Disclaimer: I do not own Harvest Moon or its characters. This story was only written for entertainment purposes.

Save Me From Myself

Chapter Nine

"...They're supposed to get married in the fall. You should have seen the huge smile on her face."

Jamie looked away from his horse and stared at the brunette farmer. Since their date, which was only a few days earlier, it had become a daily routine for her to come to his farm. First thing in the early morning and talking to him about everything.

He should have found it annoying, but he didn't. He was actually relishing the feeling, and a bit prideful that he was the first person she saw in the morning, but that was beside the point. He felt it odd, however, that she manged to make these short visits as if they were nothing out of the ordinary. It was almost like they'd always shared their mornings together, alone and away from the rest of the towns prying eyes.

He felt something, it was a good, but foreign, feeling. Almost like a weight had been lifted from him and in its place was her. But as joyful as he may have been on the inside, his outer appearance gave nothing away. He was still the cold, arrogant, and heartless farmer every one in town came to begrudgingly accept into their community.

Except for when it came to her.

Jamie still acted as if her constant visits bothered him, but he never responded with more than the usual 'humph' and put up her insipid talks. In his mind, so long as she was with him and away from that ignorant carpenter, he could bare with the meaningless information.

He frowned at the remembrance of Kurt, but her laugher brought his attention back to the brunette sitting across from him. She continued talking, about what he didn't pay much attention to, and played with the hay nearby. Jamie brushed the large animal before him and listened.

"Martha keeps telling me that I need a better diet. But I think she was just passing along a message from Alex." She sighed. "I swear, he worries to much. I mean, I know he's a doctor and all, but I think I can take care of myself."

Jamie smirked, freely since the horse blocked their sight of each other.

His brushing slowed and he found himself pondering. How, in the time span of less than two months, had he found himself so at ease with the farmer? It was a bit unnerving, coming to the realization that he actually enjoyed her invading his personal sanctuary.

Now that he thought about it, he had never allowed anyone to enter his barn. It was his save haven from the soft muttering of all the towns people, as was his home. With another glance towards her, he found himself wondering about unexpected things. Jamie frowned, not willing to be plagued with said thoughts.

At least, not now.

The brunette laughed once more and Jamie could see her arms stretched upwards. "I can't believe summer is almost over! It went by so fast, like..." she made a 'swoosh' sound effect, "... that! Before you know it, the Fireworks Festival will be here one second and gone the next."

Jamie returned to his brushing and heard her continue. Had this exact same situation been presented to him almost a year ago, he would have been disgusted. Here he was, thrilled to have her as his company, hellbent of keeping that idiotic carpenter from her, and at peace when she was pleased.

He pulled away from him horse and dropped the brush beside it. Wiping away his hair from his face, he looked at her again. She was still chatting away and he sighed. This was one of the few times he felt extremely relaxed and comfortable, however...

"Abigail..." She looked at Jamie expectantly. He should have said something nice, or at least let her know he enjoyed her company. Maybe he could have even asked her why she visited so often. Had the date really meant that much to her? Instead, he swallowed and averted his eyes from the brunettes shinning gaze. "Please be quiet."

Jamie looked back at her, expecting to find her scowling at him, but it shocked him to find her smiling and nod softly. She didn't look at all upset, nor did she look perplexed by his request.

"Okay." She didn't stutter, it came out as a calm and understanding response. She stood from her position and grinned at him. "I've better get going."

A sudden slap of uneasiness washed over him. Was she really upset with him, but would rather not display her true feelings to him. She noted his stiff appearance and her grin seemed to grow smaller.

"It's not because you told me to hush, Jamie. I have to, I'm supposed to meet up with Ellen today and help her with the wedding arrangements. Weren't you listening to me earlier?"

Jamie relaxed his posture, but turned away. "Of course I was."

She giggled softly. "Sure you were." He frowned, but said nothing more. A soft sigh was emitted from behind him and she came to his side, a pink jar of jam in her grasp.

He took the gift, already knowing what it was and that it was meant specifically for him. Yesterday it had been Blueberry, it seemed like today was Very Berry. He wanted to thank her, but instead a quiet 'humph' escaped his lips. She mumbled something underneath her breath, but he wasn't able to catch it.

Clasping her hands together, she smiled. "Okay, well I'll see you later." He turned back towards her and reached for her wrist. She halted her steps and stared at Jamie with curiosity. "What's wrong?"

Jamie briefly wondered if he was actually going to follow through with his intentions. What if she didn't like his gift? He had to ask that accessory shop owner what would be good gift. She had answered him back with a simple response: "So long as it is a gift from someone special, any gift will suffice."

It had perplexed him. Any gift would be fine, as long as it was from someone special. What did that mean? He pulled out the gift and presented it to her. It was a simple, small, lilac vase. "Here."

The brunette stared at the vase and Jamie briefly feared the worse. "Jamie..." she trailed off and took the vase from his hands. "Thank you." Her eyes lifted from the lilac vase and stared into his azure orbs. "It's beautiful, but... you didn't have to get me anything."

Jamie gave a silent sigh of relief. She liked it, good. He remained quiet and watched her continue to comment about the little vase.

She suddenly stopped talking and stood in front of him, they were mere inches from each other. Jamie froze as he watched her stand on her toes and as her lips briefly brushed against his cheek. She pulled away, slowly, and smiled up at him. "Thank you, Jamie."

And with that, she was gone. Leaving Jamie speechless as his hand timidly reached for his tingling skin.