Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 02

"There. I think you got it now."

"Thanks." She handed him his phone back and turned to leave, but was stopped by his voice once more.

"Leanne -"

"What?"

She knew he could hear her annoyance, but at this point didn't quite care enough to hide it. She needed to get away from him.

"I, ahem..." he cleared his throat. "I haven't introduced myself properly last night, for which I apologize. My name is Joe McConnell, and I am the Chief Operating Officer here at Sun Valley Farm."

Leanne stared at him, mouth open. "I - what?! Oh gosh..." She clamped her hand over her mouth to stop stronger words from spilling out, and felt her face change colors from beet-red to milky pale and back.

I cannot believe this. He's Mr. McConnell. He must be related to Claire McConnel - her son, probably. And he is my BOSS. And I'd danced with him last night. I KISSED him. I would have -

Joe's next words cut through the panic in her mind. "I can see you are upset about this, and to be honest, so am I. I would never have approached you last night had I known you're my employee."

Leanne nodded miserably. You wouldn't have approached me at all if you knew who I was, employee or otherwise. Joe's voice softened, apparently trying to ease her mind.

"Look - please, no need to be upset. Although everyone on the farm ultimately reports to me, I doubt we'd have much day-to-day interaction. Seasonal workers are trained and assigned to their jobs by my sister, Tammy, who's our CFO and the head of HR. She's the one you'll report to.

Leanne nodded again, somewhat relieved. Okay. You can probably manage to keep your distance then. And they don't know who you are; there's no reason for them to suspect it. You do your job well, earn that money fair and square - and they'd never know, either. What they don't know won't hurt them; it won't hurt you, either. This is a win-win solution, that's why you decided to do it, remember?

Joe gave her a tiny, encouraging smile. "Let's go knock on her office door; I expect she's already up and about. If she isn't there I'll give her a call to let her know you're here."

"Okay."

Joe opened his door to get out of the truck, and Leanne scrambled to unbuckle and jump out before he'd even consider coming around for her. She was relieved when he kept his distance, waiting in front while she reached back to get her bag before joining him.

"So, where to?"

Wordlessly, Joe turned and started walking towards a small building lining the left side of the large courtyard, while Leanne followed a few steps behind him. He stopped to knock lightly on the first door, which was standing open to let the air in.

"Morning, Sis. Your first seasonal is here." Joe said by way of greeting as he walked into the small, neat office. Leanne lingered at the door, unsure if she should step in. Peeking inside, she was greeted by a wide smile stretched across a friendly, freckled, makeup-free face, crowned by a striking mane of bronze-colored curls.

"Oh hi! You must be Leanne. You're a couple of hours early; I like you already! Come on in, have a seat."

Leanne stepped in, and hesitantly took a seat across the wide desk. "Oh - I - thank you."

Tammy must have heard the hint of question in her voice because she chuckled and said - "If you're wondering how I knew it was you, well, you're one of exactly two new seasonals we got this year, and the other one is a guy, so it really wasn't much of a guess."

"Oh."

Tammy's smile turned conspiratory, and she leaned forward to whisper to Leanne, although it was clear she meant for Joe to hear her, too. "All that testosterone on the farm can get a bit much sometimes. I try to even the odds as much as I can."

Leanne would have laughed, if she weren't all-too aware of the potent maleness of the man standing behind her. As it were, she just nodded. "Right."

Tammy chuckled, seemingly amused by her deadpanned agreement. "Good! So, seeing as you're early, let's get you started with the administrative stuff." She pulled a bright green manilla folder from her drawer and handed it to Leanne, along with a pen. "Please fill these out. When you're done, I'll show you to your room so you can get settled before we start Orientation Day at Nine AM."

As Leanne reached for the folder, Tammy returned her attention to her brother. "Need me for anything else, Joe?"

Joe blinked and then took a step back. "Nope. All good for now; you'd make it to our morning sync-up as usual before starting today's training, right?"

"Yeap, that's in thirty minutes. As long as we keep it short, I'm good."

"Great. See you then." He made to leave, then cleared his throat and added - "Er, Leanne - welcome aboard, and good luck."

"Um - thanks, Mr. McConnell" she said, willing her eyes to meet his, seeing a hint of annoyance there when he replied - "It's Joe. Mr. McConnell is my dad; you'll probably meet him sometime this morning. He's the big boss." Leanne mumbled an 'okay, sorry' but Joe had already turned on his heel and walked out, leaving her feeling chastised and pissed off. She bit down on her tongue to keep from venting out her frustration. I get that this is uncomfortable to him, too, but he doesn't have to be a complete ass about it!

When Leanne turned back towards Tammy she caught her staring questioningly at her, then out the open door at her brother's retreating back. But she said nothing, except motion for Leanne to get going on the forms. Relieved, Leanne picked the pen up, and resolved to focus on the task at hand.

That's it. He's gone. Now remember what you came here for: clean the slate for Bill's sake, and get some hands-on experience with animals. Focus. Dwelling on could-be's with Joe McConnell is most definitely NOT it. Move on, girl.

*

As promised, Leanne was soon shown to her room by Tammy. It was tiny, holding only the bare essentials - a single bed, a small desk doubling as a nightstand, a chair, and a single-door closet. But it was clean, with a good-sized window standing open to let good air in, adorned with a semi-transparent, lace-trimmed curtain that gave it a touch of femininity. And best of all - it had an adjacent shower/bathroom all of its own.

Leanne was thrilled.

She had never had a private room with an en-suite all to herself before. The trailer had one bedroom which she had shared with her mother, and in the Rogers' home she'd had a tiny half-room off of Sofia's nursery. Having a private space all for herself was a luxury she'd never expected; in her mind she'd imagined dorms with bunk beds and a shared public shower, like she'd seen once on some long-forgotten TV drama. Leanne stood in the middle of the room, her face lit up in a silly smile. Tammy grinned back at her obvious enthusiasm.

"So, you like?"

"Oh, this is incredible. Thank you so much!"

Tammy chuckled good-naturedly. "You're welcome. It's not the Ritz, but there's good water pressure and the mattress is pretty new. You have about an hour until we start; feel free to walk around and explore in the meantime. The only places off-limits are the main house and the two smaller houses right behind it - those are the family's private homes. Any questions?"

"I - yeah, well, only about a million, but I figure Orientation should answer most of them, so I thought I'd hang on to them until after."

Tammy nodded. "Good! So, we're going to meet at Nine AM at my office. It would be good if you were already in your work clothes - you'll find a couple of pairs in the closet which should be in your size, as well as a pair of work boots. That's why we asked for your measurements on the phone."

"Oh - yeah, I figured. I'll do that."

"Great, see you in a bit then."

"Thanks, Tammy. I appreciate it. All of it. Thank you for this opportunity."

"You're welcome, Leanne. See you soon."

*

An hour into the orientation, Leanne's head was starting to spin with all the new information they'd received. They were four seasonals overall: Tracy and Jennifer were best friends from Santa Rosa and had been coming back for a couple of years now on their summer breaks from College, and Jackson was a newbie like herself, and much younger - fresh out of high-school and obviously eager to please. They seemed nice enough, Leanne thought with relief, and then gave herself a mental shake.

This isn't high-school or college anymore, and you're not the odd one out wishing to fit in. You belong here just as well as them.

With her new resolve she reciprocated their curious smiles, and then returned her attention to Tammy, who was methodically going down her laundry list of information, and was now talking about - well, laundry.

"We take care of laundering your work uniforms - you'll find a couple of changes in the closets in your rooms - but you're responsible for any other clothing items. There's a free laundromat at the end of the building, as well as detergent and softener. If those run out just go up to the kitchen at the back of the main house and ask Mrs. Rojas for more; she'll help you out."

Tammy scanned their faces, pausing on the new ones, and at their nods smiled and gestured around at the large dining area around them. "We'll meet here several times a day. Fresh coffee, tea and biscuits are served every morning at five am, then breakfast is at eight thirty. We lunch at one, and supper at six in the evening. Then the dining room re-opens at eight in the evening if you want to watch some TV or just hang around; there's always some snacks and such available, too."

Leanne was again pleasantly surprised; she knew they'd be getting three meals a day, but hadn't expected to be treated like a guest at a hotel! Tammy noticed the look on her face, and smiled.

"We like our staff to enjoy their stay here; it's more fun for everyone that way. You'll meet Julio and Todd later today when you each start on your designated tasks; they'll teach you everything you need to know about farm work and make sure you do your job right." Tammy paused and looked from one face to the other. "Any questions?"

At their matching shakes she smiled. "All right then; I think that's enough talking for one day. Let's get you stationed." She conferred with her notes for a moment. "Okay, Jackson, you'll be going out to the fields with Julio. Please wait for him here, he should be around any minute. Tracy and Jen, you're on dairy duty as usual; you know what to do. Todd's waiting for you there."

Leanne saw the big smiles on the girls' faces, and figured they liked dairy duty, or Todd, or both. Jackson seemed apprehensive, but just nodded in acceptance.

"Leanne, you'll start at the petting zoo. I'll be with you today."

Leanne just barely contained her squeal of delight. The petting zoo! It was like hitting jackpot on her first day of work. While it had been Bill's situation that had driven her - against her better judgment - to seek employment specifically here at Sun Valley Farm, she was thrilled with the other opportunities it presented her with. She had always loved animals; that was why she took biology and pre-med in college, hoping to become a vet someday. Working the small zoo would be the best kind of hands-on experience she could get.

*

The next couple of weeks flew by quickly, and Leanne took to farm life like a cow to the pasture, or a calf to the udder. She drank it all in in fascinated enthusiasm.

Working the fields was the hardest job, physically speaking, but Julio turned out to be a blast - the wiry older man had a wicked sense of humor, a headful of long tales and a beautiful singing voice, and he'd used all three to make the long hours fly by. He also taught her how to drive a tractor, and she realized that Sam and Steven, Sofia's twin brothers, were absolutely onto something with their fascination with heavy machinery. She had Julio take her pictures mastering the yellow steel monster and had sent them over, along with that image of hers on the hill, for Elaine to show the kids.

Their replies - three separate text messages full of colorful emoticons - warmed her heart. She missed them all so much. Then Elaine's text came - 'how's it going for you there?' - and she ended up taking all of her 15-minute break texting back and forth with her, but it was totally worth it. It wasn't so much what she said, but the way she said it.

She may not live there anymore, but they still cared for her. Leanne smiled.

*

The dairy farm was a marvel of technology. Leanne was surprised and impressed to find that milking process was fully automated, using a robotic milking machine that seemed to be taken out of a science-fiction movie. It replaced much of the manual work that was traditionally involved in herding the cows and adjusting the pumps to their udders, and was utterly fascinating to watch in action.

Even better, all cows were fitted with an electronic bracelet which tracked their vitals and movements at all times and reported it back into a central application. The software, in turn, sent alerts for when a cow got sick, pregnant, in heat, or going into labor. For a wannabe vet like Leanne, it was magical.

Leanne bombarded Todd with a ton of questions, and he had obliged, answering patiently and at length, smiling at her enthusiasm. In his early thirties, he had an athletic build and a dark-and-handsome kind of look, which, along with his friendly demeanor, explained why Tracy and Jen were all over him.

Leanne guessed she might have been, too, if she weren't obsessed, still, with one Mr. Joe McConnel, COO Extraordinair.

As promised, they barely saw each other. Not in any official capacity, anyway. But wherever she turned, he seemed to be there, at the edge of her peripheral vision, drawing her attention away from the task at hand. When their paths did collide, usually around meal times when everyone gathered at the dining hall, he would treat her with detached professionalism.

She told herself it was for the best. He was Clair McConne's son. There could never be anything between them, anyways.

But then, every night, she'd dream of him, and wake up flustered and annoyed.

*

Sun Valley was an active dairy farm, but agro-tourism made a big part of their income, which meant the upcoming summer vacation would be peak season for them. On top of working the fields and the cows and helping Mrs. Rojas in the tiny Cheese Factory, the petting zoo was to be expanded for the summer, and then the seasonal farm market was to be set up.

It was a ton of work, but it was fun to do, and Leanne threw herself into it with enthusiasm. Her contract stated she would get two afternoons off for every week she would work through the weekend, but she had no interest in taking any time. Going out to Santa Rosa held no appeal, and San Francisco was too far out, and way too expensive, to waste her time on.

Instead, she approached Tammy and asked to work those extra shifts for extra pay. Tammy considered her request with a curious look, but then shrugged and agreed.

"Well, yeah, sure, that works for me. Less juggling with the schedule, I guess. But let me know if and when you do want to take any time, okay? Tell me by Friday if you want any time on the following week so that I can work that into the shifts."

Leanne smiled her thanks and left, already doing the math in her head. Two additional half-days meant an extra day of work a week, that would mean an extra fifteen percent income on the same time frame. It wouldn't make a huge difference, but in her situation, every little bit helped.

Her spirits lifted as she was reminded, once more, of the value of diligence and determination. She might be on her own in the world, but she was healthy and smart, and knew how to work hard.

She'd be all right. As long as she didn't get side-tracked.

Hot dreams about handsome, charming impossibilities be damned.

*

Joe found her, as he knew he would, at the petting zoo. She was mucking the empty stalls while the ponies were out, grazing in the enclosed pasture. Joe stopped in the darkened doorway and listened to the sounds coming from the last stall on the right: the rhythmic scrape of shovel against packed dirt set the beat for her out-of-breath, out-of-tune humming.

He chuckled to himself, and walked over to the open stall. Pausing there, he watched her work with growing appreciation. Her movements were smooth, efficient and energetic - even though she must have been on her feet all day. He noticed the lean muscles of her arms flex as she worked, the contours of her slim back visible under her green t-shirt where it clung to her sweaty skin, the dampness of her skin at her nape...

Damn. He was imagining her naked again. Naked and sweaty; moving rhythmically and enthusiastically with him...

Joe coughed, and Leanne swung around so fast a chunk of mucky hay flew from her shovel straight at him, narrowly missing his legs and landing in a wet plop just behind him.

"Oh gosh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that - I didn't hit you, did I?"

"No, no, it's alright. Would have served me right for startling you like that." he said, amused.

Leanne blew a loud breath. "Phew. Okay, yeah. I guess... still. Wouldn't be wise to get my boss all dirty... glad I missed."

Joe did his best to suppress the mental picture of getting dirty with Leanne, and instead focused on the issue at hand. "So, Tammy mentioned you were here today - how come? I thought we'd sent everybody home for the last weekend before the School Year ends?"

Leanne looked uneasy. "I - yes, you did. But I asked Tammy if I could stay."

He looked at her questioningly. "Why? Don't you want to spend this weekend with your family and friends? It's going to be a couple of months before you'd be able to do that again. Summer weekends are crazy around here, we need all hands on deck for them."

Leanne shrugged, and then answered hesitantly: "I - I need the extra cash... Tammy said it was okay?"

"Hmm. I see." Joe said, although he wondered, not for the first time, how badly she needed the money, and what for. They were proud of paying fair wages to all their employees - even seasonals. Why would she be that strapped for cash? But he kept his thoughts to himself.

"Well don't get me wrong; having another pair of hands around today means our own weekend workload is lighter, and I'm happy to pay for it." Leanne breathed in relief, but he wasn't done. "But then again, I also heard you haven't been taking any afternoons off. In fact, everyone's already done it - twice a week, every week they were working the weekend through, as per your seasonal contract - except you. Which means you've been working non-stop for the past three weeks. That's unacceptable."

Leanne looked increasingly uncomfortable, chewing nervously on her plump, pink lower lip. "I - I mean, but -"

Joe shook his head, not letting her finish, though he gentled his voice when he continued.

"Leanne, nobody can work 24/7, seven days a week for an extended period of time without burning out. There's a long summer ahead of us. I'd rather you took your breaks and stayed the course, than work yourself to the ground and then leave early because you cannot do it anymore."

He had a long, heated argument about it with his sister just that morning on their sync-up, when the issue had come up by accident, while discussing some other scheduling issues. In the end his sister agreed that she may have gone too far in allowing an employee to work non-stop, essentially, but since Tammy was going out to town today, it was up to Joe to deliver the message to Leanne.

When he stopped to think about it, he admitted to himself he was pleased at the opportunity to finally speak to her again one-on-one, even if it were solely on administrative issues. It was better than ogling her from afar when no one was looking, not even his own inner guard.