Drifting into Darkness by J.M. La Rocca Page A

her suggestion made sense too. I ate a second lunch and took a nap in the living room while mom did whatever it was she did all day. I woke up when my dad got home and we ate dinner together while I told my father about the farm. He seemed genuinely happy that I found a job and that I opted to work on a farm rather than try to find a job at the mall. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to imply, but I thought best to just leave it alone. I spent the rest of the night at my place, soaking in the tub and fell asleep in bed watching TV. I didn’t get to call Erin like I wanted to, so I’d have to make the effort to try and call her after work.
    I really didn’t want to get out of bed for another day of labor, but I was sure they all said that when their alarm went off at five thirty in the morning.
    Walking like an old woman, I made it to the bathroom and took a long hot shower. Being somewhat presentable was not in the cards today. Old ripped khaki shorts, and plain white t-shirt, with my hair in a messy bun was all they were getting from me. It even hurt to lift my arms to brush my hair. It was sad that I was aching so much. I was twenty years old and had nonexistent muscle mass, but I was sure that would change by the end of the summer.
    After grabbing my coffee, a spare change of clothes, and some Ibuprofen for my aching muscles, I left for another day working on the farm.
    I pulled up with two minutes to spare. Nan was in her rocker with a cup of coffee, looking as she did the day before.
    “Good Morning,” I said softly as I passed by her to clock in.
    “Good mornin’, dear. Lisa is already in the bean house so go on down there after you’ve signed in,” she smiled.
    “Okay, thanks.”
    After signing in, I told Nan I’d see her later, and then made my way to the bean house. They already had beans on the conveyer and Marco was already working on the bags.
    “Hola, Seniorita,” Marco beamed.
    “Hola, Marco,” I smiled. His happy mood was infectious even though I wasn’t fully awake yet.
    Lisa looked up with a smile when she heard Marco. “Hey, there you are.” I walked up to the conveyer and took my place beside Lisa, wiping at the sweat that had already formed. “How ya feelin’ today?”
    I turned my head slowly and looked at her dismayed. “I feel like someone ran me over with a Mack truck.”
    This caused her to giggle as she picked at the beans. I raised an eyebrow at her in question. “Girl, you’re preachin’ to the choir over here. I know exactly what ya mean.” I scanned the beans and picked out the bad ones, tossing them in the bucket at my feet as she continued. “Back when I first started, it was hard for me to get out of bed. Especially at fifteen, dawn was an unheard of time. But you’ll get used to it. It’ll take your body a week or so.”
    “I’m hoping sooner than that. I feel like an old woman. I bet Nan got ready faster this morning than I did,” I joked.
    Lisa shook her head and laughed. “So, today’s Friday. It’s goin’ to be a little different than other days of the week. Fridays are Derek and Landon’s days off. They live on the farm so it’s inevitable that they work on the weekends too. So on Fridays they do the things they need to do that they can’t do on the weekend.”
    “Who takes care of the horses then?” I knew that this was one of the main things Landon did around the farm. I wanted to know if I’d be dealing with anyone else in his absence.
    “Well, he already let the horses out to the pasture this mornin’, but he won’t be back out there until later this afternoon to bring ’em in. Marco will help with the corn bags this morning and you’ll be on your own at the stables.” She turned to look at me. “You okay with bein’ on your own?”
    I knew she was asking me because I told her about my shovel breaking the day before, but kept the confrontation to myself. She had laughed and said she’d told Landon to buy a new shovel for months or use