Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47222 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 236(@200wpm)___ 189(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Around noon, I go into the kitchen to prepare lunch. It’s been a productive day, and it’s thanks in a big part to my new guest. With his steady pace of work, I also feel more motivated to accomplish my own tasks. I smile as I watch Ranger through the kitchen window, tinkering with the tractor. He’s shirtless and his chest glistens in the hot noontime sun, showing off solid pecs, six pack abs, and a delineated “V” leading to …
Stop, Darcy, I warn myself. Your guest is gorgeous but that doesn’t mean you should be ogling him like a girl at a candy store.
My daytime fantasy is interrupted by the roar of the tractor coming to life. He fixed it! I throw up the window and shout my excitement across the yard. Ranger smiles and raises his arms in victory, echoing my cheer.
As he goes back to tinkering with the machine, I close the window and watch him. I am grateful Ranger’s fixed the tractor, but a small part of me is sad that day one of our week together is almost over. I try to reason that it’s just because my guest is handy, and that he knows exactly what needs to be fixed. That’s all, nothing more, I tell myself as I try to push away errant thoughts. It’s just business, and nothing personal.
But of course, I know that’s not true. After just one day together, I’m starting to need Ranger, and it’s kind of scary. I guess I’ve been alone for so long that I forgot what it was like to have company, much less a handsome man who knows his way around a farm.
I go back to making sandwiches, determined not to think too much about our limited time together because there are other, more pressing, issues at hand. The McLaughlins want to take over my farm, but with Ranger’s help, maybe I can hold them off for a little while longer.
4
RANGER
I’ve only been at the Fields Farm for a few days, but it feels like a lifetime. I manage to keep myself busy improving the property in all the little ways I can think of, and Darcy does the same.
At first, she was shy about her list of tasks, but her reluctance has disappeared now that she realizes how much I really can help. Already the little house and even the yard look better. I let Darcy maintain control of the crop and vegetable gardens, but I help with all the other things, including managing the animals, tools, and the land.
We’re also slowly getting used to each other. Sometimes the sweet girl seems to forget that I’m also living her house, and on more than one occasion, she’s stripped to her bra and panties right in the hallway after getting muddy from being out in the field. The first time, I could see her through the screen door in the yard, and it was nice to appreciate her beautiful figure without disruption. The next time, however, I’d gone into the house for some water and startled her in the hallway.
“Ranger!” she nearly screamed. “Oh sweet baby Jesus.” She ran half naked up the stairs and I couldn’t help but laugh until my sides ached at her hasty retreat. The mishap made for a very bashful lunch together, with Darcy wearing a flannel on top of her regular tank top despite the heat.
We eat every meal together, sometimes talking, other times just sitting together in easy silence. Always the food is delicious, fresh, and well-made. It’s obvious to me that Darcy is a woman of many talents, and I grow more and more curious to learn her full story, not just the story relayed to me by my brothers.
At tonight’s dinner, our fourth one together, Darcy surprises me with a five-berry pie for dessert. The steak, potatoes, and pea tendrils have all been cooked to perfection. We’re both enjoying fresh water and Darcy has thoughtfully placed the port out for me to enjoy later.
“I guess I was too little to understand when my mother passed.” Darcy is telling me about her life, and I listen quietly while sipping at my alcohol. “I was about six, and Pa handled it best he could, but I think it hurt a lot more than he ever let on. I mean, I was really happy as a kid, given everything. But sometimes,” Darcy pauses, her voice wavering slightly. “Sometimes I would catch him touching her few pieces of jewelry, or staring at the picture of her he kept in his shirt pocket.”
“I’m so sorry, Darcy.” And I genuinely mean it. It pains me to know that the beautiful, strong young woman sitting across from me has already experienced so much pain in her young life. I’m surprised by my emotions and try to reel them in.