“We try to find things for him to do. And sometimes he’ll stick to a task for a while. But it doesn’t take long before he gets distracted. Like Mom asked him to rake around her garden, and the next thing we knew, he was digging a huge hole. A hole that no one wanted and just had to be filled back in. And he was so worn out, he could barely walk into the house.” She took another bite of her burger. “I mean, at least she had something to occupy him the next day. But it just goes on and on like that.”
Miguel looked amused. “If he enjoys doing something, maybe it doesn’t matter so much what he’s doing as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.”
She set down her burger, wiped her fingers, and looked into his eyes. Miguel was so sincere and kind, such a stand-up sort of guy. The wordguilelesscame to mind as she nodded. “You’re right. I’ll try to remember that.”
“So ... how are his bees doing? Making lots of honey?”
“As far as I can tell, they’re doing okay. But I have to say, as much as he loves his little buzzy-bodies, he does forget them at times. If Cooper wasn’t helping, I think there would be real problems.”
His dark brows arched. “She likes the bees, then?”
“She adores them.” Jewel wrinkled her nose. “Me, not so much. But you should see her out there with the hives, so calm and collected. She claims the sound of the bees makes her feel at peace, if you can believe that. Although Mom told me Dad used to say the same thing.”
“I have a friend who keeps bees, and he said that too.”
“Coop even learned how to get into the protective suit and empty the honeycombs. She claims she’ll be able to do it by herself next time.”
“That’s great.”
“I guess. The whole business made me pretty nervous at first. I was so worried she’d get attacked and stung. You know, like Winnie the Pooh when he steals the honey.”
He laughed. “I remember seeing that video when I was a kid.”
“Me too. And to be honest, I’ve never liked bees,” Jewel confessed. “I’ve read that they sense fear in people, so I give them their space and hope they’ll leave me alone.”
He nodded toward the small group of teens gathered at the far end of the yard, laughing loudly at something. “It’s nice to see how Cooper seems to be fitting in here. Even with the country kids. Anna can’t seem to get enough of her.”
“I know Coop’s here a lot. I just hope she doesn’t wear out her welcome.” Jewel sighed. “To be honest, her settling in here feels nothing short of miraculous.”
“Yeah, I remember you telling me she was a problem child.” He chuckled. “I think she’s pretty cool.”
“She is pretty cool. And doing far better here than she was in California.”
“So do you think you’ll be staying, then?” His espresso-colored eyes searched hers. “You weren’t too sure about all this when you first arrived, if I recall.”
“I can’t deny I’ve had moments when I wanted to pick up and run.” She shrugged. “But with Mom and Dad’s new house coming next week, and the plans for the B&B, well, I guess I have to stay long enough to see how it goes.” Her voice trailed off with uncertainty. She wished she was as confident as she was trying to sound, but what if her grandiose plans all flopped? There were so many ways it could all go wrong.
“So ... if itdoesn’tgo?” He continued to study her with intensity.
“I don’t know, Miguel. I mean, I’ve sunk all my funds into this wild dream of mine. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with suffocating doubts. I’ve even had a couple of nightmares about it. It’s possible I did bite off more than I can chew. That’s what Mom always used to tell me. And to be honest, mydad really scares me sometimes. He’s so unpredictable. Like he could totally balk at the idea of living in the new house. He could blow up at me for even doing all this. What then?”
Miguel pursed his lips. “He never seemed to be the kind of guy who liked change.”
“I know. Well, unless he’s rearranging things.”
Miguel smiled. “That’s true.”
“But you’re right. I used to think he was a real stick in the mud. Every time Mom wanted to do something different, Dad would dig in his heels.”
“So what’s your plan if he refuses to live in the new house?” Miguel asked.
“Well, I suppose Cooper and I could live there. And, really, that would be okay. But there goes the whole B&B idea. No way could I have guests in the house with my dad living there. And I was hoping that would help to pay back my investment. Plus, it sounded like fun. I could make it look so cool, so inviting. I imagined it like an artist’s retreat where I’d host small groups and even have a gallery in the barn.” She sighed to imagine the dream she’d nurtured. In a perfect world, it could be so good. But theirs was not a perfect world. Not by any means.
“It does sound like a good idea, Jewel. In theory.”
“In theory?” Even though she knew he was right, she didn’t want to hear it.
“Well, we have dreams, but we never know what will happen in real life. I’m not saying don’t dream.” He waved his hand. “After all, it wasn’t that long ago this place was all a dream.” He sipped his drink. “But the truth is it hasn’t turned out the way I’d hoped.” He gazed out across the fields with a sad expression, and she suddenly remembered how he lost his wife and his father. That must’ve ruined some of his dreams.
