Page 30 of Sweeter Than Honey
She swallowed and seemed to fight with a smile. It toyed with the corners of her lips, and she glanced at her lap before meeting his eyes. “No, I’ll stay. It’s okay.”
It felt like he was on a first date. The sensation washed over him, foreign and uncomfortable and exciting. Adrenaline pumped through him even as he suddenly felt a bit awkward and unsure of himself. A deep growl bubbled inside his chest, the muscle and bone within aching with sudden internal pressure. Jett fetched the spoon and moved stiffly back to the table, handed her the spoon, and then sat down and put his hands on his thighs. Cara held his gaze, the smile blooming on her lips. Silence ticked.
“I completely understand if you’re too afraid to eat,” she laughed awkwardly.
“Oh, no I’m really not.” The words broke the weird grip she had on him. He dished up and she pulled the top off the gelatin and poked at it with the tip of her spoon. When had he last eaten supper? A couple months ago at his father’s home. At this table? It had been a long fucking time, and he had to admit that it felt kind of nice.
Jett took a bite of the meat, which was venison, and chewed thoughtfully. Surprisingly, it was pretty good. Full of flavor. Not too dry.
“It’s good,” he said honestly.
“Well, I assumed it was venison so I poured a can of cola over it and stuffed it with celery then baked it at low heat.”
“Celery?” He poked at the meat. “How?” He spied a couple horizontal slits made in the roast containing the remnants of celery sticks. “Soda?”
She shrugged one shoulder. “The recipe called for a can of Dr. Pepper and celery.”
Meat was to be roasted with spices and maybe some olive oil. That’s it.
“Huh,” he replied and took another bite. “I was about to say that recipe needs to be set on fire, but it’s not bad at all.”
She shrugged again but looked pleased. He watched her poke slices into the gelatin while he ate.
“Would you eat that if I add a little Dr. Pepper and celery?”
She sighed a laugh. “Definitely not.”
He didn’t press. She’d eat if she felt like it. He tucked deeper into his food, doing his best against the silence that fell between them. It wasn’t uncomfortable but it was odd. Everything about this was a bit odd.
“Any luck getting your internet to work?”
“It took a few tries, but I got good signal right here at the table. I checked my emails and set up my security alerts and important reminders on my new phone. I guess I was a little tired when we got back from town and didn’t have the motivation to deal with more than that. “
He didn’t mention that he’d found her napping on the couch when he’d come in to check on her earlier in the day.
“Understandable.”
The kettle started to whistle. Jett pushed away from the table and fetched it then filled Cara’s mug with hot water to steep the tea bag. He was about to sit back down when something knocked in his brain. Detouring into the living room, he grabbed a large purple box from beneath his desk and brought it to the table with him. He sat and slid the box to Cara.
“You work with a lot of gems and such when making your jewelry?”
She glanced down at the box. He gestured for her to open it.
“I do.”
“See what you think of those.”
She lifted the top and carefully pulled back the cotton batting. He watched her reaction while he ate potatoes, curious what she would think. Cara’s mouth made a small O as she looked inside and ran a finger over the contents.
“Is this... amber?”
Jett moved his plate to the side and crossed his arms on the table and leaned slightly over them. He hadn’t shown anyone what he’d found. Not even his brother.
“No, it’s honey. Had lightning strike one of my hives a few months ago and when I pulled it apart, I found the comb had been crystallized. I suppose the heat sucked most of the moisture out of the honey and left these chunks. They cracked off in my hands, resulting in these bead-size pieces, but as time has gone on, they’ve become harder.”
“That’s amazing.” She took a few pieces out and put them in her palm. The chunks were jagged and rough and imbued with beautiful shades of yellow to amber. Pressing a fingernail lightly into one piece, she found the pressure left a slight indent. The soft scent of sweet, dark sugar wafted from the material.
“What are you going to do with this?”
