Realistic or Modern Big Sky Country

[Darkbloom]

It was a beautiful day on the Texas ranch, filled with sounds of animals, birds chirping, and the thunder of hooves hitting the ground as the horses ran wild in the sprawling fields. Not far away from all this land was a two story farmhouse, kept meticulously clean over the long years it has stood here. This was a family of a mom, a dad, and their son who they gave the name 'Ames'. He was out in the front yard taking leaves into piles, and carting them off to the large garden.

Ames didn't know they were going to receive a visitor today. His parents had kept him in the dark, thinking it would be a good surprise to see a woman close to his age show up. "AMES!" that was his dad calling for him, and being the mostly nice guy that he is, walks over to hear what he has to say. "What do you need, dad?"
"Go check up on the chickens. Collect any eggs you find, clean the chicken house, give them food and water, and throw these scraps to them." Ames nods and goes to put away the rake, walking behind the house to the chicken coop. His mom soon joins his dad on the porch, holding onto his arm and resting her head on his shoulder, talking about some things.

Lacey

 

[Lacey]

Lilith stepped out of the cab that brought her to her new destination - a ranch. She never thought she would be caught dead at one but yet here she was. She let out a sigh as she walked up to the porch. She took in the scent of wild animals and outdoor air, making a shudder go down her body. It was nothing like the city where she was used to. There were no tall buildings, busy traffic crowding the roads, the risk of someone bumping into her with every step she took.

Her eyes landed on a man and a woman sitting on the porch, next to each other. She assumed they were who she had been in contact with about needing some help on the ranch. Lilith had no intention of taking up the opportunity but it was the only chance she had with no work experience. She put a smile on her face as she approached the couple, "Mr. and Mrs. Jamison? I'm Lilith."

 

[Darkbloom]

Mrs. Jamison smiles sweetly and Mr. Jamison nods gruffly. "Hello, dear! We hope you didn't have any trouble finding the place. Please do come in. I recently finished a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Soft and gooey, just how my men like them!" She hums a tune, going into the house, leaving Mr. Jamison outside. "Now now, honey. She didn't drive here herself, it was the cab driver's job to find this place." He watches as she retreats into the house. "Oh well. Do you need help with your bags? I could have them brought in for you."

Before Lilith has a chance to answer, he calls for his son. "AMES! WE HAVE A GUEST, COME MEET HER!" Ames has pretty good hearing, so he finishes cleaning up the chicken coop and walks to the front of the house. "Yes paw, who's here?" Ames' accent has a slight drawl to it when he speaks, but it's not much different from what Lilith knows from the city. He takes off his cowboy hat when he sees Lilith, revealing his short blond hair and his dark, piercing blue eyes like staring at a body of water.

"Ames, this is Lilith. She's taken the opportunity to come help us out for a while. So I expect you to teach her everything you know."
Wow... She's really pretty... Ames takes hold of her hand lightly but firmly in his own big, strong hand in a handshake like he was taught when meeting people. "Ms. Lilith, it's nice to meet you. Seems paw wants me to teach you how things work around here, so I will." His paw interjects. "But first, the promised snack. Come on in both of y'all. Mom has a treat prepared for all our hard work today." He turns and walks into the house. Ames motions to the door. Ladies first, Ms. Lilith."

 

[Lacey]

Lilith initially felt overwhelmed by the obvious southern hospitality they immediately showed her. She was used to the rude glares of city people back home. She shook her head as she kept a grip on her bags, "Oh, no. I got them, thank you though." Lilith jumped slightly when Mr. Jamison calls for who she assumes is their son.

Lilith looked towards the figure who approached them. She kept the smile on her face as the man named Ames shook her hand. She gave a nod of her head, "I'll need lots of teaching because this is like a whole other planet to me," She joked with a slight giggle. Ames was very handsome for a country boy, she thought to herself. She snapped out of her thoughts as Ames motioned to the door for her to walk in. She felt a light pink tint take her cheeks as she walks into the house, taking an initial look around.

 

[Darkbloom]

Walking inside the house, there is a lot of old pictures on the wall of how the farmhouse looked back in the late 1800s onward. Pictures of a man wearing a civil war soldier outfit, pictures of him coming home to this land and being greeted by his family with a group hug. One wall has a timeline of pictures on it from the beginning of the civil war to the family that lives here now, the descendants. Numerous trinkets from the war too, an old sword, an old rifle with the bayonet attached to it, a display case with war money, old bullets, and the outfit which was worn by the man in the picture also hanging up on the wall in its own display case.

There are two couches in the room, a loveseat, a couple rocking chairs that have all been made by hand. Most of the furniture in this house was in fact hand made, and none too shabby looking. Mrs. Jamison brings in a plate of cookies, the scent enveloping the entire room. "You sure do know how to make good cookies, honey." Mr. Jamison is in bliss, as is Ames when he bites into the soft cookie. "I swear these cookies get better every time, maw!" There's a spot of chocolate on Ames' face. Mrs. Jamison laughs and says "I told you not to eat cookies so fast! You'll get sicker than a mule who ate what he shouldn't have." She wipes the chocolate off his face with a wet cloth fetched from the kitchen.

Mr. Jamison takes a long sip of his black coffee, turning to Lilith. "We ain't too formal around these parts. I go by Chet, and my old lady is Melissa, or Mel. We've lived in this house for a good long time. At least me, I grew up here with my parents and inherited it when they were too old to run the business. It's been passed down since the beginning of the civil war, see. I'm sure you saw all the memorabilia on the walls. My son here went to high school and college in a different state, but he missed us too much so he came back as soon as he graduated." Chet can't help but give off a low chuckle, making it pretty clear how Ames has a low voice as well.

 

[Lacey]

Lilith, again, felt overwhelmed by the decorated walls and sentimental trinkets enveloping the space. It was very different from the bare walls of the houses she grew up in. Her mom was never home and definitely not present enough to make their childhood house feel like a home. Lilith's eyes took in the furniture that she could tell was home made. Everything about the house so far was just beautiful.

Lilith took in the scent of the chocolate chips cookies as they filled the room. She took one and took a bite. The cookie seeming to just melt in her mouth. She finished her cookie before complimenting Mrs. Jamison, "These cookies are amazing. Thank you," She said before stealing a glance at Ames, spotting the chocolate on his face as his mom wiped it off. Lilith held back a giggle.

Lilith took notes of the couples' names, Chet and Melissa. "Thank you both again for having me. You have a beautiful home," Lilith told Chet, glancing around the room again.

 

[Darkbloom]

"Thank you, young lady. Between the three of us, a lot gets done everyday. But things will be picking up here soon. Ames can explain how things work pretty well, having grown up here learning from me." Whatever coffee there had been in Chet's cup was now gone. "There will be time for socializing more, but I think we best get back to work. Since you just got here, you can relax. We wake up at 4 am to begin working the ranch each day, so please be prepared for that." Chet stands up slowly while Melissa speaks up.

"Like my husband said, please do relax for today. I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. It's probably not what you're accustomed to, but the room has no small amount of charm to it!" Melissa is a bit more lively than her husband, standing up quickly, taking the uneaten cookies to the kitchen and returning to lead Lilith upstairs. While there, the two women can hear Chet telling Ames to get back to work. "Those logs aren't going to cut themselves, son!"
"Yes paw, I'll get right to it." He grabs the ax and walks outside to start chopping logs.

Melissa opens the door to the room Lilith is staying in during her time here. The walls are painted in a light yellow with a window facing the free roaming horses. A few pictures are on the walls here too, mostly paintings of the Texas landscape and some animals. Each of them have a signature, upon closer inspection have "M. Jamison" written in the lower right corner. There's a bed in the corner, a small desk in front of the window and a dresser closer to the entrance, all of which have been handmade and polished with a finisher for a smoother appearance.

"The bathroom is at the end of the hall, including a bath and shower set up. Ames' room is the first door on the left closer to the stairs." The bed has fresh sheets and pillowcases on it, and Melissa shows Lilith how the window blinds work. "You'll be working with Ames for the most part, but if you need anything he can't help with, you can always come to me, dear!" She pats Lilith on the shoulder. "It's up to you how to spend the rest of your day, but like my old man also said, we wake up at 4 am each morning. You can use the alarm clock we have here or whatever else works for you. Maybe the cat will grace you with her presence someday!" Melissa laughs with a twinkle in her eye.

 

[Lacey]

Lilith made eye contact with Chet and Ames, nodding politely with a smile as she exited the room with Melissa, following her to the room she would be staying in. She set her bags down on the floor close to the dresser.

She took in the light yellow walls and the paintings decorating the room. She noticed the signature on the paintings, "These are beautiful," She remarked. She admired art since she had no artistic ability. Lilith's eyes then moved out the window, gazing out at the open land as the horses ran around. It seemed so peaceful out there. A lot different than the crowded environment on the city.

Lilith turned her attention back to Melissa and nodded her head to signal she understood, "Yes, ma'am. Thank you again," She said with a smile.

 

[Darkbloom]

Ames continues his work for the day, setting up logs on the chopping block and splitting them in two with the ax, sometimes three pieces if he's lucky. For Ames, it was peaceful being outside. There were many days he would chop wood to vent frustration and by the end of it he had calmed down, either by the manual labor or when his paw would notice and have a talk about it. Lilith... I understand the need for help but it might be difficult for her with the more strenuous ranch jobs.

A few minutes later, the old family dog trots up to Ames, wagging his tail and looking for attention. He smiles and lays down the ax, petting and scratching behind the dog's ears. "Good boy, Nigel." The dog was a black lab, and starting to get gray hair. "You've been a great dog and companion all these years. Just wanted you to know that." Nigel was still wagging his tail and panting.

 

[Lacey]

Once Lilith was alone, she sat on the bed and let put a sigh. She was feeling overwhelmed. This was nothing like she had done before. She wasn't even sure if she could manage it but at least Ames didn't seem to have an objection to helping her learn the ropes. She needed a better way to spend her time then running the city roads anyway.

Lilith pondered on going to find Ames and seeing if he needed some help with anything even if they said they didn't need her to start until tomorrow. However, she had no idea on how to start finding where he was at.

 

[Darkbloom]

After some time passes, Ames is wrapping up the day as the light starts fading. He realizes Lilith hasn't been taken around the property yet, so he grabs his shirt that he took off some time ago and walks inside. He wasn't about to put that sweaty thing back on again, and he was curious to see how Lilith would react seeing him without a shirt. He laughs internally, thinking it to be a good tease.

Ames walks upstairs and knocks on Lilith's door. "You in there? I remembered you haven't had a tour of the ranch, and there's a lot to visit. Luckily, the light isn't gone yet so there's plenty of time to see everything before sunset." He waits for her response, thinking of various scenarios that could cause no small amount of trouble having a woman around to help him every day. But in all honesty, that's partially what he's looking forward to.

 

[Lacey]

Lilith took out one of her books and settled into the bed. Reading was one of her favorite pastimes to relax. There was a knock at the door, followed by Ames's voice that startled Lilith slightly. It took her a second to recover and answer him. She closed her book and set it down on the bed.

Lilith climbed off the bed and opened the bedroom door, giving Ames a smile, "I'm down for a tour," She told him. It was probably the best time for a tour versus trying to fit it in tomorrow when she was sure there would be plenty to get started on doing.

 

[Darkbloom]

"All right. I'm going to take a quick shower from having chopped wood then a tour it will be." Ames turned to go to the shower, his broad shoulders and loose, worked out muscles moving ever so slightly as he walked. Five short minutes later he was done with his shower and in front of her door again, smelling fresh and looking not too bad with wet hair clinging to his head. "Ready to go?"

 

[Lacey]

Lilith nodded her head. She couldn't help but watch as he walked away, taking in his features. He really was handsome. Lilith chewed at her bottom lip for a few seconds before snapping herself out of her trance. She went back and sat on the bed, reading a few more pages before she heard Ames voice again.

She looked up and nodded her head, standing back up and leaving her book. She exited the bedroom and started to follow Ames's lead.

 

[Darkbloom]

Once the pair exits the house, the tour begins. "We have a ranch with a total of one hundred acres, shared by ten different animals you'll see shortly." Ames blows a sharp whistle and Nigel comes running to him, wagging his tail and panting. He scratches behind Nigel's ears while talking. "This is Nigel, our herd dog. He's not the standard dog cowboys use but he's as good as they all come. Getting old, though. We'll need to invest in another herd dog soon. We let him wander the property as he pleases. And then there's our cat, Blackie. It's rare to see her around, but if she wants attention she'll show up. Or when it's feeding time."

He motions to the first yard, free of any animals. "The side yard, for entertaining large groups of people if they come around. Also good for various outdoor sports." In the next field are roaming cattle, eating grass, laying down, or doing other cattle related things. "That's the designated cattle field where we raise them for beef to help ourselves survive and sell or trade to other ranches. The big building you see behind it is where all the food and water is kept for all the animals on the ranch."

He leads her behind the house where there are more fields and a smaller barn. "Directly behind the house are the chickens. That barn is for smaller parties with friends. Behind that is the sheep." He walks by the fields and buildings as he explains what animals are kept in each of them. "Your room has a site of the horses, who get the largest amount of land between all the animals. Diagonal from the horses are the last four. Elk, bison, alpacas and ostriches."

 

[Lacey]

Lilith follows Ames's lead as he shows her around the ranch and shows her where all the different animals reside. She gives a smile to Nigel and pets him softly. Some of these other animal species she hadn't seen in the flesh before. Her eyes almost bulged out of her head when he said a hundred acres. She had never seen so much land in one place. The houses she grew up in she was lucky to have half an acre.

"It's got to be some hard work to keep this place up and running but looks like your family does a great job," She stated as she took in the tour. She hoped she would be more help than trouble.

 

[Darkbloom]

"It's not for everyone. Helped me a lot to get into shape since I've been working here all these years." The sun was slowly drooping below the horizon, casting a golden glow over the entire ranch. "Come, we can make it to the recreational barn sunset lookout before it gets too low." Without thinking, he takes hold of her hand as if it's the most natural thing in the world, walking by her side to the barn lookout. It has a balcony on the east and west sides, likely for watching both sunrise and sunset. Two minutes later they are on the balcony, and Ames releases her hand to lean on the rail while he waits for the sunset.

"It's hard to beat Texas sunsets. All you have out here is open land and the sky. Nothing to get in the way of the view, which is one of the reasons why I'll be taking over the family business when paw gets too old. Need to take care of as much as we can so I can see about hiring more ranch hands when the time comes." His dark blue eyes look at Lilith. One could get lost in them if they weren't careful. "You coming here also helps me, to learn the best way to teach ranching and all that comes with it. With each new hire though, I'll have to adjust the teaching method. Paw says everyone learns differently."

 

[Lacey]

Lilith felt her heart beat a little faster as Ames took her hand as he leads her to the balcony. Lilith's heart calmed down as he let go of her hand. She followed his lead and leaned on the balcony as well. The sky took on an orange and purple tint as the sun worked on setting. It was a beautiful sight. One that was quite easy to miss in the city.

"Yeah. This beats the view you get in the city," She told Ames. Lilith's light blue eyes met Ames's dark eyes as he begun to tell her about taking over the family business when it came time, "Well, I'm glad to be your guinea pig then," She teased, adding a slight giggle.

 

[Darkbloom]

Her laugh sure is something else. It's... Oh, what's the word? Refreshing? No, that doesn't work. Lively! I think that's it. The sun finally drops below the horizon and the stars begin appearing in the sky. Ames starts to leave the balcony. "Early day tomorrow. We best get to bed." One of the rungs on the ladder to the second floor is looking quite worn out. It could break at any time. He descends first to prevent a potential fall if the rung happens to break.

"Careful coming down. One of the rungs feels like it's about to break. I'll see about fixing it tomorrow." Is it bad that he secretly hopes it WILL break so he can catch Lilith? Maybe it is. One thing he isn't fond of on the ranch are all the things that could go wrong any time. The outside elements are gorgeous, but deadly as well. Extremely windy days are one of the worst weather mishaps for ranches.

 

[Lacey]

Lilith let out a relaxing sigh as the stars begun to make their appearance. There was so much going on in the city that there wasn't many stars to gaze at on nights like this. Lilith felt sad when Ames mentioned leaving due to an early day tomorrow. He was right though so she didn't make a fuss.

Lilith watched as Ames made his way down the ladder. She bit her bottom lip in doubt when he said he felt like one of the rungs was on its way out. She was clumsy even on a good day. She took a deep breath and descended down the ladder, happy once her feet met the ground safely.

 

[Darkbloom]

Ames is relieved nothing happened. Wouldn't be a great first day on the ranch. "Glad the loose rung didn't break. I couldn't bear having anything happen to such a pretty lady as yourself." I really just went there, didn't I? He is slightly embarrassed, berating himself internally. Maybe it wasn't such a bad call speaking that sentence. At least she knows I won't be at around the bush.

The front door has been open all day so after Lilith and himself are back inside, he closes the door for the night. "Now you know where everything is. It'll be easier to remember after a few days of working in all these areas." He feels a tense silence, and breaks the silence soon. "I meant what I said earlier. You really are a pretty lady. I'm glad to have the opportunity of working with you for however long you'll be here."

 

[Lacey]

Lilith was quite surprised herself that the rung didn't give out on her, causing her to plummet to the ground. That would be her luck. However, she shook off the thought and followed Ames back to the farmhouse. It took a second for Ames's next words to register with her but once they did, a slight pink color took on her cheeks. Did he just call her pretty? Lilith gave him a smile as they entered the farmhouse.

Lilith nodded her head. She hoped she would be able to find her way around a little easier once a few days had passed because if anyone asked her where something was right at this moment, she would have no idea. Lilith met Ames's eyes as he talked. His words were sweet. "Thank you. I'm excited to be here," She told him before adding, "And you aren't too bad looking yourself." Did she really just say that? Lilith felt like palming her forehead.

 

[Darkbloom]

Ames smiles coyly, as if he knows his appeal. During his college days, he overheard the girls talking about their most desired guy. It was more often than not the cowboy type like he is, blond hair, blue eyes, square jawline, freshly shaven. "Of course. I appreciate it. Good night, Lilith." It's easy to see his tiredness as he walks to his room and closes the door. Ames is sure he could stay up all night with her, with nothing other than talking. She seems to be curiously inquisitive, which will help on the ranch.

4 am next day
Ames drags himself out of bed, yawning and stretching his limbs. He hears his maw and paw already awake and moving around downstairs with the lights on, making breakfast and smalltalk while he smells eggs and bacon cooking on the stove. He gets dressed for the day and heads downstairs. "Morning. This smells great, maw!" He takes in the scent of breakfast, and soon she puts a plate in front of him and paw and leaves one out for Lilith. "Of course it smells good you silly boy!" She jokes, slapping him on the shoulder. "A lot to take care of today, son." Chet says between chews.

 

[Lacey]

Lilith gave him a smile before watching him turn around and head to his room. She let herself relax, just now realizing she was tensed up. She closed the bedroom door and put on some comfy clothes before falling into bed.

4AM came early that day. Lilith's alarm went off and she groaned softly, shutting it off as quickly as she could. She slowly opened her eyes, though there was no blazing sunlight at this hour that she had to adjust to. She rubbed her eyes and got dressed in a t-shirt and some shorts that she didn't mind if they got dirty, slicked her hair back in a ponytail and made her way downstairs. The delicious smell of breakfast hitting her. She gave the family a smile, "Good morning," She said softly.

 

[Darkbloom]

"Mornin." Chet replies gruffly, opening today's newspaper. "Good morning dear, I already set your plate up! Right over here!" Melissa pats a chair at the table, which happens to be the same side where Ames is sitting. Mel subtly moves the chair closer to her son with a wide smile. Ames is nearly finished with his breakfast, not really paying attention to the chair moving closer to him. "G' morning. Hope you ain't too tired. Always something to do on a ranch." Ames looks at his paw. "Anything good in there, paw? Good news for ranchers?"

Chet frowns, shaking his head. "The prices on animal feed are hiking up. If this goes on any longer, no one will want to buy animals or food from us with rising prices." He puts down the newspaper and sighs. "Things were so much easier fifty years ago. That was the best time to be alive. Everyone was kind to each other, the prices stayed the same for decades, and it was all around good business. We ain't ever seeing that happen again..." Melissa puts a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Where there's a will, there's a way, my love. We have not one but two brilliant minds here to help us!" It shouldn't be possible to smile any bigger but she does, positively radiating.