The Beekeeper's Daughter (Harlequin Super Romance)

by Carter, Janice

  “Henry used to keep goats and sheep years ago. The farm was actually quite nice.” She stopped when the barn and rear of the farmhouse came in sight. “Mrs. Krause would never have allowed the place to go downhill like this.”

  Will walked a few yards ahead of her and stopped, cupping his hands around his mouth to call out, “Henry? You there?”

  There was no answer. Will signaled her to follow. She glanced sharply at the barn with its collapsed roof and halted at the sight of the pigeon coops. “I wonder if he’s still racing them.”

  “Not anymore.” Will turned around to wait for her. “He said he has a friend on the other side of the valley and they send messages back and forth. That’s about it.”

  She stared at Will. “You’ve been here less than a week and already know more about Henry than I do.”

  “Hardly. Just that. Nothing about his past.” He cupped his hands and hollered again. This time, the screen door at the side of the house creaked open.

  Annie squinted against the sun. Was that the barrel of a shotgun? Her heart pumped a bit harder. But when Henry shuffled out, his hands were empty.

  “Henry? It’s Will Jennings. From the campground. I’ve got Annie Collins with me. We were wondering if we could go swimming in your pond.”

  Annie winced as the old man drew closer. Unkempt and in need of a shave, he looked a lot older than his seventy plus years. But his face brightened in recognition.

  “Annie Collins! How are you, dear? How’s your father?”

  “He’s fine, thank you, Mr. Krause. How’re you doing? I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

  “Not since the day before you went off to college,” he said. “Still alive and kicking. I’m doing okay.”

  She doubted that. With an unexpected surge of guilt, she recalled how she and a gang of friends trespassed one night as they went skinny-dipping in the pond. It was shortly after his wife had died and Henry had come roaring after them with his shotgun. Some of the kids had taunted him as they’d left. Annie had ducked behind another girl, not wanting Henry to see her and tell her father she’d been there.

  He looked at Will, then back at her. “Well, you two go right ahead. The path’s overgrown, but I guess you’ll manage.”

  “Thanks, Henry,” Will said.

  As they turned to leave, Henry said, “Don’t forget to come around to visit my birds. I’ll introduce you to them. Every single one’s got a name.”

  “You can count on it,” Will said, smiling. He waved goodbye and, placing his hand on the hollow of Annie’s back, gently guided her ahead of him out of the yard.

  “Henry sure has changed.”

  “Yeah?”

  Although he didn’t say anything more, Annie had an idea what Will was thinking. Maybe she’d never bothered to look at Henry in any other way, except as the valley’s cranky recluse. She pondered that, along with the fact that Henry remembered the last time he’d seen her while she’d completely forgotten.

  Will forged ahead, pushing his way through a mass of dogwood and bramble until he suddenly came to a halt. “Wow,” was all he said.

  Annie joined him at the water’s edge. It is pretty, she thought, gazing out across the pond she hadn’t seen for several years. “When I was twelve,” she said, turning to Will, “I swam across this. Dad followed behind in Henry’s rowboat for backup.”

  “No kidding? How far across is it?”

  “Not very far. Maybe a quarter of a mile.”

  “Far enough for a twelve-year-old.”

  “I think there’s a sandy beach to the right, beyond that stand of willow trees.” Without looking back, she pushed through the undergrowth and came to a small strip of sand. By the time Will reached it, she’d already stepped out of her shorts and peeled off her T-shirt. When she turned around to see if he was following, she saw that he was watching from the shore.

  “What?” she asked, puzzled by the odd expression in his face.

  He shook his head. “Nothing.” He pulled his T-shirt over his head.

  Annie felt naked in her skimpy bikini. It had been an impulsive purchase in the winter, when she’d planned a trip to the Caribbean. The trip didn’t happen and she’d never had a chance to wear the suit. Back at the house, she’d considered wearing her demure one-piece, but some demon had prompted her to choose this. Likely the same demon that had convinced her that going for a swim with Will Jennings was an innocent excursion.

  “Beat you in,” he challenged as he dashed past her into the clear bluish-green water.

  She kept her eyes on his broad shoulders as he leapt out to where the water was deep enough for plunging. He was grinning when he came up, shaking his head free of droplets. “You’re not even wet,” he called out.

  Annie waded toward him. “I’m one of those inch at a time people. And don’t even think about splashing. I hate splashers.”

  The water was at her hips when she heard him say, “Oh, I’m not thinking about splashing.” His gaze rested midway between her neck and her navel.

  She sank, submerging herself to her neck.

  “Darn,” he murmured, grinning. “I thought you said you were an inch at a time girl.”

  “Not when I’m being ogled.”

  “Ogled? I think admired is more appropriate.” He began to breaststroke to her.

  Annie flipped onto her back and floated out of his reach. He swam up to her, his head at her left shoulder. “Admired? That’s a word used to describe a view,” she said, lifting her head slightly out of the water.

  “I was indeed admiring the view. A very small bikini.”

  She rolled back onto her stomach and swam farther away. But his front crawl was stronger than hers and he obviously didn’t intend to give up their little game of cat-and-mouse. As he caught up to her, he reached out and held onto her upper arm, preventing her from swimming off. Treading water, she was about to duck free of his grasp when he pulled her against his chest. With his free arm, he back-paddled, taking them closer to the shoreline.

  Now is the time, Annie was thinking, to try to preserve that old employer-employee status. Or myth, she amended, as she lurched backward in the shallow water, landing gently in his lap. He was sitting on the bottom, the water level with his waist, and slowly turned Annie around so that now she was straddling his lap.

  “The view from here,” he whispered, “is even better.” He held the back of her head and drew her face to his.

  One last chance, Annie thought, as his mouth came down on hers. But all thought gave way to the taste of his lips. She placed her palms on either side of his damp face, holding it against hers. The buoyancy of the water tugged them gently apart and Annie clamped her thighs against his hips, flowing with him as he fell back into the water. He raised his head just enough to keep it out of the water but not to separate their kiss.

  Heat flowed through Annie from head to toe. She stretched her legs out so that she was lying on top of him, water rippling softly across her back. His arm tightened across her shoulders as the other plowed backward in the soft silt of the bottom of the pond until they were lying on the sand at its edge. Then he rolled her over onto her back, his mouth tracing a line down the side of her neck, to the hollow at its base.

  Fire shot through Annie. She arched her head back, raising her hips up against his. He wanted her and she wanted him. But his hands unexpectedly loosened their grip and he rolled Annie off, to lie beside him. She didn’t know what had happened or why he’d stopped. She wasn’t even sure if she was relieved or disappointed that he had. All she knew was that the desire had ebbed away. For what seemed a long time the only sounds were their synchronized heavy breathing and the muted lapping of water.

  Will finally sat up, passing a hand across his face as if wakening from a bad dream. “Sorry,” he said, his voice hoarse. He didn’t look at her. “I got carried away.” His attempt at a laugh sounded more like he was choking. “Must have been the view.”

  But something else had crept into her mind.
“You said you were married….”

  He looked at her then. “I was married. Past tense. It ended more than a year ago. Is that what you…?”

  “Best not to tamper with the employer-employee relationship anyway,” she said quickly, with half a laugh.

  “Your…employee?”

  Tongue-tied, Annie watched as he got to his feet and made for the shore. He picked up his towel and began drying himself.

  “It’s getting late,” he said. “We’d better get back. Work to be done tomorrow.”

  The rebuke stung. She wanted to say something about how ridiculous this whole exchange was, but he’d closed up like the shutters on Henry Krause’s house. Annie scrambled to her feet and got back into her clothes without bothering to dry herself. He’d already headed off.

  Her clothes stuck uncomfortably to her skin as she stumbled behind him. Her embarrassment quickly shifted to anger. Why was he upset with her? One minute they were about to make love and the next he’s not only rejecting her—he’s mad at her. None of this made sense.

  When he reached the campground, Will turned for the first time since they’d left the pond. He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something. She clenched her teeth and held her ground. No way was she going to make anything easier for him. But all he said was, “I’ll be a bit late in the morning. I promised I’d give Scott Andrews a call.”

  Not trusting herself to speak, she brushed past him to head for the truck. She climbed in, slamming the door behind her. Reversing, she caught one last glimpse of Will standing next to his van. You are a complete idiot.

  HE STARTED TO CALM DOWN by his second beer. The whole pond thing had been a farce and he blamed himself.

  He’d lost control and, after the accident, he’d sworn never to let that happen again. Maybe it was the sun beating down on his back or Annie’s moan as she clung to him. But the sudden rush of memory—heat, smoke and piercing cries—was dizzying. He’d had to move away from her.

  Then she’d made that “employee” comment. Was that how she viewed him? A hired hand seducing the boss’s daughter? Like some kind of B movie.

  Will set the empty beer can onto the picnic table. He knew he was making too much out of it, but she just didn’t get it. She didn’t understand at all that coming to Garden Valley, connecting with her, had been like coming home, when you never really had a home before.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  HE WAS BREWING A POT OF COFFEE at about eight in the morning when Sam Waters drove up to the office.

  “Morning,” Will said, as the man walked over. “You’re early today.”

  “Yeah, got some workers coming in to finish the laundry shed. If you stay on, you can do your washing there.” He nodded at the T-shirts and boxer shorts hanging from a tree branch.

  “Great. Beats rinsing stuff in a plastic basin. By the way, Scott Andrews came by yesterday morning. He said if I was to see you, to tell you to give him a call. Apparently he couldn’t reach you on your cell phone.”

  Sam frowned. “Damn thing went dead on me when I was in town. Cap got me at home later. He said he came round here to see you.”

  His tone was leading, Will thought, as if he wants me to tell him why. More juice for the Garden Valley Grapevine? For some reason that got his back up. “He told me about the fire the night before.” He paused a beat. “Asked if you’d been around.”

  Waters turned red. “The wife and I were celebrating our anniversary.”

  “Well, just passing on a message.”

  Waters thought for a minute, then said, “We’re down a man. Did Scotty ask you to fill in for the guy?”

  “Uh, yeah, he did, as a matter of fact.” He bent his head, avoiding the other man’s stare while he poured a mug of coffee. “Want some?”

  “No. Thanks. I already had coffee this morning. So…uh…what did you tell him?”

  “Nothing yet. I haven’t quite made up my mind.”

  “There’s no money in it.”

  “Guess not.”

  “Pretty small stuff to what you’ve probably been used to.”

  “Yeah, but that’s what makes it ideal. No real pressure.” He grinned at Waters.

  “If that’s what you want. Temp jobs here and there. Heard you were still helping out at the apiary. Any idea when Jack’ll be back home?”

  “Maybe in a week or so, Annie thinks.”

  “How’s she holding up?”

  Will jerked his head up. “Fine. Why?”

  “Just wondering. The wife and I were talking about her the other night. Annie and my brother Mike were in the same class at high school. We all go way back.”

  Will got the message. “Oh yeah?” He tried to sound casual. Were the Waters brothers some of the teenagers that used to have bush parties here? He drank more coffee, refusing to be pulled into a conversation he didn’t want to have.

  “Guess I should be going.” Waters started to leave, saying, “Your week is up tomorrow. Want to extend it?”

  “I’ll let you know by the end of the day.”

  “Okay. Tourist season kicks in soon.”

  Will resisted looking around at the otherwise empty campground. He watched Sam head back to the office, then dumped the rest of the coffee onto the grass and checked the time. He could just make the drive to Essex, use a pay phone to call Andrews and still get back to the apiary by nine something.

  Of course, he could ask to use the office phone, where Waters could listen. Or wait and call from Annie’s place, where she could listen. Neither option appealed to him. Besides, he wanted to ask Andrews a few things about the job. As he drove by the office ten minutes later, he saw Sam sitting at his desk, hunched over the phone.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  ANNIE DRUMMED HER FINGERS on the kitchen table while she waited for Shirley to return to the phone. She’d purposely made her daily call to Charlotte early, so she could be ready and waiting at the barn by the time Will arrived. Somehow the casual familiarity of the kitchen no longer seemed like a good place to meet.

  It was almost nine. If Will came while she was still on the telephone, she would direct their conversation to the latest news from Charlotte. Otherwise she might blurt out something about yesterday afternoon. She just wished she could turn back the clock.

  “Hi, Annie, I’m back,” Shirley said. “Jack’s being transferred to the rehab center today and has some other heart test booked for tomorrow.”

  “Should I come back to Charlotte?”

  “I don’t think so, dear. He’ll be busy for the next couple of days and then he’ll be discharged.” She sighed. “My cousins have a beautiful house but Jack keeps insisting there’ll be nothing for him to do.” Annie detected exasperation. “Nothing to do! Can you believe it? I told him what about relaxing for a change? He looked at me as if he’d never heard the word before.”

  Annie bit back a giggle. “Shirley, I wish I could help you with that but—”

  “I know, I know. The word doesn’t exist in his personal dictionary.”

  “Exactly. So what does this heart specialist have to say about Dad’s arrhythmia?”

  “He doesn’t seem to think it’s that serious but Jack will have to make regular visits to him at least two or three times a year to monitor the condition.”

  He’ll love that, Annie thought. “And what about working?”

  “The doctor says he can go on doing what he does, but to avoid heavy lifting—you already heard that—and to basically take things easier.”

  “Right.”

  “You said it.”

  “I know this isn’t really your concern, Shirley, but the harvest this summer is going to be big. I’ll need to get some other full-time help in place before Dad comes home. Maybe you could start priming him for that.”

  “I’ll try, Annie. What about that fellow you’ve got? The one who came by to buy honey.”

  And stayed to work his magic on the beekeeper’s daughter? “He’s still here but I’m not sure how much longer he’ll…uh…be
able to stay.”

  “Hopefully till the honey is all collected.”

  The end of the summer? Annie closed her eyes, hardly able to imagine the state of affairs between them by then. Not to mention the state of her libido. “Uh…maybe, but he’s a bit vague about his plans.”

  “Oh. Well, I’ll give you a call later today and leave the phone number for the rehab place. Perhaps you’d better discuss all this with your father. You know how he hates people to make plans for him.”

  “Give him a kiss for me and tell him to be a good boy about his physio.”

  “I will, dear.”

  Annie hung up and checked the time. Nine-fifteen and no sign of Will. She took her mug to the sink and rinsed it, then headed for the barn to do a quick inventory and make a list of the day’s priorities. Trying to act casual would definitely be number one on the list.

  She hadn’t got very far with the other items when Will drove into the yard. She heard the door slam and hoped she’d got her greeting down pat. Not too businesslike, but with enough formality to let him know things were going to be different. Annie didn’t glance up until she heard him in the doorway.

  He looked as uncertain as she was. Not detached as he’d been yesterday, but hesitant. That touched her. She guessed he’d had the same miserable sleep she’d had. She forgot her well-rehearsed greeting.

  “Hi. Thought I’d get started in here. We need to extract all the frames we collected yesterday and top up the settling tank.”

  He nodded and walked into the barn. “Sorry I’m late,” he said, heading for the extractor and beginning to set it up.

  So they were talking, Annie decided, but not about the kiss. She started inserting frames into the extractor. Helping her, he accidentally brushed his hand against hers.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled, as if the hand had committed some other more serious transgression.

  Like touching my breast, she thought at once and silently swore at herself. Mind on the job. They worked side by side for the rest of the morning. By noon, they’d scarcely spoken more than half a dozen words to each other and when Will announced that he was driving into Essex for lunch, Annie wasn’t surprised.