Page 10 of Honeybees and Sexy Tees
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” he whispered, his brows wagging.
CHAPTER 4
“I’ll follow you there?” I had my key ready to unlock my car when we arrived back at the parking lot from the beach.
He grabbed my arm gently and spun me toward the barn. “We’re here,” he said, facing the barn and orchard with his arms spread wide.
“Um, Mathias? You okay, bro? I’ve been to the Apple Orchard before.”
He nodded, and I noticed a cheeky grin on his face. “You have been, but not while I’ve owned it.”
My arm fell to my side in shock. “Wait. What?”
“I bought the Apple Orchard,” he repeated as I stood there, shaking my head.
“Not possible, nope,” I insisted. “No way would Laverne sell this restaurant.”
Mathias dug into his pocket, and the next thing I knew, he had keys in his hands. “Then again, maybe she would?” He jingled them proudly in front of my nose.
“Get out of here!” I exclaimed, pushing his shoulder, my voice filled with excitement. “How in the hell did you wrangle the keys from her?” I paused and then gasped. “Tell me she’s not sick too!”
He held his hands out to calm me. “No, Laverne’s not sick, unless you count sick and tired of working twenty-four seven. Business at the campground has picked up too much in the winter for her to keep up with both, so she decided that since she had the restaurant running like a finely tuned machine, she’d sell it as a turnkey operation and enjoy more time with the family.”
“What in the world possessed you to buy it?” I asked, staring at the giant red and white wooden barn.
“Change,” he whispered, his hand shielding his eyes from the sun. “I needed a change.”
I motioned at the barn as I turned to him. “Okay, but how does this change anything? You don’t have a clue how to run a restaurant, and you don’t have the time to do it anyway.”
“That’s true, but I didn’t buy it for me to run. I bought it for you to run.” He tried to hand me the keys, but I refused to take them.
“Uh, okay, let’s back up the apple wagon a few stops here, buddy. I have a degree in business, not a degree in restaurant management.”
“I know,” he agreed, finally dropping his hand. “Well, I know that now, but when I bought it, I didn’t know you had a degree.” He blew out a breath and the air ruffled his hair. “Let me show you the rest of it, then we can talk it out.”
“Rest of it?” I asked as he dragged me toward his car. I noticed he was driving his BMW SUV, which he’d bought after his other SUV was smashed in the pesticide debacle. I would never forget the image of it mangled and riddled with bullet holes, abandoned in a ditch. I’d been petrified for Charity, and at the same time, I was sick to think it could have been him. I still warred with that idea. Charity was only able to escape because she was so tiny. If Mathias had been driving, he would have taken a bullet through his torso. While he’d been a jerk over the last few months, I still didn’t want to think about him not being part of this earth.
He held the door open and motioned me in. I sat, still unsure if I should be going with him, but I let him close the door. He fired up the SUV, and I ran my hand over the leather seat. “You haven’t been in this one much,” he said conversationally. “Do you like it?”
I rubbed the dash and patted it twice. “You know I always love your cars, Mathias. I could never afford a car like this, but it’s perfect for you.”
He glanced at me sharply. “What do you mean by that?”
I kept my gaze focused on the passing fields of summer wheat just starting to peek out of the ground when I answered. “I mean, it screams successful, young, handsome businessman without a care in the world.”
He tapped the brakes, and I glanced at him quickly. “There are many things I care about in this world, honeybee.”
“I know that. What I meant was, this car doesn’t scream young, kind of okay-looking business assistant who can barely pay her bills.”
He snorted with laughter as he shook his head. “Did I miss a memo?”
“What memo?” I was as confused as he looked.
“The memo telling me today isBeat on Honey Day, or is itLow Self-Esteem Day? As I said, I missed the memo, so I’m unsure.”
I understood by his tone he was kidding, but I couldn’t stop the smart-aleck comment from leaving my lips. “I’m running a special, a twofer.”
