Page 1 of Honey Be Mine
CHAPTER ONE
ROSEMARYHILLLAYon the picnic blanket watching a ladybug crawl up a single blade of grass. The blade tipped, and the little bug reached out a spindly leg, searching. She held one finger out for the bug, smiling as its shiny red back parted long enough for wings to emerge so it could fly from grass to proffered finger. It was a perfect, quiet day, something she hadn’t had in a very long time. No deadlines or worries or expectations or responsibilities. After working nonstop for the last few years, she didn’t know what to do with herself.
“You’ve been so quiet.” Tansy lay beside her on the blanket. “What’s up?”
Her other sister, Astrid, sat with her lap full of tiny wild white and yellow daisies that she was turning into chains. “I mean, you don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want to.”
Tansy snorted. “Yes, she does. We don’t keep secrets, remember?”
Tansy had always taken her role as the big sister seriously, especially after their parents died. She was the no-nonsense sister—eager to get to the bottom of things and make an action plan. Astrid, however, tended to focus on the emotional support first and the details later. As the youngest, Rosemary had been babied by them both her whole life.
She continued watching the ladybug crawl along the side of her hand. “I’ve only been home for a couple of days.” She glanced at Astrid. “Very, very eventful days.” She held her hand up, giving the ladybug access to the honeysuckle vine that ran up and around the tree they were picnicking under. Between her aunt’s perfect wedding, Astrid’s pregnancy announcement, and Tansy’s engagement, Rosemary didn’t want to dampen her loved ones’ spirits.
“And now we have a moment’s peace, so...” Tansy rolled onto her side to face her, propping herself onto her elbow. “Spill it—spillallthe tea.”
Rosemary smiled. Tansy wasn’t going to let up until she got what she wanted. But she wasn’t going to make it easy on her big sister. “I have missed you.” She pushed Tansy’s elbow out from under her, causing her sister to flop onto the blanket. Rosemary giggled and sat up, scooching out of Tansy’s reach. “And you, too.” She hugged Astrid.
“She gets a hug. I get a shove. I see how it is. Fine. Don’t talk.” Tansy sat up, too. “Is there any more food?”
Astrid shoved the picnic basket her way. “Feel free to eat my sausage roll.” Her face pinched. “The smell is too much—” She broke off, fanning herself.
“Why did you pack them then?” Tansy pulled a sandwich from the basket.
“It sounded delicious when I was packing up our breakfast picnic.” Astrid shrugged. “Now? Not so much.ButI have gone three whole hours without throwing up, so I’ll call that a win.”
Rosemary couldn’t imagine. “Poor thing.”
“Pregnancy sounds like so much fun.” Tansy eyed the sausage roll, shrugged, then took a bite. “I think I’ll follow Aunt Camellia’s lead and stick to dogs and cats and parrots and donkeys and...all that.”
“That sounds like a conversation you need to have with Dane. Your future husband might have an opinion on children versus an animal sanctuary.” Astrid turned the daisy chain into a ringlet and placed it on top of Rosemary’s head. “Perfect.”
All three sisters smiled. For a moment, they were little girls again. Astrid was making them all daisy chain crowns, Tansy would lead them off on some grand make-believe adventure, and Rosemary would follow along—content to be with them.
And she was. Content. She’d missed her sisters so much. Her home here in Honey, Texas. Her bees.
“I wonder ifall thatwill go to Van’s place with Camellia.” Astrid started making another daisy chain. “Is it bad to admit I’m having a really hard time picturing that?”
“What? Not seeing Aunt Camellia in the kitchen every morning? It seems...wrong. I mean, it isherkitchen. Right here. At Honey Hill Farms.” Tansy took a slightly more aggressive bite, the dangly bee earrings she wore shaking. “Her home.”
Rosemary had been pondering the same thoughts since she’d arrived three days before. Honey Hill Farms was only as magical as it was because of the people who lived there. Well, and the bees, of course. Her aunts, Camellia and Magnolia, were the heart and soul of the farm and the sisters’ rock. They’d stepped up when the girls were young, giving them the unconditional love, guidance, and space to grow up free and strong. Rosemary liked to think the aunts had been successful. She and her sisters were all incredibly capable young women.
At least, she’d thought she was. Now... The last few months proved she still had a lot to learn.
“Life is all about change. And making the best of things.” Rosemary nibbled on the inside of her lip. That’s what she needed to do now—make the best of things. And letting go of what had happened between her and Dr. James Voigt.
Just thinking about him had her throat constricting and her stomach in knots. She had no one to blame but herself, really. She’d been too dazzled to see the truth. Dr. James Voigt, expert entomologist and melittologist, had been her mentor. She’d trusted him. Why would she have suspected him for the lying thief that he was? There was a very real chance his renowned “genius” had been stolen from some other too-eager and naïve research assistants. Someone like her—focused on making important discoveries and incorporating them into practical applications for beekeepers and others in the apiology field. She blew a long strand of hair from her face and pushed down the mix of anger and frustration she’d been fighting for the last couple of weeks. There was no point in being upset. It was done and over with, and there was nothing she could do about it.
“You’re making that face.” Astrid reached over and took her hand. “The one you used to make back in high school when Libby or Kate had been extra mean to you.” She frowned.
“Why ruin a perfectly lovely day by bringing either ofthemup?” Rosemary no longer woke up dripping sweat when one of her high school tormentors entered her dreams, but she did avoid thinking about them—if possible.
“Sorry. That was below the belt.” Astrid sighed. “But you reallycantell us what’s going on. It might make you feel better.”
“We’re here for you.” Tansy took her other hand and gave it a solid squeeze.
“I’m just...” Rosemary mumbled to a stop. She loved her sisters dearly. Out of the whole world, they’d always been here for her. But it felt wrong to come home and dump her problems—her mistakes—on her sisters. “There’s so much good stuff happening, I’m just soaking it all up. The sunshine. Being here. With you.” She tilted her face to the sky, the heat of the Texas sun instantly warming her cheeks.
“And?” Tansy pushed. “We’re your big sisters, Rose. We know you. I know when you’ve got a secret—just like I know when Astrid’s telling a fib. Like Astrid said, it’s all right there.” She pointed at Rosemary’s face.
