Years of reprehensible behavior couldn’t be erased in a single night, but an ounce of understanding went a long way toward repairing the wound on his heart.
For the first time, he could see a clear path forward.
A path to mend his broken family.
And a path to start a new family with Sage.
If he could earn her forgiveness first.
Chapter 35
SAGE
Sage sat backon her heels while Gran removed the small trap on the side of the brood box where the bees deposited their pollen. Early afternoon sunlight bathed the garden in a warm, burnished glow, as if offering her hopeful assurance that the new day would ease the pain of last night.
As if that were even possible.
In less than twenty-four hours, she’d lost Flynn. Their partnership. The boat. Her best chance to finally open her bookstore.
And the worst part? She knew she should accept what happened and move on. She needed to be like her mom and Gran, and every woman who came to the Honeybee Retreat. She needed to put the broken pieces of her life back together and build a better future for herself. Without Flynn.
And yet, despite the knowledge that life would go on without him—that she’d be okay—she missed him so much her whole body ached. And she couldn’t help wondering if walking away had been a horrible mistake.
Her phone hummed in the side pocket of her long cotton skirt, but she ignored the vibration for the hundredth time that day.
Flynn hadn’t stopped calling since last night. And texting. And leaving countless voicemails.
But she couldn’t bring herself to look at her phone, too afraid her resolve would slip.
She wanted to forgive him, to grasp at any excuse to give him another chance. But what would that say about her? That she was weak? That she’d given a man too much power over her heart again?
An image of her father crouched on the worn carpet in their old house, his bags stacked by the front door, crept into her thoughts. He’d tugged on one of her pigtails and teased,Why the sad face, kiddo? We’ll still see each other all the time.
She’d clung to that promise for far too long, desperate to believe him. The first Christmas after he left, she wouldn’t let her mom put the star on the tree, convinced he’d show up to carry on the tradition. The top of the tree remained bare that year.
On her seventh birthday, she’d made her mother wait to cut the cake. It sat in the fridge for ten days until speckles of mold mingled with the rainbow sprinkles.
Countless times, she’d given her father the benefit of the doubt. Until one day, her well of faith ran dry. She only wished it hadn’t taken so long.
Her phone buzzed again, harmonizing with the hum of the honeybees.
“Maybe you should get that before it vibrates a hole right through your pocket,” Gran teased, scooping the pollen pellets into a glass jar.
“It’s probably Flynn again.” She let it go to voicemail.
“Why don’t you want to answer it? Did something happen last night?” Gran slid the thin drawer back into the brood box.
Sage winced. She still hadn’t told her mom and Gran what happened. Saying the words aloud would lend a note of finality she wasn’t ready to face.
“I just think it might be time for me to move on and focus on my future. I don’t need Flynn, or any man, to live a fulfilling life.”
She vocalized her thoughts for her own benefit as much as Gran’s, but even though she believed the statement, her chest constricted.
You have your friends and family. And that will always be enough.
Gran knelt on her padded gardening mat in thoughtful silence as honeybees danced around her.
“That’s true,” Gran said slowly. The bees darted to and fro, dispersing in different directions as she nodded her head. “Being single is a blessing. For many reasons. But so is finding your person and going through life together as a team.” A honeybee perched on her shoulder, a willing audience to her wisdom. “A man shouldn’t be your whole world. But he can be an important part of it. As long as you choose wisely.”
