The Beekeeper's Daughter. Janice Carter
settling tank where all the debris rises to the top. Then we pour it into buckets. It’s a pretty simple process.”
Annie stopped, her voice echoing in the spacious barn. She was babbling, she suspected. But then wasn’t that understandable when the guy’s only response was to fix his blue-gray eyes on hers?
“Look,” she said, unsettled by his level stare, “I’ve got to remove a swarm of bees down the road. I’ll get you some honey and then—”
She broke off when she saw him frown, obviously disappointed. “Oh, sorry,” he said quickly. “Well, uh, thanks for showing me around. As I said, I’ve been curious about this place ever since…since I read the article.”
Again, Annie relented. “My hired help hasn’t turned up yet. Maybe you’d like to come with me? It won’t take long and I could show you the rest of the place after.”
His smile took ten years off him.
“I’d love that, if I won’t be in the way.”
“Not at all. In fact, I think you may actually be a help.” Annie headed for a nearby cupboard. She couldn’t explain why she’d been so impulsive, but he’d roused her curiosity. Handing him a tub of honey and waving goodbye was the last thing she wanted to do.
“I’ll just get my suit and a cardboard box, check for phone messages to see if Danny’s called and then we’ll be off.”
“Danny?”
“He’s a high school student who’s going to work for us this summer. Why don’t you wait by the truck while I pop into the kitchen?” When she came out less than five minutes later, he was standing by the truck, looking around him as if he’d just landed in some exotic locale. “All set?” she asked.
“That’s it? Just the canvas and a cardboard box?” His frown reappeared. “How can you catch a swarm of bees with that?”
Annie smiled. “You’ll see.”
WILL CONSIDERED Annie’s deft handling of the pickup as she maneuvered it around the potholes in the gravel road and realized that, in spite of his first impression of her driving skills, she knew what she was doing. “Was the swarm the reason you almost collided with me at the corner up there?”
“So that was you I almost mowed down.” She grinned. “Not really. I mean, I should get the swarm as soon as possible before it moves somewhere else, but I was expecting Danny any minute and I was rushing to assess the situation and get back before he arrived. I didn’t notice your van till the last second. Sorry about that. Dad’s always on my back about my driving but I’m not really as reckless as I look.”
Will thought about how she hadn’t noticed a van on an otherwise empty country road, but decided not to belabor the point. He stared out the window, spotting the red barn and the farm at the junction ahead. “So, three of you manage all those hives?”
“Actually it’ll just be the two of us for a few weeks. Dad’s gone to Charlotte for a hip replacement. Afterward he’s supposed to be taking it easy, though I’ll probably have to tie him to a chair to stay put.”
Turning, he caught her wide grin. With the splash of freckles across her nose, she looked like a teenager.
“Have you always lived and worked here?”
“I grew up in Garden Valley—as you know. But I left to go to University of North Carolina in Charlotte and after graduation I taught high school in New York. Queens.”
“A long way from home,” Will said.
“Yes,” she said, “a long way.”
He tried to picture her in front of a class of street-smart adolescents. “That must have been tough—teaching high school in New York.”
She shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road. “At first, but by my fifth year I was a pro.”
“How long did you teach altogether?”
She glanced his way. “Almost six years before I came back to the Valley.”
“Because your dad needed you,” he repeated.
“Yessss,” she said, drawing out her reply. “And…I was ready for a change.”
She shifted her attention back to the road. So there was another reason as well.
As she neared the junction, Annie slowed down to turn into the driveway of the farm with the red barn.
“This place looks familiar,” Will commented.
“I bet you didn’t get more than a glimpse of it through the dust cloud I spun.” She looked across at him and grinned.
Definitely not feeling defensive, he thought.
“The Vanderhoffs live here,” she went on. “They keep a lot of our hives in their orchards. The swarm’s in one of the apple trees out back, past the barn. It’s about a five-minute walk.” She reached behind the seat and pulled out the canvas. “I’ll get the box and my suit from the back, but could you bring the two supers? I always carry a couple in the truck in case of a swarm or if I need to set up a new colony. I’ll let Marge know I’m here. Oh, and there’s a hand saw. I’ll need it, too.”
Will watched her walk up to the back door of the farmhouse. He had an odd sense of familiarity, as if he’d helped her with a job like this many times. Perhaps it was the casual way she accepted his presence—her assumption that he’d be right behind her, doing his part.
His eyes narrowed when the screen door opened and what could have passed for a small bear bounded out and lunged at Annie. Will pressed down on the door handle, about to rush to her rescue, when he realized it was a dog. Annie dropped the box to hug it as a woman appeared in the doorway. Annie turned and gestured for Will to join her.
He hesitated. He wasn’t much for social conventions since the accident. Getting out of the truck, he went around to the back for the supers. The dog raced toward him, barking, and Will froze.
“Bear!” shouted the woman.
I called that one right, Will thought, as the dog bounced back to its owner. He hefted the supers out of the truck and walked toward them.
“Marge, this is…uh….”
“Will Jennings,” he quickly filled in. She’d already forgotten his name.
The woman smiled politely, waiting for some addition to the introduction. But when none came, she said to Annie, “I’m sorry Ted isn’t here to help out.”
“Will and I can manage. I just wanted you to know why the truck was here. And thanks for letting me cut the branch.”
Will followed her across the yard, past the barn and into an orchard so large he couldn’t see the end of it. “Quite a place,” he said as he caught up to her.
“They keep a good third of our hives here. Listen,” she said, stopping him, “I hope you don’t think I forgot your name back there. I was just trying to think of what to say about you. I mean…” A red stain crept up her neck. “You know how people always tack on something about the person they’re introducing? Like, this is—”
“I know what you mean,” he said, cutting her off. “You could have said I stopped in to buy honey.”
The stain deepened. “I have a tendency to babble awkwardly,” she finally said with an embarrassed laugh that made Will regret his bluntness.
They continued walking. There was a cool breeze in the dappled rows of trees laden with pink-and-white blossoms and Will greedily sucked in the fresh perfumed air. He could have been on another planet, the place was so far removed from Newark. A muted hum drifted toward them on the breeze and grew increasingly louder the farther into the orchard they walked.
Annie dropped the box and saw onto the ground and stared up into a tree a few feet