Lawson rubbed Dani’s shoulder as he listened to the conversations swirling around him.He was as content as he’d ever been.
He couldn’t be glad his friend’s garage had burned down in Boston, but he was thrilled that he’d used that as the push he needed to leave the city behind and head to the farm.
To his family.
To his future.
It looked very bright.
Chapter18
Busy As A Bee
Afew days later, Dani had finished installing all her new hives.The bees appeared content, and the colonies remained apart.
Charlie had helped with the second colony and had added apiarist to the endless list of careers he might want to try when he was an adult.Whatever he chose, Dani knew he would be a success.With his enthusiasm and curiosity, he’d be an asset to any company.He’d make a strong entrepreneur as well.
He’d hung out with her and Lawson for a few hours that day, and Dani had started thinking about kids of her own.Not something she’d ever considered before, but it was on her mind because she had Lawson in her life and she felt more secure in herself.A positive bubble of future possibilities.
She’d also enjoyed another pleasant conversation with Evelyn.They hadn’t discussed their mother or the documents she wanted Dani to sign.
Instead, they’d talked while Dani and Lawson installed another bee colony.Evelyn had been intrigued and mentioned coming out for a visit one time to see it all in person.
Dani had learned that Evelyn did indeed work for Frances Bishop Cosmetics, although she called itThe Company.
Evelyn didn’t mention a title, but shared that she oversaw all the company’s events.Wining and dining visiting company members.Putting on charity events.Dani discovered Frannie B had insisted the company invest a portion of the yearly profits into children’s charities.Feeding the hungry and offering scholarships for sports and arts programs.Exactly something Frannie B would have done, and it helped Dani think more positively toward her family.They hadn’t tried to eliminate that.
Dani didn’t know why she had never known about the charity support and events before.She’d never been interested in being part of running the company, so she hadn’t made any effort to discover what it entailed.
Her parents had encouraged her to be charming and to focus on attracting a man who would bring his skills and money to the company.
It didn’t interest Dani, but she was glad to see that Evelyn appeared to have found a spot within the business that made her happy.
Dani hadn’t offered to come visit her sister to learn more about her job, but she wondered if she should have.Evelyn had offered to come to Vermont.
Returning to the city made Dani queasy, but once her sister visited, maybe she should consider it.
She’d even exchanged stilted but increasingly pleasant texts with her brother.He was currently at a cosmetics symposium in France, learning a variety of things, including techniques to make a new line of Frances Bishops Cosmetics fragrance free and ways to improve the efficiency of their production facilities.
Like Evelyn, Nathaniel was curious about Dani’s bees.They’d managed one phone conversation and planned to have more once he was back in the States.
She hadn’t brought up the fire, but didn’t believe he was involved in anything nefarious either.Which left Jeremy or her parents, maybe them all working together.
Bibi heaved a sigh and shifted her position next to Dani, where they sat in the back of Beatrice.“Sorry, my friend.Is it too much introspection for you?Are my thoughts keeping you from your snooze?”
Awareness tickled Dani’s skin, and Bibi lifted her massive head to check out the forest.If her senses hadn’t alerted her to Lawson approaching, Bibi’s happiness would have let her know there was no danger.
Bibi didn’t move from where she was draped over Dani’s legs, but her tail thumped against Beatrice, and she lifted her head to watch over the tailgate.
Dani did much the same.
When Lawson appeared through the trees, she figured Bibi lit up as much as she did herself.Lawson locked his eyes on her and grinned.
She ruffled Bibi’s fur.“I think we’re both goners, aren’t we, girl?We have excellent taste in men.”
Lawson picked up his pace and vaulted over Beatrice’s tailgate.Then he snuggled into Dani’s other side and slung his arm over her shoulders.He leaned down to kiss Dani as he reached over to ruffle Bibi’s fur.“How are my girls this fine morning?”
As if they hadn’t woken tangled in each other’s arms.Lawson didn’t like leaving her alone, but he’d been helping at Nash and Olivia’s building site.She’d promised to stay in the fields while she worked with her bees and planted more flowers.Plus, she’d kept her phone on her and checked in regularly.
