Page 25 of Must Love Bees
“If you have a few minutes, you could come with me? I have something to discuss with you.” Whatever it was, Astrid was the one having a hard time making eye contact.
But before he could call her out on it, Nova squeezed between him and the doorframe.
“Hi, Astrid.” She was hugging Scorpio against her chest. “You’re wearing your bee-fighting suit. Is there a bee emergency?”
“No.” Astrid smiled down at Nova. “No emergency.”
“Do you always wear that when you’re working with the bees?” Halley stepped around Charlie and onto the porch.
“Hi, Halley.” She smoothed her hair back, twisted it and tied it in a knot on the back of her head. “Not always. Tansy and I got a call this morning about an unwanted beehive and, since we don’t know the bees or how friendly they were, we suited up.” Her green eyes returned to Nova. “The bees had filled up our mailman’s barbecue grill. I guess that could have been a bee emergency for the bees if Mr. Jones had started the grill without checking it first.” She shuddered. “Poor little bees.”
“But you and Tansy rescued them?” Nova asked, her worried face easing.
“We did.” Astrid nodded. “We rescued them and will move them to our farm once the sun goes down.”
Charlie found it all oddly fascinating. Tending bees sounded like herding cats—was there any control in either situation? Still, he listened to his girls’ questions, having quite a few of his own answered in the process.
“Why when the sun goes down?” Halley asked.
“The bees will come home and go to bed and then we won’t leave any behind.” Astrid blew a strand of hair from her forehead. “We get everything set up in the morning, make sure the queen is secured, and come back when they’re all asleep to move them and put them in their new home.”
He wondered what “the queen is secured” meant, but Nova asked another question before he could get clarification.
“Is it hot?” Nova pointed at her suit.
“It is.” Astrid patted the suit. “But this is a vented suit so it’s not too bad. See all the little holes?” She held the suit out. “Air can go through but the bees can’t.”
“Can they sting you?” Halley was studying the fabric. “Through those holes?”
Astrid shook her head. “Nope. But I should go check on Rebecca’s hives before the sun gets any higher.”
“Can we go?” Nova jumped up and down, Scorpio swinging.
“I haven’t visited them in a while, Nova. I’d want to make sure they were on their very best behavior before I brought you or Halley with me.” Astrid blew the same curl from her forehead.
He was so relieved she was the one to tell them no. There was a chance the girls wouldn’t be mad at him for the rest of the day.
Nova wasn’t ready to give up. “But—”
“Listen to Astrid, Nova. If she says you need to wait, you need to wait.” He was quick to back Astrid up—but gently.
“Okay.” Nova’s shoulders slouched.
Astrid’s smile was all sympathy. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, Nova.”
“It’s okay.” But Nova’s sigh told a different story.
“Could you stop by when you’re done? And tell us about Rebecca’s bees?” Did he want Astrid hanging around? No. Did he want Nova anywhere near an actual beehive? Absolutely not. But if Nova was interested in bees, Charlie didn’t want to dampen her curiosity. Sitting safely around the kitchen table talking about bees with a beekeeper, even Astrid, seemed like an appropriate way to accomplish that.
Charlie had been married to Yasmina for almost a year when she’d had her accident. In that time, she’d done her best to help him parent. She’d called him adad in progress. And while his parenting knowledge was limited, he had enough disappointing childhood memories to remind him of what not to do. Namely, ridicule or act disinterested in the girls’ interests or try to shut down their inquisitiveness. Nova and Halley were both so smart—so full of life. He wanted them to pursue everything and anything their little hearts desired.Buthe knew he had a lot of work to do to get his overly protective instinct under control. “If you have time?”
“Oh...” Clearly, Astrid wasn’t expecting his response. “Of course.”
He wasn’t the best at reading body language but she seemed to...perk up a little.
“Really?” Nova’s smile was back. “Yay!”
“Nova and I will make some lemonade.” Halley nodded. “We can. It’s Aunt Rebecca’s recipe.”
