She felt cautiously curious. She narrowed her eyes. “What’s that?”
“If it becomes too much for you, and things don’t go like you planned ... and if you decide to utilize my idea to create a division on this property, then you will let me handle it for you. Can you agree to that?”
“My mother would have to agree first,” she pointed out.
He nodded. “I know. But if you reach that place, can you agree?”
She considered his condition. In her heart, she seriously doubted she’d ever want to see this property subdivided and developed in the way he’d described. So she wasn’t really worried about making that concession. “Okay, I can agree to that.”
He stuck out his hand. “Shake on it?”
“Yes.” She extended her hand. “You have my word.”
He beamed as he clung to her hand. And now she noticed thesound of wheels coming down the driveway. She looked over to see a pair of pickups. One was unfamiliar but had a load of some white boxes in back, but the second one looked like Miguel’s, and both were driving slowly. She noticed Cooper in the passenger seat of Miguel’s pickup, waving eagerly and pointing at the truck leading the way.
“The bees,” Jewel said suddenly. “That must be Miguel’s beekeeper friend. They’re bringing the bees back.” She nudged Aaron aside. “I’m going inside. I don’t want my bad vibes to upset the bees.” She scurried into the house and, to her dismay, Aaron was at her heels. As she closed the front door, she realized how easy it would be for Miguel to misconstrue what he’d just witnessed on the porch. And she had no doubts he’d been looking. So just like Desi would say to Lucy on Jewel’s favorite old sitcom, she’d have some ’splaining to do.
Honey
It’d taken about twenty minutes of searching before Honey found CT. She couldn’t help but smile to herself when she’d discovered him tinkering with his old farm truck. With the hood up, he was leaning over the engine, talking to himself and acting like he was about to make it start. He didn’t even notice the wires that she’d had Miguel disconnect to ensure the pickup stayed in place. With the temptation of a peanut butter and honey sandwich, she’d lured him back into the house. And swinging wide of the hives, she’d managed to distract him from noticing how quiet they had been today.
Once they were at the house, she realized how worn out he was from that little excursion. He could barely make it up the single porch step, and she had to help him inside and into his chair. He collapsed into it with a grunt, then looked around. “Where is this?”
“Honeymoon Cottage. Home,” she said as she reached to pullthe lever to elevate his feet. Then to make sure he didn’t wander off again, she gently removed his shoes and set them out of sight in the bedroom. She smiled as she came out. “Remember Honeymoon Cottage?” she said cheerfully. “Our vacation home.”
He brightened then nodded as if he remembered, although by the blank look in his eyes, she felt fairly certain he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Just the same, she continued playing the game. “How about a mimosa?” she said lightly as she opened the fridge, removing the leftover champagne and some orange juice. She poured their beverages into goblets and then brought them over to him. “We’ll make a toast.”
“Toast?” His brow furrowed. “Peanut butter and honey?”
“Yes. But first this.” She clinked her glass to his, making him smile. “Here’s to us, CT. And to Honeymoon Cottage.”
His eyes twinkled as he clinked his glass against hers for a second time. She held hers up and took a sip, and he imitated her. “Now I’ll go make that peanut butter and honey sandwich,” she said. “I’m sure you worked up an appetite.”
“Uh-huh,” he muttered. “Honey.”
She hummed as she fixed his lunch. Despite their rocky start, she wanted to make their first full day in Honeymoon Cottage as pleasant as possible. Just as she set his plate on his eating tray, she got a text. She set down his milk and pulled out her phone. It was Cooper, saying the beekeeper was rounding up the bees and that they would be bringing them home within the hour. She also warned that Walter wanted them to keep things peaceful and quiet when they arrived. In other words, keep CT inside.
Honey considered informing CT of the good news but realized that would simply agitate him all over again. She’d let it go for now. When the bees were safely returned, he could go visit them. Thank goodness Miguel had stepped in. Hopefully CT would appreciate his neighbor’s help in this bee rescue. She would make a point of reminding CT of this and of what good friends they had in the Oroscos.
CT had barely finished chewing his last bite of sandwich when his head tipped back. By the time Honey stealthily removed thetray, he was snoring like a chainsaw. Even as a pair of pickups drove slowly up the driveway, CT didn’t flinch. While Honey tidied up the kitchen, she kept one eye on her husband, knowing how easily he could slip away. Then she sat down on the sofa, opened a deck of cards, and proceeded to play solitaire on the coffee table. Determined to keep him inside, she would stay at her post until she was certain the bees were safely in place.
Finally, she heard an engine and got up to see one of the pickups gone and just Miguel and Cooper out in front of the farmhouse. Since CT was still sleeping, and she assumed the bees were back, she decided to go investigate. Knowing she would need to reimburse Miguel’s friend for this help, she grabbed her checkbook.
“How did it go?” she asked Cooper and Miguel when she was within earshot.
“It was exciting,” Cooper told her. “Walter knew just what to do.” She pointed to some new hives. “He’s loaning us those hives since that’s what he used to help move them. And he checked our hives and thinks they’re still okay. Hopefully the bees will relocate later in the day.”
Honey held up her checkbook. “Well, I should pay Walter for his trouble.”
“I gave him your phone number,” Miguel told her. “He’ll call in a couple of days to see if you guys need to keep his hives.”
“Did he say why the bees left?” she asked.
Cooper shrugged. “He wasn’t sure. He said the conditions here looked okay, but maybe something upset them.”
Honey couldn’t imagine what would upset bees like that, but she was watching Miguel. He looked troubled, and his eyes were fixed on the house. That’s when Honey noticed Aaron Hanford’s pickup parked over by the barn. “Looks like Aaron came by,” she said.
“Yeah.” Miguel just nodded. “I should be getting back.”
