Your eyes opened at 4:30am. Ever since you took over the farm you had no need for an alarm. You woke yourself up on time every day to begin your chores. Usually you'd have everything done on the farm by 9. At that time you'd eat breakfast.
You got out of bed and put on some jeans and a tanktop. After looking a the thermometer you threw on a flannel too. After heaving on your old boots, realizing you were overdue for new ones, you headed out of your bedroom. You made sure to walk silently past the spare bedroom. Not many people liked to get up as early as you and you doubted the silent super soldier was one of them.
You grabbed your cellphone, one of the few pieces of technology you used, and headed out the back door. You made the short walk to your barn and opened the door. Sitting on one side was 4 measly barrels of hay. If you hadn't had the cash sitting on your desk in the house you'd be worried. With the new found confidence of having money you grabbed a barrel in each hand and started toward the field. You set them at the front near the fence and started to whistle. After only a few seconds you could hear a steady beating on the ground as the horses appeared over the small hill. Marge and Harry came first. They were large and majestic Clydesdales. Marge was just a bit taller than you at 5 4". Harry however, towered over you at an impressive 6 1". You'd won them both in a raffle at the county fair when you had just started living on the farm. They weren't the most practical horses for farmwork, but they did their jobs.
After Marge and Harry rounded the corner Bear made his way down. A few years after you'd gotten the first two Marge had fallen ill. In a panic you'd called the county vet who informed you that she was pregnant. So you ended up with three horses. Bear was 3 but he still hadn't grown into his full height. Following close to his heels was Sammy, your overly excited sheep dog. You sighed.
"Sammy you idiot! You aren't a horse!" Sammy bounced along with Bear. You'd found Sammy on the side of a road about the same time Bear was born, and the two were inseparable. You could barely ever get Sammy to stay in the house overnight. He usually would find some way to escape and go sleep with his "family".
You opened the gate slightly to allow Sammy to run through. He ran in circles around you panting and barking. You kneeled down to give him a few pats on the head.
"Hey dummy. Bet you're hungry huh? You aren't a gosh darn horse." You scooped up the squirming mass of fluff into your arms and walked toward the house. You opened up the door and let your arms relax so he'd jump out onto the floor. "Let's get you some food." You grabbed a can of wet dog food and poured it onto a plate. You placed it in front of the hungry dog who devoured it eagerly. You shook your head with a smile on your face.
You headed back outside to feed the chickens, water your personal garden, and check the corn again. By the time you got back to the house it was almost 7. You grabbed a rake from the barn and headed to the front of the house to rake. You still needed to mow, but that was a chore for another day. As you raked leaves you noticed the curtains moving.
Sunshines awake
The curtains moved again and you sighed. You had thought about it last night and it probably wasn't good for Bucky to be inside all the time. The next time the curtains moved you motioned for him to come outside. A few seconds later he came trudging out the front door. He was wearing the same outfit as yesterday. Yapping behind his heels was Sammy.
"Your dog is annoying." He grumbled. Sammy jumped up and rested his paw on the soldier's thigh. Bucky looked down to glare at the dog. If Sammy could sense Bucky's dislike he sure didn't show it. The happy dog just panted away and barked at him. You shook your head and chuckled.
"Sammy go find Bear!" The dogs ears perked up at the name of its best friend and he jumped off of Bucky. He ran around in circles a bit before taking off in the direction of the horse fields. You looked up to see Bucky giving you a confused look.
"Bear?" He asked and you laughed.
"My youngest horse. Him and Sammy are best friends." You held out the rake in one hand. "I have a spare rake in the barn if you'd like to help me. It'll get done quicker if I have a helper." Bucky looked at the yard behind you which was covered in leaves before nodding. "Great. I'll go get it." You jogged back to the barn and grabbed your rake. By the time you made it back to the front yard Bucky was already halfway done. He looked up at you and noticed your surprised look.
"You were taking too long." He shrugged and continued raking.
"I was gone five minutes!?" You said with your jaw wide. He shrugged again and raked past you. With a huff you started on the side of the yard he hadn't made it to. The crunchy leaves were always a bit of a favorite of yours. Recently the temperature had begun to lower and the leaves fell from the trees. Your favorite season had started, fall.
Finally you looked over the yard at the impressive mound of leaves. The yard was now clear and if you decided to mow anytime soon you now could. As you started to turn around to go get a bag, you heard a jingle. Your head whirled around and Bucky gave you a confused look. Horror crossed over your face as the jingling became louder.
"No!" You screamed and pointed behind Bucky. He turned around to see Sammy running at full speed. Straight for the neat pile of leaves in the center of the yard. His face was wild with happiness as he bounded toward the pile, despite your screams. Bucky's expression was that of utter confusion as the dog zoomed past him. "SAMMY NO" You screamed one last time as the dog lept into the pile. Leaves flew everywhere in every direction. They rained all over you and Bucky. A cloud of leaves filled the air and you couldn't see anything. Finally when the dust settled all you could see was Sammy rolling happily in his newly made pile. You looked up to see Bucky's jaw dropped.
"He just- we- but." Bucky stuttered. You couldn't help but start howling with laughter.
"Sammy you bastard! We just raked those!" Tears filled your eyes as you couldn't stop laughing. Bucky looked angry in the corner of your eye and his fists were clenched.
"Your dog is an idiot." He said while tossing the rake down. You waved his statement off and picked up both the rakes.
"He is." You admitted and started toward the barn.
"Are we not going to rake them up again?" Bucky asked and you turned to face him.
"I think this is a sign the leaves shouldn't be raked today." You said with a chuckle. "I'm gonna go out these away and wash up. Then I'll make us some breakfast." His eyes looked baffled as you walked away. He stood there shocked, while Sammy continued rolling in the leaves.
When you got back in the house Bucky was sitting on the couch glaring at Sammy. The dog was running in circles around your living room and barking. The look of contempt on Bucky's face was enough to make you chuckle.
"You don't like dogs?" You said as you pulled out a water bottle from the fridge. His head snapped up to watch you.
"I don't think so." He said and returned glaring at the dog. You took a sip of the drink and headed to clean up. You took a quick shower and changed into another flannel and jeans. You headed back out into the lounge to make some food. You were surprised to see both Bucky and Sammy were gone. With a shrug you opened the fridge and pulled out your basket of eggs and some buttermilk. You began to make eggs in a pan and you heard the door slam behind you.
"Hungry? I'm making eggs." The eggs sizzled below you and a smell wafted through the room. Bucky scrunched his nose. "What? You don't like eggs?" He shrugged.
"I don't think so." You frowned and plated the eggs.
"Well try them." You picked up both of the plates and took them to the table. Then you went back on the kitchen and got the salsa. Bucky raised an eyebrow as you poured salsa on your plate. "Its the best." You explained taking a bite of your eggs and salsa. He looked down at the plate suspiciously and took a tentative bite. His facial features softened as he continued to take large bites of his food. A smirk crossed your face. "Good right?" He nodded and finished his plate, immediately taking it to the sink. You ate your eggs slowly as you read a few pages in your book. When you were done you washed your plate and grabbed the keys to your truck. It was only 10 o'clock and you hoped everybody in town would be in church.
"Are you leaving?" You turned to see Bucky in the doorway.
"Yeah I figured I'd go get some groceries and some clothes for you." He nodded. "Do you want to go? There's not a lot of people there at this time, it might not be too ba-"
"No." He shook his head. "Ill stay here." You shrugged.
"Okay, do you know what sizes you are?" You asked and he shook his head.
Of course not
"Here uh." You moved toward him slowly and went around behind him. You carefully flipped the tag of his shirt so you could see it. "Okay so you are an XXL. Alright I can work with that." He flinched away from you slightly.
"I think I'm a 40/40 I'm jeans." He said quietly. "I'm about Steve's size and that's his." You nodded.
"Okay." You started out the door.
"(Y/N)." He called after you and you turned around. You could read his facial expression. "Where's your lawnmower?" You eyes widened.
"Oh you don't have to do that Bucky, it's fine I'll get to it." He shook his head.
"Where is it?" He asked persistently. You sighed.
"Barn. Thanks." And with that you got in your truck and drove away. Leaving the small farm in the rearview mirror.