Page 19 of Honey Bee Hearts

“Almost every day. Some of the ladies don’t lay but every two days or three depending on the breed,” Gunnar explains. “But we have to get them every day or else they’ll try and hatch ‘em. And we clearly have enough chickens.”

I laugh. “How many are there?”

“I’ve lost count, but probably damn near eighty of them. Gotta feed the ranch, and they give us enough eggs for everyone.”

We meet more of the pigs, including a big potbelly named Bacon who seems to genuinely enjoy being scratched behind the ears. And finally, we meet a few of the goats.

“The cows won’t be back for a few months still, but normally we’d have a small herd of those, too,” Gunnar explains.

“What do you mean they’ll be back? Where do they go?” I ask.

“So we do a cattle drive every year around here. The longest running one in the US, actually. Eleven of the thirteen ranches all join together where we drive our cattle up to the cattle allotment and then in the fall, after the first frost, they start making their way back. It’s about eight miles. By the time winter hits, they’re already home.”

“A real cattle drive?” I blink in surprise. “That’s so cool. I wish I could see it.”

“Well, then, you just need to come back next year around the end of spring, and I’ll take you on one,” he promises. “I think ranch life fits you.”

I smile up at him. Spending time with Gunnar is easy and comfortable. He never pushes. He never rushes. We spend the entire day just talking and enjoying ourselves. When he leaves to pick up his daughter, I find myself thinking more about him. I can’t help but think Jinx would have liked him.

“I do,” she says, as she trails along beside me. “Jump on that cowboy. Make sure you wear the hat when you do. That sounds sexy as fuck.”

I smile and laugh, knowing that’s exactly how she’d have responded.

Sighing, I trail back to the cabin. My eyes flicker over to the sewing machine, but I walk right past it. I can’t. Not yet.

Not yet.

Chapter 12

Fable

When I step outside my cabin the second day, it’s to find Gunnar and Callie waiting for me. Today, Callie is wearing a cute poodle skirt paired with a leather jacket. Her hair is pulled up into two poofs on top of her head.

“I love your outfit,” I tell her with a smile as I adjust my cheap hat. My shirt today is a simple pink button down and another pair of jeans. I’d only purchased two button downs, mostly because I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on the overpriced themed clothing down in Florida. I figured I could find some here, but I haven’t gone into Steele yet. “The leather goes well with the skirt.”

“Doesn’t it?” Callie beams as she gives a little twirl. “Clinton on What Not To Wear said it’s always fun to pair different materials. Leather always pairs well with something soft for casual wear.”

My brows shoot up. She says the words as if she’s parroting from the show. “Well, Clinton certainly knows what he’s talking about,” I say, smiling at her.

Her smile widens before she grabs my hand and starts dragging me toward the big house. “Come on. Mel promisedwaffles today. I love his waffles. He has strawberry, chocolate chip, and pecan.”

“Oh, I love chocolate chip waffles,” I reassure her. “We don’t want to miss out.”

“Exactly!”

I look over my shoulder at Gunnar. His smile is soft as he watches his daughter drag me to the big house, but when he meets my eyes, a hungry spark flickers there that I convince myself I imagined. After all, there’s not a reason he’d be interested in me. He could have anyone he wants.

“But he wants you,” Jinx announces as she appears in front of us leaning against the big house. “Let that man yee your haw, Fable! For fuck’s sake.”

I flush despite no one else being able to hear her. If I were alone, I’d tell her that I’m not here to yee anyone’s haw, and we’d probably argue back and forth. Jinx would have approached this as exactly that, a mission to smash as many cowboys as possible. Before, it might have been a fun game we both played, but now, I can’t imagine doing so. No one here even knows about my leg.

My eyes glance over to Gunnar again. If I were to consider it though, Gunnar is a beautiful man. When he notices me looking, he flashes a cheeky grin my way, his cowboy hat tipping down in appraisal. The small hoops in his ears draw my eyes, a matching set to Callie’s pretty ones. Maybe just a taste. . .

“That’s my girl,” Jinx whispers in my mind.

When we find ourselves at the table, Callie insists on me sitting beside her. Gunnar sits on her other side. I spend the next thirty minutes hearing all about the different clothing that should be paired together, followed by what I should never wear. I listen intently the whole time, impressed with all the information that Callie seems to know. When Gunnar tells her it’s time to head to the bus stop, they vacate their chairs while he does that, and I get a second to really take in the table.

Across from me, Rhett is teasing another man about his woman troubles. Jessie, I think his name was, is part of the barn crew and works with Gunnar. Rhett is carefree and seems to happily tease Jessie about the woman from a date the night before not calling him back. Despite it being so early in the morning, Rhett is so well put together, I almost expect him to be walking a runway. I don’t understand how these men seem to look so good with such simple clothing. The shirt pulls across Rhett’s chest and highlights his shoulders. Today, he’s wearing a blue plaid one that only highlights his pretty blue eyes and copper-colored hair. Everything about him screams playboy, down to the wink he throws at me.

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