Page 7 of Sweet Trouble
“We learned the hard way that they need one-on-one supervision ineverything,” Allie said as she led him into the greenhouse. “At least the first couple of times.Posey.”
He looked around while Allie moved off to search for Posey.
It was bright and warm inside, and filled with the sound of children’s voices. A couple of kids were digging for potatoes with adults he recognized from town overseeing. Others were in the back of the greenhouse poking around in what looked like a bed with nothing in it.
“That’s just dirt,” Allie confided. “They all really like to dig, so we figured we’d keep a spot free for that.”
Tripp chuckled as heturned to her.
Beside her stood a small girl in a red coat. She looked up at Tripp with serious green eyes.
“This is Posey Price,” Allie told him. “And today is her first day at school. Posey, this is my big brother, Mr. Lawrence.”
“Hi, Mr. Lawrence,” Posey said politely.
All the formality made Tripp feel like he was in the principal’s office, but he decided to just go with it.
“Posey would like to use a watering can,” Allie explained. “She can show you where it is. You two can fill it with the hose and then take care of the beds at the front of the greenhouse, okay?”
“No problem, Al—uh, Miss Law—I mean, Mrs. Tailor,” Tripp said, earning him a smile from his sister. “Ready, Posey?”
Posey nodded. She wasn’t smiling, but her eyes were sparkling now. She was clearly into the idea of using a watering can.
These city kids were too much. And there were more of them in town every year, their families drawn up here by the promise ofa simpler life. Meanwhile, there was a steep learning curve for adjusting to country life for folks who didn’t even know where their food came from. These new kids were half the reason Allie wanted a greenhouse in the first place.
The other half was probably just that she wanted to get outside more herself. She’d never been one to spend a lot of time sitting around indoors, either. It felt like only yesterday that she was following him along the creek, turning over rocks to look for crayfish.
“Let’s go,” Tripp said to Posey.
“Are you a farmer?” the little girl asked him suddenly in a bell-clear voice that was almost familiar.
“Uh, yeah,” he told her. “I sure am.”
“So you already know how to do all this stuff,” she said, waving vaguely at all the beds and plants.
“Not really,” he told her. “I’m a dairy farmer.”
“A dairy farmer?” she repeated.
“That means I take care of cows,” he explained. “It’s my job to keep them comfortable and make sure they have good food to eat and clean water to drink.Happy cows make sweeter cream.”
It was kind of funny to hear himself spouting the family motto to a little kid, just like it had been repeated to him so many times growing up.
“They do?” Posey asked.
“Well, my family has been saying it for generations,” he said, shrugging. “So it must be true.”
“Everyone in your family is a cow farmer?” she asked, looking surprised.
“Well, my great-great-great-grandpa, Stone Lawrence, was one of the founders of Sugarville Grove,” he explained. “And our family has kept cows on that same farm ever since he started it. But not all of us, just the ones who want to.”
“Can you ride them?” Posey asked, her eyes lighting up a little.
“I guess you could,” he told her, chuckling. “But I don’t think they would like it very much. Grab a watering can.”
She did as she was told and followed him outside.
He took a nice deep breath and felt gratefulthat Allie had asked him to do this instead of another indoor story time. He always indulged his sister, but being out in the fresh air was definitely more his style.
