Page 86 of The Beekeeper

Monday was usually my delivery day, but with the farmers’ market starting up this weekend in Friendship, my schedule shifted. I was up well before Blaze and Paisley and out the door before either of them stirred. I hated to let Blaze think I was bolting after last night—after what happened, but I wanted my booth set up and prepared before the market opened at eight. Between that and dropping off another case of jars at the Stonebar Farms store, the Lamplight Inn, and the Maine Squeeze, I couldn’t wait for them to wake up. Or to have the awkward conversation with Blaze that had been stymied by Paisley last night.

“What’s on your mind?” she asked casually, carefully arranging the Cinn-sational jars on my table.

“Nox,” I blurted out. “He’s supposed to be here.” Unless he forgot.

My ghost-like brother had been even more absent since our Memorial Day cookout, but no matter how many times I swore I was going to head up to the barn and talk to him about what was going on, I always seemed to be too swamped to make it.

“He’s probably running behind. You know how he is,” she mused, her cheeks still wrinkled with a smile I didn’t fully understand.

I scanned through the white-topped tents of the farmers’ market again, searching for my brother in the midst of all the vendors. I made it halfway down the row on the other side of the square when my eyes stopped and my blood went cold.

Honey Trap Farms.

I’d never mistake that bee logo—or the shot of anxiety it injected in my veins.

My heart dropped into my stomach. What was he doing here? Adam never came to the Friendship Farmers’ Market which was exactly why I did. He always opted for the larger, weekly market in Stonebar (that he’d gotten me exiled from) and I stuck to the once-a-month option in Friendship. He got the bigger turf, and I got left alone.

But not anymore. Because he was here, and I was…alone.

Where was Nox?

“Harper?” Gigi was beside me now, her knobby hand gripping my arm.

“Sorry, I just—I didn’t realize Honey Trap Farms was going to be here.”

Gigi didn’t even spare him a glance. “Oh, sweetie. Who cares about that skunk?”

I couldn’t even bring myself to laugh at her choice words, shock pummeling my system with adrenaline. I felt sick: pit in my stomach, heart in my throat sick.

What if Adam came over to me? He had three people with him, one guy setting up his booth, another unloading boxes of product, and the third was standing and talking to him. What if he sent them over to harass me? Harass my customers?

All of a sudden, they looked my way. Adam smirked like it was game on, and I fought off another shiver. My first instinct was to turn and pretend I hadn’t seen them, but I couldn’t; I wouldn’t let myself be intimidated.

I lifted my chin and stood, unmoving, for excruciating seconds until finally Adam laughed almost like I was a child to be laughed off or a bug he was about to quash.

“Don’t pay any attention to small men, sweetie.” Gigi patted my arm, reverting my focus to her and my booth.

“Thanks, Gigi.” I moved one empty box under the table and then opened the next. Just focus on you, Harper. On your lane.

“Especially when you’ve got better ones to occupy your mind.”

My weak smile caved under the weight of my blush. “I’m just going to call Nox and see where he is.”

I stepped to the side and fished for my cell phone, ignoring the pang of the blank screen. What was I expecting? A dozen messages from Blaze about last night? This was just sex. Just sex didn’t require morning-after explanations.

I swallowed a curse when my brother’s phone went to voicemail. It wasn’t like him to not show up when he promised help, but it was like him to leave his phone somewhere and forget about it to the point that it went dead.

I dialed my cousin next, glancing over my shoulder to catch Gigi staring hard at Adam’s booth. When he looked over, my jaw dropped as my ninety-five-year-old grandmother pushed her bold glasses up her nose with her middle finger.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Lou. I’m so sorry to bother you. Are you busy this morning?” I bit my lip.

“Hey, no, not really. What’s up? You sound flustered. Are you at the Farmer’s⁠—”

“Yes, and Nox was supposed to help me at my stand, but he’s not here, and I can’t reach him, and Adam is also here, so I was wondering if you⁠—”

“I’ll be right over,” she interrupted, and in the background, I heard a deep voice asking what was going on. “See you soon.”