7
For the next week, Madison and Addie were in some kind of standoff. Not that Madison cared particularly since she had a lot to do before her seedlings arrived. For starters, she called several distributors they’d used in the past. The first few were getting trees from a different region, but she finally hit pay dirt with a youth organization that had purchased trees from McDowell’s during her gap year.
“You’re kidding!” the man exclaimed. “You actually have trees to sell?”
“You bet we do.”
“When I called last spring, I was turned down. And then so many local farms got burned out, it was useless to even ask. Selling Christmas trees has been our best method of raising funds, but I’d given up on this year too. This is a real blessing for us!”
“I’m glad.” An idea occurred to Madison. “But there might be a catch. Labor’s been a challenge. We might need some help cutting and wrapping the trees.”
“We can absolutely do that,” the man assured her.
She offered him a discount for their help, and after they settled on numbers, prices, and dates, Madison triumphantly took the good news to Addie. “You need to invoice this.” She handed the paper to her sister.
“I sold off all these trees.” She pointed to the number. “Can you believe it?”
“There’s no way we can deliver on this!” Addie stood with fiery eyes and clenched fists. “Why didn’t you talk to me first?”
Madison held up her hands. “Okay, before you freak out, listen.” She quickly explained how the youth group was going to cut and wrap the trees. “Just like they did the year I helped Dad and Grandpa. And they’re not only helping us, we’re helping them. See the price break I gave them?”
“But this is valuable inventory for selling the farm.” Addie shook the paper in her face. “Don’t you get it?”
“You don’t get it, Addie. I don’t want to sell the farm.”
“And what about our liability?” Addie protested. “Kids can get hurt with the machinery. We could be sued.”
“We’ll have them sign some sort of agreement. People do that all the time.”
She scowled. “You think everything is so simple, but it’s not.”
“And you think everything is so complicated. Look, if you won’t invoice this, I will.” She reached for the paper, but Addie snatched it back.
“Never mind. I’ll do it,” Addie grumbled. “But if we lose everything, don’t blame me.”
“I am trying to keep that from happening,” Madison said slowly, trying to keep from further aggravating her wet blanket sister. “But it’d sure be nice if you were on board.”
Addie answered with a growling noise.
Madison’s second project was to stake lines about eight feet apart in the burn area. A guide to plant the seedlings in straight rows. It would’ve been nice to have help with this, but since Addie wasn’t even speaking to her, she knew it was pointless to ask. After the lines were in, she went into the barn to make sure everything was in place and ready for wreath construction. Wreath sales weren’t as profitable as trees, but their U-cut customers had always enjoyed the opportunity to purchase attractive greenery after they selected their trees. That had always been Grandma’s terrain, along with cocoa and cookies and Christmas music and a big bonfire. But judging by the layers of dust on the storage bins, Madison could see no wreaths had been assembled in years. Probably due to Grandma’s age and health, along with Addie’s lack of enthusiasm.
But at least the supplies were all there—metal wreath forms, florist tape and wire, bolts of Christmassy ribbons, all kinds of pine cones, and lots of other fun things that Grandma had collected over the decades. The wreath-making process always started in late fall, and the girls got to help when they visited at Thanksgiving time. Madison couldn’t wait to get started this year. Although she suspected Addie would bail on her.
Madison had kept her phone with her throughout the week, hoping she’d hear from some of the local teens. There had to be someone who wanted to work. But by the weekend, the only phone call she’d received was from the seedling supplier, informing her the tree plugs would arrive Monday morning. And they did.
Feeling like a protective parent, Madison watched the workers unload the pallets in a shady area not far from the burned acreage. As soon as their truck left, she turned on the sprinklers she’d set up and gave the plugs a good soaking. Then she loaded up a burlap planter’s bag, slipped the webbed strap over her shoulder, pulled on her work gloves, picked up a clean hoe, and strode out to the boundary between the McDowell’s and Thompson’s properties. Then, acting like this was something she did every day, she went to work planting the plugs about eight feet apart. By noon, she had a long section planted along the boundary, but compared to what was left, it felt like a drop in the bucket. And her back was already aching. So much for the yoga exercises she’d been doing this week.
After a short lunch break, her back felt better and she was ready to go again. Her goal was to get trees planted along the whole boundary, but when she heard the rev of Lily’s motorbike, she wanted to quit. Maybe Addie was right. Maybe this was a waste of time and money. Madison stood to stretch, peering down the long row of very tiny trees. It would take years before they were big enough to help screen the dust. With hands on hips, she watched the bright blue helmet getting closer and braced herself for the dust cloud that would follow. But the motorbike stopped, and Lily got off and strolled over to Madison with a puzzled expression.
“What’re you doing?” she asked.
“Planting Christmas trees.” Madison forced a small smile on her face for the pushy girl.
“Oh yeah. They’re so small, I didn’t even see them. Wow, did you plant all those yourself?”
Madison nodded grimly. “Yep. It’s harder work than I remember.”
“How long will it take them to grow into real Christmas trees?” Lily undid her helmet strap.
Madison sighed. “About ten years on average, depending on pruning and weather and things.”
“Wow, I’ll be twenty-one by then.”
Madison paused to realize she’d be forty-eight herself. More than middle-aged. This replanting plan suddenly felt wilder than ever.
“How many are you going to plant?” Lily squinted over the blackened acreage.
“Six thousand total.”
“No way.”
Pursing her lips, she nodded again. “Way.”
“All by yourself?”
“Well, I’d hoped for workers.” She told Lily about the flyers she’d hung.
“Do you pay much?” Lily tugged off her helmet, shifting her weight to the other foot.
Lily’s brow creased. “So if I worked ten hours, you’d pay me $150?”
“Your math is right on.” Madison studied the girl. “Are you saying you want to work for me?”
“Would you hire me?”
“If you were willing. But I’ll warn you, it’s hard work.”
“I know how to work hard.”
“Of course, your dad would have to give permission.”
“When could I start?”
Madison blinked. “Whenever you like. I mean, if you’re sure you want to do this.”
“I want a new dirt bike, and Dad said I have to earn the money myself. But he was only going to pay me ten dollars an hour, and that is gonna be real hard work, like digging and shoveling gravel.” She nodded to the hoe in Madison’s hand. “That looks kind of easy.”
“Want to try it?” Madison held out the tool.
“Can I?”
“Go for it. I’m ready for a break anyway.”
Lily traded her helmet for the hoe, and Madison explained how she used an eight-foot string to measure between trees. Then she showed her how to use the hoe to measure the depth of the hole.
“Now you put the plug in up to here.” She pointed to the spot on the skinny trunk.
“Are they called plugs ’cause you plug ’em in?” Lily started using her hands to fill the dirt back in.
“It’s easier if you use your feet to pack it.” Madison showed her how with a couple stomps.
“Can I do another?” Lily asked.
“I guess so.” Feeling like Tom Sawyer pulling in Huck Finn, Madison handed Lily another seedling. It wasn’t long before Lily had planted several. “You’re actually pretty good at this,” Madison told her.
“Planting trees is fun. So you’ll really hire me? For real?”
“If your dad’s okay with it.”
“I’ll go ask him now.” Lily reached for her helmet. “I’ll come right back and tell you, okay?”
“Okay with me.” As Madison watched Lily zip off, instead of wanting to quit like earlier, she felt surprisingly energized. The girl’s enthusiasm seemed to fuel her own. Planting trees was fun! Especially if you weren’t doing it all on your own. Hopefully Gavin wouldn’t mind sharing his daughter with her. Even if Lily didn’t work as fast as an adult, having company out here was most welcome! She tucked another seedling into the ground and had just stood up straight to stomp the soil in around it when she heard a male voice calling out a hello. She looked up to see Gavin approaching, alone.
“Hi there.” She gave the seedling a couple more stomps. Hopefully he wasn’t about to put the kibosh on her wanting to employ child labor.
“Lily tells me you’ve offered her a job.” His brow creased slightly, making it hard to determine his opinion.
“Not a job exactly, just some part-time work. She said she needs to earn money for a new dirt bike.”
“That’s true.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I mean, I could just hand it over to her, but what does that teach her? So I suggested she work on the park with me.”
“She told me about that.”
“But it seems she’d rather work for you.”
Madison shrugged. “Is that a problem?”
“No, not exactly.”
“She already demonstrated her ability to plant trees.” Madison waved down the row. “But I told her she needs your permission.”
“Well, if she really wants to do this, I won’t stop her.” He frowned. “She told me you have to plant six thousand trees by yourself—is that really true?”
She nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, I may have bitten off too much.”
“Maybe so.”
“Addie’s convinced as much.” She peered at him, curious to see if he had any reaction to the mention of her sister’s name. “But then she’s never been much into actual farmwork.”
He smiled. “Yeah, Addie’s more of an indoor girl.”
“I hear that you and she have gotten to be good friends.” She continued to study him. “That’s nice.”
“Addie’s been a good neighbor. And a good friend to Lily.”
She slowly nodded. “I also heard you lost your wife,” she added quietly. “I’m so sorry, Gavin.”
“Thanks.” He looked uneasy now. “You know, Madison. I always felt like I should talk to you, you know, about old stuff.” He glanced up at the revving sound of a dirt bike approaching. “Lily wanted to grab a snack before she came back to help,” he explained. “She wanted to start work today. If that’s okay.”
“Sure. There are still a couple of good hours left.” She watched as Lily came to a fast stop, sending dark dust flying. For some reason it didn’t bother her as much now. Maybe because she was already covered in that same kind of black grime herself. She waved to Lily. “I hear I’ve got my first employee.”
“Yeah.” Lily set her helmet on her bike. “Dad said it was okay.”
“I think you gals got your work cut out for you.” He shook his head. “Six thousand trees.”
“One tree at a time.” Madison handed Lily the hoe and then took off the planter’s bag, looping it over Lily’s shoulder and handing her the measuring string. “I’ll go get more trees and a hoe and be right back.”
“If you bring back two hoes, I might like to give it a try,” Gavin told her. “Off the clock.”
“Seriously?” She pointed to his light khaki pants. “You’ll get filthy.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” His dark blue eyes twinkled. “Remember me? The guy who didn’t mind getting his hands dirty.”
“Okay then.” As she walked away, she overheard Lily explaining the planting steps to her dad.
Well, this was totally unexpected. She suspected Gavin’s only motive for hanging around was to be sure Madison wasn’t overworking his daughter. Just being a good parent. But she was curious . . . what had he been about to tell her?
She hurried to the barn and quickly gathered up planter bags, hoes, and measuring strings. Between the three of them, they might get another row started before quitting time. She stopped to fill the bags with trees and, glancing over toward the house, wondered what Addie would think of her recruitment of Lily and Gavin for farmhands. But by the time she got back, only Lily was there.
“Dad got a phone call,” Lily told her. “He had to go back to the trailer to work on something.”
“Oh?” Madison adjusted the bag’s strap on her shoulder and tugged her work gloves back on. “Does he work remotely out here?”
“Huh?” Lily looked up from the seedling she was putting in a hole.
“Does he have a job he does from the trailer?”
“He’s a consultant.” Lily stood, stomping around the dirt by the baby tree.
“What kind of consulting does he do?” Madison jabbed her hoe into the earth.
“For the business that he sold. He promised the new owners that he’d consult with them for a year. That’s why he’s busy sometimes. His year is supposed to be up in November. After that, he can really work on our dirt bike park.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I don’t really know what he does as a consultant, but I guess it’s pretty important.” Lily raised her hoe high, then plunged it deep into the ground. “Because when they call, he’s gotta answer.”
Madison was actually relieved that Gavin was gone. As much as she needed help, she wasn’t sure she was ready to be around him too much. At least not until they had a chance to speak privately. She had a few things she wanted to say to him too!