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I dedicate this series to those that have donated to a worthy cause... keeping me on the internet. Thank you for your kindness and your help! Here's the first chapter at 5,560 words.

I was born a simple farm boy and I loved it. Standing on the plains and looking out over hundreds of acres of wheat and barley was a sight that I could never grow tired of. I helped for years before I realized that this land was going to be mine when I was older.

When I was eight and old enough to work in the fields with my dad, I learned that my father had always said that I had wheat growing in my veins. It made me laugh, because I was so good at tending the fields without really being taught how to do it.

Our crops grew at nearly twice their normal rate and we didn't do anything special at all to the seeds, the watering, or the tending. It was all done as it was always done, like my dad always did it and his dad always did it. The only difference this time was that it was me helping to do it.

Needless to say, my dad quickly taught me to drive the various tractors to operate them on my own. My mom wasn't as enthusiastic as he was about it, even though we brought in double the yield that first year. She kept saying that I was too young to do so much. I simply said that I was never tired at the end of the day. She didn't believe me and always sent me to bed early.

I always laughed and kissed her goodnight, because I loved her and she always took good care of me. By sending me off to bed, she gave me more time off to watch television and my favorite movies that I could afford to buy with my allowance. She didn't look too happy that I had wasted my money on a newfangled VCR player; but, she didn't comment on it and let it go.

I appreciated that so much that I saved up for six whole months and bought her a brand new mixing machine so she didn't have to knead bread or mix cake batter by hand anymore. The hug and kiss I got for that nearly broke my cheek and my back, let me tell you. My dad just laughed his ass off.

School was a breeze, too. We were all farm kids and we suspected that they made the tests easy on purpose, just because they didn't expect much from us. We were growing up to be farmers, so college and stuff like that wasn't something that the teachers expected any of us to do when we were older.

So, myself, a few guys, and a whole bunch of girls made a secret study group and read up on what other schools in other places made kids learn there. Boy, there was a lot of it! I didn't expect other twelve year old kids were learning about science and maths that made our heads spin. None of us knew what much of it meant, so we had to dig up a few things and went all the way back to grade school and found out they were taught it since then!

The other guys gave it up, figuring it was too late for them to learn kid stuff like that. A few of the girls agreed and left with them, which left me as the only boy in a room full of twelve girls. I wasn't nervous, though. I grew up with them, two of them even lived on nearby farms, so it was okay.

We started with the little kid stuff, making us all nervous about learning something new. It wasn't until Sally decided that she was in charge and took over trying to teach us, that we all relaxed. We were just kids, so we didn't mind her becoming the boss and listened to her as she told us about stuff like it was a real class. We also hid it from our parents and the other kids. We didn't want to be known as poindexters or nerds.

By the time we entered the local high school three years later at fifteen, we tested ourselves like we were students at a real school and found our grades were right on the middle area of average, even Sally, and she had been teaching us and learning at the same time. It made us all feel grateful to her, especially me.

During the orientation speech, I sat beside her and took her hand. She gave me a confused look for a moment, looked at our clasped hands, then she shrugged a little. That was it. No big announcement, no showy 'will you go out with me' in front of everyone, or anything. The best part? No one questioned it.

We started dating from that point and boy, oh boy, what a great time we had. I've never kissed a girl like that before and she hadn't kissed a boy like that before; but, we were naturals at it and it was a whole bunch of fun. It wasn't until six months later that she tackled me one night behind the hay bales at her place and tore off my shirt and did the same to her own, that I saw the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

I told her so and she blushed for about two seconds before she mauled me. Lips, hands, and even teeth, you name it, she gave them to me all over. I damn near screamed with pleasure when she put my Little John in her mouth and started using her tongue and sucking it for all she was worth. I didn't last long, and she smirked at me as she spit it out.

“I knew you couldn't last if I did that, John.” Sally said and wiped at her mouth, then she pulled off her cut-off denim shorts and frilly panties. “You better not be quick shootin' when we do this part!”

“What part?” I asked and she sat down on top of me, shoving me deep inside of her in one go.

“OW!” Sally yelled and held onto me. “Fucking bastard! That hurt!”

“Sally! You just... damn, girl! You're crazy to jump on me like that!” I said. “Dad even makes the bull take his time with a new cow!”

Sally laughed and her lower part contracted on me. “Ohhh, that... wow.”

“I ain't movin' yet.” I said and she gave me a harsh look. “You're stingin' down there mighty fierce and I don't want no bad feelings before we get goin'.”

Sally's stern look faded and she kissed me. “You really do care about me, don't ya?”

“You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, so yeah. Of course I care about you.”

Sally blushed and kissed me again, then she rolled over and held onto me as I rolled on top of her. “Get ta movin', you slacker.”

“You just watch me slack off!” I said and started moving. I had seen a lot of animals going at it, so I knew a few things about making sex.

Sally didn't seem to mind me doing a few things to her, either. We kept going until she let out a squeal and shook slightly. I wasn't anywhere near done, so I kept going. She tried to tell me to slow down, only I couldn't hear her, not with the blood rushing through my head and making me so goddamn horny that I needed to release myself into her.

I wasn't sure where that thought came from, except that I hadn't seen any animal pull out until after having sex, so I kept going and Sally squealed two more times before I was ready to go. I spilled myself into her, making her squeal again, and she hugged me tight and kissed my mouth, my cheek, and my ear.

“You better take responsibility.”

“Sally, I would have asked you to marry me the day after we started dating, except I knew your dad would shoot me first before letting you say yes.”

Sally laughed and clenched down there, which made the both of us moan. “Ah don't think I'm ready to make house with you, John.”

“I know. I just wanted you to know that you would have made me an honest man damn near right away, even if it was unofficial.”

Sally looked into my eyes and looked thoughtful. “You're not going to tell me you love me after we just had sex?”

“Why do I need to do that again?” I asked and she looked confused. “I told you I loved you back in fourth grade under the monkey bars.”

Sally blinked her eyes at me and then she blushed. “You remember that?”

“How could I forget our first kiss?” I asked. “I told you I loved you and you kissed me. It was the highlight of my life.”

Sally gave me a look that I would soon discover was her saying 'I'm all yours', then she kissed me.

We stayed behind the hay bales for nearly two hours, playing and having sex, then we cleaned up in the barn with the hose and went inside to eat supper. Her father gave me a scathing look and her mother gave me a calculating look.

“I was talking to dad the other day and he said I was old enough that I could hire myself out every second weekend, to a friendly enough farmer, if they needed an extra hand.” I said as I took a bite of a very good piece of pork loin.

Her father lost the scathing look and glanced at his wife. She had a beaming smile and nodded.

“If'n you're up to it, I do have a few acres that are wasting away on the back forty.” Sally's father said, as if unsure.

“If you don't have a good heavy tiller, I can borrow my dad's.” I said and the man smiled. “What do you want to plant?”

“I've got a hearty strain of corn seeds on order at the market. It should be in by next weekend.”

“Are you sure you don't need it for your main fields? I thought you were clearing them for rotation?”

“I was thinking of potatoes for a season or two and switching back to grains.”

I sat back and chewed on the meat for a minute and thought about it. “No, if you're going for potatoes, they need to be in the less used ground until they catch. Once you get a good crop going, then you can switch them for looser soil.”

“What about the corn?” The farmer asked.

“I can run the tiller over the cleared field while going out to the back forty and then when I come back. It shouldn't take more than a couple hours either way during both lunch and supper.”

He looked shocked. “Are you joshing me, boy?”

“No, sir. I do the same thing on our farm when doing any of the back fields. It's just a waste of fuel and time if you're not using it going all that way, isn't it?”

The man laughed, his wife nodded and looked happy, and Sally's hand slid under the table and rubbed me. I grew hard for her instantly and now she also looked happy.

I worked there every second weekend all through high school. Sally was the best girlfriend and we had a lot of great times. Her father accepted my proposal for her hand when we graduated and he only shot me once for defiling his daughter. It was a grazing shot in the arm, so I didn't have to stop working for more than a couple of days. Both Sally and I were grateful for that.

Ten years later, I wasn't surprised when Sally's father signed over his very profitable farm to us. Thanks to my planning and what he called 'my damn near magical green thumb', he was fairly rich and wanted to retire and enjoy himself and his wife. They had another kid five years ago, another girl, and she was the apple of my eye.

Sally loved her like she was her own daughter, then she miraculously had one of her own after years of trying. They were only five years apart or almost six when counting the nine months of pregnancy. No one complained, let alone me. I loved them all like my own family that I still farmed regularly for.

I wasn't sure why I never grew tired or why each new crop in the fields gave me even more strength and happiness. It was as if the lands were healthy and kept that way, I was as well. It was an odd feeling and I filed it away to think about later.

Another ten years passed and our daughter was a holy terror. She wanted her own life and hated the farm. She couldn't stand looking at the expanded fields. Me getting up at four in the morning every day to work also bothered her more than me staying for half the day at the house and spending time with her and Sally after school. I never missed a meal or ignored anything she said, and all she would say was that she hated living on a farm and wanted to move away.

“Sarah, you're ten! You don't even know what dress you want to wear each day! How can you know that you want to live somewhere else?” Sally asked her daughter.

I held in my sigh, because that was exactly the question that I didn't want anyone to ask her. I knew what the answer was going to be and hearing it out loud would force me to take notice of it.

“Because.” Sarah said with an angry face. “ANYWHERE is better than here!”

“Are you sure about that?” Sally asked. “What about your friends?”

“I can always make new friends! Isn't that what you always say?” Sarah asked and her eyes went to me as I folded up the newspaper. “I hate it here! I always have! Why can't we move away and have a REAL life?”

“I really didn't want to have this conversation.” I said and rubbed my face with my hands.

“Are you afraid, dad?” Sarah asked.

“Yes.” I said and a look of satisfaction passed over her face, even though she was only ten. “You see, I love it here. I love your mother and we grew up with the best people around us. We both have a knack for farming and we are rich because of it.” I said and she looked shocked. “We are also a lot smarter than anyone around us gives us credit for.”

Sarah looked like she wanted to speak and couldn't.

“You have three options.” I said and Sally reached over to take my hand. “Option one. You stay here, learn what you can from us and with self study, and make a life for yourself.”

Sarah looked sour just thinking about it.

“Option two. You stay with your grandparents and you can go to the best schools there instead of here. They live in the closest town and the life there is a lot different than it is here.”

Sarah looked thoughtful about that.

“Option three.” I said and sighed, because I really didn't want to give her this option. “Boarding school when you're 12. We send you to Carver City that's halfway across the state and you can live with the other rich kids. You can see what it's like when you let money corrupt you and make you self-centered, high class, cultured, and stupid.”

Sally gasped and slapped my arm. “John!”

“It's true, even if she is too young to understand right now.” I said and looked at my daughter, knowing exactly what choice she was going to make. “Your life will be empty, even though it will be full. You will have friends around you that are not really friends, because they won't actually help you if it puts them in a difficult spot. You will have a family of your choosing and not a family that loves you with all their heart.”

Sarah looked back at me with hate in her eyes. “You're just saying that to scare me!”

I nodded. “I am, because you don't realize what you're giving up when you choose.”

“I choose three! I want to go to boarding school!” Sarah said with satisfaction.

“I know. I already called and you have a reserved spot when you turn twelve.”

“Wh-what?” Sally gasped and looked at me. “John? What did you do?”

“I know my family, even better than they do.” I said and let her hand go. “Sarah was always going to leave, no matter what we said or what we did.” I looked back at my daughter, who looked happy. “I just hope that when she's older, she will remember this conversation and realize that she lost everything worth anything in her life, while she gained nothing of value from the life she chose.”

Sarah didn't look discouraged at all, as I thought.

“Don't worry, I'll write all this down and I'll leave it for you when you graduate high school.” I said and she shrugged. “I'm sorry that you are too young to understand how much you hurt your parents by discarding us.”

“Huh?” Sarah looked at me and then at her mother.

“Just forget I said that.” I said and looked at Sally. “Bring out the studying material. Sarah is going to need your help for the next two years, just so she isn't considered an idiot by her peer's standards.”

“Hey!” Sarah exclaimed. “I'm not stupid!”

I sighed and pat her head. “I'm so sorry that you don't realize the truth.”

Sarah gave me a hate filled look and pushed my hand away. “Don't do that, dad!”

“I hope you grow up happy in an environment that will devour you if you're not careful.” I said and stood. “Sweetheart, I leave her to your tender care.”

“John, you can't just...”

“She already hates me. I might as well earn it by ignoring her from now on.” I said and walked over to the door. I turned back and looked at Sarah, letting her see the tears in my eyes. “My only child, I love you and I will always regret you throwing my love away.”

Sarah didn't say anything, so I walked out the door. Despite living in the same house, that was the last time that I ever saw her. I didn't even say goodbye when she left two years later. I cried my eyes out, though. Sally found me in a heap beside the barn, oddly enough behind hay bales that were in the same spot as the ones we had first been intimate.

“She didn't even mention me, did she?” I asked and Sally shook her head. “No curses or hate filled observations?”

“No, she... she was distant. She even... you were right. She hates it here and making her stay and study for two years has made her hate the both of us even more.” Sally said and hugged me.

“She'll never know how much we love her until it's much too late for her to make it up to us.” I said and kissed her. We fell into a heap and made love right there. It was slow, and steady, and comforting. It was all we had left inside ourselves. After that, neither of us felt like we could take comfort from failing to raise our daughter right.

*

On her graduation day, Sarah was all alone. She thought her friends would have been there for her, to help her find a place to live after the dorms and give her suggestions for jobs, only to realize that her friends all had their own lives and their own careers to pursue. They had actual friends and family, besides her, to turn to for help. She didn't have anyone.

She sat down at her small dining room table in the dorm that she would have to vacate before the weekend for cleaning, and found a large manila envelope. She sighed and thought it was her graduating marks. She was in the top ten percent of her class and had excelled in both math and science. She couldn't remember why she was so good at it, though.

Upon opening the envelope, she caught her breath. Inside were two things. A thin journal and a thin photo album. She flipped through the album and her brain stuttered at the images. A nice farm, a beautiful farmhouse, and great fields of wheat and corn for miles and miles. She also saw two people that she hadn't seen in six years.

Tears came to her eyes as she looked at the happy faces and the home life that she had practically forgotten. She had been only a kid and she hated being on the farm, even if she was never asked to actually do any chores besides cleaning her room and sometimes helping with supper.

“Wh-why? Why?” Sarah asked and picked up the journal. The very first page made her tears double in intensity and she covered her mouth as she read about what her father had said that day when she was ten. His promise was fulfilled with the journal in her hand and she realized that he was right. She had forgotten all about him and her mother, all for the rich life and her new friends.

She read through everything that was written inside and she sobbed loudly at the written words. She tried to deny them, how she had destroyed his heart, then made him ignore her because she kept telling him that she hated him and her life on the farm. She cried and closed the journal to hug it, her heart hurting so much from it all being true.

Sarah had nothing now. She had her bank account, padded each year by a ridiculous amount that she spent frivolously, never understanding that her father worked so hard to give her all of the money that she would ever need.

With a stupid plan in mind, Sarah took both the journal and the photo album, packed up her things and arranged for the rest to be sent by a moving company, then she went to the airport to buy a plane ticket. She hopped onboard with an overnight bag, some spending money, and an insane idea that she was sure wouldn't work.

*

I sat on the porch swing and watched the evening sky as it grew darker. I always did that now, with most of my work being done by lunch time. The hired hands were grateful for full salaries and only half-day working schedules, which made them stay on for years longer than they normally would have. I was getting older and needed the extra hands, because I couldn't operate everything by myself anymore.

A taxi pulled up to the driveway and then turned into it, stopped, and backed out. The door opened and someone that I had been expecting stepped out of the back of the car with an overnight bag. I almost laughed as she argued with the driver about actually delivering her to the house. The car pulled away before she could start shouting at the driver, and the door shut from the momentum.

“ASSHOLE!” Sarah yelled and flipped the guy off, then she turned and walked towards the house. She was halfway down the old driveway before she saw me sitting on the porch swing that always faced the setting sun. She paused for several moments before she gathered her courage and kept walking.

I sat there and didn't acknowledge her at all, not by a nod or by a wave.

“Hi, dad.” Sarah said.

“Who are you again?” I asked, just because I wanted to see her wince.

Sarah winced. “I'm... I'm sorry, dad. I meant to call...”

“Uh huh.” I said and motioned to her bag. “What's that for?”

“I... ah... I finished school.” Sarah said, her voice unsure.

“What made you think you could come back here?” I asked, genuinely curious.

“Dad I...” Sarah stopped talking and looked lost.

“You hated it here. Said it every damn day.” I said and waved around at the fields. “Most horrible place to ever live, according to you.”

Sarah sighed. “Dad, I was just a kid.”

“That's what your mother always said and you kept telling her that you hated it here and hated me for keeping you here, while also begging for us to move anywhere else.” I said. “So, what are you really here for?”

Sarah gave me a sad look. “I... I don't know what to do now.”

“How is that my problem?” I asked and she looked surprised. “You chose to go away and live the rich life. I gave it to you. You spent everything I sent you, not saving anything at all, and now you have nothing left.”

Sarah flinched again and I chuckled.

“I knew you would.” I pointed to her bag. “You read the journal, didn't you?”

“Yes.” Sarah said.

“How many friends do you have? Your chosen family? How much money do you have?” I asked and she didn't say anything. “What did you expect to find back here?”

“I thought... you're my father.”

“And? What else?” I asked and she didn't respond. “You hated me back then and I gave you everything. What am I supposed to do now? Give you more? How am I supposed to do that? You already have it all. Or had. I know your bank account is pretty much empty.”

Sarah sat down on the step and leaned against the post. “I thought you said we were rich?”

“We were.” I said with a laugh. “Ten thousand a year for tuition. Three thousand for books and accessories. Five thousand for extracurricular activities. A thousand dollars a week for spending money. Twice that for groceries every month.” I said and looked at her. “Add all of that up and then tell me what else you asked for.”

“Clothes.” Sarah said and and deflated. “More than I should have had and more expensive than everything else combined.”

“Yes, and you burned through it all in only six years. Something that should have lasted a lifetime for our family, you squandered and threw away on parties, friends that ignore you when you need them, and bought things that never last. The clothing alone was out of style when you bought it, so you always needed more... and more... and more.”

Sarah sighed. “Dad, I... I'm sorry. I never thought...”

“I know. You have never thought about the consequences of your decisions. Ever.” I said and looked at the sun as it dropped below the horizon. “I'm just glad that your mother isn't here to see this.”

“Why? Is she over at grampa's?” Sarah asked.

I huffed and then laughed. “You poor ignorant girl.”

“Hey!” Sarah snapped.

I jumped to my feet and pointed a finger at her. “If you had taken even one goddamn second to pull your head out of your ass and actually read the letters we sent you, you would know that Sally's been dead for nearly two years!”

Sarah's face drained of all color. “N-n-no...”

“Oh, yes. The entire family is firmly against ever speaking to you, thanks to you ignoring the funeral and not even sending a card or calling us on the telephone that's been around for over a hundred years!”

Sarah started crying and huddled in on herself. “No, my... my mom's not dead.”

“When I called the campus police, since I couldn't get through to your dorm, they said there was some kind of party and you didn't want to be disturbed.” I said and she cried harder. “The messages, the letters you never opened or read, and the phone calls you never returned, has ensured that your presence here in this town is not a welcome one.”

“D-d-dad, I... I was drunk and...”

“Like it matters.” I said and sat back down. “Good luck finding a job with whatever courses you chose at school.”

“I'm only eighteen!” Sarah exclaimed, her face wet from tears.

“Your age didn't stop you when you were ten and decided that you didn't need your family anymore.”

“You were the one that avoided me!” Sarah spat at me.

“Only after you made your choice, because you hated me so much that every time I looked at you, you broke my heart with the hate in your eyes.” I said and looked back at the setting sun. “You are still a stupid little girl that contributed to killing this family, even more effectively than if you had intentionally set out to do so.”

Sarah cried harder and shook her head. “You... you can't blame me for... for...”

“Blame you?” I asked and laughed. “No, I blame myself. I shouldn't have accepted responsibility.”

“D-dad!” Sarah gasped.

“What? You would have had a completely different life and none of this would have happened.” I said and stood up. “I would be happily married, have lots of money and not be in debt up to my eyeballs, and I would have the life I had always dreamed of. I could stand on the edge of my plains forever and wouldn't have to worry about why my daughter wanted to ruin everything.”

“Dad, I... please. You can't just...”

“What?” I asked and walked over to her. “I already told you. There's nothing left. I gave it all to you.” I walked by her and my feet hit the dirt. “You can have what's left.” I took out a property deed and tossed it at her. “It's worth about twenty grand if you can find anyone that wants to buy it.”

Sarah stared at me like I had just killed her. “D-dad, I... you can't...”

“I'm going for a walk.” I said and started walking. “Don't be upset if you never see me again.”

“Dad! You can't leave me like this!” Sarah exclaimed.

“I'm only giving you what you wanted. Everything that's left.” I said and walked into the darkness.

“Dad!” Sarah said and stood up. “DAD!”

I didn't answer her and walked on. The only real connection I had left was with my plains. I had loved them ever since I was a kid. For some reason, I felt like this was my last time walking on them. The bank wouldn't foreclose for another year at least, thanks to my advance payments. I hadn't quite given everything to Sarah while she was away. If she was smart, which I doubted after seeing a copy of her marks, she would survive on her own for the same amount of time.

As far as I was concerned, she cut me away when she was ten and she was no longer my daughter. Sally had a hard few years health wise after Sarah left, then she got cancer and died. It was quick, so none of us thought it was a bad way to go. Personally, I think she just gave up wanting to live without her daughter, no matter how much of a rich bitch she had become.

Sarah had avoided everything we sent her except money, so her not coming to the funeral was devastating to the rest of the family. They really did hate her now, thanks to her also avoiding their letters and calls. I believe her answering machine called us country hicks the last time I called a year ago. I shook my head at that and walked on and stopped at the back forty, the rotating potato fields.

I smiled and looked over my great work. It took a lot of planning and work to get difficult crops to grow as well as I had been doing them, even with my cheating magic green thumb. That made me laugh and remember Sally's father. He was in a home now and being taken care of professionally, because his wife was too old to do it herself.

Their daughter was a successful doctor and was almost six years older than my daughter Sarah. She was a spitfire and everyone in town loved her. In fact, I loved her, too. We never slept together, though. It wouldn't be right for me to sleep with my dead wife's younger sister.

Although, we both really wanted to. We had helped each other so much after Sally's death that an attraction was bound to happen. It didn't matter how old we were, because we were both very horny without anyone to help us scratch that itch.

I saw a bright light in the sky and looked up, only to see a burning something soaring through the sky, right towards me. I thought about running, then my mind realized how big the damn thing was as it roared closer in only seconds.

“I really should have slept with her. She had a great ass.” I said just before a meteorite incinerated my clothing and most of my skin, then it crushed what was left of me down into the plains that I loved so much.

Then it exploded.

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