The harvest had gone well. The summer had been warm with plenty of rain. Their 800 acres of gently rolling hills had produced a good set of crops. The potatoes had come out last month and sold for more than they had in years. The barley yield was solid. Only the wheat remained in the fields, and in a couple of days that harvest would begin. It would be a good year. One of the lucky ones where the debt on the farm would shrink rather than grow.
There was something else Joe Hodgson had planted that he knew was ready. Nineteen years ago he had planted a seed inside his ex-wife that had grown into his beautiful daughter Autumn.
He gazed at her. His daughter was across the yard getting the grain auger ready for the harvest. She was working with deep concentration on the motor of the device. Her hair, the same color as the golden wheat in the fields, was messily bunched behind her. Her checked shirt tucked into the narrow waist of her jeans. Her muddy work boots covered her feet.
There had been many things Joe had raised on his farm that he was proud of. He could remember fondly the perfect fields. Every line straight, every blade of wheat reaching the same uniform height. He had also regularly won prizes for his sheep. That unruly flock covered the western edge of their farm where the hills and ravines made planting crops impossible.
But nothing he had grown over the years gave him as much pride as his daughter. She was everything he wanted in a woman. She was beautiful, but more importantly, she was a great farmer. She could drive a combine in the morning, fix an engine in the afternoon, and deliver the lambs overnight. She loved life on the farm. You could give her the most unpleasant job and even while mucking out the stables she would have that big bright smile that never failed to make Joe happy.
It had not always been easy raising her. Sitting still in school had never been her thing. During her teenage years, it seemed each day would erupt into a violent screaming match between Autumn and her mother.
Her mother had never taken to farm life, and years ago moved into town, and then recently across the country. Autumn's two older brothers had done good work on the farm, but they too had left looking for their own lives elsewhere.
Now it was just Autumn and him. He knew his thoughts weren't proper. Fathers are not supposed to yearn for their girls how he wanted Autumn. He never understood that. He had planted her and raised her. Fed her and protected her. He had spent almost two decades growing her to perfection. Why should some other man get to pluck her fruit?
"Pa. Can you come help?" She called over.
He hadn't known she had spotted him. He wondered how long she had been aware of him standing watching her from across the yard. He went over to where she was working. Her hands and arms were streaked with grease from the machinery.
He moved himself behind her, pressing his larger body against hers. For months he had been doing this. Nothing incorrect, just an extra hand on her back or arm around her waist. She had never backed away from any of these contacts, which gave him hope.
"Can you try this? I can't get it unstuck."
A wrench was wrapped around a bolt that she had been trying to loosen. He gave it a pull, and even with his much greater strength it didn't budge. He braced himself, and with a mighty yank pulled it free.
"Thanks, Pa."
"Glad to see there are still some things ya need me for."
Her big blue eyes looked up at him and smiled. He noticed she had a streak of grease on her cheek.
"You have something there."
He rubbed with his thumb to clear it to little effect.
"Try this," she said and popped his thumb into her mouth. Her little tongue circled his calloused digit. Coating it in her juices. Once moistened it made easy work of the stain on her cheek. Autumn had a naughty little smile on her face. She knew she had had an effect on her pa that wasn't proper, and she seemed pleased by that.
Joe didn't speak much, and when he did he spoke slowly. Some thought he wasn't very smart. He might not know much, but he did know farming. He knew that a crop needed to be harvested at exactly the right time in exactly the right way. It takes planning and patience, and these were the same strategies he was using for Autumn.
As he walked back to the house, Joe decided he could push further with those plans for his daughter.
A few nights later he and Autumn were eating dinner, sitting as usual at the kitchen table. The house had a large dining room, but with just the two of them, it hadn't been used in months. Instead, they were enjoying the pasta he had made at the small table at the back of the kitchen.
They were talking about their winter plans, and Joe decided to explore the rarely discussed topic of boys.
"One project I was thinking you should work on this winter is finding yourself a feller."
"Pa!" Autumn's face turned bright red.
"I'm serious. You shouldn't spend all day with just your dad, and I'm getting old. I'm almost fifty. Pretty soon you will need someone else to help out around here."
"I'm only nineteen! You don't need to marry me off yet."
"I just know if your Ma was here she would spend every day trying to get you in the company of the young men around these parts."
"Blah." She stuck out her tongue. "Reason one hundred I'm glad she is three states away from us."
"What about Tyler Zegfeld? He's a nice boy your age, and his family have the farm next door. Combining our two lots would be a big help competing with the big boys.
"Tyler Z. is a moron."
"He's a good farmer."
"He thinks he is. If I were to marry Tyler he would take over both our farms and do all the work. He would expect me to be the little wifey back at the house baking pies and making him babies."
"Okay, how about that boy Charlie that we meet with at the bank? I know he has eyes for you. In 20 years he will be running that place. He would have his job in town and you would look after this place."
She rolled her eyes at that suggestion. "What use would I have for a boy like Charlie Baggins? He can't even tell a boar from a barrow."
"You do like boys don't you?"
"Yes Pa, you know I like boys. I find them pretty enough. I just don't need one right now. I'm happy with just having you in my life."
At that comment, Joe felt his heart flutter.
A few days later Joe felt confident enough to ask the question he had long wanted. It had been a long hard day for the both of them, but a successful one. The harvest was going well. They were sitting together on the swing on the back porch, watching the sunset and enjoying the cooler night air.
"I was thinking about our talk the other day." He carefully broached the subject. "You sure you don't get lonely having only your dad around?"
"No Pa, I love it being just the two of us."
"I do too Buttercup, but sometimes I do get a bit lonely. There was your mother, and then I went with Cindy for a few years, but it's been a couple since that ended. Sometimes I need the company of a grownup."
"I'm a grownup now Pa."
"You know what I mean."
"You mean like sex?" Autumn made a face like the idea of her dad wanting sex made her ill.
Joe's face turned red with embarrassment. "There are different types of love; with just the two of us on the farm we don't get much time away, and I've been missing that from my life."
"If you want to go on dates with some floozies from town, I'm sure I can cover for you here."
"That's not what I want." He said quietly.
"What do you want?"
This was it. The moment he had imagined so many times. He bent down to his daughter and kissed her directly on the lips. He lingered. She did not pull away, but she also didn't respond. He lifted off of her.
"I love you, Autumn."
"You love me like that?" She seemed stunned.
"Are you surprised? You're a beautiful young woman."
"Fathers aren't supposed to feel that way about their daughters."
"Maybe not, but I do."
She sat quietly for a bit. At least she wasn't yelling and running away.
"I've never done it, you know. Had sex."
"I figured that." He had assumed she was still a virgin, but he was thrilled to have it confirmed.
"So you want to start having sex with me?" She finally asked.
"I want to do more than that." He was committed to complete honesty with her tonight. "You are perfect Autumn, and I want more family just like you." He put his hand on her belly to make clear his meaning.
Her eyes went wide. "You want to put a baby inside me!" She seemed shocked. "Your own daughter! It would be some monster child."
"You know better than that. Half our sheep have the same father and grandfather, a bit of close breeding is good for bringing out the best traits."
She was not happy with that response. "I'm like some sheep to you." She responded suddenly annoyed. "If an ewe produces especially good wool, you make sure to breed that one as early and often as possible. You're thinking of me as another piece of prime livestock to be bred."
"No, that's not it." He replied with distress in his voice. "All I know is that I love you. I love you Autumn as much as any man has loved a woman." Her expression softened. He reached out for her hand, but she pulled back. Then she fled to her room.
The next days she was very quiet. Never mentioning the events of the previous evening. There was a lot of work, and they focused on that. He kept his distance. Giving her time to think.
On Sunday the ground was too wet to continue harvesting, and they had to take a break from work. Autumn announced that she was going to go riding. Joe offered to go with her, but she wanted to be alone.
He watched as she disappeared over the hills riding her beloved gray pony. Joe was anxious. He knew that Autumn liked to go riding alone when she had a big decision to make. Would she have decided her future when she came back? Joe spent the afternoon pacing the length of the house. His nightmare was that she would ride back to the house and announce that she could no longer stay there. That she would leave him like everyone else. He would be all alone. Without the ability to keep the farm going.
Hours later, well past dinner, he heard the clatter of hooves outside. She was back. He sat on the couch in the parlor pretending to read a magazine as he waited for her to come in.
She entered, shaking mud off her boots.
