Jack leaned over the console, tugged her closer by the lapel of her coat, and kissed her in a way that left no doubt as to how deep he’d fallen for her. She kissed him back, guilt seeping into her core. Jack was an amazing man, but the truth was if Huck wanted all of her, forever, she’d take that life raft.
The pilfering of honey from a weak colony by other honeybees or humans is called robbing.
32
The sun burst through the storm clouds. Arianne tipped her face toward the sky, let the rays of sun envelope her, and allowed it to thaw the last frozen patches in her soul. After the news she’d received this morning, nothing could ruin this day.
“Ready to go?” Huck’s deep drawl rumbled in her ear. She opened her eyes and clutched the box tighter in her arms. He stood behind her, so near she could smell his cologne. She couldn’t wait to tell him her news, but wanted to wait until they were alone.
“I’m ready.” She placed the box in the bed of his old truck with the others. A slight breeze rustled her hair. The forty-five-degree day held the assurance of an early spring, just as the groundhog had predicted.
Huck leaned his hip against the truck, one elbow propped on the bed. His crooked grin and rich brown eyes held depth she’d never seen before. She was horrible at reading other people, but not even she was able to mistake a difference in Huck. For the first time since his accident he seemed truly happy, more attentive—ever since he returned from his meeting in Portland last week.
They stared into each other’s eyes for what seemed like minutes. She wanted so badly to reach out to him. Ask him if they could finish that conversation. He carried a magnetism she couldn’t resist. “Mommy, can I ride with Miss Sherry and Mr. Jude?”
Arianne tore her attention from Huck and focused on her daughter.
Sherry emerged from the former boutique’s open door with an I-caught-you smile. “We’d love to have her, if it’s all right with you.”
“Of course.” Arianne kissed Emma’s head. “Be good.”
Huck handed Arianne the keys. “Let it warm up for a minute. I’ll lock the door.”
Jude left the shop with the last box. “You’re not letting her drive, are you?”
Huck stopped on the sidewalk and raised a brow at her. “Want to?”
Arianne shook her head. “As much as I’d like to see Huck squirm, I don’t know how to drive a stick.”
Everyone looked at her as if she’d said something ridiculous.
“You’ve never driven a manual transmission?” Huck continued to the door, kicked the wedge into the building, and then locked up.
“No.”
Huck’s boots thumped the pavement on his return to the vehicle. “Then it’s time you learn. Hop in.” He nodded to the truck.
Jude made a sour face. “You won’t even let me drive it.” Sherry patted her husband’s back in sympathy and chuckled all the way to their car.
“Come on.” Huck opened her door.
Arianne climbed aboard, settling herself behind the giant steering wheel. Huck walked around the front of the truck and joined her on the bench seat. The vehicle felt so big from the driver’s side. “I don’t know about this. What if I do something wrong?”
“You will.”
“I’m nervous.”
“She’s simple. You won’t hurt anything. I’ll guide you. Now, push in the clutch and start her up.”
Arianne obeyed. Jude and Sherry’s sedan drove around them and headed down the vacant street.
Huck slapped his palm on the stick protruding from the floor. “This is the gear shift. You push in the clutch every time you need to switch gears. Got it?”
“I don’t think I’m that coordinated.”
“You can do it.” He issued a few more instructions.
She did as commanded, biting her lip. The truck jolted forward. Died.
“Try again.”
Arianne started over and produced the same result. Huck went through it all again, using his hands as an example. This time, the truck jolted but remained running. She tugged the wheel to the left and started down the street at a crawl.
“Now press in the clutch and move into second gear.”
Grinding.
“Let off the clutch!”
She removed her foot. “Sorry. Did I hurt it?”
“No. Steady now.” His palm rested against the dashboard. “We’re leaving town. Shift it into third.”
It went a little easier this time. They bumped along for a few miles as he continued to guide her. Her stomach calmed. This wasn’t so bad.
Huck relaxed against the seat. “Where’s Bob the Builder today?”
“Jack is supervising an addition to the municipal building. And what’s up? I thought you guys were friends.”
A curve lay up ahead.
Huck grunted. “I forgot about this. Apply the brake slowly, press in the clutch, and downshift.”
More grinding. The truck wasn’t slowing down.
“Release the clutch. Release the clutch!”
She looked down at her foot and removed it from the pedal.
“Whoa, stay on the road.” Huck slid across the bench seat. His hip bumped into hers and his arms came around her to grip the wheel. He jerked the truck back to position.
Arianne’s heart raced. “See? I can’t do this.”
He exhaled. “Pull over.”
She did. A gunshot pierced the air. Arianne screamed.
Huck laughed. “It just backfired. Calm down.”
Once they were stopped, she laid her trembling hands in her lap. He rubbed the tense knot between her shoulders.
Slow breaths in…out. Arianne closed her eyes and slowly melded to the seat. The heater whirred. Her shoulders sang from his touch. Why didn’t Jack affect her this way?
Because Huck had stolen her heart years ago. That night at her kitchen table. She wasn’t sure how to get it back. If she didn’t, a future with Jack would be difficult. Especially with Huck as her landlord.
But a future with Jack was looking to be the better possibility. Huck didn’t do forever.
His calloused palm paused on the back of her neck. His thumb rubbed the sensitive skin where her jaw and earlobe met. Like she’d been zapped with a cattle prod, her eyes popped open, and she jerked away from his touch. “I’m ready to try this again.”
Wow, was that her squeaky voice?
“Arianne?” Huck remained silent until curiosity got the best of her and she looked at him.
Huck jerked the gear shift into neutral and turned the key, killing the engine. “About…us.” He wagged a finger between them.
“I won the scholarship.” She hadn’t meant to blurt it out, but what if he’d planned to tell her they had no future together?
Dimples carved deep grooves in his cheeks. He pulled her to him, his big hand palming the back of her head. “I’m proud of you. I knew you had talent.”
Words anyone might say. Not a hint to foreshadow the direction of his answer. Her stomach clenched, and she inhaled a deep breath. “Your turn.”
He held her at arm’s length, his face growing serious. He ran his palm down his jeans, and shifted in the seat. Opened his mouth. Closed it. Shifted his position again.
Her heart wilted. He was trying to find a way to let her down gently.
“I…” He cleared his throat and scratched his jaw. “I don’t know how serious you are with Jack, but… Well, he…”
She lowered her forehead to the steering wheel. “Get it over with.”
“I’m in love with you.”
“What?” Arianne faced him.
Huck caressed her face. The truth in his eyes held a swath of pain. “I’m not good at this. I’ve never said it to a woman before.” He exhaled. “I love you.”
Her heart stopped. Could a person actually die from surprise? If so, she’d be in the morgue by lunchtime.
Huck blinked. Waited.
A horn blared as a car passed, making them both jump. The driver shook his
fist at them.
“Say something. Please.” Huck dropped his hands and stared out the windshield, brows knit together.
She tried to return his words but struggled to untangle her emotions. Ecstatic. Apprehensive. For years she’d longed to mean more to Huck than a tutor or a thorn in his heel. The image of them as a real family in his big house flashed through her mind. Cold winter nights curled on the couch together by the fireplace. Emma yelling “Daddy” and running into his arms when he got home from work. More kids. A home.
Arianne drank in Huck’s strong profile. He might love her now, but could he love her forever?
Huck shook his head. Red flared into his neck and cheeks. “I’m too late.” He nodded to himself. “Switch me places.”
His tone sliced like a paring knife to her heart. “Huck…”
“It’s fine, Arianne. We better get over to the shop before Jude sends out a search party.”
He wouldn’t look at her. It was as if she were on a tightrope, and no matter which way she moved, she would fall to her death. But if it weren’t for Huck, she wouldn’t have her new shop, the scholarship, her dream. “You’ve never said that to a woman before?”
The question seemed to take him by surprise. “No.”
She reached for his hand.
He accepted. “I know I’m not good enough for you, but I want to be.”
“Huck—”
“Let me finish.” He laced his fingers with hers. “I should’ve told you this years ago… I couldn’t stand you being mad at me after prom. Truth is your dad also threatened to expose my past if I took you. No one here knew the things I’d done. I was ashamed for anyone—mostly you—to find out. It was easier to let you think I was a jerk than to let you find out the trash I came from, what I’d gotten into.
“I haven’t made the best decisions. I still don’t. But I’m trying.” He moved closer and wrapped his strong arms around her waist. “We have a lot to work through, but there’s something good between us. There always has been.”
No matter what else she was feeling, she couldn’t deny that. Arianne closed her eyes, barely nodding as she slipped off the tightrope.
“I know you’re seeing Jack, but give me a chance. I can be the man you need. The man Emma needs.”
Spoken that way, burrowed against him, she could believe anything.
~*~
Arianne fit perfectly in his arms. Huck trembled, an odd mix of relief and fear rushing through him. He’d just scooped out his bleeding heart and handed it to her. He pressed his forehead against hers. Closed his eyes. Oddly, this was enough—simply being near her. “Take a chance on me.”
He couldn’t lose her.
“What if it doesn’t work out?” Arianne’s whisper cut through moments of silence. “I can’t go through it again, wondering if I’ll be evicted from my store, if we’ll have a place to sleep.”
He kept his eyes closed, needing to stay in the moment. “You’ll never be evicted. The building’s paid in full and deeded in your name.”
Her hands pushed against his shoulders.
He opened his eyes. “I’m talking forever, Arianne. But I want to do this with no strings attached. If something happens, you’re safe.”
She smiled brighter than the sun spilling through the cab. “What a relief to know you don’t have a cocky nephew who’ll swoop in and boot me out.”
Huck laughed. “I was…wrong.” He tried not to cringe as he said it.
Arianne pressed her ear against his mouth. “I don’t think I heard that. Can you say it again, please?”
He nipped her ear.
She squealed and rubbed her fingers over her earlobe.
He could definitely do this every day—hold her, aggravate her, kiss her. Huck guided her face toward his and leaned close.
She turned her face so his lips landed on her cheek. Questions and uncertainty rolled over her face like a dark cloud. She still hadn’t returned his confession. If she’d just give him a chance to show her how much he loved them. “We’ll go at your pace. No expectations.”
She considered it, met his gaze. “We won’t rush things?”
Huck shook his head. He’d do whatever she wanted.
Arianne brushed the end of her nose against his. “OK, cowboy.”
His lips grazed hers. Fire ignited his veins. Before he could actually taste her, she stopped him. “None of that,” she whispered, almost breathless. “I have someone else to talk to first. And I have to figure out what to say.”
How about, hit the road, Jack? “Whatever you need.”
~*~
Huck lowered the pith helmet over his head and grabbed the bee smoker from the Gator. His flannel shirt kept him plenty warm as the sun thawed the ground. March storms in the Midwest the last few days had caused a freakishly warm fifty-eight degrees along the coast.
He ignited the bee smoker, emitting a cool, white cloud through the nozzle. Bees traveled in and out of the hive, content to fly free. He walked to the first stack of supers and checked the colonies’ conditions. Satisfied with their honey stores, Huck went on to the next stack.
As he worked down the line, his mind wandered to his girls back at the house. He’d called to tell Arianne good morning and discovered Emma had woken with a fever. Arianne was leaving her store in the hands of her new part-time employee for the first time, and the construction noise beneath their apartment made it impossible for Emma to rest. He’d rushed over, picked them up, and brought them home.
Emma’s pink cheeks had been hot against his chest as he carried her in the door wrapped in a quilt. She’d snuggled close and fussed when he’d tried to lay her on the couch. So he settled into the recliner and rocked her.
Arianne stood in the kitchen doorway, watching them, arms and ankles crossed, sunlight pouring through the windows behind her. In that moment, something shifted inside his chest, like a puzzle piece locking into place. Before three days ago, he’d never have believed something could feel so right.
A weak voice sounded from his arms. “Will I be sick on my birthday?”
Arianne pulled away from the wall and stopped beside their chair. “Your birthday is two weeks away. You’ll feel better by then. You just have a little bug.”
The girl stuck out her lip and rubbed a weepy eye.
“What do you want for your birthday?” Huck asked to take her mind off bugs. He was beginning to sweat from the combination of her feverish body and the thick blanket.
“A puppy.”
Arianne gave him a stern look and shook her head.
Huck winked at Arianne. “Give me some other ideas, Emma. What do you want more than anything else in the world?”
“For you to be my daddy.”
Raw fear and pure joy swept through him. He dared to look at Arianne, who’d paled to the color of a corpse. He couldn’t read her face. Huck rocked harder and tugged the quilt further around Emma’s shoulders. He’d love to give her that for her birthday, but he’d promised Arianne they’d take things slowly, work things out one day at a time. “Close your eyes and get some rest.”
Now, as bees droned around him and smoke lifted in the air, Huck allowed Emma’s words to penetrate his heart and grow roots. The idea still scared him numb, but he’d give his left leg to wake up to those two every morning. To keep Arianne warm at night.
Slow. Slow.
He added more fuel to the smoker and moved to the next hive, stomping away the effects of that last thought.
Three bees lay dead at the entrance. The buzz of activity was missing. Huck pulled out the frames to find the colony MIA. He removed his helmet and scratched his jaw. Squinting, he peered down the tree line. Where did they go?
He grabbed the bee smoker and shuffled through the short grass, the smell of decaying leaves and moist dirt filling his nose. His ears caught the faint noise of buzzing wings. He continued through the trees to the old fence line. A blob of moving insects clustered on a rotten post.
They were swarming.
Why, he wasn’t sure yet. If he could get to the queen underneath, protected by the colony huddled around her, they’d follow her scent back to the hive. After an investigation, he could fix what had caused them to swarm.
Huck put the helmet back on and smoked the buzzing mass. In sheets, bees fell away until he was able to locate her highness. He remembered a class he’d taught on bee folklore last year. One of the many examples he’d used was from a Courier-Journal article from 1890 that detailed beekeeping superstition. If a colony was found swarming on dead wood, it was considered a sign of impending death.
He found the queen, gently squeezed her between his thumb and forefinger, and considered the rotten fence post. Huck shook his head and walked back toward the hives. Good thing he wasn’t superstitious.
My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste: So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul…
—Proverbs 24: 13, 14a
33
Tell him.
Guilt speared Arianne as she stared into Jack’s face. She’d created a lame excuse every day for the past two weeks for why she hadn’t told him about Huck. Jack was a widower and had lost the love of his life. It had taken courage to open his heart again. He cared about Arianne, no doubt. How could she break his heart?
And this whole thing with Huck was so new. They were spending time with one another, getting to know each other—past and present.
Huck hadn’t kissed her since the day he said he loved her. He vowed because of his shaded past, he wanted to prove he respected her and wouldn’t move further until she was ready. His love was exactly what she wanted, but she couldn’t shake the fear of what if?
A muffled train whistle sounded through the boutique’s closed windows. Jack pulled his hands from his pockets and wrapped his arms around her, guiding her to him. She rested her palms against his brown, cotton shirt to keep some distance. He was dressed nice for a spur-of-the-moment flight to Philadelphia. She prayed for his mother’s healing from her unforeseen stroke.
How to Charm a Beekeeper's Heart Page 25