She's Mine

Chapter 11: Learning the Ropes

I give Lizzie a pair of pants and a shirt that can get dirty because we definitely will be getting messy. She puts the clothes on and meets me outside by the pigpen gate to get started.

"You ready to start?" I ask her.

"Sure am. I'm ready to become a farmer!" She says with a big smile on her face.

"Alright let's get started then. So first we need to clean out the feeding bed from yesterday so we can fill it back up. So you can grab that hose over there and we can quickly rinse it out." She walks over and points at the hose on the ground silently asking if it is the right one. I nod and she picks it up and brings it over. "Ok so if you're able to rinse that out then I will go grab the food."

I walk into the storage area and can hear the water running. I'm actually excited to show Lizzie how the farm runs and I can't wait to show her the garden. She's going to be so happy. She's already seen it from a distance but I'm going to let her mess around in there and have some fun.

I grab the pig food off the shelf and walk back over to her. She looks so cute standing there in my big boots and hat. "You finished?" I ask her and she nods. "Ok, the next thing we have to do is just fill it up, half wheat and half corn."

"Sounds easy enough." She says confidently and gets to work. It's going to be handy having some help around here when she's not busy with filming. "Hey, Lizzie. When do you have to go back and film again?"

"I have to go back tomorrow morning. It's an all-day shooting tomorrow so I won't be back until late. I hate those days because it's non stop and I come home exhausted."
She says and sighs knowing that she will be doing that tomorrow.

"I'm sure filming can be really fun though. Those long days may suck but you probably get a lot done right?"

"Yeah, we do. It feels very rushed at some points too. I guess it could be worse." I nod and we continue filling the feeding bed. Once we are done we walk back to the storage room and I show her where I got the food. "So here is where most of the things for the animals are stored. There is the chicken food, goat food and pig food all in these bins and you just scoop it out. There are hoses hooked up pretty much everywhere so I can keep the water-filled up all the time. There are some tools and other things I don't use as much over here. And the best thing is over here." I point to the corner of the room. "These are the poop shovels. I take all the animal waste and shovel it into a wheelbarrow and then bring it over there into the bin. Once it's full I take the four-wheeler and drag it out into the field."

"You have a four-wheeler?!" She says excitedly.

"Yeah, I have two actually!" I reply.

"I have always wanted to ride one! I have been on a motorcycle but never on a four-wheeler."

"Well, that's one thing we will have to do later then," I say and smile. She smiles back and I lead her out into the chicken coop.

"Are you ok to go in here?" I ask her, unsure about how she's feeling.

"Can you um, hold my hand?" She asks. How can I possibly say no to this woman! I nod and hold out my hand for her and she lets out the breath she was holding and relaxes a little bit.

"Can you grab that basket for me then? If I'm down a hand you are going to need to be my other one." I joke and she laughs while grabbing the basket. "Ok, so every morning I usually come out and collect all the eggs from the chickens. They can get pretty protective sometimes but they are used to me so I just shew them off."

I start collecting the eggs placing them gently in the basket still holding her hand. A few minutes later, one of the chickens flaps down from the top of the coop and she jumps hugging me tightly. "Lizzie it's okay. They aren't going to hurt you. I promise." I say, trying to make her feel better. She releases her grip after realizing that she was latched on to me.

"Sorry." She says quietly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I act exactly like that if I see a snake or a spider. I scream too. Those things scare me too much. You would think I would get used to them living on a farm and all but something just doesn't sit right with me about them." I think what I said makes her feel a little better because she releases her shoulders that were tensed and her eyes look calm again.

"I'm almost done and then we can get out of here ok." She nods and I speed up a little bit wanting to get out of the chicken coop for her. I finish collecting the eggs and I ask her to put the eggs by the front door for later while I fill up the chicken food. She does what I ask and meets me back at the gate while I finish feeding them.

"So after I collect the eggs and fill up their food I either package the eggs or go deal with the goats. So what do you want to do first?" I ask her, not caring what she chooses.

"Can we go package the eggs first? I want to sit down for a minute after hanging out with the chickens."

"Sure!" We walk back to the house, take our boots off and sit at the table. "So the egg cartons are in this cabinet and the price stickers are in here. I usually keep a carton for myself every couple of days too."

"That is so cool. You can just go outside and get fresh eggs for your breakfast anytime you want." She says sounding amazed.

"I never really thought about that. I guess it is pretty cool!" I set the cartons and stickers on the table and sit down. "Okay, so all we do is fill each carton up and make sure it's fully closed before placing the sticker on the middle sealing it shut. And try not to break any if you can help it."

"Mhmm. Alright. I can do that!" Lizzie says and starts doing the task exactly how I said it. She's a good listener and a good worker too. A few minutes later I shift my eyes up at her to see how she's doing. She looks so focused and is biting her bottom lip as she fiddles with the carton trying to close it. Ugh, she's amazing. I continue
packaging the eggs which don't take long since there are two of us and when we finish I put them all in the storage fridge.

"I keep all the fresh products in here until the guys come pick them up to be sold," I inform her and she nods letting me know she heard me.

"That was actually kind of fun. It went by quickly with us both doing it!" She says and I agree.

"Well, I think it's time for a snack break before we head to the goats. What do you think?"

"Good idea. I'm a bit snacky right now actually."

"Okay. Snack break it is then!"
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Hey everyone! I just say that I reached 1k reads today! Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you are enjoying!

The next couple chapters are going to be very Lizzie filled and some stuff goes down so get ready!