Down on the farm_(3)

There is very little sex in this story. The story talks about sex but it doesn’t go into the details that a lot of you want. Over 17,000 words; 34 pages long. I am not a farmer nor have I ever spent a single day working on a farm. Please don’t nit pic the details of this story and tell me, ‘that’s not the way it’s done on a farm.’ Down on the Farm Edward Johnson stood on the front porch of his family’s two story farm house surveying the surrounding countryside. The first rays of sunlight had just lit up the seemingly endless golden wheat fields that lay in front of the house. To the side towards Becky’s house was almost a half mile long field of seven foot tall corn stalks. The only sound that broke the morning silence was that of a tractor somewhere off in the distance. Most city folk were now just waking up to start their day but not Ed, he was a country boy. He had been awake since four thirty this morning helping his family milk the fifty or so head of dairy cows. Ed was a country boy having grown up on a dairy farm in the upper mid western part of the United States. His parents thought that he was a good boy always there to lend a helping hand with the endless chores on a dairy farm. His family owned about six hundred acres of land of which about one hundred acres was used to pasture cows and the rest was planted with crops mostly corn and wheat. Their two story house was on a long dirt road off the main highway that they shared with two other farm families. His closest neighbors were the Anderson’s who lived down past his house about a half mile and the Green’s who lived down past the Anderson’s, about a mile from Ed’s house. Mr. and Mrs. Green were a young couple in their late twenty’s with three young children, the oldest being eight years old. The Andersons had a son, Matt who was seventeen and a daughter Becky who was the only other kid on the road that was close to his age. Ed was thirteen and Becky was twelve. Ed was the youngest of the Johnson children having two older twin sisters Sara and Sally who were fifteen. Ed was at that awkward age just before starting puberty. He was a tall almost five foot nine scrawny kid who had amazingly grown five inches in the past six months. His bones had grown but the rest of him wasn’t quite there yet. He looked at himself in the bathroom mirror and saw an almost embarrassing body. His knee and elbow joints looked adult sized but from there his arms and legs tapered down to about half that size to pitifully small arm and leg muscles. Becky could hardly contain herself looking at Ed’s skinny carcass. She laughed as she told her mother, “Ed is so skinny he looks like a scarecrow.” “Becky!” her mother scolded her, “you shouldn’t talk about Ed that way.” “I’m sorry mom; he just looks so funny especially when he wears shorts.” “Go ahead and laugh now Becky but in a year or two when his muscles catch up to his bones he’ll probably look a lot like his father.” Becky’s eyes grew large. She had always thought that Mr. Johnson was very handsome. “Really mom?” She nodded her head as she told Becky, “Like father like son. You just wait and see; the girls will be flocking around him begging for his attention.” She looked at Becky and was quiet until she was sure she had her full attention and said in a low stern voice, “Ed likes you Becky.” Becky looked away from her mother’s gaze while turning a deep shade of crimson and shyly said, “Aww mom, he does not!” “Oh yes he does Honey, I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” Becky was also at that awkward age just at the beginning stages of puberty. She was a petite five foot two with deeply tanned arms and legs from spending endless hours outside. Her mother had bought her two training bras a few months ago when her breasts began developing, signaling the beginnings of womanhood. Becky thought that the bras were too confining and uncomfortable so on most days she didn’t wear them, choosing baggy shirts to cover her budding breasts. Becky locked her bedroom door and removed her clothes looking at herself in the full length mirror on the back of her door. Her breasts had grown only slightly in the few months since her nipples swelled. Her areolas were only slightly pinker than the surrounding skin of her breast. She often looked at her mother’s C-cup breasts and wondered how long it would take for herself to have as large of breasts as her mother. She tightened her stomach muscles and smiled, happy to see the girlish outline of her abdominal muscles. She ran her hands over her hairless body starting at her stomach and moving slowly up and over her breasts feeling a shiver of excitement when her fingers came in contact with her sensitive nipples . Being so isolated from other kids and the town; Ed and Becky became best friends and playmates from very early on in their lives. Both of their houses had long driveways off the dirt road and it was easier and shorter to cut through the corn field to get between each other’s houses instead of walking down the driveway and along the road. A long creek ran between the houses on the property line about half way between Ed’s house and Becky’s house. It was an early fall day shortly after Ed was finished with his morning chores when he called Becky and asked her to meet him at the creek. He ran through the corn field until he got to the creek at the property line. Ed and Becky called it a creek but the only time it had water in it was for a few days after it rained. It was more of a drainage ditch that was about fifty feet wide and about 10 feet deep. It was covered with mostly oak and poplar trees of all different sizes, Ed and his father liked to hunt squirrels there. Ed crossed the creek to Becky’s side and waited. She soon came running out of her corn field and started walking toward him. Becky was a very pretty girl; Ed secretly thought that she was the prettiest girl at the school although he didn’t tell her or anyone else that. She had long blonde hair that she always kept in a high ponytail. She had a beautifully tanned healthy complexion, sparkling blue eyes and always had a nice smile whenever she saw him. He had noticed lately that she smiled at him with a genuine smile that could only be generated by someone who was truly happy to see you. She was slender with toned arms and legs from doing endless chores that they were both required to do living on a farm. The weather was warm and she was wearing a pair of short cut off blue jeans and a blue and white checked blouse. As she got close to him she flashed that smile that he thought she had reserved just for him and said, “Hi Ed, what’s up?” He smiled back and said, “Not much Becky. Are you done with your chores?” “Yes, what do you want to do?” “I don’t know. Do you want to go to the swimming hole?” Years ago their father’s had used a backhoe to clean out some downed trees out of the creek and they stacked a few of the cut logs across the creek like a dam that made a small shaded swimming hole about twenty feet wide and about fifty feet long. It was only about five feet deep at its deepest spot. The swimming hole was about a quarter mile down the creek toward the back of the field so they started walking that way. They talked on the way mostly about the movie they both had seen in town last Saturday afternoon. As they got closer Ed saw movement at the swimming hole and crouched down. Becky had seen it too and crouched down beside him. She whispered, “Who is it?” He moved his head back and forth trying to find a place to see through the thick brush while whispering, “I don’t know I can’t see from here.” They both stayed low to the ground and hidden behind the brush and high grass as they snuck in for a closer look. They crawled on their hands and knees through the tall grass as they got to within one hundred feet of them. When they found a small opening in the brush they saw that it was Becky’s seventeen year old brother Matt and Marsha a sixteen year old girl who lived on one of farms behind theirs on the next dirt road over from them. Matt and Marsha were on the opposite side of the creek sitting on a small grassy ledge that was next to the logs that formed the swimming hole dam. They were locked in an embrace holding each other and kissing. Becky and Ed looked at each other both trying to hold in the laughter that if let out, would give their position away and probably end up with both of them getting a thumping when Matt caught them. They both sat on the ledge kissing when Ed noticed Matt’s hand move up over Marsha’s blouse and onto her breast. Ed and Becky both watched as they saw Matt’s hand squeezing and rubbing her breast. Matt broke the kiss and quickly moved to his knees as Marsha lay down on the grass facing him. She started to giggle as Matt reached for her shorts and pulled them and her panties down and off her legs. Matt quickly undid him belt and pulled his shorts down below his knees. He was facing the two spies’ and Ed could feel his face blush as they both saw Matt’s hard penis pointing straight up. Ed looked at Becky but she was too embarrassed to look back at him. Ed saw that she was blushing too. Marsha spread her legs and Matt lay down on top of her. Holding his body off her with one hand he grabbed his penis and poked it between her legs. Marsha squealed as Ed and Becky watched his penis disappear inside her. Matt put both hands down on the ground one on each side of Marsha’s shoulders and pumped his penis back and forth in and out of her. Marsha lifted her legs up high in the air and both Matt and Marsha were groaning and they had smiles on their faces like they were really enjoying themselves. Ed whispered real soft into Becky’s ear, “Let’s get out of here before we get caught.” Staying low to the ground they slowly backed away from the edge of the creek. When they both got to the edge of the corn field they crouched and went in. They were a few rows in when they stood and both ran fast towards Becky’s house. They emerged from the corn behind her house and ran into the barn. They went up the ladder into the hay loft and fell onto the hay bales out of breath. They lay on the hay in silence both too embarrassed to talk about what they had just seen. On many occasions both of them had seen the bull mounting the cows but today was the first time that Ed put two and two together and realized that people mated too. They both shyly looked at each other and Becky said, “Why were they doing that?” Ed answered, “I’m not sure but we’ve both seen the bull mounting the cows.” He shrugged his shoulders and said, “I guess people do it too.” Becky, with a serious look on her face said, “I never thought about it before but I guess that’s were babies come from.” Ed began to look at Becky in a different way. He looked at the smooth contour of her jeans between her legs wondering what she looked like down there. He knew she didn’t have a penis like he did and he remembered some of the guys at school saying that girls have a pussy but he had no clue what it looked like. He glanced at her chest and for the first time he noticed small round half globes. ‘Becky has boobs!’ He thought to himself but they were not nearly the size of Marsha’s or his mother’s. It was an awkward few minutes as they sat in silence stealing glances at each other’s bodies. Becky finally broke the silence by asking, “Ed have you ever kissed anybody?” Ed was surprised at the question but managed to answer back, “No not really, just my mom but I don’t think that counts. How about you? Have you ever kissed anybody?” She answered, “No me neither.” She looked at him shyly out of the top of her eyes and asked, “Do you want to kiss me?” He smiled and sat up on the edge of the hay bale and said, “Sure.” Ed had secretly wanted to kiss her for a long time but he had been way too shy to ask her. Becky sat up and moved a little closer to him and they both slowly leaned in closer to each other. They both puckered up and moved closer to each other until their lips met. It was incredible; they both could hear their hearts pounding inside their chests. The kiss seemed to go on forever but Becky pulled back from him after just a couple of seconds and made a loud smacking noise of her lips. They looked at each other and smiled. Becky puckered her lips again and leaned back towards him and they kissed again this time they kissed for about ten seconds. She broke the kiss opening her eyes and asked, “Did you like it?” Ed grinned at her and nodded his head quickly. She smiled back and moved over closer to him until their hips touched. She put her arms around him and they kissed again. He was nervous but put my arms around her and hugged her tight as they continued kissing. Ed thought about what he had seen down at the swimming hole. While Matt was kissing Marsha he moved his hand from her waist and touched her boob. He wasn’t sure but as he thought about it more and more he thought maybe Becky wanted him to do the same thing. He moved his hand slowly from her waist up toward her boob. When his thumb bumped into the side of it Becky broke the kiss and pushed him away so hard that he fell off the hay bale and landed on his butt hard. Becky had fire in her eyes when she screamed, “What are you doing?” She felt embarrassed, shocked, ‘what was he trying to do?’ she screamed to herself. Ed looked up in shock at her and said in a soft voice, “I’m sorry Becky I thought that you wanted me to…” Becky was now fuming mad at him. She stood and turned away from him and stomped her way over to the ladder at the edge of the loft and looked down into the barn. Mom said that boys would want to touch her sometimes and that she shouldn’t let them. She thought that Ed and she were good friends and she never expected him to be the one to try. ‘I hate him!’ She screamed to herself. Ed stood up brushing himself off but he didn’t dare walk over to her for fear she may turn around and slap him. He said in a meek voice, “I’m sorry Becky do you want me to go?” She stood there in silence for a few seconds and then turned toward him. She was looking at the floor with her arms crossed high on her chest hiding her breasts from him. Becky was his best friend and he had known her for as long as he could remember. Most of his fondest memories included her. He had a bad feeling in his chest that he had ruined their friendship and she would never want to see or talk to him again. She continued looking at the floor and spoke slowly and softly. “I’m sorry I pushed you.” He saw a tear roll down and off her cheek. “It’s just that…” Becky’s emotions were out of control and she began to sob. Without looking at him she turned and quickly climbed down the ladder without saying another word. He ran to the ladder and shouted down to her, “I’m sorry Becky. Please don’t be mad at me.” She remained silent and when he got to the bottom of the ladder he looked through the open barn door and watched her running to her house. He was very depressed as he slowly walked toward his house through the corn, no longer caring if he ever got home. He spent the rest of the morning sitting at the creek then slowly continued walking towards his house thinking about Becky until it was time to milk the cows. That night when he went to bed he couldn’t get the day’s events out of his head. He tossed and turned until the early hours of the morning finally falling asleep around two a.m. It was getting close to harvest so he spent the next week helping his dad get the equipment ready to go to the field. The Saturday before harvest his parents took him to town and dropped him off at the theatre to watch a movie. Ed was waiting in line at the concession stand with some friends when Becky walked into the lobby with her girl friends. ‘Wow!’ He thought she was beautiful, dressed in a short skirt and a clingy not too tight knit blouse that showed off her athletic body. For the first time in a long while she had her hair down. The long blonde curls of hair ran down the sides of her face partly covering her eyes giving her a mysterious sexy look. Ed looked around at the other girls around the lobby and in his opinion she was by far the prettiest girl in the lobby, in the whole town for that matter. He looked around at the other boys in the lobby and some of them were staring at her. His jaw was clinched tight and his heart had an empty sad feeling as he felt a tingle of jealousy. He had thought for the last week about what he would say to Becky when he saw her again. He had practiced his lines over and over in his head. He was planning on apologizing to her again but he couldn’t do that with her girl friends around because of the questions an apology would raise. When she walked by him he didn’t know what to do so all he said was, “Hi Becky.” She was silent and didn’t smile at him when she looked at him for just a passing second and continued walking with her girlfriends into the theatre. ‘Damn’ he said to himself, ‘she’s still mad at me’. His mind was in a fog when he took his seat in the theatre. He stared at the movie screen for an hour and a half but all he could think about was Becky. He told himself again that he had really screwed up. He thought back to that day in the loft and wished with all his heart that he could change what happened. He was surprised when the lights in the theatre came on at the end of the movie as he quickly stood and searched for Becky. She was with her friends laughing and walking up the isle on the other side of the theatre. The movie had ended and he had no idea what it was about. He was waiting alone outside the entrance of the theatre for his parents to pick him up. Becky was waiting a short distance away in a group of girls for her ride home when a couple of boys from his school moved over to them and started talking. The girls were all smiles looking at them and giggling amongst themselves. He listened but was too far from them to hear what they were talking about. He stared at Becky with his mouth open when she looked at one of the boys and flashed that smile at him that he thought she reserved just for him. She looked through the circle of people at him and the smile left her face when she caught sight of him. She coldly stared at him for a few seconds while he silently mouthed the words ‘I’m sorry’. She showed no reaction to him and turned her focus back to her friends and began smiling again. He silently sat in the back seat of the truck and wished that he hadn’t wasted him money going to the movie. His mother sensing something was wrong asked him on the way home if he liked the movie, he lied and told her that he enjoyed it. The following Monday the harvest started and Ed was happy to be distracted from thinking about Becky. It took two hours in the morning to milk the cows and then he ate breakfast and was in the field before seven. The only break came in the early afternoon when his mother brought him his lunch/dinner. He drove his father’s truck back to the barn around six and helped his mother milk the cows and clean the barn. With just the two of them it took over three hours to finish the milking. He was exhausted when he fell in bed around ten thankful that sleep came easy for him for the first time since the day in the loft. He didn’t dream that night and it seemed like he had just closed his eyes when his mother opened the bedroom door at four a.m. Day after day it was the same thing, milk the cows, stack the hay bales, milk the cows and sleep. Every muscle in his body was sore when they finally finished getting the wheat harvested. The bales were stacked in three large covered piles in the field and he sighed knowing when they finished harvesting the corn they would have to get all of the bales stacked in the barn and hay loft. They were a few days into the corn harvest when a change in the weather gave them a chance of rain in the forecast. Everyone except Ed and his mother went to the field from before sun up until midnight to try and finish before the rain. All he had to do was take care of the cows and the barn. When mom came back from the field after giving everyone breakfast she came in to the barn to help him milk. They finished up around ten and he went in the house to help his mother prepare lunch for everyone. Just after noon someone knocked on the door and Ed went to answer it. He opened the back door and was surprised to see Becky standing there. She half smiled at him and said, “I need to talk to your mom.” She walked past him into the kitchen and said to Mrs. Johnson, “Dad lost one of the drivers, can you spare anyone to help out?” The rain would be here in forty eight hours and his mother knew they needed every minute to get their corn in. she was about to tell Becky no when Ed said, “I can do it mom.” He was hoping to score some points with Becky and this was the perfect opportunity to try and make it up to her. His mother had a surprised look on her face and said, “No Ed, you’re too young to drive the big trucks.” He protested saying, “I’ve got my FHP and dad let me drive last year and I’m pretty good with the tractor, please mom I can do it.” Becky and his mother were both staring at him and he could tell his mother wasn’t sold on the idea yet. “Honey,” she said, “that’s a lot of weight to be driving on the road.” He was thinking of a way to convince her when an idea came to him. “How about you ride with me on the first run to see how I do?” Then Becky said, “And then I’ll ride with him to make sure he doesn’t drive too fast.” “Please mom I’m thirteen and dad drove when he was thirteen, remember him telling the story?” She sighed and said, “I don’t have time to ride with you, but if Becky… Let me check with your father.” She went to the CB radio and told him that the Anderson’s needed a driver and she was thinking about sending Ed. There was a long pause and when his father finally came back on the radio he said, “Ok, call Miller and have him escort him the first couple of trips.” Deputy Miller was one fourth of the county’s police force and a good friend of the family having grown up with Ed’s father. Last spring when Ed took his Farm Husbandry Permit test Deputy Miller cut him no slack. It took two days but Ed drove each piece of equipment on the farm until Deputy Miller was satisfied he could safely handle it. His mother had a worried look on her face when she read him the riot act. She grabbed and held his shoulders and said in a stern voice, “Ed that truck isn’t going to drive like the pickup, when it’s loaded it’s going to be very heavy and you have to go very slow around corners and leave plenty of time for slowing down and stopping.” She looked at Becky and continued, “Make sure he goes slow and keep an eye on the brake pressure. Deputy Miller will be on channel nine. You do the talking Becky.” She looked back at him and said, “And you keep both hands on the wheel when you’re not shifting gears.” “Yes ma’am we’ll be careful.” Ed and Becky headed out the door and started running toward the truck. The empty truck was parked in the field close to Becky’s house. Ed started the truck and put it in gear, let out the clutch and they rumbled off toward the corn combine. He said to Becky, “Where does he want me.” She picked up the CB mike and said, “Dad its Becky, Ed’s driving the truck where do you want him?” Mister Anderson came back on the radio and said, “I’m almost full bring him under the loader as soon as you can.” Mr. Anderson waved at them as soon as they got along side. Ed shifted into low and looked back and forth between the combine and his forward path matching the combine’s speed. Mr. Anderson had a bird’s eye view of the truck bed and gave him instructions over the radio when to move forward and when it was full. He finally came over the radio and said, “Ok Ed you’re three fourths full be careful.” Becky switched channels on the CB radio and said, “Deputy Miller this is Becky Anderson, Ed’s heading to the road.” When they got to the highway Deputy Miller was waiting with red lights flashing. There were two cars stopped on the side of the road as he slowly turned onto the main highway and headed to the grain elevator. They lumbered along at a blistering thirty miles per hour on the three mile trip with Deputy Miller leading the way. With both hands on the wheel he looked at Becky and said, “Becky I’m sorry.” She didn’t look at him but said in a loud voice, “Shut up and keep your eyes on the road.” He sighed and did what she told him to do. After a few seconds she said, “We need to talk about it but not right now. You need to concentrate on what you’re doing.” The three mile trip went without incident. Deputy Miller pulled up next to Ed when he got out of the truck to unload. He got out of his patrol car and asked, “Did everything go ok Ed?” He said, “Yes sir, no problems.” “Good! Your speed limit is thirty miles per hour with your emergency flashers on. Do you understand?” “Yes sir.” “Don’t let me catch you going any faster or there will be hell to pay.” It’s not unusual for young teenagers to drive on the highways during the harvest under close supervision. Most of the locals monitor the CB radio to find out what going on in the area. When Becky called Deputy Miller the news spread like wild fire, just about the whole county knew there was a rookie driving on the road. Ed unloaded and was escorted back to the field. There was no small talk between Ed and Becky, the only time she spoke was to tell him to ‘slow down’ or ‘be careful’ and a number of other orders. He was disappointed that Becky didn’t want to talk to him but he understood that she didn’t want to distract him while he was driving thirty tons down the highway. He was just happy that she cared enough to ride with him. They made four round trips that afternoon two of which were without an escort, stopping only to get a bag lunch from Mrs. Anderson. Ed got a radio call around six p.m. from his mother telling him to come home to do the milking. At nine o clock just before they were finished milking his mother told him to go back to the Anderson’s and drive the truck. Becky was waiting at the truck when he got there. They made two more round trips to the elevator that night before they quit for the night just before midnight. Because of the darkness, Deputy Miller escorted them on both trips. He didn’t remember walking into his bedroom that night because he was so tired. It had been a long twenty hour day and he was asleep before his head hit the pillow. Ed’s mother woke him up at four thirty the next morning and despite sleeping less than 5 hours he felt energized. One way or another today would be the last day of the harvest. He took a quick shower and they ate breakfast before he and his mother started the milking. Before seven o clock his mother shooed him out the door with a smile and said, “Go help the Anderson’s.” Becky and Ed once again shared the same seat in the truck. She wasn’t dressed in work clothes like she was yesterday. Today she was dressed up in what he thought would be more appropriate to wear to school or to the movies. He wondered if she dressed up because she knew that she would be riding with him again. Ed wanted to score some more points with Becky so when they got to the highway with the first load he said without looking at her, “You look very pretty today Becky.” Ed was trying everything he could think of to get back on her good side but she still had a look of contempt on her face whenever he looked at her. She glared at him saying, “Thank you. Pay attention to what you’re doing!” In the early afternoon they could see the rain on the horizon heading their way. It was going to be close; they still had about three hours before all the corn would be harvested. Ed was pushing the speed limit that deputy Miller had given him. Every time he got the truck up to thirty two miles per hour Becky would tell him to slow down. It didn’t matter in the long run because the last of the corn was in the elevator with fifteen minutes to spare before the heavy rain came. Ed parked the truck where he had found it yesterday but before they got out he asked Becky, “Can I call you tomorrow?” Becky was relieved that the harvest was over and she had calmed down since the incident in the loft last week. After spending a couple of sleepless nights herself she realized that Ed was just copying what they had seen at the swimming hole. She had kept up the act of being mad at him as to not appear to be too easy. She knew in her heart that she would soon release him from the agony that his face showed whenever she looked at him. She smiled at him with that special smile for the first time since the day in the loft. “Yes you can call me but tomorrow is harvest feast so I’ll see you then.” “Wow that’s great. I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Ok bye and thanks for helping out.” She turned and started running to their dairy barn to help with the milking. Woo-hoo! He said to himself with a silly grin on his face. Ed was in a good mood running back to the house in the rain. Becky was no longer mad at him and he felt like a conquering hero returning from the battlefield to the thunderous applause of the people he’d saved. The next day the Anderson’s invited Ed’s family to their house for the annual harvest feast. Ed had pulled his own weight during the harvest and Mr. Anderson and his father treated him differently after that day. Becky watched and listened as her father praised Ed for a job well done. He was given more responsibility around the farm and he was also given extra freedom. After dinner Becky and Ed walked outside and slowly headed to the barn to talk. As soon as they stopped he turned to Becky and said his well rehearsed line, “Becky I’m real sorry that I touched you and I promise that I’ll never do it again.” She thought for a moment, “That’s ok Ed, you don’t have to promise.” She looked at him with softness in her eyes and a sly grin on her lips, “Ed, I really like you and someday I may want you to touch me but not right now.” She continued with a serious look, “I’ve thought about what happened in the loft Ed and I understand that you were just doing what we saw at the swimming hole.” She threw her arms around his chest resting her head on his shoulder and hugged him tightly. Ed was a little surprised by this move; he gently put his arms around her not wanting to offend her. “I’m so proud of you,” she whispered, “daddy said that we did a real good job and he was proud of us.” She moved her face up to Ed’s face gazing into his eyes, beckoning for him to kiss her. He looked into her deep blue eyes unsure as to whether she wanted a kiss. Becky sensing his uneasiness, closed her eyes and puckered her lips. They kissed. Ed and Becky’s friendship changed that day. She no longer looked at Ed as a playmate but as a friend of the opposite sex and as a likely future boyfriend. They returned to their lives no longer running across the field to see each other on a daily bases. Ed saw Becky at school and he often asked her if he could sit with her at the movies. She always said yes and they would hold hands in the darkness of the movie theatre. Just a few days before Christmas that year, Ed woke up as usual at four thirty and went to the kitchen for breakfast. His mother and father were talking and concerned because of the weather. The weather forecast called for heavy snow and near blizzard conditions starting that night. “Ed,” his father said, “We need to get the cows and horses into the barn and get prepared for bad weather.” Ed nodded his head and asked, “Ok, what do you want me to do.” “Before milking we need to close the pasture gates and open the doors to the barn. The cows can stay in the corral until the weather gets too bad for them to stay outside.” The milking went as usual that morning and the cows were all accounted for and moseying around between the corral and the barn. At lunch the weather radar showed that they were going to get hit by the center of the storm and they could expect ten to twelve inches or more of snow with high winds and near blizzard conditions. It started snowing late in the afternoon and there were several inches already on the ground when they went back to the house after the evening milking. The following morning Ed heard the wind howling as he got dressed and went downstairs for breakfast. When he looked out the backdoor window he hardly recognized the yard. Snow was drifted around the pickup truck and the house. After milking Ed started shoveling snow away from the front and back doors of the house. He sighed when he realized that after the snow blew back in he would have to do it again in a few hours. During lunch they received a call on the CB radio from Deputy Miller. “Break one-six for the Johnson farm.” “Go ahead for the Johnson Farm.” Ed’s father answered. “This is Deputy Miller. There’s a jack knifed truck on the interstate that’s blocking traffic. Drifting snow has blocked the road and there are people stranded out here. Can you help?” “Ten-four Miller, it will take a few minutes for us to get geared up. I’ll bring my GPS and portable CB and contact you in route.” “Ten-four, Anderson farm did you copy?” Miller said. “Ten-four,” Mr. Anderson answered, “We’ll contact you when we are in route.” “Girls,” Mr. Johnson said to Ed’s two older sister’s, “pack up some jackets, hats, gloves, and blankets so the people will be warm on the ride back here. Ed get some warm clothes on, you’ll drive the snowmobile with the toboggan on back while I drive the tractor with a hay wagon.” Ed got dressed and helped his father hook a hay wagon to the tractor. The weather conditions were horrible with blowing snow and the wind chill hovering around zero Fahrenheit. Ed looked toward the house from the tractor shed which was only one hundred and fifty feet from where he was standing and he could just barely see its outline. He retrieved the bags of clothing from the kitchen that his sisters had packed and tied them down on the toboggan. Ed followed close behind his father as they slowly drove to the GPS coordinates given to them by Deputy Miller. It was more than a mile ride which consisted of driving across the two fields on the other side of the road and pushing down the fence with the front tires of the tractor to gain access to the interstate. Ed saw the jack knifed eighteen wheeler blocking the road and deputy Millers SUV. They slowly drove around the truck and began seeing other vehicles stopped in various places on the road. Ed stopped next to the first car and the man behind the wheel got out and asked, “Can you help us? I have my wife and two children in the car.” “Yes sir,” Ed said trying to talk louder than the wind, “I’ll take you to my house that’s about a mile from here. Do you have warm clothes for the trip?” He thought for a moment then yelled back over the wind, “My wife and I will be ok but I could use something for my two kids.” Ed went to the bags and got two blankets and gave them to the man and said, “I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Ed went to the next car and gave them some clothes and told them they would be going to his house when everyone was ready to travel. Ed and his father loaded twelve people on the wagon while the family in the first car rode on the snowmobile with him. The father and his eight year old daughter sat on the toboggan wrapped tight in a blanket. Ed put the six year old boy in front of him while his mother sat on the seat behind him. He yelled over his shoulder, “Put your arms around me and hang on tight. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.” Mr. Johnson with Ed following close behind followed the tracks they made on the way out and headed back to the farm house. Upon arriving Ed’s mother and two sisters came out the door to help. Ed took off his helmet and handed the boy to his sister as the mother and father unloaded. They entered the house through the kitchen where Mrs. Johnson had every coffee cup they owned sitting on the counter ready to give everyone either coffee or hot chocolate. The young twenty something mother who rode back with Ed looked surprisingly at him and said, “Goodness, you’re just a teenager. I thought you were a full grown man.” Ed was at a loss for words to say and smiled as his mother said, “He does the work of a full grown man, I’m very proud of him.” “And so you should be.” as she hugged him saying, “Thank you for rescuing us. I was getting worried about freezing to death or starving.” “Yes ma’am,” Ed shyly said, “You’re welcome.” The woman introduced themselves to Ed and his family. Mr. and Mrs. Peters and their children Tammy and Mike lived it a large town that was locate about fifty miles down the interstate. It was a chaotic scene in the kitchen with well over a dozen people standing around not knowing what to do. Mrs. Johnson spoke up, “Everyone is welcome to have some coffee or hot chocolate and have a seat at the table or in our living room.” Mr. Johnson then spoke, “Folks I need those jackets and blankets back, there are more people out there that we need to go get.” Ed and his father headed back to the interstate and rescued nine more people. All totaled they had twenty five people at their house including the truck driver and Deputy Miller while the Anderson’s had rescued twenty two people. Mr. Johnson along with Mr. Anderson, Deputy Miller, and the truck driver once again went back to the interstate with the large four wheel drive tractors to pull the eighteen wheeler back on the road to allow the snow plow to get through. Ed had thirty minutes to relax and warm up before it was time to start the milking. He, along with his two sister’s and the Peters went to do the milking while Mrs. Johnson and several volunteers began cooking dinner for thirty people. It was slow going at first for Ed as none of his helpers had been this close to cows before let alone had ever seen the complex machinery needed to milk them. After the first set of cows was milked they began to get the hang of it and the work proceeded at a faster pace. When they finished, Ed checked the almost full milk tank and realized there wasn’t enough room for the morning milking. They next went to the barn to make sure the cows were fed and settled in. Mr. and Mrs. Peters watched in awe as he and his sister’s bucked the eighty pound bales of hay down to the cows while snapping the twine in one fluid motion. They all returned to the house to find a noisy scene. There were people in every room in the house with lines outside each of the bathrooms. Dinner had to be eaten in shifts as there weren’t enough chairs or plates for everyone to eat a once. Ed’s turn to eat was with the Peters family that rode with him on the snowmobile. Mrs. Peters remarked after taking a drink of milk, “Oh wow, that’s the best tasting milk I think I’ve ever had.” Ed smiled at her and said, “That’s fresh from this morning’s milking, it hasn’t been skimmed yet so the butter fat is probably higher than you’re used to.” Mrs. Johnson had allowed some children to sleep in Ed’s bedroom so he quietly went to his closet and gathered the things he would need to spend the night in the barn with the cattle. Around midnight it stopped snowing and the snow plow followed by the milk truck were able to get through around two in the morning. Ed returned to the house after the milk truck emptied the milk tank to help his mother with breakfast. Some of the people were eager to return to the vehicles so he began ferrying families back to the interstate on the snowmobile. After breakfast Ed took the Peters family back to the first car that he had stopped by yesterday. Mr. Peters shook Ed hand telling him thank you. Mrs. Peters hugged him tight and said, “Thank you Ed, I’ll never forget what you and your family did for us. Every time I drink a glass of milk I’ll be thinking of you.” Ed smiled, “Yes ma’am, it was nice meeting you and your welcome.” Ed didn’t realize the impact that he and his family had on the Peters family until a week or so later when they received a thank you letter and a Christmas card in the mail from them. It had been a long and stressful forty eight hours in which Ed had received little to no sleep. After all of the travelers were ferried back at their cars, Ed went home and fell asleep. His mother didn’t bother waking him for dinner or the evening milking, he slept through to the next morning when it was time to do the milking again. The unusually cold winter passed and the new spring came. Mrs. Anderson and Becky were invited to Ed’s house for coffee by Mrs. Johnson on a nice warm spring day. Ed was in the yard with his shirt off mowing the grass with the push mower as Becky’s mother parked their truck in the driveway. “Oh my my,” she said to Becky mock fanning herself, “would you look at that handsome young man over there!” It was the first time since last summer that Becky or her mother had a look at Ed without heavy winter clothes on. Ed had put on some weight over the winter and no longer had that skinny carcass that he saw in the mirror last year. Mrs. Anderson remembered the conversation she had where Becky thought he looked like a scarecrow. “You still think he looks like a scarecrow?” “Stop it mom,” Becky said while playfully slapping her arm, “you’re embarrassing me.” They got out of the truck and Ed waved, “Hi Becky, Mrs. Anderson. Mom’s in the house.” They knocked at the door and were greeted by Mrs. Johnson. As they all sat at the kitchen table Mrs. Anderson thought she would have some more fun at Becky’s expense. “Becky and I were noticing that handsome young man in the yard.” She smiled at Becky and continued, “What happened to that scarecrow that you had last year?” Both ladies laughed seeing it made Becky uncomfortable and watched her turn a shade of red. Becky protested her treatment, “Stop it mom!” “He’s growing like a weed and eating like a horse.” Mrs. Johnson explained, “He’s almost six feet tall and he gained thirty pounds over the winter.” “And it looks like it was all muscle.” She laughed, “You’ll soon have to put a fence up to keep all the girls away.” “Mom!” Becky groaned turning a deeper shade of red. The back door opened and Ed walked in. Becky looked up and noticed the sweat on his face and chest rolling down to his deeply carved AB muscles. ‘Mom was right’ Becky thought to herself, he looks almost like his father. She felt a flood of moisture between her legs and a tingle of excitement which made her even more embarrassed. Ed used his shirt as a rag wiping most of the sweat off. He smiled at her and said, “Hi Becky.” She smiled back as he walked past her to the refrigerator for a big glass of ice water. Mrs. Johnson looked at Mrs. Anderson and said jokingly, “He didn’t even notice us. I guess he only has eyes for a certain lovely young lady.” Ed hearing this stopped drinking in mid gulp and said, “I’m sorry Mrs. Anderson it’s nice to see you too.” ”That’s ok Ed,” she said while laughing, “You have your priorities in the right place.” Both ladies laughed as Becky gave her mother a dirty look. She didn’t want her mother to embarrass her further especially in front of Ed so she stood and walked out the door in a huff. Ed finished his drink and walked out the door after her. He caught up to her behind the house and asked, “Hey Becky what’s wrong?” “Mother’s!” she said sulking. Ed chuckled, “What did they say?” “Oh nothing much, they were just teasing me.” “About what?” he asked trying to pry it out of her. “Well, if I tell you do you promise not to get mad at me?” He looked into her eyes and said in a serious tone, “Becky, I could never get mad at you.” “Well,” she said trying to say it as delicately as she could, “please don’t get mad but last summer I told mom that you looked like a skinny scarecrow and when we saw you this morning she teased me about it.” He chuckled again and said, “Ya I know what you mean. I looked at myself in the mirror last year and thought the same thing.” She smiled, “Thanks for not getting mad.” “How about now?” he asked holding his arms out to give her a good look at his shirtless body. “Do I still look skinny?” She grinned as she moved her eyes slowly from his toes to his head and teased, “Well maybe a little but you look very handsome.” He stepped closer to her and put his arms around her and hugging her. “Thanks, that was nice of you.” Becky went up on her toes and put her arms around his neck and hugged him back. She strained her neck looking up at him wanting him to kiss her. He bent his head down to meet her lips and they kissed. He noticed as she pressed her breasts into his chest that they seemed to be much larger than they were last year. Ed had a warm fuzzy feeling and was enjoying the sensation of being pressed up tight to Becky. They stayed in the embrace after the kiss and Ed said in a soft voice, “As long as we’re being honest I should tell you that for a long time I’ve always thought that you are the prettiest girl in school.” Becky smiled and put her head against his chest and hugged him tighter. They released their grip on each other when they heard the back door open. Becky’s mother called out to them in a loud excited voice, “Becky, Ed where are you?” They heard the concern in her voice and ran around the corner of the house, “What’s wrong?” Becky said. Both ladies were running towards the truck parked in the driveway, “Mr. Green is hurt,” Mrs. Anderson yelled, “hurry, we’ve got to go!” All four of them jumped into the Anderson's truck and they raced to the Green farm as fast as the dirt road would allow. As they drove up the driveway they could see Mrs. Green waving her arms down by the milking parlor. As the truck slowed Ed opened the door and ran to the barn to find a very chaotic scene. The milking equipment was running, all three of the Green children were crying and Mr. Green was sitting on the ground holding his leg. “Damn,” He said through clinched teeth, “I think my leg is broke.” Mrs. Anderson having some first aid experience surveyed the scene and asked. “Can you stand on your other leg?” “Yes I think so.” He said. Ed squatted down behind him and lifted him to his feet, then Mr. Green put his arm around his neck and he hopped to the truck with Ed’s help. They got him into the back seat and Mrs. Johnson said to Mrs. Green, “Go with them, we’ll watch the children and take care of things here.” Ed watched the truck until it was out of sight and then went back to the barn. Becky was holding the youngest child who had stopped crying but was still sobbing. “Take the children to the house,” Mrs. Johnson said to Becky, “and check to see that everything in the kitchen is off.” Ed and his mother spent the next two hours finishing the milking and cleaning the barn. As they walked to the house Ed’s mother said, “Mr. Green is going to need a lot of help.” “Ya I’ve been thinking about it and if you can handle things at home I’ll come over here and help out.” Mrs. Johnson smiled at her son and had a feeling of pride. At his young age he already understood that the work needed to be done. He didn’t protest or whine about it he just sucked it up and would do what was necessary to help out. The cows didn’t care if you had a broken leg they needed to be milked twice a day, period. For the next six weeks Ed was there every morning at four thirty to do the milking. It didn’t take long for the tight knit farming community to find out about Mr. Green’s situation. Phone calls were made and a ‘duty roster’ of sorts was set up. Every day someone different showed up to help out. The milk went out, the chores were done, and the Green farm barely skipped a beat. It was a few years later. Ed was seventeen and a strapping young country boy who stood six foot two inches. He weighed in at one hundred and eighty pounds of solid muscle with not an ounce of fat. Becky, at sixteen had also matured into a slim trim five foot six inch blonde beauty. They weren’t officially a couple, no ring had been given but most of the other student at school knew them to be a couple. Whenever there was an event or a gathering of friends, Ed and Becky always arrived and left together. Mrs. Hall, one of the beloved teachers who had taught school for more than forty five years was retiring at the end of the school year. A large picnic was planned for the first week in June to celebrate her retirement. She had taught just about everyone who lived within thirty miles of the school including both Ed and Becky’s parents. The picnic went well with everyone wishing her happiness on her retirement. Many stories were told by her during the picnic much to the embarrassment of some of her past students. Mrs. York, the teacher who also doubled as the principal, began the search for a new teacher to take the place of Mrs. Hall. There weren’t many inquiries into the position and the few who did inquire politely declined after they found out how isolated the school was. It was over forty miles to a town that had a population of over five thousand people and the discount stores that we are all familiar with. In mid August with just a few weeks before school was to start they finally found a qualified teacher who had just graduated for college. With the absents of apartments in the area they had promised her a small house in which to live that wasn’t too far from the school building on the out skirts of town. Ms Karen Allen was a twenty two year old single mother of a three year old boy who had grown up in a big city a few hundred miles from there. Mrs. Anderson and Mrs. Johnson were members of the school board so they were the welcoming committee that met her upon her arrival. Ed, Becky, and her brother Matt also went along to help her move into her house. Ed, Becky and the others were there waiting when Karen, with her parents following her, pulled into the driveway of her new house. Everyone greeted each other and Mrs. Johnson gave her the keys to the house after she unlocked it. The house was clean but it needed to be painted before she could move in. Karen along with her parents surveyed the single story two bedroom house and decided on the colors to paint the rooms. Ed, Matt, and Mr. Allen stayed and prepared the house to be painted while the women drove into town to get the paint from the hardware store. When they returned everyone grabbed a brush or a roller and the painting was quickly finished around noon. Becky didn’t do any painting, Karen’s son Mark had found her to his liking and it became her job to keep him entertained and away from the painting. All of the other school teachers showed up after the painting was finished with a picnic lunch and to meet their new colleague. After lunch, everyone pitched in and helped carry in the furniture. Karen and her mother stood just inside the front door and directed where all of the furniture and boxes were to go. The kitchen and bathroom were given a good scrubbing and the beds were assembled. After the physical work was finished Ed, Matt, and Mr. Allen walked out onto the front porch. Mr. Allen asked, “Where do you two live?” Matt pointed down the road to the east and said, “Down that way about a half mile. You turn right on the dirt road, Ed lives on the first farm and I live on the second farm.” “That’s good to hear; my daughter will have some friends that live close by.” He then asked, “Where’s the school house from here?” Ed pointed down the road to the west and said, “It’s down that way about two miles. Just on the other side of town. You should have passed it on your way here.” “You mean that small red brick building?” “Yes, that’s it.” Ed replied. “There are only about sixty students in five classrooms. I heard my mom say that Miss Karen will probably be teaching fourth, fifth, and sixth grades.” ” Wow, that will be a big change for her.” Mr. Allen said, “The high school Karen went to had almost two thousand students.” Matt chuckled and said, “There isn’t two thousand people total within forty miles of here.” Mr. Allen sighed and said in a concerned voice, “I hope she’ll be ok way out here.” Ed hearing his concern said, “Don’t worry Mr. Allen, folks take care of each other out here. Either Matt or I will keep the grass cut in the summer and the driveway plowed in the winter. Next weekend we’ll being her enough firewood to last the winter. If something goes wrong with the house or her car we can take care of that too.” Mr. Allen patted Ed on the shoulder and said, “Thanks, that’s a load off my mind. I was real worried when she took this job. I tried to talk her out of taking it.” It the late afternoon, most everything of Karen’s was unpacked and the furniture was arranged. Everyone except Ed and Becky left for home to do chores and the milking. Just before they left Mrs. Anderson invited them to their farm for dinner. Around six the Allen’s followed Ed and Becky to the farm for dinner. Ed and Becky brought their guests down to see the milking parlor and the herd before dinner. Little Mark had become attached to Becky and she carried him on the tour to keep him out of the mud and manure. They were all fascinated with the milking equipment. Becky held little Mark up close to the fence so he could get a close up look at the cows. They all chuckled as Mark screamed when one of the cows stuck her tongue out and tried to lick him. That evening when Ed and his mother drove home she said to him, “They’re nice people; I think she will be a good teacher.” “Ya I think so too. Mr. Allen was worried about Karen being way out here all by herself, but I told him that we would look out for her.” “That was nice of you to say Ed. Oh by the way; did you see the way that little Mark took to Becky?” “Yes I saw. She held him quite a bit.” Ed said. Mrs. Anderson sighed, “Becky is going to be a good mother someday. She has the natural instincts of knowing what a child needs.” She grinned at Ed and said, “She’ll make you a good wife.” Ed was at a loss for words. He looked at her with an open mouth not knowing what to say. Ed’s mother let the conversation hang and they rode the rest of the way home in silence. The following day Karen hugged her parents and said good bye to them as they left around noon on their trip home. Mr. Allen told Karen what Ed had told him the day before about helping her out if she needed it. Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Anderson, and Becky came by just as they were leaving and picked up Karen and little Mark. They all rode the forty miles to the discount store for their weekly groceries. Karen had just put two gallons of milk into her shopping cart when Becky stopped her. “Karen, you don’t have to buy milk, we’ve got plenty.” Karen smiled and said, “Oh, this is going to be difficult getting used to having fresh milk all the time.” Becky added, “Don’t buy any fruits or vegetables either. Next week we’ll be doing the canning, you’re welcome to come over and help. I sure mom and Mrs. Johnson will share some with you.” “You mean you do your own canning too?” “Yes we put up enough to last the whole year plus we sell a lot of it during the summer.” Becky added, “Did you notice the peach and apple trees in your back yard?” “Really?” Karen said, “No I didn’t notice.” “Ed and I will come over next week and help you pick them and we’ll get them canned.” The following Saturday after Ed had finished the morning chores he drove their late seventies Dodge Power Wagon over to the Anderson farm and Matt, Becky, and Ed filled the eight foot bed to overflowing with firewood. When they arrived at Karen’s house, Ed was thinking about what his mom had said to him the other night, he noticed when little Mark saw Becky he ran to her and put his arms up wanting her to pick him up. She picked him up giving him a kiss on the cheek. They spent the next hour stacking the wood near Karen’s back porch. Karen helped out but had to stop and rest a few times putting her hands on her lower back massaging the muscles. Karen said to no one in particular, “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this country work.” Becky smiled as she continued stacking firewood, “The day has just started, after we finish here we have to get the peaches and apples picked, mom and Mrs. Johnson have already started canning.” Karen groaned as she started stacking the firewood again. After the peaches and apples were picked, Karen and little Mark followed the truck over to the Johnson farm. They parked close to a small shed that was on the far side of the milking parlor. Karen noticed several dozen large containers of all shapes and sizes sitting outside the door filled with every kind of vegetable imaginable. Karen, referring to the vegetables asked, “Where did all of this come from?” Ed pointed behind the shed and said, “We have a garden over there. Come with me and I’ll show you.” They walked around the shed and Karen’s mouth fell open when she saw what must have been a five acre garden planted with every kind of vegetable imaginable. Karen stopped dead in her tracks and said, “Wow, that’s the biggest garden I’ve ever seen.” “Yes it’s pretty big and the Anderson’s have one just as big. My dad and Mr. Anderson are over there right now picking. If you like, I’ll come over to your house next spring and help you plant one.” “You would do that for me? Thank you Ed.” Karen said, “Usually everything that I’ve ever tried to grow has died.” “It’s not that difficult, once the soil is prepared right, it will grow.” Ed smiled at her then joked, “We’re farmers you know.” They walked back into the shed and Karen saw five large pots of hot water sitting on a large wood burning stove, all of the women were working on different parts of the project. Karen said, “I’ve never done anything like this before. What do you want me to do?” Karen worked with them until late into the evening canning every type of food imaginable. When she arrived back home she was exhausted but very excited of the day’s events. After she tucked little Mark into bed she called her mother. “Hi mom,” she said in an excited voice, “You’ll never guess what I did today!” “You sound excited honey,” Mrs. Allen said, “What did you do?” “Well, first thing this morning Ed, Matt, and Becky came over and we unloaded a huge truck load of firewood. Then we picked all of the ripe apples and peaches off the trees behind my house. I didn’t even know there were fruit trees back there!” Karen continued talking a hundred miles an hour to her mother,” We brought them over to the Johnson farm and canned them!” Mrs. Allen talked to her daughter for more than an hour that night. She was happy and relieved that the Anderson’s and Johnson’s had so readily accepted her daughter and included her into their daily lives. After the call was finished she told her husband how happy she sounded. It took another two days of work before all of the canning was done. Karen helped carry the completed jars into the cellar for storage and was amazed to see several hundred jars of preserved food plus several large bins filled with potatoes. “Anything you need Karen just ask and you can have it. With all of the work you’ve done we consider you a full partner.” Mrs. Johnson said. “Next year when you have a garden you’re welcome to bring everything over here and we’ll all work together to get it canned.” Karen was amazed at what the Johnson’s and the Anderson’s gave her to bring home to stock her pantry. In less than a week of her arriving, she felt like she had known them for her whole life. The following week Karen was invited back to the Anderson farm and helped in the slaughter of an eighteen hundred pound bull. She was horrified watching Mr. Anderson shoot the bull but that was soon forgotten when the steaks were placed on the table ready for packaging. The steaks were cut and packaged while the scrap was ground into hamburger meat. Once again Karen was given enough meat to fully stock her freezer. Becky mentioned to her, “You might want to think about getting a deep freezer; we usually butcher one or two bulls a year.” The following week school started. This would be Ed’s senior year and Becky’s junior year although they would be in the same classroom. They continued their same morning routine of Ed driving to pick up Becky and then the Green children on the way to school. Karen brought her son Mark to school with her and he stayed in the preschool room which was next to the junior/senior classroom. On the second afternoon of class little Mark suddenly app