Page 19 of The Sweetest Thing
“On that note, I’ll wish you ladies a lovely evening.” His chuckle ended when he rolled the van door shut.
Tansy didn’t wait, she pulled forward, turned around and headed back down the drive.
“He’s waving,” Nicole whispered.
“How nice for him.” Tansy almost managed not to look. Almost. But, darn it, she glanced his way at just the right time and wound up making eye contact.Did he justwink? At me?
“For real, what did we miss?” Astrid asked.
“We totally missed something.” Nicole leaned forward between their two seats.
“No, you didn’t.” Tansy shook her head. “He’s just—”
“Superhot and—”
“Andthe most patronizing and narcissistic man on the face of the planet?” Tansy cut Nicole off, glancing over her shoulder at Nicole. “Yes, he is. You can do so much better.”
“I didn’t say I’d date him, ever.” Nicole snorted. “I know he’s the bad boy and I officially got over my bad boy stage about three years ago.ButI have eyes you know? Wait, did you just agree he was superhot? You said ‘and.’”
Tansy shrugged. She would neither confirm nor deny Dane’s physical appeal.
“The hair. The shirt.” Nicole sat back, sighing. “I bet he has tattoos, too. I have a weakness for tattoos.” Nicole burst into laughter when Tansy glared at her in the rearview mirror.
“What was the whole bonding thing?” Astrid asked, using air quotes aroundbonding.
“Nothing. As usual. There was no bonding. Nor will there ever be bonding.” Tansy heard the bite in her words and took a deep breath. It didn’t help. “He was trying to...provoke me.” A sound of frustration slipped out before she said, “He loves to get a rise out of me.”
“And it worked.” Nicole patted her shoulder.
“I know,” she ground out. “I’m a perfectly well-adjusted, competent and functioning adult. Then he shows up and I’m falling all over my words and seeing red. There’s something about him that just...just...”
“He’s your Achilles’ heel.” Astrid put her hand on Tansy’s arm. “It’s not exactly a mystery, Tansy. After what he did. I shouldn’t have left you alone with him.”
Tansy took a deep breath. “No, no, Astrid. You were tired. It was a long day. Andnoneof this is your fault. He and I are the problem.” As far as she knew, most adults didn’t need chaperoning or a moderator to conduct a civil conversation. She and Dane?Maybe a referee is more appropriate?“How about we stop talking abouthim.” She glanced at Nicole. “Or his hair or his tight shirt or potential tattoos and find something more productive to talk about?”
“Good idea.” Astrid patted her arm. “I think we need to repaint some of the boxes in the Wonderland.” She sat up, crossing her legs in her seat. “I want to touch up the Cheshire cat, he’s getting a little faded.”
At Honey Hill Farms, each of the beeyards had a theme. Some were color based, like Lavender Blue. The yard was closest to the lavender fields so the boxes were done in blue and purple. Other yards showcased Poppa Tom and their ancestors’ woodworking skills and sense of whimsy. Wonderland was an homage to Alice’s Wonderland—mismatched patterns and whimsical painted details in vibrant colors. Cottage Square had each bee box painted up to resemble storybook cottages. Fairy-Tale Village yard had a castle-and carriage-shaped hive box. There was even a miniature version of the town that had a model city hall right in the middle. Tansy’s personal favorite was the Impressionist yard. Each box was painted in the style of Monet or van Gogh.
“I still think that’s another way to bring in some money,” Nicole chimed in from the back seat. “People would love having custom painted bee boxes. I could help. Tap into my creative side.”
Tansy wasn’t so sure. As lovely as each unique beeyard was, maintaining the boxes presented its own set of challenges—and that was on top of caring for the bees. Besides, they wouldn’t be worrying over money for long. The Honey Festival was a month away and, once they’d won, all their worries would be over.
“THEFIGHTWASwith Clay Dwyer?” Dane sat opposite Mrs. Lopez, the high school principal, her large wooden desk between them. While there were more motivational posters and knickknacks on the shelves, the Honey High School principal’s office hadn’t changed much since he’d gone to school here. Back then, he’d come in to get accolades from the administration, not a talking-to for disciplinary issues. Leif didn’t give a damn about his academics or what administration thought of him. Initially, Dane admired his little brother. It’d taken Dane years to stop looking for recognition—especially from his father. If Leif had figured that out already, he’d save himself a lot of second-guessing. Now Dane realized the truth was the opposite. Leif acted out the way he did to get attention. Instead of being mad at Leif, Dane was furious with their father. His little brother shouldn’t have to resort to fighting to merit a few minutes of their father’s attention.
“Do we know what happened? Leif is good friends with Clay’s brother, Eddie.”Weren’t they?Clearly something had happened. Leif wasn’t exactly the most lighthearted kid, but the idea of him throwing punches was hard to process.
“Neither boy will say who started the altercation or what the disagreement was over.” Principal Lopez scanned over the paper on her desk. “Unfortunately, the boys bumped into one of the science teachers as he was wheeling a cart of slides and microscopes to the storage closet. Several boxes of the glass slides and two microscopes were broken.”
“We’ll make certain to pay for the damages.”
“That would be appreciated.” Principal Lopez nodded. “In addition to the fiscal reparations, we feel a week of in-school suspension plus after-school cleanup duty is in order.” She leaned forward, folding her hands on her desktop. “He’ll work in the cafeteria, help scrape gum off the underside of the tables and mop the floor—that sort of thing.”
Dane nodded. “A little hard work never hurt anyone.” Leif would hate every minute of it. But maybe, hopefully, this would make his little brother thinkbeforehe acted. “Anything to prevent this sort of thing from happening again.”
“I’m glad you agree.” Principal Lopez took a deep breath, looking more uncomfortable than he’d ever seen the woman. “There is one more thing I’d like to discuss with—”
But she came to a halt as the door opened wide, startling them both, and his father walked in.
