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Once they were in the truck, Ford headed south toward Phail. It was a thirty-minute drive from the farm. The road dipped and rose as it curved through the mountains and valleys. The view was different around every corner. “More trees than humans.”

“Different from what you grew up with in Miami?”

“Completely different.” And it surprised him how much he loved the scenery. So many varieties of trees. Rocks and mountains, then valleys with small farms tucked within them.

Jolie’s head swiveled to take in all the views. “I arrived at night so I didn’t get to see any of this. It’s beautiful, and it’s giving me a much better feel for how this area of Vermont should be. It’s good to see how the land works and what keeps the plants happy.”

“Happy?” Had anyone he knew ever talked about the land being happy before?

Jolie nodded. “Happy. Nature does biodiversity really well. We can learn from her what kinds of plants thrive naturally here. Then we can incorporate the ones that will support the apples into the farm.”

“How does that help?”

Jolie smiled. “I’m learning a lot about that. I know biology and environmental systems, but I’ve never known much about farms. Apparently, if a farm focuses only on a single crop, it’s more vulnerable to insect infestations and to natural events. Floods can wash away the soil, but if there are a variety of plants rooting down to different levels, those roots hang onto the soil and prevent it washing away.”

Ford nodded. “That makes sense.”

“With a wider variety of species, there’s less chance of any one species being wiped out. The food webs are healthier and more complex.”

“So if you need those ladybugs, but they get wiped out from something, the ripple effects are bad.”

“Devastating. It’s much better to follow nature’s cues and keep the biome varied and happy.”

He grinned at the repetition of the word. Happy was important to Jolie. For her insects and plants, as well as the people around her. She was a captivating woman.

He had dozens of ideas about how to keep her happy, but none of them were appropriate for the short time they’d known each other.

The smart move would be to avoid Jolie, to spend as little time in her company as possible. But that wasn’t going to happen. She drew him in like a fish on a line.

Jolie turned and smiled at him. “Tell me more about the callsigns. You said you worked with people with interesting ones.”

He welcomed the change of topic to get his head off ways to keep Jolie happy. “We had a great group of guys on our team of six. You know Knox got stuck with Annie.”

Jolie laughed. “Because of your sister. Sounds like he was called Mal before that. I like Annie better.”

“Of course you do. I don’t think he minds it much, either.”

“He’s always been easy going. If it makes someone else laugh, he’s generally okay with it.”

“Sounds like Annie. Then there’s me. I usually get Dodge, but I’ve been called Chevy, Honda, and even Volvo. If it’s a vehicle company, it’s been used for me.”

She laughed. “Jeep? Tank?”

He grinned. “Yes, to both.”

“Who else was on your team? Knox rarely talks about his time overseas but he has talked about the people.”

Ford nodded. Talking about what they’d seen overseas was never easy. They’d all been assigned therapists to help them readjust to civilian life. Ford figured the veterans lucky enough to have family who cared had the easiest time of things. “We had a few guys who were with us for almost the full two tours. Gray Santoro was one.”

“Let me guess. Pink?”

Ford laughed. “Damn. That would have been a good one. With his surname being Santoro, Gray was stuck with Santa or Claus.”

“That would sound weird when you were making calls over the radios.”

“It did. Although, you get used to it quickly and then it’s just their names. Then we had Adam Simpson.”

“I’m guessing Bart. Or Homer?”