Page 79 of The Burbs and the Bees
“What if you do? What’s the worst that could happen?”
Oh, I could lose my trust fund.
“There will be consequences,” I say.
He eyes me for a moment. “But you’re here, regardless of those consequences, aren’t you? We all fail at things, Alyson.”
“I know. Some more than others,” I say.
“You just need to align yourself with the right kind of people who will catch you if you fall and pick you back up so you can try again.”
Goddammit, I can’t even think about that, can’t even let my brain register that he’s the guy I want standing there when I’ve fallen—and I will fall, of that I’m sure. I take a bite of cereal, even though my hunger is long gone, and let my spoon drop.
“What about you, Jay?”
“What about me?”
“What did Juanita do?”
He takes a breath, lets it out slowly, and drops his spoon. It clatters against the side of his bowl. “Contrary to what Capone says, she’s not a peach.”
“I figured as much.” I nod toward the loft. “The ring…”
“Yeah, it was hers. We were engaged. We met in college, and I guess I thought she was the one. I thought wrong.”
“She hurt you.”
“She loved the idea of the farm, the apiary, the country living, until she actually had to do it. She moved in here after we were engaged for a few months. Mom and the guys grew fond of her, and when she left here, she didn’t just leave me; she left us all. I hated seeing the hurt on my family’s face. I don’t ever want to do that to them again. City girls like her…” He cringes as his words trail off. “Wait, I didn’t mean—”
“It’s okay,” I say, knowing exactly what he means. I guess I’ve also said a few things that have hit sore spots for him. Everyone is judged by who they are and who they aren’t. “So now you’re careful who you bring into your life.”
“Yeah.”
“I can appreciate that. I’m careful, too, and I don’t want to find myself with someone until I find myself,” I say, wishing I didn’t feel all the things for this man and knowing I do and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it. We’re both a little broken, a little lost, but at least he’s found his passion in what he does. “You shouldn’t let one bad relationship turn you off all relationships.”
“I wouldn’t exactly say it has. What we’re doing here is a sex-only relationship,” he says.
“Okay, I get it; you’re not off all relationships, just serious ones.”
He goes quiet, pensive, then finally says, “I have a lot to do, a lot to consider, Alyson.”
“I know, me, too. I just think you’d be a great husband and a great father. I see how you are with your brothers.”
“Says the girl not looking for anything serious, either.”
I grin. “Touché.”
“Juanita didn’t even last a month here. She didn’t like the work, the bugs, or the bees.”
“I get it, Jay. You think all city girls are the same.”
“I assume a leopard can changes its spots, you know?”
“That’s a bit of a blanket statement.”
He rolls one shoulder. “She begged me to move to the city with her.”
“Why didn’t you?”
