After my divorce I moved to a quiet little town along the Canadian border in Washington State. I found a nice place with forty acres, thirty acres of it wooded in trees, and the remaining ten had my house and a small pasture. It was the perfect place for me to concentrate on my next book and I also found the farm work to be invigorating.
No one ever came up my driveway save but for the mailman so it was a surprise to me to see a horse and rider coming up to the house early one morning. The young lady astride the palomino was a natural beauty and I found myself staring and thinking that at 39 I was over twice her age.
"Hi, I'm Emily!" her hair went flying as she leaped off the saddle. "I saw your place and wondered if you might need any help this summer? Like a farmhand?"
I didn't really need any help, but if my money could keep this charming little elf around then she had to have a job.
"As a matter of fact, Emily, I was just going to see about hiring someone. Think you can handle it?"
She leaped to give me a hug and her gratitude was evident.
Over the next few weeks I got to meet her parents from a few miles down the road and they were typical of the area. They were of Dutch descent with five boys and three girls (of which Emily was the oldest at 18) and, like most farmers in the area, they needed all the extra money they could get. The money I was paying Emily was essentially the grocery money for the family and they made it clear that they needed her to have the job.
I called my CPA and had him put Emily on a regular weekly paycheck and I made the pay a bit more substantial than it had been. Emily was stunned when she saw that first check and then told me how much this could help at her parent's farm. I told her that I expected to see more of her and I'd also need her help taking care of my house and not just the farm.
I didn't realize the pressure that was on Emily to contribute to keeping her family farm afloat and one day she burst out in tears and just sobbed as she was doing the dishes.
"I'm sorry, it's just...I'm so lonely!"
I gave her a hug and comforted her and she spilled her guts about how she'd never had a social life and how college was never going to happen and on and on. That moment allowed an intimacy to develop between us and she began to share more of her personal life with me. One day the subject of sex came up and she asked me every question I could imagine and I made a point to give her honest, yet somewhat clinical answers.
I figured that all it was about was talk.
She'd been with me for two months when she showed up particularly early one morning wearing nice clothes than usual and with her blonde hair nicely up in a bun. She put on breakfast and coffee while we chatted and then I went off to the shower afterwards while she cleaned up. The hot shower was wonderful and I put on a close shave and then something told me to put on a little cologne as I was drying off. I was a little surprised when I slipped from the bathroom to my bedroom, naked, to find Emily sitting on my bed. I quickly grabbed my towel and covered up.
"Emily, what's up?"
She looked serious. "You know how I've been missing things and all in life?"
