“I should have gone with you.” Astrid looked as apologetic as she sounded.
“Why?” Tansy shook her head. “Then we’d both have been upset.”Shewas upset. But Astrid? Seeing how cavalier Dane was about the potential property and habitat destruction...well, her little sister would bedevastated.
No, it was much better that Tansy had faced that...that...infuriating, patronizing narcissist alone.Does henot understandhe’s cutting off his nose to spite his face?A face he’s oh so proud of. She wasn’t going to think about the hair flip.Had that really been necessary?Yes, it’d showcased his burly arms and his great hair... As lovely as his physique and his hair were,hewas not lovely. She remembered his “income stream” comment—as if that was his only concern.Jerk.
“Were you intimidating?” Astrid asked, laughing.
“No one is as intimidating as Auntie Mags.” Tansy laughed, too. “Maybe she can give me lessons?”
Their mother had died not long after Rosemary was born. When their father died years later, Poppa Tom, Granna Hazel and the aunts became their guardians. Neither of their aunts had children of their own but they’d always done their best with Tansy and her sisters. As she got older, Tansy realized how lucky she was to grow up on Honey Hill Farms. This was their father’s childhood home. Being here had helped her keep his memory alive.
As children, Tansy and her sisters had been both terrified and in awe of their aunt Magnolia. She’d been stunning—she still was—tall and slender, with dark red hair and intelligent green eyes. But she rarely smiled, was on the aloof side, had a sharp tongue, and preferred to keep family matters private and the rest of the world at arm’s length. To this day, there was still an air of mystery about Auntie Mags and, Tansy suspected, a scintillating secret or two.
Auntie Camellia was the exact opposite of Auntie Mags. She was five foot two at most, extra-soft in all the places Mags wasn’t, and gave out smiles and hugs often and with great enthusiasm. When they’d been little, Aunt Camellia had been the one to kiss scrapes, make lunches and braid their hair. She had a big heart and was always collecting lost and forgotten things and making room for them—hence the army of cats and dogs and other cast-off animals in need of a home. But, as different as the aunties were, they were best friends.
Just like Tansy and Astrid and Rosemary. Poppa Tom had called them Tansy the Bold, Astrid the Gentle, and Rosemary the Shy. Always looking out for one another. All together, they—the aunties, Tansy and her sisters—made up Poppa Tom’s Bee Girls.
I miss you, Rosemary.
They followed the trail, winding up and around until the heady scent of the Spanish lavender fields reached them. Rows and rows of blooming bushes, their tall purple stalks stretching up to the sun amidst the long, thin, gray-blue leaves and spindly stalks. Butterflies and bees flitted to and from the blooms—nature at work.
“There’s nothing like springtime on Honey Hill Farms.” Tansy drew in a deep breath, letting the soothing lavender flood her nostrils.
“Breathe deep. Like this.” Astrid took a slow, deep breath, then exhaled. “Lavender is good for stress. After your morning visit with you-know-who? Maybe you should breathe deeper.” She laughed. “Or, lay down in the field and roll in it?”
Tansy chuckled. “I’m not that stressed.” As long as she didn’t think about Dane. And she wouldn’t.He’s taken up too much of my time this morning. The rest of her day would be Dane-free. She’d focus on the farm, the spring breeze, the glorious day and—always—the bees flitting back and forth between the large clumps of lavender.
Astrid crouched, her hazel eyes narrowed as she studied the bees at work. “It’s like a dance. Lovely.” One bee paused, buzzing around Astrid before settling on a deep purple blossom. Tansy knew it was impossible but there were times Astrid really did seem to be talking to the bees.If anyone could talk to thebees, it would be my sister.
“You keep collecting all the yummy pollen so Tansy and Aunt Camellia can show those Knudsons who’s boss and win the Honey Festival,” Astrid almost sang the words.
“Yes, please.” Tansy marveled over Aunt Camellia’s lengthy and determined recipe-tweaking process. She insisted on getting it just right. But their new honey recipe couldn’t be just right, it had to be perfect. The culmination of the drought, the cost to recoup their beeyards and the extreme nosedive in their financial situation had Tansy assisting Aunt Camellia into the wee morning hours more times than she could count.We have to win.She watched as the bee moved on to the next bloom. What would her life be like—somewhere else—doing something else? Her heart hurt at the very idea.Wehavetowin. The pair continued walking.
“Like you said, Tansy, this is our year. Texas Viking Honey won’t know what hit them.” Astrid sounded so confident Tansy had to smile. “You and Aunt Camellia have worked so hard on this new honey. Honey Hill Farms Blue-Ribbon Honey will win.”
The name had been Aunt Mags’s idea. She said it gave off confidence while intimidating the competition. Hopefully, the honey would speak for itself.
But then she remembered Dane’s smile—his “I know you have a secret” smile. She stopped walking. “Dane knows. About the new honey recipe.”
“How?” Astrid shook her head. “He’s messing with you, Tansy. Like always.” She nudged her sister. “There isnoway he can know.”
Astrid was right, and yet...she couldn’t dismiss the possibility that, somehow, Dane had found out about Aunt Camellia’s supersecret new honey. He could be underhanded. “Maybe you’re right. Okay, no attack bees or assassin bees, but how about spy bees? Didn’t they do that in a movie? Attach teeny-tiny cameras to them? We can send them in to keep tabs on Dane—make sure he’s baiting me about the honey. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s lied through his teeth.”
“Way less violent, but I think those were ants.” Astrid shrugged. “I hate that he still gets to you.”
I do, too.Tansy tried to shut off any further thoughts of the Knudsons. This was what he wanted, to get to her. Here she was, surrounded by the things she loved most, worked up over him? Even now, he was winning.I’mletting him win. She shook her head. The recipe was safe. Her aunt would win. They’d keep their home, bees and farm. And, somehow, she’d figure out a way to stop this expansion project.
“I’ve been thinking about Aunt Camellia and Harald Knudson and the jail comment and the bad bloodandyou and Dane.” Astrid glanced her way. “What if Aunt Camellia had the same...experiencewith Mr. Knudson?”
“SayAnythinghadn’t been made yet. John Cusack probably hadn’t been born. Or he was a baby. Either way, it’s not the same,” Tansy tried to joke. Once upon a time,Say Anythinghad been her very favorite movie. It helped that it had also been her parents’ special date movie. Watching the film, in all its eighties excellence, made her feel connected to them. Teenage Tansy thought the clothes and hair and the dialogue were perfection. John Cusack, aka Lloyd Dobler, made Tansy believe that high school boys could have deep intellectual conversations and fall in love forever. She was putty every time she watched the movie—especially the scene where Lloyd stood outside Diane Court’s window blastingthesong because he had to win her back...“In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel. Tansy could sing every word to that song and recite every line in the movie. It had been her go-to film. Her pick-me-up happy place. Now she could barely stand to listen to the song.
Dane had to go and ruin that, too. The Tansy of today knew better. She’d never let Dane close or share something so important with him. But she’d been young and foolish, and Dane had seemed even sweeter and more sincere than her beloved Lloyd Dobler. For ten days, and one incredible kissing session, she’d let herself care about him—never knowing he’d planned to useSay Anythingin a big, public spectacle to utterly humiliate her. He’d known the movie was special, and why. But that hadn’t stopped him from breaking her heart and tainting something precious. That was why she could never forgive him.
“Similar situation.” Astrid’s voice pulled Tansy back into the present but did nothing to ease the ache in her chest. “I’m fairly certain no one loves that movie more than you and no one has gone to such extremes as he did. At least not in Honey.”
“You think one of Harald’s friends bet him to ask her out?” Tansy shrugged. “We don’t even know when whatever happened happened. Hopefully, Aunt Camellia wouldn’t still be this angry over a bet.”
Astrid shot her a look. A “you’re still this angry” sort of look.
