on the fence or something. I don't want to hold some sweaty vest."

"Why?" He subtly gestured toward his chest and flaunted his bicepts.

She rolled her eyes at his antics. Lucy had never met such an arrogant man, and she lived with Sting and Laxus.

"I will bury your body where nobody can find it." The girl stated flatly.

Admittedly, he couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped his lips. Possibly she was sitting a bit straighter? Her nose was definitely turned high into the air. Natsu didn't half mind her watching him with his shirt off. Made her seem more human. The good book said that the Lord rested on the sabbath, but Lucy clearly didn't know how to be still. She was always working. Always thinking. She couldn't just... relax. Yet when he picked on her, she would visibly focus in on him and stop whatever she was doing. He noticed it was like her brain couldn't figure out where he fit in her perfect world. She would have to shut down all her other thoughts to respond properly. Obviously, she didn't have practice with someone rubbing her the wrong way. It wasn't even the fact they had gotten started on the wrong foot. His picking pushed her away from normal everyday routines and responses.

"Now that's not nice Miss Heartfilia. "

"I will dump your carcass for the buzzards to eat."

"You do realize I have handcuffs."

"I thought officers were suppose to be gentlemen."

"They are if there are any ladies around."

"It's not my fault if you can't distinguish ladies from other things. Besides you are the one mentioning handcuffs. Didn't know you were into that kind of kinkiness?"

Sting and Elfman gawked at their banter.

"You two want to go get a room?" Sting asked. The other two ignored him.

Natsu held his hand out at waist level. "See I was here. But you, Queen Bee," He raised his arm to his head, " took the conversation up here. Now was there any reason to make it go that extreme?"

Sting laughingly said, "That's our Lucy. She just blows everything out of proportion."

"Shut up! Who asked you?!"

Now both males were grinning. Even Elfman was having a hard time trying to hide his smile.

"Don't be heartless, Heartfilia."

"Good day to both of you."

Natsu made a mocking bow, "Good bye Queen Bee." Sting added his own bow with a "M'lady."

Lucy growled before spinning her horse away at a full gallop.

When Miss Heartfilia learned he would be working for her, her complete demeanor changed. She opened a bit, letting him glimpse at what she could be like without the responsibilities of the ranch on her shoulders. The bossy little spitfire she kept hidden underneath would soon come out and play if he had anything to do with it. He hated the stress that was keeping her from actually having fun.

Too bad trouble was going to come calling early. And the officer would get a first hand introduction to the source of Lucy's stress sooner than expected.

Next Chapter: Snakes in the Grass

"Snake in the Grass" is a common phrase that...

(1) denotes concealed danger

(2) describes a treacherous person who feigns friendship

Thank you to my reviewers, especially to the guest who's opinion changed last chapter(?) ^.^!

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