Page 44 of The Burbs and the Bees
“I’ll see you soon, Alyson.”
Anger flares through me. That statement might sound innocent enough, but I get it. He expects me to come running home with my tail between my legs sooner rather than later. While one part of me is pissed off, there’s another part of me that totally understands his doubt.
“Not as soon as you might think,” I say and end the call before he can scoff.
I can’t wait to see the look on his face—and Jay’s—when I pull this off. I’m going to show them all what I’m really made of. With my chin high, I finger comb my hair and open the back door, ready to bolt to the barn when I find a pair of boots, a set of coveralls, and a T-shirt. I scoop up the T-shirt and coveralls and find a couple pairs of panties—or rather, granny panties—underneath.
“Ohmigod,” I whisper, equal amounts of gratitude and embarrassment flooding me as I tug them to my chest and glance around. Panic overtakes me when I see the barn door open, my animals milling about. “Oh, no.” I hurry to the barn, the new clothes still pressed to my chest, but slow my steps when I spot Tyler on the fence watching Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner slurp their food and stomp around in the drying mud.
“Tyler,” I say. “What’s going on?”
He glances up and rolls a piece of hay between his teeth.
“Morning, Alyson.”
“Did you… Ah.” I look around the orchard, spot the llamas in the distance. “Did you take care of the animals?”
“Beck helped. He’s taking Sid to her pasture.” He gestures with a nod. “You should probably get another cow. I think Sid is lonely. Cows are sensitive creatures, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know.” I shade the sun from my eyes. “Well, Jay did say something about them being social.”
“Not right for her to be in the field without companionship all day.” He makes a tsking sound, like he’s older and wiser than his mere seventeen years. “Not right for cows, not right for people, either.”
Is he getting at something else here? Does he know how alone I feel, how none of my friends are even bothering to reach out? Of course he doesn’t, and he doesn’t need to hear the poor little rich girl’s sob story. I’m a joke to these people, and I know it. They’re taking care of my animals because they don’t think I can properly care for them and are likely tired of waiting until I find someone who can. Dammit, I plan to prove them all wrong. I stare out into the orchard, the fresh scent of hay in the air.
“Are you going to think about getting a friend?” Tyler says. “Or even a boyfriend?”
“What?” I ask, my gaze jerking to his.
“Sidney, she needs a friend,” he says with a nod. “What did you think I meant?”
“That. I thought you meant that,” I say, but he’s smirking, like he knows how close Jay and I came to kissing last night. Maybe Jay told him. “But I need to master taking care of one first. I can’t believe I slept in this morning.” That’s when it hits me. “Wait, I need to milk her.”
He rolls the hay around with his tongue. “Already done.”
“Really, thank you, Tyler. I promise not to sleep in again.” I tap the clothes in my hand. “And these are going to save me today.”
“Hard to believe you slept through Cluck’s crowing. Up late, were you?”
“Something like that.” I hold my phone up and try to get a signal as he offers me a crooked grin. The kid is too astute for his own good.
“And don’t thank me. Thank Jay. I only helped with the feedings. I had nothing to do with the clothes you’re holding.”
My heart warms as I look around. “Do you know where he is?”
“Probably still stewing about the fireworks.”
“So, it was you?”
“Yeah, my bro needs to lighten the fuck up. We were just blowing off some steam, so to speak. Everyone needs to blow off a bit of steam sometime, you know.”
“You’re not wrong, and Jay just worries about you. He cares.” My throat tightens. It’s so nice that they all have each other.
“Whatever. Can I see your phone?” he asks, and I hand it to him. Maybe he knows the trick to getting a signal out here.
He runs his finger
over the screen and slides off the wooden fence as he hands it back.
