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I climbed up, hand on the back of her seat to keep my balance. She was a quick learner. I only had to tell her what everything was once before she understood. I hopped down, letting her take over.
Mollie wasted no time going to work on the fields. She must have been planning this, because she immediately got one field dug up and went to work on the next.
I watched her for way too long, marveling at how much she looked like Bennie as she worked. Then I pushed it away, knowing I needed to get to feeding all the animals for the day.
When I got back, the fields she’d made didn’t look too bad. Sure, some of the edges were wavy, but they were in the spots Bennie used to grow things.
I was almost impressed.
Especially when I found her in the barn again.
“Okay, listen. I’m just gonna grab them from around you. Be very chill, Mister Not-Venomous Snake.”
She slowly got the lines out, this time not running when the snakes moved.
“I thought you were scared of them.”
“Terrified, but I’m being brave.” She showed me the lines with a smile on her face. “Think they still work?”
“If you’re lucky.”
“Well, the welcome sign does say the magic is alive.”
“That’s just a tourist slogan.”
She laughed. “What tourists?”
“Seriously, though. Nice work on the fields.”
She gasped and turned to me. “A compliment? FromCain?”
“I’m justsayingthat you remembered a lot.”
“I also looked up a lot of stuff.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Especially when I should have been working.”
“For a city girl who works in an office, you don’t seem to like it very much.”
“Don’t tell my dad that,” she replied before walking up to the hose lines. “Now, did Papa Bennie hook these up here or to the main water line?”
“Main water line,” I replied. “But you can test them here.”
She nodded and hooked it up.
“Fair warning, you should start sl?—”
She cranked the water on high and it sprayedeverywhere.
“Fuck!” She gasped, fighting for the spigot. By the time the water was off, both of us were soaked.
“Slow drip, Mollie. You need a slow drip.”
“What a rookie move,” she muttered as she stood.
Her shirt stuck to her torso.
Herwhiteshirt.
She wasn’t wearing a bra, and I could see the outline of her?—