Page 4 of Honey Mead Murder

“Don’t get too comfortable, Bumble. We’re going to be off to see Murphy and Teagan soon.” George quickly sorted his own breakfast: toast with his own honey and a strong cup of coffee. He stood by the sink, staring out into the garden and munching on his breakfast. “What do you think, Bumble? Think it might rain later. Clouds are gathering up nicely.”

Bumble grunted in his sleep. George decided to take that as a yes. He swallowed his last bite of toast and chugged the last of his coffee before rinsing his sticky fingers in the sink.

“How do we look?” George hefted Bumble up to inspect them in the large mirror near the front door. “Painfully normal.”

It took a few minutes to get his old Range Rover running. It was ancient. He’d bought it off a local farmer for a pittance.

The thing ran most of the time except when the weather turned frigid, then George had to coax her into running. That mostly involved cursing and talking nicely to the vehicle while Bumble stared at him like he’d lost his mind. He breathed a sigh of relief when the engine started up right away.

“Ready?” George secured Bumble in his little car seat in the back. “Let’s go see our friends.”

The drive into Dufftown didn’t take long. George pulled onto the narrow lane that led to the brewery. Bumble perked up immediately; he tended to recognise when they were getting close to Honey Bear.

Teagan and Murphy stepped out to meet them. Bumble immediately went over to them once George had set him on the ground. He tried to stay cool and collected while noticing how the jeans and flannel shirt fit his crush a little too well.

George stared blankly for a few seconds before managing to blurt out a greeting. “Hello.”

“Hello.” Murphy had been just as slow, so George didn’t feel quite so bad.

“Oh, my days. Is this why you haven’t asked each other out yet? This is so fucking painful.” Teagan had crouched down to pick Bumble up in their arms. They muttered to him about the fools around them. “More than painful. Honestly. Can I please move things along for you?”

“Tea.” Murphy groaned from behind the hand now covering his face. “Not helping.”

“Consider me your faery godperson.” Teagan grinned a little maniacally at them. “Someone has to help. This is pitiful.”

“Teagan.”

They completely ignored Murphy and continued speaking. “Bumble? When two men care about each other very much, they sometimes decide to date. To go on those outings, they have to actually ask each other. How have you never even managed it up to this point?”

“Teagan.” Murphy sounded increasingly desperate to stop them from speaking. “We’ll figure it out.”

Smothering down his urge to laugh hysterically, George resisted the desire to flee. It was thrilling to know Murphy apparently felt the same way about him. But it was also mortifying to have another person have to throw it in their faces.

“It’s been years. Are you going to be hobbling along on with a cane when you finally muster up the courage to ask him out for dinner?” Teagan heaved a massively dramatic sigh. They glanced between the two of them, then down at Bumble in their arms. “Why don’t we see if we can find you a snack?”

THREE

MURPHY

The awkward silence only intensified when the door banged shut behind Teagan. George was inspecting a random scratch on the hood of his Range Rover. He appeared intent on pretending Murphy didn’t exist.

Murphy had fully intended to ask George out on a date eventually. He had. Honestly, now he feared Teagan’s intervention would spoil his plans. The ones that had existed before his best friend opened their big mouth to help. “Sorry about them.”

“They’re not wrong.” George’s gaze darted up to his before returning to his inspection. “At least, not on my behalf. I’ve wanted to invite you to the cottage for dinner a thousand times, but the words keep getting stuck between my brain and mouth.”

Murphy found most of the tension dissipating in an instant. It was easier to contemplate asking him out when the answer was a foregone conclusion. “Would you like to be my date at the mead tasting event tomorrow night? Small crowd, so you shouldn’t feel overwhelmed. You can wear your noise-cancelling headphones. Maybe we can grab something to eat when it’s over?”

“I would.”

Murphy couldn’t stop grinning like a fool. He snickered in amusement with George a second later. “Tea’s right. We’re hopeless.”

“Well, at least we can be hopeless together now. For a date. I mean, it’s just a date.” George groaned loudly before laughing for a second time. “We are pathetic at this.”

Murphy thought perhaps it mattered more to them because of the developing feelings between them. “Maybe we shouldn’t tell Teagan. They’ll only laugh at us.”

“Good plan.” George went to grab the small box of honey from the back of his vehicle. “I’ve brought some of the late-season honey from last year. It’s darker and richer in flavour. Not as delicate. I think we can compare and contrast the early season yield from this month.”

“Brilliant idea.”

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