Chapter 1

The season of spring is famous for the idea of new life. A time of year when the snow melts, the grass begins to grow once again, and people comes out of hibernation to start a new year. The air is cool, the birds are migrating from the south, and the animals come out after resting through the winter. As everyone prepares for a new year, the dreams of many starts to take shape.

In the wide blue ocean, there is a boat that is carrying a very special passenger. As the boat heads to the small community of Mineral Town, a beautiful young lady rushes to the front of the boat where she clings to the railing. She can barely take the anticipation as the boat gets closer to the dock. Her long blonde hair dances with the ocean breeze, and her aqua blue eyes glisten as she approaches her new home. It has been a long trip, and she can’t wait to start her new career as a rancher.

Resting in the pocket of her overalls is an ad from a newspaper. The ad tells of a farm for sale in Mineral Town. She couldn’t believe how affordable the land is, no time was wasted before it was purchased for her. She dreams of filling the farm with all types of animals, especially a horse to race across the globe. Her dream is about to come true, she can’t wait to get started.

Once the boat reaches the dock, she disembarks and takes a look around. The air is salty, the temperature is refreshing, and not a cloud in the sky. There couldn’t be a better day to start her journey. She nods, then rushes off the dock as fast as her sneakers can take her. Her rucksack is bouncing on her back with a nametag dangling. The name “Claire” is written on it.

As she enters Rose Square for the first time, she takes a moment to take in the sights of the town she will call home from now on. The village where she came from was too country with old fashioned homes and dirt roads. Mineral Town is more modern with brick roads, streetlights, and the houses are so close together. She may be used to the old dirt roads of her old home, but she feels she can easily get used to the new town.

In the square, she finds a trio of middle aged women gossiping and some children playing nearby. Everyone seems so happy, she can’t wait to meet the locals after settling into the farm. She decides to take the long route to see more of the town before heading to the farm. Heading north, she finds the church of Mineral Town. She sees a couple of men chatting outside the church; the pastor named Carter and a vagabond named Cliff. She waves at them, and they wave back. As Claire heads up the road, Cliff can’t help himself but watch her whispering “so pretty.” In a matter of seconds, he is already in love.

As Claire continues down the road, she passes by the clinic to see more people chatting outside. Doctor Trent is giving a consultation to a young man named Rick about his mother. They stop with amazement as Claire waves at them. Her long golden hair catches their eyes as they wave back blushing.

“Who is that,” asked Rick.

“Don’t know, but she is really cute,” answered Doctor Trent.

Claire takes a left at the corner, then heads down the quiet road. She finds the library to her left, and the blacksmith and chicken ranch further down the road. As she gets close to the blacksmith shop, a young man named Gray walks out to get some air. He wipes his brow and adjusts his Uma hat as the cool air caresses his skin. It takes him no time to notice Claire passing by. She waves at him, he then waves back hiding his face with his hat. Her lovely blue eyes makes his heart beat a little harder. “She’s so cute. Who is she,” Gray asked himself.

Up ahead, she can finally the farm where she’ll live from now on. She walks up the steps, then crosses the gate into the farm property. She gasps as she takes a quick look around. The field is empty, but she quickly imagines it filled with grass and livestock. She gasps once again as she sees the stable, barn, and coop around the farm. They are old buildings, but she can use them with some love and elbow grease. She beams with anticipation, she can’t wait to get started.

She sees the farm house she will be living in. The house is huge, big enough to fit a whole family comfortably. She also finds a young man standing in front of the house. He looks slightly older than she is, and he is wearing a blue country outfit. “Could that be Mayor Thomas,” she whispers to herself. She heard that Thomas was a short man, but this person is quite tall. “Oh, I get it, he must work nearby. It wouldn’t hurt to introduce myself.”

Claire walks up to the young man, “hello there!”

The young man turns around and greets her with a warm smile, “good afternoon. It’s nice to meet you.” He then extends his hand to Claire, “my name is Jackie Greenvalley. People just call me Jack. What’s your name?”

She shakes his hand, “my name is Clarissa Aoi, call me Claire for short. I just moved here to Mineral Town, I hope we can be friends.”

“What a coincidence, so did I. I’m waiting for Mayor Thomas to give me the deed to the land I bought.”

“Same here. Where is he anyway?”

“I’m right here,” said Thomas, the mayor of Mineral Town as he walks into the farm behind them. He looks at both Jack and Claire with a smile on his face as he declares, “well look at that! You two already met each other. That makes this a little easier. Welcome to Mineral Town. I am the Mayor, you two can call me Thomas. It brings me joy seeing young folk like you two showing interest in the ancient art of farming. On behalf of Mineral Town, we would like to thank you two for purchasing land here to start your careers. Just so you know, the town will appreciate all your hard work and effort. Together, the town will thrive!”

They both nod cheerfully. Thomas hands them each a document and a set of keys, then says, “here are your copies of the deed to the farm for each of you. I hope to see some great results as you share the farm. Come by my office if you have any questions.”

Thomas then turns around and heads back into town. Jack and Claire look at the paperwork and notices that they are both identical. They then look at each other, it takes them a moment to realize that they both purchased the same exact plot of land and they are expected to share it. “Hey,” they both scream as they chase the mayor.

Thomas turns around, “is there anything wrong?”

“Yeah, something is definitely wrong,” answered Claire.

“You sold the farm to both of us! That wasn’t part of the deal,” said Jack.

“My goodness, I don’t understand what you could possibly mean,” said Thomas. He then pulls the contracts out of his jacket pocket that Jack and Claire signed. “According to article 13 of the contract you two signed, each of you paid for half of the farm. It says right here in the fine print that you qualify for the fifty percent discount if someone else covers the other half. That means both of you are co-owners of the farm, and must share it.”

“Crap, nobody reads the fine print,” whines Claire.

“This is still unacceptable, I want my money back,” demanded Jack.

“I’m afraid that I can’t do that.” Thomas points at another part of the contract, “article 15 of the contract says; the sale of the farm is final, and no refunds can be given. The farm belongs to both parties, unless someone abandons the farm or agrees to buy the other person’s share.” He then puts the contracts away, “any other questions?”

“I guess not,” Jack answered feeling defeated.

Thomas smiles, “good. Now if you two would excuse me, I have a lot of work to do. Have fun with the farm you two, we all are counting on you.” He then leaves.

Jack then takes a deep breath and looks at Claire. He then pats her shoulder saying, “I guess we’re going to be co-workers and roommates from now on. Lets take a look at the house.”

“Wait, you can’t be serious! We can’t live together, I don’t even know you!”

“If you have any better ideas, or you have some extra cash for my half of the farm, then I’m all ears. Otherwise, what choice do we have?”

Claire hates to admit it, but he is right. She has no money, so she will have to share the house and farm with Jack. She should have known that a cheap farm was too good to be true. She takes a deep breath and joins Jack to look at the house. She can only hope that things won’t get awkward before she can figure something out.

Inside the house, Jack and Claire gasps with amazement as they notice the house clean and newly renovated. The electricity is working, the water in the kitchen is running, the bathroom furniture is new, and everything is ready to move in. They are happy with the house so far.

“I wonder where are the bedrooms,” asked Jack as he drifts around the house.

“Over here,” answered Claire in a nervous tone. Jack walks over to the bedroom door and takes a look. There is only one large bedroom in the house with two beds. A full size bed and a queen size each of them in the opposite sides of the room. “They actually expect us to share a room?”

“I’m fine with it,” answered Jack. He then walks to the full sized bed and lays down getting comfortable. “I’ll take this bed, why don’t you get the bigger one? I’m more comfortable with smaller beds anyway.”

“Gee thanks. What a gentleman you are,” she said sarcastically. Claire leaves the room and takes another look around the house. She lets out a stressful sigh as she processes the fact that she has a surprise roommate. The house and farm is nice enough, so she’ll just have to accept it for now. After all, they both spent all their savings on buying the property. They will have to learn to live together peacefully for now until someone leaves or buys the other half.