‘Morning, Hamish.’
For the first time, Natasha’s greeting didn’t twist his gut with a slight sense of loss.
Jemma frowned in the other woman’s direction, but Natasha waved.
‘Hey. Jemma, isn’t it? We met at Tracey’s a few weeks back.’
‘Oh, sure, hi.’
‘How’s the water today?’ Hamish called, not moving from the doorway.
‘Colder than you can imagine,’ Natasha yelled back, wrapping her fleecy jacket tighter. ‘Hot shower is calling.’
He raised a hand in farewell as Natasha moved quickly along the silent street. ‘You don’t remember her, do you?’
Jemma chuckled, not the least chastened. ‘Honestly, I focus only on the things that really catch my interest.’ She turned back to Hamish. ‘So here I am.’
He had to kiss her again, that was a given.
‘Lucky Natasha’s not a talker,’ he said. ‘Or the whole town would be on about why there’s an attractive young woman on my doorstep this early in the morning.’
‘I’m sure it’s nothing they’ve not seen before. Though perhaps more often leaving rather than arriving.’
‘Maybe come in out of the cold?’
‘Oh, you’ve warmed me up well enough,’ she said, brushing past him. ‘But if you’re angling for a life model, I could be persuaded to sit.’ She indicated his charcoal-stained hands.
Her refreshing self-confidence was an incredible turn-on.
‘Oh, wait!’ She whirled around. ‘I wanted to show you something in your garden.’
‘Yard.’
‘I didn’t think you’d be the kind to have your masculinity threatened. Come see. It’ll give your cute farm animals a run for their money.’ Jemma led him to the wire mesh fence that separated his property from the path. A couple of naked rosebushes soldiered on despite his neglect and a row of white-flowered daisy bushes saved his yard from total disrepute.
‘Look.’ Jemma lowered her voice as she dragged him to a bush. ‘Have you ever seen a bee curled up asleep in a flower? I got here ten minutes ago, but I was taking photos.’
It was wrong that he was instantly jealous of a bee, resenting the fact that Jemma hadn’t overlooked the insect in her eagerness to see him.
‘Every so often, it moves a couple of millimetres,’ Jemma murmured. ‘Or twitches its antenna, as though it’s dreaming.’
‘Ah,’ he said. ‘Mum always reckoned that the ones asleep in flowers are old worker bees. They put themselves to bed there rather than become a burden on the hive. If this one finds she has enough energy to get up and go again, she’ll take pollen back to the hive later in the day; if not, she’ll die here.’
‘That’s horrible!’ Jemma looked stricken. ‘I was only considering country life on the basis that it’s supposed to be all about making charming animal memes, not tiny tragedies.’
Considering country life?‘It can be more grim than you’d expect. But still, it’s a good life, you know?’ he added in a rush; being overly realistic wasn’t any way to sell the place.
Jemma stroked the edge of the daisy with one finger. ‘It’s sad,’ she said softly. ‘This bee’s worked all of her life, dedicating it to the hive, and now she dies alone.’
Hamish looped his arm around Jemma’s waist from behind, leaning his chin on her shoulder, relishing the fact that hecould. Just a few short weeks back, he couldn’t have imagined having a relationship with the driven, assertive lawyer—yet for the last two nights he’d lain awake scheming about how to keep her in his life.
‘But just think, this bee most likely had a good life. She would have been valued by her little community, spent her time cruising in fresh air and sunshine while collecting pollen from wild plants. Now, when it comes to the end, she simply goes to sleep in a flower that will close its petals to keep her warm and safe.’
Jemma leaned back into his embrace. ‘I’d like to say that was smooth dialogue, but …’ She clicked her tongue dismissively at what he’d thought was a carefully veiled metaphor illustrating that she, like the bee, could have a fulfilling life out here. ‘Let’s go with corny, instead,’ she continued. ‘But you’ve reminded me—I know you said on the phone that you need to run something by me, but I also want to sound you out on something. So, you know, quid pro quo.’
‘Try me.’
‘Gerard’s interested in investigating the potential of regional expansion.’
