“Why do you have a men’s large?”
“Because I’m waiting for my Prince Charming to show up in apiary armor,” she quipped with a chuckle and then explained, “Sometimes my brothers or Dad help me with the hives, so I got a suit for them.”
Right.I’d tack that obvious answer squarely in the pregnancy brain column.
“Hat is next.” She took a wide-brimmed hat off one of the hooks and placed it on my head before carefully unrolling the fine netting that draped around the rim. “And then gloves.” After plopping her own hat on her head, she handed me a pair of thick gloves. “You can wait to put those on until we get to the hives.”
Wordlessly, I took the gloves as she gathered her tools and led the way.
As we walked, Harper dove right into telling me about her growing honeybee business, how it started, when she moved to this parcel of land that once belonged to her aunt’s farm, how many hives she began with, how many she maintained now. Iwas more than happy to listen and ask questions…anything to give me a little distance from Max.
I was surprised by the path to the hives. I’d expected them to be close by the shed, and maybe they were. Maybe it just felt farther because the incline was noticeable, and I moved slower nowadays. But it wandered through a thicket of loosely packed trees, sprigs of flowers blooming along the footpath and at the base of the trunks.
If there was any real place that could’ve served as the inspiration for Taylor Swift’sfolklore, this little grove could’ve been it.
“Why aren’t the hives closer to your shed?” I finally decided to ask.
“The shed was already there when I decided to put a bee farm on the property, but it’s always shady here. Hives do best when they get some sun, but shade to block out the extreme heat, so the best spot for them was through the trees over there.” She turned over her shoulder, and I could see her smiling under the fine black netting. “I like coming out here and having nothing in sight except me and the bees. It’s…you’ll see.”
The thicket dissolved a few feet later, and Harper stopped a couple of steps out of the clearing, and I came to stand by her shoulder.
I did see.
Wildflowers of every pastel stretched as far as the eye could see. A sea of serene color lined on either side of us by two rows of narrow but tall box-like structures.The hives.
“Told you.” She nudged my elbow. “All right, let’s go check on my bee babies.”
My hands went to my stomach, feeling my own baby buzzing under the surface.
“Jamie built me these supports for the hives.” She pointed to the base that lifted the hives about a foot off the ground. “Iwas using wood pallets that I attached legs to, but he wanted to make me something custom. You want to keep the hives off the ground, and having an open framework is good for airflow.”
“That was nice of him.”
“Yeah.” She smiled. “All right, gloves on.”
I followed her lead, sliding on the thick elbow-length gloves.
“Yeah, Aunt Ailene let me lease this property. Jamie built these stands. Dad helps me manage and harvest when he can. Frankie uses my beeswax for some of her candles. Lou serves my honey at the inn.” She turned and faced the flowers. “And Max helped me grow the field of wildflowers.”
I stiffened. “How many hives did you say you had?”
If she noted my obvious change of conversation, Harper didn’t let on. “Sixteen right now, but I’m going to probably add a dozen more next year. Hopefully.”
“Why hopefully?”
The bubbly happiness she carried dimmed a little. “I’m just nervous to expand with everything going on.”
“You have so many people supporting you, Harper. I’m sure it’s going to be just fine.” I buried the twinge of jealousy at justhowmany people…how much family she had supporting her.
But it wasn’t just how much family support she had, was it? No, I admitted. It waswhothat family was that really made my chest tighten.
All this time…I could’ve been a part of this family too. If Max had just said something…
“Thanks.” She reached for the top of the first hive. “Sometimes, the internet makes me feel like I need some kind of personal PR campaign to turn my reputation around.”
“Not a chance,” I assured her. “Unless you do end up with a Prince Charming in apiary armor. Then, I think it could be worth it.”
That got her to laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
