Page 42 of The Cottage on Blueberry Bay

“There’s a group of people meeting in front of the house.” Remy craned her head closer to the window.

Meredith got up and walked next to Remy. She recognized Hazel from the other day standing in front of a group of elderly women.

“We only have until she sells to get this place in order,” Hazel said loud enough that Meredith and Remy could hear through the windows.

Remy turned to Meredith. “You already told everyone you’re selling?”

“I told Jacob’s lawyer.” Meredith looked next door as Quinn came outside. Meredith saw his mother, Ginny, in the crowd.

“Alright, ladies, let’s make some magic!” Hazel held her straw hat on her head as she shouted to the group of women. “We need to see that our blooms are being taken care of by our ladies.”

That was when the others put their hats on, too. Then they pulled what looked like netting over their faces and put on matching white suits. They looked like beekeepers.

“Look, there are beehives down the field.” Remy pointed out the other window now. “Look at that!”

Meredith walked to the window Remy had opened and hung out. Out the back, beyond the blueberry bushes, Meredith saw the women talking and opening the hives.

“Should they be doing that?” Remy asked as Hazel carried a tin can with smoke billowing out.

Meredith watched in horror as all the women followed suit. Some moved around the hives and took off the covers. Soon, all six women stood in front of the hives, pulling out frames from inside. Small black dots flew around them, but lazily, not aggressive like Meredith expected.

“Should I tell them to leave?” she asked Remy.

Remy waved as one of the women looked up at the house. “I think you should at least say hi.”

Meredith looked out the window. “I’m not going out there.”

From the corner of her eye, she saw Quinn walking down the road and then up the drive. She expected him to go to the women, but instead, he walked up to the house.

“Who’s that?” Remy jerked her chin toward Quinn.

“That’s Jacob’s lawyer,” said Meredith. She pushed herself off the windowsill and started leaving the room to meet Quinn.

When he rang the doorbell, Meredith was already walking down the stairs, with Remy right behind her.

“Good morning,” he said as he handed her a newspaper.

“Good morning.” Meredith turned to Remy. “Quinn, this is my sister, Remy.”

Quinn held out his hand to her, and that’s when Meredith noticed how different Quinn looked that morning from the other day. He hadn’t shaved, wore a casual flannel button-up, and a pair of jeans which made him look less pompous and stuffy than the three-piece suit he’d worn before.

Remy took his hand, and Meredith could see the look in Quinn’s eyes that all men had when meeting her younger sister. He, too, was mesmerized. Remy had all the good features from both Jacqueline and Gordon. Long cheekbones, and long, shiny hair. Petite yet perfectly curvy in the right places, Remy’s natural beauty was stunning even to Meredith.

Meredith somehow didn’t get those genes.

She wished she’d had time to shower.

“Nice to meet you,” he said to Remy. Then turned to Meredith. “How did you sleep?”

“Good,” she replied, still surprised she slept so well. Meredith nodded at the women. “So, Jacob allows beekeepers, too?”

He looked back behind him, where the women were gathered around one particular hive. “They’re looking to see if they have queens.”

“I’m beginning to become uncomfortable with all these people on the property doing whatever they want,” she said.

His eyebrows burrowed at this. “The bees help with the production of the blueberries.”

“Yes, but someone could get hurt.” Meredith looked out at the women, where Hazel now held a frame with bare hands as bees buzzed around their heads. “Have you seenMy Girl?”

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