The Farmers Daughter

Chapter 2: Middle of nowhere

[ Dallas' POV ]
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After what seemed like forever I took out my earphones and turned off my music. The clock in the car read 12:15am and the rain was beginning to stop. I looked out the window but it was pitch black, I couldn't see anything at all. The only light was from the moon and the car headlights. "Gloria, we stopped at that gas station over an hour ago. All I've seen since then was a small diner and dollar general, plus a Waffle House." I shift in my seat. Where was she taking me this late? "If you're taking me off to murder me then fine. I'll even help you!"

She shakes her head and sighs before pulling onto a dirt driveway.

I noticed it was on a dead end street with one pole light, not creepy at all... the mailbox even looked like it had been harassed. "Come on, I'm waiting. Where the hell are we?! This looks like something out of a horror film."

"Would you just shut up? I'm not going to murder you and no one is going to murder us." She leaves it at that.

We drive for two miles before stopping in front of an old farmhouse sitting in the middle of a field. The porch lights were on like someone was waiting for our arrival, indeed someone was. I couldn't really see what the man looked like but he came down the porch steps and waved.

Gloria put the car in park and unbuckled her seatbelt. "Stay here and don't move. I'll let you know when you can get out." She turns off the car and takes the keys out of the ignition. "I don't trust you." She puts the keys in her back pocket and gets out of the car without another glance at me.

I see a small light on in the upstairs window, a slight silhouette seemed to be watching us. The curtains moved back a bit and I thought I saw a face, but as soon as the curtains opened they quickly closed again. The person watching probably was afraid of getting caught.

The man that talked to Gloria came and knocked on the passenger side window, breaking my attention from the top of the house. Jeez! He sure knows how to scare the shit out of someone. I hesitantly opened the door and got out. I keep my bag clutched against my stomach and my back against the car.

The man chuckled. "You must be Dallas."

Gloria came up behind him and started getting my things out of the backseat. "This is Pastor Thompson and he's your new foster dad." She explains.

All I heard was ringing in my ears. No way was I going to be dragged to church to sing holy holy holy. This man could kiss my ass for all I cared.

"Please, Gloria. I told you to call me Travis." He helps her with my things and they both walk up to the house.

I begin to follow them but two big dogs block my path. Where did they come from? The German Shepherd growled at me while the Chocolate Lab sniffed my jeans. I wasn't scared of many things except big dogs and here was two that probably wanted to rip me to shreds. No way was I going to take off running without getting stopped by one of them.

Travis turned around and whistled for them to come. "Sadie! Bo! Leave the boy alone. He's one of us now." He motions for me to follow. "They won't bother you if you don't bother them. Keep away from Sadie, the German Shepherd, she's territorial. Other than that you should be fine because Bo is harmless, unless you mess with his food." He gives me a crooked smile and then turns to walk up the steps.

I follow them inside and Travis has me follow him down a long hallway while Gloria goes and sits in the vintage looking living room. Everything about the house was old. There was peach colored wallpaper on the walls, the scratched up wood floors creaked when you walked. He led me into a medium sized room that had dark wood paneling on the walls. It was alright I guess, closest thing to the color black. I doubt he would let me put my personal touches on this room.

"Alright. So there's a bath to your right as you can see." He points to the bathroom which I already knew was there, I saw the bathtub when I walked in. "This used to be the storage room but I cleaned everything out so you'd be more comfortable. Sorry about the dust." He wipes a cobweb off the dresser.

"Does this house have heat?" I was doubtful seeing that the only light from this room was coming from a single lightbulb on the ceiling and there was a pile of blankets on top of the chest at the end of the bed. Man were these people broke.

"Unfortunately no.. but I do have this heater for you." He smiles like he's proud of it. The thing was smaller than a shoe box.

I slowly nod and put my bag down on the rustic queen sized bed which took up almost the whole room. It was a tight fit with two nightstands and a dresser. This dusty old place was far from the luxurious lifestyle Charles and Sarah lived.

"Well, make yourself at home. We try not to focus too much on material things in this family but feel free to spruce things up a bit, make it more your style. When we go into town for church then maybe you can grab a few things to make yourself comfortable here." He had a deep southern accent, the southern hospitality that you would expect from a pastor. "And when I say grab, I mean buy." He pats my shoulder before exiting the room.

I sit on the bed and I think everyone knew because it squeaks loudly when I lay back. That's a pain that I'll probably never get used to. What's next? Will the thing collapse on me while I'm sleeping? I heard voices lingering in the living room. Gloria was talking about paperwork and Travis made a few comments about me.

"Three more sheets of paperwork to sign and then he's yours. Are you sure you want to do this? He's not the best influence for Edith. I also hate that I missed meeting her." The sound of paper shuffling as Gloria hands them over to Travis.

"I think I can handle em', Gloria. He seemed alright when I talked to him." The paper crunches in his hands while he takes a pen out of his breast pocket on his shirt. "Nothing like farm work that won't straighten em' out."

Farm work? Oh hell no! Why couldn't he find some dirty ole cowboys that would be balls to the wall for that stuff. There's no way I'm going near these stinky animals of his.

Travis kept talking while he signed away at the paperwork. He was now closer to becoming my foster dad and there wasn't anything I could do about it. "About Edith.. well I think she'll be fine. I won't let her near that boy unless I'm around supervising him. Maybe she'll end up being a good influence on him? She's a straight A student, a member of the church choir, holds bible study at school."

Gloria sighs and leans back on the couch. How did I know that? It's because the couch squeaks too. "I don't know, Travis. That boy needs magic to fix him. Waving a bible in front of his face won't do a lick of good."

"Trust me on this when I say I can break him. I've never done this before but I'm very confident." He pushes the papers to her and sits up straight. "My Edith turned out wonderful."

Gloria checks over everything before nodding. "I hope you're right about this, Travis. I'm really counting on you.. there's nothing else I can really do for him unless I don't pay bail and he sits in jail for the rest of his life."

"Don't you worry about a thing my dear." Travis chuckles and stands up. "You can come by for updates and maybe we'll all get together for monthly dinners. Now, would you like some coffee to keep you awake on your drive back?"