Read Pickers 3: The Valley for Free Online Page B

wonder if any of these trees give any fruit or nuts at the end of the year." He was a Picker, not a botanist.
    Luke pointed at the short hedge that ran along the side of the wheel house. "Tree?"
    "Sort of. I guess."
    "Tree?"
    "Oh, what the hell. Yes. If you say it's a tree, then it's a tree."
    "Tree!" exclaimed Luke, triumphantly.
    So now, everything with deep green leaves was a tree, no matter what size it was. Including the cannabis bush a row back that Tony was having a conversation about with Myriam. It had been a surprise when her aunt had answered the door. She had explained it simply enough as they walked through the flower dense entrance hall, "When I decided I was settling down here, I wanted to choose something that, well, symbolised it. You can't get much more symbolic than a job that involves, well, roots. It turns out I'm really good at it as well." Stopping by the door into the main body of the greenhouses, she had to ask, "Who's this little charmer, then?"
    "Tree!"
    "This is Luke. We picked him up on the way here." Tony said. He put the child down and let him shoot ahead of them as the doors opened.
    "He's one of the lost children you rescued on your way in? Or did you find him before then?"
    "One of the kids from the lorries. He hitched a ride with us for the trip into the Valley."
    "We're thinking about keeping him." Veronique added. "I'm not sure how that works, though."
    "It's not as if there's a lot of paperwork. Just be sure no-one objects and then get on with raising him. That's the way I joined my family."
    "Albert mentioned his tante Lola last night."
    "I have been middle sibling to Lola and Fabien for a long, long time. Their family took me in back when Fabien was about that one's size and Lola was Remy's age. We were Pickers until their parents died, then we decided we wanted to settle down rather than carry on with it. I think I told you the rest last night." Myriam looked like she felt guilty admitting that she had ever wanted to settle down, particularly to another Picker.
    "We're thinking of settling here, too." Tony said. "After this next big pick. If they'll let us."
    They were walking between rows of leafy greens, stacked on shelves three tiers tall. They were such a pale green that Luke hadn't decided, yet, that they were trees. He was looking at the space under the lowest tier, which was moist and muddy and just high enough for him to stand up in. "Out of there, you." Veronique commanded, hoping she was projecting authority without sounding too harsh. He held out his hand and she took it.
    Now they were in one of the other galleries of the greenhouses, surrounded by tomatoes and peppers. Tony and Myriam came around the corner from the cannabis patch. "It's all medicinal?" he was asking.
    "You'd need a prescription to get yourself any. Except at the harvest festival, when we crop a load of it and work out how much we can spare for fun."
    "We are staying at least until the harvest festival." Tony told Veronique as they drew level. He looked down as he felt tugging at his trousers, to find Luke looking up at him and holding out a hand. When Tony and Veronique had a hand each, they lifted Luke off the ground, and he laughed as he waved his feet around.
    "Come through here." Myriam pointed to a door leading to another section of greenhouse.
    Luke walked between Tony and Veronique, though, three abreast, they were almost too wide for the walkway. Myriam opened the door, and Luke let go to be the first one to jump across the threshold.
    The room was full of row after row of stalks, mostly in shades of gold, but with flecks of unripened green still in them. "Wheat and barley." Myriam announced. "We're trying to get the highest yield possible from them, because they are supplying some of our seeds for next year. Our seed bank is tiny, but we think these strains are resistant to the blight."
    "This is what you'll do with what we bring back?" Tony asked.
    "With the most promising strains. In here we