Page 9 of Her Hidden Smile

“Miss Millie, these kids are counting on this for their grades.” I knew that any woman who made lemonade and cookies for the men and women harvesting her fruit would be a soft touch for the college students.

I watched as she bit her thumbnail.

“Irving told me a little about what needs to be done. I can supervise them,” I assured her. “Throughout the day I’ll probably need to ask you some questions, though. Is that all right?”

I was pretty sure she nodded, but hell, maybe she flinched.

“Was that a nod, yes?” I forced her to answer.

“Yes,” she whispered.

“Then I’m your best bet, without Irving, right?”

She didn’t just frown, the corners of her lips turned down and she looked sad. Then she nodded.

“Miss Millie, you can just tell me how you want your trees trimmed, can’t you?” I pulled my iPhone out of my back pocket. “We can Facetime, and you can tell me what needs to be done on each tree. How does that sound?”

“I don’t have a phone that does Facetime,” she admitted.

“That’s okay. I’ll take pictures and text them to you. If it’s really complicated, I’ll come up here and we’ll go over the pictures together. Okay?”

Again, she barely nodded.

“Are the ladders in the barn?”

“Yes. So is the cherry picker.”

I took a minute to process what she was talking about, since we’re talking about peach, pear, and apple trees, but I realizes she was talking about the mini truck with an extending ladder that hooks to a basket on top that somebody stands in. That way, they can reach the tops of trees.

“I’ll go check that out before the students get here.”

“But you and the students won’t know what to do.”

“Their professor will be with them. I should hope since she is a horticulturist, that she knows how to prune trees after a storm, right?”

Millie sighed. “Yes,” she whispered. “The workers understand I stay inside and they work with Irv, but the professor will think it’s odd.”

I heard the sadness in her voice and I hated it.

“I’ll tell her you’re baking cookies for everyone. How about that?”

She took a deep breath. “I know I’m being ridiculous.”

“I’m not here to judge. Four of my sisters feared strangers when they were first adopted, so I get it. Zuri is still pretty shy.”

The door opened two, maybe three inches wider.

“But not like me, I bet.”

I laughed. “Well, you have taken shy to a whole new level, Miss Millie.”

“You understand, I don’t enjoy being this way? Right? And I’m not always.”

“I told you, Miss Millie, I don’t judge. My sisters had their reasons, and I respected them. I respect yours.”

She nodded again. I hated to see the downward turn of her lips, but it was what it was.

“Why don’t you get started on those cookies, and I’ll go see what you have going on in the barn. Deal?”