Olivia laughed.“That’s her favorite word lately.”
“Cookies.”
“I’m betting Knox made something delicious for supper.”
Ella kept babbling and laughing.Charlie chimed in with guesses of what Knox might be making.Grasshopper lasagna, dragon eggs and ham, and mud pies with zombie gravy.
Keeping the girl safe in one arm, Lawson reached for Dani’s hand as they walked to the farmhouse.
This.This was what he wanted.
He grinned at Dani, and her eyes sparkled with fun.No signs of stress over her brother-in-law.Just happiness in the life they were living at this moment.
All they needed was to figure out the mess with her family, and they’d have a lifetime to enjoy it all.
Chapter16
Slow Burn
Later that night, contentment filled Dani as she strolled with Lawson through the woods toward her home.At the cider cabin, they’d waved at Olivia and Nash’s family with little Ella snoozing on Nash’s shoulder.
The apple trees gave way to maples and birches.Pines and spruce.And her wildflowers sleeping in the deepening dusk.
They’d spent the evening with fabulous people, laughing and talking about ways to improve the farm.Her first set of new bees would arrive soon, and the entire group at the farm wanted to watch how she set everything up.
This was so much more than she’d expected when she’d moved to Vermont.So much more than she’d ever expected from life.
She squeezed Lawson’s hand.“Thanks for lending me your family.”
His warm chuckle coasted over her skin.“You’re welcome.Although you were included before I arrived.They all said amazing things about you after theDrone Incident.”
She laughed because she could hear him adding capital letters to the words.“Without the drone incident, I don’t know if we’d be strolling through the starlight on this beautiful evening, so I guess I can forgive you for scaring me.”
Lawson lifted her hand and brushed a kiss over her knuckles.“True, but I’m still sorry for that.I saw Beatrice, and it was love at first sight.All else faded into the background.”
At his words, they arrived at the edge of Beatrice’s clearing.The bees were mostly snoozing for the night, and she figured Beatrice was also getting her beauty sleep.
Dani loved the peace of the evening.Maybe it was time to tell Lawson how she felt, surrounded by Beatrice and her bees, with Bibi yawning behind them.
She tugged Lawson to a stop and took a deep breath.
Bibi’s barks filled the clearing.Gone was the sleepy dog who’d been trailing behind them.In her place was a pissed-off warrior.
Dani found herself tucked behind Lawson as he turned to face where Bibi had run toward her apiaries.
And then she smelled it.
Smoke.
Fire.
“Call Nash.Get help.”Lawson’s firm command had her dialing before she realized what she was doing.
“Hey, Dani.What’s up?”
“Smoke.Fire.My bees.”
Nash swore.“We’ll be right there.I’ll get Olivia to call Mitch and reinforcements.Stay safe.”
