Heres chapter 5 :) chapter six will be out very very soon! review and let me know whatcha think!

I must say, if it's one thing I like about living in Forget-Me-Not Valley, it's the seasons. Seeing all the trees turn fall colors is truly breathtaking. The air was crisper now, fall was finally here. Our farm had made quite a bit of progress since Takakura first brought me here back in mid spring. Using the money generated from our milk deliveries, we were able to purchase three chickens. Now we were making even more money shipping eggs to the city.

Bessie stood inside waiting for her food. I seized two large handfuls of fodder to place in her trough. She seemed to be in a great mood, as was I; things were going well. l bent down to milk her. She produced five bottles today, just enough to fill our orders. I placed the bottles in a hand basket before making my way to the shipping room.

"Let's see…" I mumbled to myself, walking around the valley's main drag. "Galen and Nina… check. Chris, Wally and Hugh… check. Romana… check. Inner Inn… check." I stopped walking, a smile catching my lips. "All there's left is Vesta's farm!"

As I crossed the river bridge, three figures could be seen working in the fields. I ran to the worn wooden fence surrounding the crop fields. "Marlin!" I waved the dark haired man over.

He shot a quick grin before making his way over to me. "Hey Jill. What's up?"

Smiling, I pulled out the lone bottle of milk from my basket. "Here you are! Thank you for ordering yet another bottle of milk from our farm."

"Hey don't thank me, thank Vesta. She's the one who orders it."

I swung a light punch at his shoulder. "Jerk" I giggled.

Marlin glanced over his shoulder. His sister and Celia had stopped working and were watching us. The two smiling women whispered back and forth to each other. He scratched the back of his head and I felt myself blush slightly. "Well, I'll let you get back to work now. Bar tonight?"

Marlin returned a shy smile. "Sure. See you later."

I opened the bar door to see Marlin sitting with a drink. He looked over, patting the bar stool next to him. I wandered over and sat down. "Sorry I'm late. Bessie was being difficult."

He chuckled lightly. "That's why I'm glad I work with crops."

I motioned to Griffin for a drink. He nodded and quickly slid a beer in front of me. I eagerly took a big gulp.

"Careful you don't get drunk, Jill." Marlin said flatly.

I heard a small high pitched giggle. Muffy was standing near Griffin cleaning glasses, apparently listening to our conversation. Ever since she had seen us down at the beach together, she always smiles at us and laughs. Truth be told, its a little annoying; Marlin hated it. I set the glass on the counter. "Don't worry, I won't."

Marlin took another drink. "I love the fall. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect for someone with my health."

He had complained to me before about his health. Vesta once told me that Marlin had been diagnosed with some condition a few years back but I never really asked him the details… it wasn't my business.

"I like the fall too. I love to see the leaves change colors."

"You know," Marlin said, a joyful twinkle lighting up his usually harsh eyes. "The harvest festival is coming up soon. You should come."

I shrugged. "Maybe… I might be busy."

"With what?" His asked curtly. All traces of happiness seemed to have fled him.

"With my farm, duh. I've got crops and animals to attend to!" I poked the foam floating atop my beer. "Hey, it's a lot of work when you're the only one there."

"What about Takakura?"

I lightly sipped my drink. "Well, he goes to the city more often now that we are shipping eggs, which is fine with me because we are making money."

"I see" Marlin stated, his eyes locking with mine. "Make sure you are taking care of yourself. Your animals are important, but your health is most important."

I nodded, smiling. My cheeks were tinting pink, hopefully no one could tell due to the dingy lighting. Marlin and I sat in the bar talking for hours. Finally, I rose from my seat. "Griffin, money's on the table."

Marlin followed suit. "Jill, you want me to walk you home?"

Muffy couldn't contain herself anymore. "How cute!" She squealed.

Marlin instantly became flustered; his face flashed ruby red. "No… it's just that her farm is on the way to mine and…"

Muffy appeared to be enjoying his reaction. I laughed quietly. It was funny to see Marlin get like that. "Sure, Marlin."

The two of us walked outside. The moon was rising, slowly drenching everything below with its bleached light. "It's so pretty tonight!"

Marlin peered up at the black sky sprinkled with stars. "Yeah."

It was a short walk to the entrance of my farm. I exhaled deeply, not really wanting the night to end. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

Marlin's eyes never rose off of the ground. "Yeah. See you later Jill."

Hope you liked it, sorry it was kind of short... its setting up for the next chapter ;)