She was silent a moment. "I'm a little afeared of it too, but I still want to go. Then there's Ma and Billy Ray. I don't want to leave them up here all alone. If I had a car, I could get a job, but…I thought…I wondered if we could sell a few trees…is that possible?"
She looked up at him, hope and shame mingling in her eyes.
"Sometimes they do that. Trees growing naturally in the forest tend to grow taller before they have limbs, and you generally don't have to be concerned about things like finding nails or wire imbedded in them. Sometimes Uncle Dell looks for nice cherry or walnut trees for a specific market."
She nodded, as if she understood. "Did you see anything when we was ridin'?"
He shook his head. "I'm afraid I wasn't paying as much attention to that as I should have been. My head hurt so much that I was simply focusing on the solitude."
She looked disappointed.
"However," he continued. "I did see some possibilities earlier when I was looking around."
She looked hopeful. "How many trees would it take to buy a car?"
He shrugged. "I suppose it depends on the trees and the car. I never had anything to do with the pricing."
She sighed and turned, walking toward the house. "I reckon I'd better help Ma with lunch…you're going to stay, ain't you? Billy Ray would like to meet you - and I'm sure you'd like him."
He lifted a brow as he walked beside her. "Who is Billy Ray?"
"He's my younger brother. He's only seventeen but…the doctors say he will never be more than eight years old."
Barrett groaned. "And I think I have problems."
She looked up at him. "You do. Just because you think someone else has worse problems doesn't mean your problems are less of a problem for you."
He stopped and looked down at her. "That's pretty deep for someone as young as you."
She had a pretty smile. "Maybe that's because Pa thought of it, not me."
He laughed. "And someone else before him, no doubt."
When they entered the house together and smiling, Ma looked up with a grateful expression. Barrett didn't know if he had done much, but it felt good to help someone else through a low spot for once.
For the first time since she graduated, Mary Jo felt hopeful about her future. Monroe hadn't promised anything except that he would try to help. That was something.