Chapter 8

Her gaze holds mine, a softness spreading across her features. “It’s a noble dream,” she murmurs, and for a moment, it feels like she might be that someone. “But it’s not easy, is it?”

“No,” I admit, my voice a tad rougher than before. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I look out over the rolling pastures, the setting sun casting a warm glow over everything. “The hardest part is making it all work together. The crops, the animals, the land. It’s a dance, and sometimes you stumble.”

Her hand reaches out, her fingertips brushing against mine. “I can see that,” she says, her voice now a soothing balm. “But I also see that you’re going to be good at it.”

Our conversation lingers into the evening, the fire crackling and popping in front us. The stars begin to peek out from behind the fading purple clouds, one by one lighting up the night sky. We sit in comfortable silence, watching the last of the sun’s light slip away, our hearts beating in sync with the crickets’ serenade. The warmth of the day slowly retreats, and the cool evening air whispers through the grass, bringing with it the scent of earth and promise.

As we both start to feel the weight of the day’s work, our eyes grow heavier. The gentle rhythm of our breaths mingle with the night’s symphony, and we both lean back into the makeshift bed we’ve made from bales of hay. Her hand is still resting on my arm, her touch sending waves of comfort and peace through my body. I feel a yawn tugging at my jaw, and I know she’s fighting one too.

We both fall asleep knowing that soon it was going to get busier once I had brought more animals but first we would have to build fences to keep the cattle in and we would have to make water troughs for the animals and i still had some more work left to do on the barn but at least it was waterproof now.

Amber snored softly as we slept, her breath warm on my skin. The moon cast a pale glow over the barn, I lay there, my eyes closed, but my mind racing. The list of things to do grew longer with each passing minute. Fences, water troughs, feeding stations and to find peace in the simplicity of farm life.

As the first light of dawn crept through the cracks in the barn’s wooden walls, I gently slipped out from under her arm and stood up, stretching the stiffness from my body. The floor was cold and unforgiving under my bare feet, but the promise of a new day filled me with energy. I took a deep breath, the scent of hay a comforting reminder of the life I had chosen.

I made my way over to the stove, its embers still glowing from the night before. Carefully, I added a few logs to the fire, watching as they caught alight with a crackle and a pop. The warmth grew, and with it, the smell of burning wood filled the space. I had to admit it felt like home.

As I cooked breakfast Amber woke up and she stretched to get the kinks out of her body. She sat up, rubbing sleep from her eyes and gave me a tired smile. “What’s on the menu?” she asked groggily.

“Eggs and bacon,” I replied, flipping the sizzling eggs. “It’s going to be a big day. We’ve got to start on those fences. And we should head back to the Mercantile store and get something better to sleep on than the bales of hay”