SuperVada- Thanks! It's a slow start at first, but I promise it'll pick up! And in the actual game series, I don't think he does have a brother, I just added it to this story to help create the plot.

Thank you to anyone who's reading! Please review and let me know what you think, I'd love the feedback! Also, I do not own Harvest Moon or any of its characters.

Chapter Two

Jack smiled at his cow as he stroked it with the brown animal brush. He bought her in the late winter, so she still hadn't quite warmed up to him just yet, but he was making slight progress. She moo'd in response to the brush. After finishing up with her, he wondering if it might be time to splurge and go for a sheep. He was not too sure about that one though, because sheep kind of freaked him out a bit. He had no idea why, they just did.

As he was watering the fields, he heard a sweet voice call his name.

"Mr. Jack, where are you?" he smiled and turned to face his best friend, Elli. She was the only one in the village who called him 'Mr. Jack' because she knew he thought it was silly to still call him that.

They had met shortly after Jack first arrived, when he had no idea the toll a farm could take on one's body. He overexerted himself on the second day on his farm and ended up in a hospital bed, waking up to see a brunette with pretty eyes and very fair skin. From that day forward, he always saw her as sort of his savior. If he had ever felt sick or just down, she was always there to help him.

"Hey, Ell," he smiled at her. She skipped to him. She was just a few months younger than he, but she still acted as innocent as a child. She was very stern with her younger brother, Stu, and sometimes even her patients, but when she was not at work, she reverted back into 'young, playful mode.'

"So, what's up? What brings you to my humble acres?" he asked playfully, opened his arms as if to display the scenery around him.

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to come eat some lunch with me? I made sandwiches!" Jack wondered why he didn't notice the basket before. He must have been very distracted by something.

"Hmm...what kind of sandwiches?" he asked, holding his chin with a brow raised. She grinned, then smirked.

"Only your favorite...peanut butter and jelly with apple slices!" Ohhh, she was good...that was Jack's absolute favorite. It sounds weird, yes, but the flavor and crunchiness of the apple actually adds an interesting flare to the taste buds. He just could not turn it down.

"Wait a minute...what is the occasion?" he asked, slightly confused. Elli hadn't asked him to eat lunch since last fall.

She put her hands around her back and looked up at the sky. "Weeeeell...I just heard around the grapevine...more specifically, Jeff from the Supermarket...that you, Mr. Jack, have bought a blue feather!" she exclaimed excitedly. Jack's face turned red. How dare he? That's Karen's father, and he's telling everyone?

She noticed the look on his face then quickly said, "Oh no, don't worry Jack! He swore that Karen has no idea," he loosened up a bit.

"Good...cause it's supposed to be a very special night for us. There's no way I'm going to let anyone ruin the surprise,"

After finishing his chores real quick, he and his best friend set off to the mountains. They found a quiet spot by the lake, underneath a few trees to eat.

Jack ate his sandwiches so fast, that he could feel his stomach start to ache. Elli, always attuned to people's emotions, noticed and giggled.

"Here ya go," she pulled a bottle out of her basket along with a spoon and poured him some medicine. "This will help a stomach that is allowed no time what-so-ever to take it slow," she smiled and spoon-fed him, smiling. Even though she was more childish acting occasionally, she was always taking care of him.

She put the spoon away and sat back. "Oh boy, she is gonna have a heck of a time dealing with you, isn't she?" She asked, sitting back on her hands.

He grinned and nodded. "If you aren't sick of me by now, I'm sure Karen will be fine. She has more of a tolerance for people than you do," he joked, but she didn't find it too funny and lightly punched him in the leg and he just laughed. It was funny when she tried to pretend to be offended.

Elli decided to stay at the spa for a bit after the lunch while Jack headed back to the farm. Everything was done for the day, so he decided to head inside, maybe watch the news and cook a quick dinner. What he didn't expect to see when he walked in was his brother, James, sitting on the sofa, flipping through the channels on the television, obviously frustrated.

"Hey, bro!" he got up, walked to Jack, and hugged him.

Jack stood there, slightly confused as he hugged his brother back. "What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be here till tomorrow,"

"Well, they could only give me a ticket for a flight out today, because that's all they had available this week," he said, now letting his brother go. Jack nodded in an "ahhh, I see" sort of fashion.

"So, when do I get to meet this lucky lady?" he asked, elbowing Jack in the side gently.

"Eh...well..." Jack started, nervously scratching his head.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I haven't asked her...to marry me yet,"

James stepped back, slightly stunned and disappointed. "You had me come all the way out here for a wedding when you haven't even proposed yet?"

"I'm asking her tomorrow night, don't worry. And besides, I've really wanted you to stay a little while. It's been so long since I've seen you, and I miss my big brother," Jack tried to smooth it over to save from his brother getting any more angry. He thought about it for a second, then smiled.

"Yea, I guess it's cool to get a break from the city," he said. He put his arm around Jack's shoulder. "You know, I can kind of see why you wanted to settle out here. So nice and peaceful,"

He pulled his arm back and went to set back on the couch, and pointed at the TV. "Except you have got to get something, anything on this television...ESPN would be amazing,"

Jack grinned. He really missed James.