City Girl Pt. 12

Those years of practice were probably about to come in handy as he prepared to pull the wet spot. He'd been locking the differential on every pass to help with keeping them straight. He also had the front wheel assist locked in except on the ends.

As the front wheels entered the wet spot, he noticed that they didn't pick up any mud, which meant that at least the surface was dry. As the rear wheels entered, he felt the rear end sink a little so he lifted the subsoiler a bit to compensate. The engine bogged down hard and rolled a line of black smoke across the sky.

"Come on, you've got it in ya." He remarked as the machine pulled its way through the dense ground. After clearing the wet spot, he bumped back up to A-4 to finish the pass.

On the return pass, the wet spot proved to be hard enough for the tractor to start to rear up. He worked the subsoiler up and down to compensate as the tractor bucked around.

"You didn't mention anything about needing to be a bull rider." Sarah joked after he'd made it through.

Chase laughed. "Yeah, you definitely need to be in good shape to run these things. They won't hesitate to throw you around."

"I've noticed." Sarah replied with a giggle.

"The good news is, we just ripped through the hard pan there, so hopefully that wet spot won't come back." He remarked. "It'll give the water a way down into the soil profile."

"Oh..." Sarah commented, clearly unsure of what to say.

"So, what we're doing here is breaking up that hard layer I showed you last fall. It's a sort of 'reset' for the soil profile. If everything goes well, it lets roots and water get through that hard layer. That's supposed to help prevent flooding when the ground is wet, and let crops go deeper after water when the ground is dry." Chase explained.

"I see..." Sarah replied thoughtfully.

"I'd really have liked to let this spot dry out a little more," he admitted, "but with the weather coming and the fact that I need to be getting hay and wheat in the ground here pretty soon. Actually," he interrupted himself, "I probably could have already gotten wheat in, but I wanted to get this all ripped first."

"When do you plant anyway?" Sarah asked.

"Well..." Chase began, knowing that he couldn't answer that question easily. "It depends on what you're planting, but basically the answer is 'when the ground is warm enough.'"

"Wait so it has to do with the actual temperature of the ground?" Sarah asked.

"Mostly, yes." Chase replied. "If you plant in soil that's too cool, the seed won't germinate. You also want the right amount of moisture. Too much and the seed will rot, too little and it won't establish."

Sarah had a contemplative look on her face.

"The hell of it is," Chase added, "any of that can change in an instant, and even once you get everything planted and growing, it's all one drought or one bad storm away from being demolished."

"Oh..." Sarah remarked.

"Yeah. Farming ain't for the faint of heart." Chase said bluntly.

"I see..." Sarah agreed.

"Of course," Chase added, "plenty would tell you that being committed to a farmer isn't easy either." He turned to look at the woman next to him in the tractor.

The two of them shared eye contact for a moment before Sarah managed a sheepish smile. Chase returned a gentle smile and an affirmative nod before returning his attention to his work. A not so small part of him dearly hoped that she would be able to handle it. Her generally calm and supportive nature was something he'd come to dearly appreciate.

Chase continued his work for the next few hours, with Sarah occasionally chiming in with commentary, questions, or some small talk. Having someone else in the tractor seemed to make the hours go by faster. Before he knew it, he was over halfway done, and the sun was starting to set.

"What time is it?" Sarah eventually asked with a yawn.

"Probably a little after 7:30" Chase told her.

"Geez," She replied, "we've been at this for over seven hours."

Chase chuckled.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"I've been out here for thirteen." He answered.

Sarah thought for a moment. "So, you've been out here working non-stop since about 6:30 this morning?"

"Pretty much." He replied.

"God, how are you still awake?" She asked.

All he could do to answer was shrug.

"Do you just do this all the time?" She asked.

"Not all the time," he replied, "but when the situation calls for it, you'd better believe it."

"Geez..." Sarah said, followed by another yawn.

"Do you want me to drop you off?" He offered.

"Sure." She answered. "If it's still alright with you, I'll go shower and get a change of clothes so I can stay with you tonight."

"Fine by me." Chase answered. "I'll run you up to your house after I get back to that end of the field and you can just text me when you're ready for me to pick you up."

"Sounds good." Sarah said with another yawn. She laid her head on Chase's shoulder as he made his was down the field.

Chase finished the round and then drove the tractor up to Sarah's house and dropped her off. He then returned to the field to continue his ripping. He knew he had to beat the snow the next evening, but he was well over halfway done and he estimated a good eight hours would be enough to finish the field.

He'd made another five or so rounds when he got a text, which he assumed was from Sarah.

"Hey, have you eaten supper today?" She asked.

"No, I was planning on some popcorn and a lunchmeat sandwich before I went to bed."

"Well, I was gonna make myself some chicken and rice before I had you pick me up. Want me to make a plate for you?"

"Now that's an offer I can't refuse."

"Lol ok. Give me about 20 minutes and then you can pick me up."

"Sounds good. I'll see you in a bit."

"Hey, how about I bring my laptop so we can watch a movie."

"Now you're really talking."

"Cool, I'll see you in a bit."

"I'll probably be about half an hour."

"Alrighty. Love you."

"Love you too."

Chase couldn't help but feel for her for still wanting to stay the night after riding in the tractor with him for half a day. She really was a good woman for him.

At that point, intrusive thoughts took over and he began to wonder if he really was good enough to her to deserve it. Surely, she wouldn't have stuck around all this time if she'd seen anything she didn't like. Then again, he knew from experience that having a crush on someone can leave you with rose colored glasses on.

"Hell," he thought to himself, "sometime here in the next few weeks, I'll probably head back home for the weekend to help with rye."

Thinking of forages made him realize that he probably needed to get his hay blend ordered. He was thinking orchard grass, red clover, and alfalfa.

He also realized he needed to get his wheat for the year ordered. For this year he'd have to use spring wheat, but starting this fall he was going to use winter wheat.

"I've gotta get my drill around too.." He realized. He hadn't even looked at it yet and it likely needed some new parts.

"Guess I know what I'm doing when this snow comes." He thought to himself, realizing he'd kinda shot himself in the foot.

After another few rounds, he'd gotten around two thirds of the field done. He then got a text from Sarah, letting him know she was ready for him to come get her. He finished that pass before heading up the road and pulling into Sarah's driveway. She ran out to greet him with her bag for the night and a covered plate of food. Chase opened the door and she climbed on in. He then took the tractor back to his house and parked it in the equipment shed.

After giving the tractor a couple minutes to cool down, he killed the engine and the two of them went inside.

"Wanna eat real quick while I get a movie picked out?" Sarah offered, her excitement evident in her voice.

"Sure, but I've gotta shower yet tonight too." He replied as he took off his boots and outside clothes.

"That's fine." She replied. "I found a movie I wanna watch with you."

"Uh-oh..." He joked.

"Oh stop," Sarah replied, "it's supposed to be funny."

"Ok, good." He replied. "I'll eat real quick and get showered."

"I'll be waiting." Came her reply.

Chase proceeded to make quick work of the dinner she'd prepared for him and then went to take a shower.

As he stood in front of the mirror drying off. He took a moment to look over his scar again. It had healed extremely well in the sense that it didn't restrict his movement anymore and no longer hurt if he stretched it. However, it was still nearly the same size as it was initially. Looking at it in the mirror stirred doubts in his mind again about how Sarah would feel if she saw it. While she had seen him without a shirt on, he was laying down and she likely hadn't actually paid much attention to it.

"Worry about that later," he told himself, "she's out there waiting for you right now." He smirked realizing he'd never thought he'd be in that situation.

He finished drying off and put on his clothes he wore to bed. He then made his way back out to the living room where Sarah already had the movie picked out and set up to play on his TV. He then turned to the couch to find her wrapped up in a blanket, and her clothes sitting on the couch next to her.

Chase froze in his tracks as he realized what he was in for once he got under that blanket.

"Well," Sarah piped up, "don't just stand there, lose the shirt and shorts and get over here."

"Yes ma'am!" He replied, giving a mock salute. He then stripped down to his underwear, and practically jumped at Sarah on the couch. She opened the blanket to catch him and squealed as he grabbed her and pushed her down to the couch. He planted a firm kiss on her collarbone and gave her a moment to recover.

"Was that what you wanted?" He asked.

"Where the hell has that been this whole time?" Was her reply.

"I don't know." He answered. "I suppose I didn't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable."

"I guess that's fair." She admitted. "But, going forward, don't be afraid to do stuff like that. Because that was fun."

"I might be able to do that." He replied. "Can we watch your movie now?"

"That's fine." She replied.

The two of them shifted their positions so that Chase was laying on the couch and Sarah was on top of them. As the movie began, they laid together under the blanket, and Chase found himself enjoying the feeling of being skin to skin with his girlfriend. Feeling the warmth of her body against his elicited a strange feeling of serenity in him. He squeezed her a bit in a hug and continued to watch the movie.

It was a comedy and got good laughs out of both of them. After it was over, the two of them laid in silence on the couch, enjoying the intimacy of the moment.

"I wanna go to bed, but I don't want to get off the couch." Sarah remarked.

Chase chuckled in response. "Well, I still need to bush my teeth tonight so I'm gonna have to make you get up." He pointed out.

"Ugh, fine." Sarah lamented as she got up, taking the blanket with her. "I'll get my clothes cleaned up and meet you in your bed.

"Sounds good." Chase replied as he got up. He picked up his shirt and shorts and headed to put them in his bedroom.

"Good god!" Sarah called out from behind him.

"What?" He asked looking over his shoulder.

"Is that scar all from your surgery?" She asked.

"Yep." He told her. "It used to look even worse, but it's healed a good bit since the surgery."

"I didn't realize they'd have to cut you up that much..." She said, walking over to him.

"Oh yeah, they have to make sure they get all the oil and dead tissue out." He explained. "If you hadn't taken me to the ER, the cavities under all those scars would have probably gotten infected and swelled up. Injection injuries are nothing to scoff at..."

Chase looked away from her, expecting an "I told you so" but it never came. Instead, Sarah intently ran her fingers along some of the scar as it branched across his back.

"Thank god I took you in then..." She remarked, wrapping him in a hug from behind.

"Yeah..." he replied, relieved that she hadn't taken the opportunity to rub in that she'd been right that day. "I probably wouldn't be here if you hadn't. Or at the very least, I'd be missing an arm."

"Well," she replied, "I'm definitely glad I did."

Chase took a deep breath before responding. "I owe you a hell of a lot more than a thank you for that one..." He said.

Sarah released her hug. "You don't owe me anything." She told him. "You've paid me back more than you realize. Now hurry up and get ready for bed. I'm getting cold."

Chase wordlessly nodded and proceeded to put his shirt and shorts in the place he kept them in his bedroom before heading to the bathroom to brush his teeth. As he did, he thought about the conversation they'd just had. He was relieved that she hadn't tried to rub in the fact that she was right to take him to the hospital that day. He also had expected her to react differently when he'd told her he owed her.

As he finished brushing his teeth, he almost heard his grandpa's voice in his head. "You remember that conversation if you ever doubt how she feels about you."

He sighed as he looked in the mirror. "What the hell did I do right to end up with her?" He thought to himself before turning off the light and heading to his bedroom.

When he arrived, he found the bedroom light off and his bedside lamp on. Sarah was on her phone as he walked in and proceeded to check the weather forecast for the next day.

"Hmm." He thought out loud.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"They moved the rain and snow up to three in the afternoon from seven in the evening." He explained.

The look on Sarah's face revealed her confusion.

"If it rains too much the subsoiler won't do it's job, in fact it'll make the problem worse. It'll also make a mess out of things." He explained.

"Oh..." Sarah replied.

"I'm sure I'll get it finished tomorrow. I'm a little over two-thirds done." He said. "For now, let's get to bed."

"I like that idea." Sarah replied as he turned off the lamp by his bed and climbed into his bed beside her. She waited for him to get comfortable before climbing partly on top of him and resting her head on his chest.

"I love you." Chase told her as he put his arm around her.

"I love you too." Sarah replied. Chase responded by gently kissing the top of her head before allowing himself to drift off to sleep.

When the next morning rolled around, he woke up right before his alarm. He turned it off, not wanting to wake Sarah. Unfortunately, she evidently felt him move because she stirred a bit after he set his phone down.

"Shh..." he whispered, "you can keep sleeping if you want."

She mumbled something he couldn't make out and proceeded to climb fully on top of him and work her arms underneath him.

He wasn't sure what, but something about waking up in the morning to a beautiful woman who just wanted to hold him made him feel something he was pretty sure he'd never felt before.

"That feeling," he thought to himself, "is you falling for her." He hadn't been denying it per se, but he had been somewhat stubbornly avoiding the subject. He didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about her when they first started dating. He took a deep breath, thinking about everything he needed to get done this year. All that to do, and he still couldn't help but fall for this woman.

Sarah interrupted his internal monologuing with a yawn, followed by her stretching her arms and crawling up to give him a kiss. He returned the kiss and she then climbed out of bed and grabbed some clothes out of her bag.

"You don't have to get up..." He told her.

"Well, I need to use the bathroom," she replied, her voice groggy, "and I'm sure you'd like to get started working as soon as you can, right?"

"I suppose." He replied. "If you're getting up, I'm going to get dressed and go get the tractor warming up. Are you wanting to come out with me?"

"I'm not sure yet." She replied. "It'd be nice, but I'm tired and not sure I can stay awake."

"That's fine." He assured her. "You can go back to sleep here, or I can run you home on my way down."

"I'll just sleep here." She answered. "I'll call you or text you when I wake back up."

"That works." He replied. She'd been getting herself dressed during their conversation and by then, she was dressed. He walked up behind her and gave her a hug from behind and kissed her cheek. "If you need something, you know where I'll be."

"Mhmm." She replied. "Be careful."

"I will." He assured her. "Love you." He then released her and went about getting changed.

A few minutes later, he was sitting in the 4650 with the engine warming up. His thoughts were stuck on the woman he'd finally allowed himself to admit he was falling for.

"I'm only making my list of things to worry about one item longer, but it might just be worth it." He thought with a smile as he put the tractor in gear and headed towards the field.