This is not the full chapter. I've left you guys with nothing for far too long and decided I needed to upload what little work I've been able to put together. Main reason I posted is in the author's note at the bottom.

Jack walked out of his house at around 10:20 one morning. It had been two weeks since He'd found and adopted Max, and the little black puppy was doing well. His leg was still broken and he walked with a limp, but otherwise as fine as the day he was born. Or maybe not, Jack hadn't been there to see it, but anyway, the point has been made.

It was a fine day, the sun was shining, birds were chirping, the air had the familiar warm feeling of spring. And that instantly put a bad feeling in Jack's gut. Days that started off good rarely ended that way for him. At least nobody was going to be shooting at him this time… he hoped. He may have been here for nearly a month, but that didn't mean he knew who owned a gun in this little town.

"Let's see... Taka's in mineral town right now picking up some new tools or something, so that means I gotta do his chores too. This is gonna be a loooong day." He sighed. But then he noticed something was off about this morning. Something was missing. "Where's Max?" Normally, the pup would have been following him around all day from the moment he opened the door, but today, Max was nowhere to be found.

"The little guy just had to get lost on the one day that I have a shitload of work to do. My luck never ceases to amaze me." Since he knew he'd be full of anxiety until he found his dog (At least that's what he told himself), Jack decided to put work off until he found the little rascal.

He didn't have to look very far, or very long. He found him lying on his side, asleep, under a patch of trees between his property and the trail leading into the forest. However, sitting under the same tree was somebody that Jack was sure was going to give him a massive headache by the end of the day.

Sketching the little puppy in her notebook was a very familiar redheaded girl. And if Jack didn't know any better, he would have sworn she had a tiny smile on her face as she looked at the puppy. He'd never seen Nami smile, not once. Sure he'd only seen her a few times and actually preferred to keep his distance from her, but still, she never smiled.

He approached the woman cautiously. He knew from personal experience that the notebook was a lethal weapon in her hands. Any sudden movements might startle her and send pages flying at him.

"What are you doing?" She asked, looking up from her book. Crap, he was spotted. ABORT THE RESCUE MISSION! ABORT! ABORT!

"I could ask you the same thing. This is my farm after all."

"I didn't realize it was a crime to sit under a tree."

"Well, if you don't hit me with that notebook again, you're free to sit wherever you want."

"That was you?"

"Oh, so you just like to hit people in the face with that book thats heavier than most of my old gear and not even remember what they look like?" Nami's reply was to raise said book over her head like she was going to throw it. Jack exageratingly jumped a good few feet back, or at least tried to. He lost his balance and fell backwards into the dirt.

"You okay?" Naim asked.

"Fine." Jack replied, getting back up on his feet. "My legs just don't work as well as they used to."

"Do something to them?"

"Old wound from my days in the military." Unbeknownst to the man she was talking to, Nami's eyes lit up.

Military? That would explain how he got those wounds... but there's got to be more to this... Godammit! why am I so curious? I need to get out of here, quick.

"Well, maybe you should go see a doctor about it."

"Did that before I came here, and there's no way I'm letting that wannabe terminator get that close to me."

"You mean Dr. Hardy?"

"Yeah! Look at the guy! I've never even seen anything involving Terminator, and I still think he's trying to cosplay the damn robot!"

"If you say so." Nami stood up, Max rolled over onto his feet and looked up at her expectantly. "I gotta go, see you around I guess."

"See ya." He turned back to the fields, Max looked back and forth between Nami and Jack for a few seconds, but quickly stumbled after Jack as quickly as his three good legs let him. Nami just shrugged and started walking back to the hotel.

"Now, Time for me to get to work! When this is done, I think I'm gonna get a few drinks... hang on, that reminds me-"

Many hours later, Celia, Martin, and Vesta were all startled when there came a sudden knocking on their door.

"Who'd be knocking on our door at this hour?!" Marlin all but yelled. Normally, he wasn't so upset about unexpected guests, but he'd broken an expensive farm tool earlier and he was paying for the replacement. He leapt to his feet, and threw open the door. Jack was standing in the doorway. "You! What do you want!" He jabbed his finger in Jack's face, but the rookie farmer snatched his hand out of the air. His eyes narrowed into a cold glare that sent chills down Marlin's spine. Jack closed his eyes and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry about that, it looked like you were going to punch me and my training took over." He released Marlin's hand, and the black-haired farmhand rubbed his wrist.

"Training?" He wondered.

"I'm sure Celia told you by now." Jack said. "And actually, that's kinda why I'm here. Mind if I talk to her?"

"Ummmm…"

"It's okay Marlin." Said Celia, she stood up from the table and walked over to the two men. "I was wondering when you would stop by."

"Well, now that you have your answer, you mind if we talk outside?"

"Sure." She nudged Marlin out of the way and stepped outside with Jack, closing the door behind her. Marlin just looked downright confused.

"Hey Vesta, you have any idea what's going on here?"

"I think I do." The oldest farmer in the valet replied. A smile formed on her face. "Jack, you sly dog."

"Of cource, what other answer would the village matchmaker give?" Marlin shook his head. "I'm going to bed, try not to plan their wedding while they're gone."

Hey! Confession time! I have little, if any, ideas on how to write a good romance story and every time I tried to write for Nami and Jack's story, I get hit by a thousand blocks at once. This doesn't mean I'm giving up though, I'm just asking for a little help. If one of you guys wants to see the rest of the chapter and help me finish it, send me a PM and we can take things from there.