The Farmers Daughter

Chapter 4: Early rising

[ Dallas' POV ]

5:00am, September 8th
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I didn't sleep much, maybe two hours. My sleep was interrupted by a loud ringing beside my head and the crowing of the rooster. "Great.. just great." I mumble and throw the alarm clock to the floor. The back popped off and a battery came out which caused it to shut off. I haul myself up and out of bed without bothering to change out of my makeshift pajamas, black sweatpants and a gray hoodie.

Travis peeks in and smiles like he's won the lottery. "I see the alarm worked or either Henry did the trick." He chuckles a bit and walks down the hall. "I hope you like scrambled eggs and toast."

I slowly follow behind, dragging my feet as I go. "Let me guess.. farm fresh eggs? Your milk is probably from the cows too."

"Check and check. In all honesty it really does taste better." He leads me into the small kitchen/dining room. "I've been raising cows and chickens for ten years now and there's nothing better."
This man was crazy. He was fully dressed and clean shaven, plus breakfast was already out on the table.

"Don't expect me to milk the cows or go fetch eggs from the nasty chickens. That should be your job since you're so familiar with it." I dig into my food like a madman. The only thing I ate yesterday was a bag of chips from the gas station and boy was I starving.

Travis stares at me with disapproval. "Edith hasn't come down yet and we need to say grace. We pray over our food as a family and then we eat together, got it?"

I take another bite of toast and eggs just to mess with the man. "Alright then.. grace grace grace. There, I said it so now I'm eating."

Travis takes my plate and fork away from me. "You're only making life more difficult for yourself. Things won't be so hard if you would listen to people."

It was a good 10 minutes before I heard footsteps coming into the kitchen from behind me. I turned around to see a petite blonde girl smiling from ear to ear, she was as bright eyed and bushy tailed as Travis.

"Mornin' daddy. Sorry I'm late for breakfast." She plopped her backpack down on the floor and took a seat across from me. "I had to finish up on my science project that I didn't get done last night."

"It's okay, pumpkin. The main thing is that you're here with us now." Travis sets a plate down in front of her and gives my plate of half eaten food back to me. "Dallas this is my daughter, Edith. Edith this is Dallas, the boy I was telling you about. Make him feel at home and treat him as if you have a new brother."

Edith scrutinizes me then finally speaks after a moment of silence. "Daddy did tell me a lot about you."

"And here I thought you were an old hag." I smirk and lean back against the wooden chair, arms folded against my chest. "What kind of name is Edith."

"That was my grandmothers name you idi-" She stops when Travis' voice overpowers hers.

He holds a hand up and sighs. "Alright just stop it you two. I'm not starting my day off like this." He turns off the cooktop and sits down at the table between us. "I want a peaceful mornin' so let's give God our thanks and then fill up our bellies." He holds out his hand for Edith which she willingly takes then he reaches for mine.

I don't unfold my arms for him. I wasn't going to hold hands with these weirdos and praise someone I didn't even think existed. "I'm not."

Travis sighs again and they both bow their heads. "Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for letting us wake up today. Thank you for putting Dallas into our lives and help him to grow into a wonderful young man. I ask that you'll keep Edith safe today while she's at school and let her light shine to others; help her to spread the good news, Lord. We ask that you will bless our food this morning, in the name of Jesus, amen."

"Amen." Edith says with a smile before opening her eyes and lifting her head. "God is so good."

I watch them as they begin to eat. This morning routine was so foreign to me and I couldn't wrap my head around it. I vaguely remember doing something like this with my biological family but that was years ago.
For the first time I really got a good look at Edith. She was absolutely beautiful with her dirty blonde hair done in soft waves. Her cheeks were a rosy pink and she wore a peach colored gloss on her full lips. Edith didn't have to paint her face in order to look beautiful, all she did was highlight her features to make them stand out.

"It's not polite to stare." Edith tells me then breaks off a piece of her buttered toast to feed Bo.

"That's right. Especially when it's my daughter." Travis grumbles and shoots me a look. If looks could kill then I'd be dead.

I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding in and picked up my fork. I glanced at Edith again before focusing my eyes on the plate in front of me. My appetite started to fade and my mind was distracted by Edith's chocolate brown eyes and the curve of her lips when she smiled.

"Like I said before, it's not polite to stare." Edith says as she looks straight at me, she wasn't amused.

Was I staring? If I was then I had a reason and the reason was that her beauty took my breath away. Weird.. this was totally weird. I shook my head to clear my sappy thoughts. "So what if I am? Last time I checked I have the right to look at anything I want." I snap at her and move my eggs around in my plate.

Travis takes a sip of his coffee then pushes his chair back so he can stand up. "I think it's time we get things moving. Go get cleaned up and then I'll give you a list of things to do." He speaks directly to me with his back to Edith.

Edith eats quietly, her eyes fixed on her plate. "I should get going soon anyway." She says after a few minutes. She gets up to put her plate and cup in the dishwasher then grabs her bag before bolting out the side door.

Travis taps his foot impatiently as he looks down at me. His 6'4 build was intimidating at this angle. "Don't even think about my daughter in that way."

"What way? I was just looking at her." I stand up from the chair. He didn't tower over me as much now that I was standing, it helped that I'm also 6'1.

"It might be hard to believe but I was once a teenage boy. I know that look because I gave girls my age the look over." He was fuming now. "You stay away from Edith. She's going to make a wonderful life for herself and she doesn't need you to ruin it."

I scoff and shake my head. "You're crazy if you think I want to date a country hick, little miss perfect, Virgin Mary. I'm not going to lie and say she's ugly because she's not but that doesn't mean I want her. Unless she wanted to hookup..."

Travis was quicker than I was and grabbed my shoulders before I could even think about running away. "This is your last warning. No Edith. Do you understand me? Don't think about her, don't touch her, and do not talk to her unless I'm around." The veins in his neck popped out a little as he squeezed my shoulders.

What I did in secret was my business; my personal information. "Oh I understand you, sir. I understand you clearly." A small smirk tugs at my lips as he lets me go. I don't even bother with my dishes so I wander back to my room without a care in the world.

Operation Get Edith To Fall In Love With Me was in full motion. I was ready to sink Travis' ship and spin Edith's life out of control.