"Please, just call me Ruby," she said, rolling her eyes at his formality. "I'm definitely not old enough to be called ma'am." It made her think of Granny. Who she missed, but who would definitely not fit in around here. Just the idea of it made her wrinkle her nose in distaste.
Those were definitely not thoughts she needed to dwell on so she was quick to change the subject. "So, you mentioned that you wanted to learn to care for the chickens," she said. "We should have some chicks hatching in the next week or so. I was thinking that you could spend some time this week helping out for a little bit each day and then once the chicks can be separated from their mamas, you can take some of them with you."
It would help her just as much as it would him since the chicks required a lot more care and she had her hands pretty full with the current flock and the cows and everything else she was doing.