“That makes me feel better,” Ruth said. “She’ll tell you straight.”

“If she thinks it can work, I’m going to ask her if she wants to hire on to do some of the labor.”

“Great idea!” Ruth said. “Anne and I have been worried about her. If the new owners won’t let her stay on here, I don’t know where she’d get a job. She’s been with us for twelve years.”

“She could get a job anywhere. She’s a brilliant carpenter.”

“I know, but why do you think she works here instead of with a contractor? No one would hire her. The communication situation was seen as a problem.”

“Well, their loss.”

“It is. I bet she’d love fixing up a house.”

Ellis hadn’t intended to talk to Ruth about her idea yet, but it burst out before she could stop herself. “Do you think she’d have any interest in running a plant business?”

“There’s no way she can buy this place. She and her father are barely holding on.”

“I didn’t mean Southern Roots,” Ellis said. “I’m thinking . . .”

It was all so unlikely. But it was a goal. A dream. The first she’d had in years.

“I’m thinking of starting a native plant nursery on the property.”

“Ellis!” was all Ruth could say.

“You’ve seen how everyone comes in here asking for natives. They’re growing in popularity.”

“But our bread and butter is the nonnatives.”

“I know. But gardeners are becoming more ecologically conscious. Even the big landscape companies are doing natives.”

“You’d be out in the country. Who would drive that far to buy plants?”

“People who really want native plants. I’ve seen them. I’ve talked to them. I think this area is ripe for natives.”

Ruth grinned. “Damn, I wish you could buy this place. You haven’t been here two years and look at you! You could easily take over.”

“Thanks to you and Anne. You’ve been great teachers. How is Anne doing?”

“Not good. They say she needs another surgery.”

“I’m so sorry,” Ellis said.

Ruth nodded and patted Ellis’s hand. “I like this idea you have. I’ll help you with it as much as I can. I want you to quit work early today and show that house to Maxine.”

“What if it gets busy?”

“This is more important.”

Three hours later, Ellis left in her SUV, Max following in her old pickup. The property was rural but only about thirty minutes from Gainesville. The old cattle gate at the entrance was open when they arrived. The real estate agent was already there.

Ellis drove slowly down the winding gravel road that led to the house. Her reaction was as intense as it had been on Friday. As she drove under the huge moss-draped oaks, cabbage palms, and loblolly pines, she felt giddy with need for the place. It was wild like Wild Wood, like the mountain forests she’d camped in, yet wholly different. Nowhere she’d lived looked like Florida’s forests. There were no memories here. None. Not even ravens. There were only crows, including a new kind she’d never seen—the fish crow that said “carr” instead of “caaw.”

Ellis pulled up to the old house with its wide porch and tin roof. She could so easily imagine herself living there. And she already knew the name of her business. Wild Wood Natives. She would allow that one memory from her past. Nothing but those two words.

Even Keith would be banished from this place. How appropriate that their texts ended today. Ellis would erase the conversation. She would delete his number. And very soon, she would forget him because she would be starting a new life.

Ellis greeted the real estate agent on the front porch, being careful of the rotting boards beneath her feet. Max ignored the agent, immediately sizing up the house. She shot Ellis an amused look, an expression that seemed to say, “Seriously? You want to buy this piece of crap?”

Ellis shrugged.

Maxine smiled, shaking her head, and walked into the house.

The agent followed the sturdy middle-aged woman into the kitchen. “I hear you’re a carpenter?” she said.

“She can’t hear you,” Ellis said. “She’s deaf. But yes, she’s a carpenter. She does all the building repairs at the nursery where we work. Last year, she built a new pavilion for the shade plants. It’s really beautiful.”

“I’ve seen it,” the agent said. “I buy all my plants at Southern Roots. I’ve seen her working there but never knew she was deaf.”

Many nursery customers thought Max was either very rude or had a mental problem. When they asked questions, she’d ignore them rather than signal that she couldn’t hear them. Ellis liked that about her, her refusal to explain herself. She had lost most of her hearing and was badly scarred in an accident that killed her mother and nearly took her life when she was a teenager. She never talked about what happened or her reasons for refusing to learn sign language. Her father had taught her his plumbing, electrical, and carpentry knowledge, hoping the skills would provide her with a livelihood. But few employers other than Ruth and Anne had been willing to adjust to Max’s code of silence.

Max spent an hour looking at the house. She delved into every closet and cabinet, beneath every sink. She took her ladder off her truck and walked all over the tin roof. She climbed into the attic and crawled around in the dirt beneath the house. She looked at the water pump and the septic hill. Then she spent another half hour inspecting the barn.