Page 10 of Her Hidden Smile

She pulled her shawl up higher. It might have hidden her slender shoulders, but nothing could hide her high, prominent cheekbones. I wondered if she just naturally had those, or if they might be from not eating enough. Maybe I could bring her groceries and drop them off. I’d definitely include chocolate. Polly, Angel, Elani, Zuri, Indah, and Nia all loved chocolate. That just left out Sandy. She liked jellybeans.

“Okay,” she mumbled. “I’ll get you the key.” She shut the door and I could hear her lock the door.

Yep, definitely skittish.

She came back in less than a minute. I had to stifle a laugh. Only Zuri could put her hands on a key that fast because she was just that organized. The rest of my sisters would have to hunt for the key, especially Angelica. Hell, she’d take thirty minutes, then call me in to help her find it.

Millie bit her lip as she considered how to give me the key. For a moment, I thought she was going to have me back up and then put it on the porch and close the door. When she held out her trembling hand with the key in her palm, I practically cheered.

Thata girl!

I slowly reached out to pluck it out of her small hand, doing my best not to touch flesh. She immediately pulled back her hand. I could see her entire body was shaking. It was time for me to go.

“How about after I walk out, you close your fence? I’ll direct the kids and professor to the barn and we’ll get started. When would you like me to come for the treats?”

She sighed in relief. “Can I call you?”

I took my phone out of my back pocket. “Give me your number and I’ll just log it into my phone, then I’ll text you and you’ll have my number.”

She gave me her number. She wasn’t whispering anymore, and I took that as a good sign. I put it into my phone, and then I shot her a text. We could both hear her phone ringing from somewhere inside her house.

“There you go,” I said with a smile.

She nodded. “I’ll start on the cookies. Thank you, Mr. Drakos.”

“That’s my father’s name. I’m Renzo.”

“Thank you, Renzo.”

I nodded and turned to jog down her steps. I heard the door close before I cleared the first step. I even heard the door lock. She might’ve been skittish, but by God, she’d handed me the key. She’d been brave today.

When I was halfway to the barn, I heard the electronic gate close.

Chapter Two

I shut the door and leaned against it. My body wouldn’t stop shuddering. He’d touched my hand. It was only for an instant, but our flesh had connected. I never should have handed him the key. I knew better. But for once, I wanted to be brave.

Why can’t I be brave all the time?

Shoving off my door, I forced myself to my desk and sat down. I was flapping my hands and blowing on them before I even realized it. The temperature was sixty-eight inside, but that wasn’t going to handle things today. I got up and went to the thermostat then set it to seventy-three. Hopefully, I would warm up soon.

When I pulled up the diagram of the orchard, I closed my eyes. I remembered when the trees were planted. It was so exciting when Mom, Dad and I would go out to see their progress.

Dad had listened to Irving and planted the trees far enough apart to allow them to grow and not get in each other’s way. At that time we’d only had thirty-five trees. Dad had left acres and acres of room to plant other apple trees, pear trees, and peach trees. I didn’t realize it at the time, but the peach trees would only last seven to fifteen years, whereas the apple and pear trees could live fifty years.

I remember Dad teasing Mom for wanting to plant peach trees. He said that they weren’t as economical and profitable in the long run as pear and apple trees. Mom had insisted because she liked the smell of the peach blossoms. What’s more, she knew how much Dad liked peach cobbler. Dad had laughed at her silliness, but he’d planted them. I remember how she had hugged and kissed him and whispered in his ear. They did that a lot. I’d always wished for that one day, but now I knew it would never happen for me.

The first time they bore fruit, we were practically jumping up and down. Mom even let me have a little glass of champagne, even though I was only fourteen. I’d felt like such an adult.

I hoped Renzo or the professor wouldn’t tell me that any of the trees were too damaged and had to be cut down. I couldn’t tell from when I had walked the orchard last night. There had been a lot of debris, but it didn’t look like any of the trees had been uprooted.

I got up from my desk and looked around the living room. When I spotted the fire extinguisher over the couch, some of the anxiety I had been feeling after touching Renzo, eased. The extinguishers always made me feel better.

Turning around, I headed down the hall to the master bedroom. I went straight to the massive closet that they’d built for the new house. It was only a tenth of the way filled up. I pulled out Dad’s old, brown, leather jacket and shrugged it on. It was huge on me, but I didn’t care. I loved it.

It was still charred from the fire. It was the one thing that I had that was left after the blaze that decimated my life. I stroked the charred spots. This jacket was my savior. After spending time in the burn ward, I knew I got off way easier compared to so many others.

When I awoke in the unit, I was alert enough to understand I now belonged to Aunt Marge and Uncle Phil. Aunt Marge was my dad’s mom’s cousin. I’d only met them when I was little, but they were who Mom and Dad had given me to if they died.