Page 81 of The Burbs and the Bees
I gawk at him.
“What?” he asks.
“I kind of recently said those exact words to myself.”
“I guess on some level we believe in the same things.”
My heart flutters. “I’d be so lucky to have your morals, Jay.”
His eyes darken, and he frowns. “No, I’m sure it’s the other way around. Come on, let’s get some sleep.”
I smile, loving the confidence this man has in me and the way he believes in me and helps me believe in myself. I slide my arm around him, and we head upstairs. Once between the sheets, I snuggle in close, loving the warmth of his body next to mine. I’m going to miss this when I move back into my farmhouse. Even more so when I leave here. My heart tumbles.
Maybe I don’t want to leave here. Maybe I could keep farming and at night, write my book about all the crazy experiences I’ve been having since putting a foot down at the Peggy’s Cove lighthouse. I close my eyes, a smile tugging at my lips. Wait, what is going on with me? Do I have a plan, a purpose?
Will Jay catch me if I fall?
Jay tugs me in tighter, and the next thing I know, I’m opening my eyes before dawn, eager to get to work before Cluck has a chance to startle me awake. I have never been more motivated to work in my life. Is this what happens to a person when they know what they want to do? When they have direction?
With a new kind of energy zinging through my veins, I turn to gaze at the sleeping man beside me, and my heart does a flip. I am trying so goddamn hard not to fall for him, yet failing a little bit more with each passing day.
I resist the urge to kiss him and slide from the bed. He looks so peaceful and adorable sleeping there, I don’t want to wake him. I hurry into my work clothes, sneak downstairs, and get started on my chores.
First up is milking Sidney and getting her into her pasture. Like a pro, I prepare the buckets, drain her milk, and lead her out of the barn. The sun is a bit higher on the horizon, casting streaks of orange across the country sky, and I take a deep breath, letting the image burn into my memory. I’ll never get used to the beauty of this place. Once I get Sidney into her pasture, I go completely still. What the hell happened to my fence? I run my hands along the split wood. Did someone kick it down?
On purpose?
I leave Sidney, run back to Jack’s shed, and find some old lumber, nails, and a hammer. I struggle a bit to carry it all back to the pasture, and when I get there, I’m happy to find Sidney munching on the hay and not wandering off.
I pound nails into the board, and the sound echoes while the vibrations reverberate through me. I grab another board and position it, and as I do, worry gnaws at me. When did this happen? Jay was the last one out here; did he notice this? As if my thoughts had summoned him, I glance up when I hear footsteps and find him coming my way.
Hands jammed into his pockets, he says, “Look at you, fixing the fence like a boss.”
I laugh at his playfulness and ignore the strange fullness in my chest just from the mere sight of him. I am not going to let him burrow under my skin, no matter how sweet, attentive, and adorable he is. If I did that, if I fell for him, no way could I live next door knowing there could never be more between us. He made his position perfectly clear, so it’s best I keep control over the things blossoming inside me. Although, I have to admit, it certainly felt like something changed between us last night, not only because we both opened up. Something happened to us in bed. His touch felt more emotional than physical. Then again, it could simply be wishful thinking on my part.
“Did the pounding wake you?” I ask.
“The pounding woke the dead, Alyson,” he says, glancing around like he’s checking for ghosts.
“Are you looking for Jack?” I ask, and he chuckles.
“No, and I was going to take care of the fence for you this morning.”
“You knew about it?”
He runs his fingers through his hair and looks around. “Yeah. I saw it last night after collecting Sidney.”
I put the last nail in, stand back, and put my hands on my hips as I examine my work. “I think it was done on purpose.”
“Yeah, seems that way.” He frowns. “I’m not sure I want you moving back to your place alone. Not until we get to the bottom of things here. There are too many things happening to pass off as coincidences.”
I brush my hands on my coveralls and nod. “Agreed. At least the animals are okay, though. I’d have gone mama bear if someone hurt them.”
A small smile touches his mouth. “Come on, coffee’s brewing.”
We head back to his place, and his body is close to mine, making me very aware of him, aware of the heat arcing between us, the sensations in my tummy, and the doubling of my heartbeat.
I glance up at his unshaved face as he scrubs his chin like he has a million things on his mind. He probably does. The men in my world do not have the kind of responsibilities he does. Beck was right. He needs to have more fun. I’ll do a Google search later to see what kind of entertainment I can find in this neck of the woods.
