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"Why am I being sent here? Not that I'm complaining, but why didn't I go to juvenile.?
"Well, you were with a boy that stole a car. That made you an assessor to the crime. Since you didn't actually do the stealing, you aren't getting a full sentence like the boy did. I understand he's of age and went to adult court anyway. You are essentially working off your debt to society at the farm. It's a better job than cleaning trash off the side of the roads and highways. When that debt is satisfied, you will either go home or to juvenile. Whichever is recommended."
"And you are the one doing the recommending?" She asked.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Have you had others out here, before me?" She asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, three. Two girls, one boy."
"And how did they do?"
"One girl went back to juvenile, she totally didn't cooperate and she broke almost all the rules. Purposely I might add. The way she went at it, I could have sworn she wanted to go back to juvenile. The other went home. The boy finished out his sentence in Juvenile and went home."
"Well," she stared out the window, "I might as well tell you right now. I don't care which I go to. Going home isn't an option for me. Not that I'm going to give you any flack. I'll do what you ask of me. You seem like a nice person."
"Why is that?" He asked glancing at her. "Why can't you go home, Leah?"
She glanced at him, sizing him up.
"My folks are never home…" She said in a mumble. "They don't have time for me. I'm alone most of the time. But, that's not why I can't go home. You see, they threw me out, six months ago and have had nothing to do with me since."
"I see…."
She glanced at him. Had he already figured her out, it sure sounded like it. The rest of the ride was in silence.
Chapter Two
"Carol?" Mr. Douglas called as they went inside the big two story ranch house.
A lovely lady came through the doorway and stared at her for a second then looked at her husband and smiled. "Who do we have here?"
"This is Leah. She'll be here 12 weeks. Is the bedroom upstairs clean?" He asked.
"Just finished it up this morning. Take her on up. And Leah I'm glad to meet you hon. I hope you enjoy our little home." She smiled at her.
Leah nodded, "Thanks." She managed weekly. This was a better greeting than she ever got at home, so she wouldn't be mocking these people. They obviously were a different breed than her folks. She realized quickly this was not some sterile home she'd come into. This was really a home. She could smell the difference in the dinner cooking, and the homemade touches, like a quilt draped over the sofa and potpourri in the living room. It would be eye opening to see how a real family lived, she was sure.
Mr. Douglas told her to follow him. Mr. Douglas like his wife was pleasant looking. He wasn't dressed fancy, just clean jeans, a white shirt and a corduroy jacket. He did wear a cowboy hat though. Nice touch. "Let's get you settled in. Oh and one other thing I forgot to mention, while you're working you wear overalls, furnished by us. The work is sometimes messy and overalls stand up better than some things. You'll dress decently around here too and make-up is used only when going to town or to a dance."
"Yes sir." She answered. She tended to wear jeans and t-shirts more than anything so that shouldn't change.
He took her down a long hall and stopped at the last room. "This will be your room for the next 12 weeks. I hope you'll enjoy learning a lot here and maybe even relaxing. The work is hot, tiring and probably hard for a girl like you to get used to. By that, I mean you are a city gal. Although it might seem I'm barking a lot of rules at you, we operate as a real family and I think you'll learn to relax pretty quick around us. You'll get off early enough in the afternoon to enjoy yourself some and we want you to feel comfortable here. So if there is anything you need or want just let us know. If we have it, or can get it, we will. We want you to work, but we also want you to relax and understand that this is just everyday living around here. We haven't changed the rules because we have you here. We'd operate the same way whether you were here or not. It's just our way of living and it works well, you'll soon realize."
"Fair enough." She answered.
When he finally opened the door, she was surprised to an extent. The room was old fashioned, with a quilt on the bed, and lace curtains on the windows. A window was open and a breeze came in. It was kind of nice. The air was clean and fresh and she felt she could breathe in deep and it wouldn't make her cough like in the city.
"Another thing, the first day of your arrival you are off, but I will take you on a tour of the place so you can get kind of acquainted with it and know where things are. So are you hungry?"
"A little. Smells wonderful."
"Lunch is in about an hour. We'll see you downstairs then. Unpack and get acquainted with your surroundings. We eat at regular times. We don't have time to fix you something whenever you feel like it. So if you get hungry in between grab some fruit off the kitchen table. There is no cost to you for anything around here."
She nodded. "Thanks." She said meekly.
He seemed to stare now, and he came to stop just a bit in front of her, not trying to intimidate but there was genuine concern in his face.
