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She tried to tell herself she was only this susceptible to him because he wasn’t in her therapy room anymore. Because they weren’t in her work environment. It skewed her perspective.
“I don’t know, Ty,” she started. Then, remembering the way her sister had refused to ever have fun, Alexis blew out a breath and reshuffled her thinking. “Actually, you’re right.”
“I am?” He looked so surprised and pleased she couldn’t help but laugh.
How was it that she’d charmed him too? He was a marquee-name baseball player. A wealthy, elite athlete who could no doubt have his pick of women. But for right now, she didn’t want to question it.
Instead, she’d prove to herself that life didn’t have to be all work and no play.
“Yes. If you don’t mind driving, I’ll show you the highlights of my hometown.”
Chapter Eight
Keely had carefullytimed her visit to the Ramsey farmhouse two days later, knowing Nate would be gone.
She wasn’t sure what she wanted to happen between them next, so she texted him that today was a good day for planting his tomatoes on her land. Then, she’d left her sister in charge at home, and used the same window of time to come here.
With its sprawl of porches on all sides, the white clapboard farmhouse sat between two big hickory trees that kept it shaded. Chimneys and gables dotted the gray slate rooflines of additions that she’d heard had housed bigger generations of Ramseys in the past. While not as old as the historic Virgil Ramsey homestead next door—a property that bore the year 1856 on a cornerstone—the farmhouse dated back over a hundred years, traditionally used as a residence for the oldest Ramsey son since running Rough Hollow was a family business.
Or at least, it had been until Nate’s father. Clint Ramsey had become a ballplayer instead of a farmer. From what Keely had gleaned about the family, she’d heard that Everett hadn’t minded his defection so much once Clint had four kids—three sons and a daughter, Lara. Everett had figured one of them would want to take over Rough Hollow.
But all three of Clint’s sons played baseball, and Lara had left town when she’d turned eighteen. As Keely parked her delivery van under the shade of a hickory tree, she tried to imagine what it would have been like to be raised here, in this idyllic country home. Or to have had access to the huge acreage that Everett continued to farm. Keely’s family had raised livestock once, but by now the acres had dwindled so much she really had to pick and choose what to plant. Especially with her father’s latest sale. Although at least she had a hearing date for the court to review her request for legal guardianship of her father. Her dad had also admitted to keeping half of the proceeds from the sale, funds that would help pay the taxes.
The door of the van squeaked on rusty hinges as she stepped out into the heat of the day. She wasn’t halfway up the walk when she heard Hailey Decker’s voice call to her from the porch.
“Hello, Keely.” Her voice held a note of good humor. As difficult and contentious as Nate’s father could be, his mother was as pleasant and warmhearted as they came. “Is it a coincidence that your vehicle came down the road as soon as my son drove out in the other direction?”
With her sun-streaked light brown hair and hazel eyes, Hailey had an easy feminine grace in her long cotton skirt printed with a pink and green floral pattern. But she wore it with work boots and a plain white tee that kept it from looking fussy. She stepped off the porch onto the walkway and greeted Keely with a one-armed hug, her other hand still wrapped around a coffee mug. Two yellow Labs flanked her on the way down while another dog—a small and fluffy mop of a thing—torpedoed directly from the porch to the lawn then barked and ran in circles.
Keely was grateful for the moment that hid her embarrassment at having been caught dodging Nate.
“Possibly not a coincidence,” she admitted, smiling at the woman who’d become a successful beekeeper over the last five years. “I knew he was putting in tomatoes for his grandfather today, so I thought it would be a good time to pick up the bees.”
“You know he’ll be sorry he missed you.” Hailey looked at her over the top of a pair of emerald-rimmed reading glasses. Then, as if remembering she had them on, she slid them off and tucked them into a pocket of her skirt before shushing the little dog. “Come on. Let’s go around back and I’ll help you with the hive.”
Hailey took one last sip from the coffee mug before setting it on the porch rail and leading the way around the farmhouse to the backyard where a small garden gave way to peach orchards. There were multiple detached buildings from when the property was a working ranch, including an open shed that had been converted into an entertaining area, complete with dining table, fan, and bar. Lots of quirky accents decorated the space, including an old truck fender and a tall rooster sculpture with chipped paint. All three dogs retreated to the open barn, lying on the shaded concrete floor.
But Keely’s gaze strayed back to the two-story double garages painted white to match the house. Nate had moved in the upstairs apartment, she knew.
“I’m really grateful for the loan, Hailey.” Keely had tried to arrange payment to her when she’d borrowed bees in the past, but Nate’s mom had been insistent that the native wildflower nectar was good for the colony and refused.
She’d been a kind mentor in Keely’s life long ago, but their relationship had been complicated by her breakup with Nate.
“It’s a good trade-off for both of us since I sell unprocessed honey. Having the bees work on local flowers is a way to help boost the immunity factor of the honey for allergy sufferers.” Hailey paused as they passed a potting shed close to the hives, reaching into a shelf to pick up two simple straw hats. She dropped one on her head and held the other out to Keely. “Would you like one? The sun gives me freckles and sunspots in about ten seconds these days.”
“Sure.” Keely tucked her ponytail into the hat. “I try to be good about sunscreen, but being out almost every day I can’t be too careful.”
“That’s smart of you. I turned fifty and all the sun damage from the first five decades seemed to appear overnight.” Hailey led the way toward the apiary where she pointed to the last hive box in a row. “We’ll have to suit up before we move it, but I’ll put a ratcheting strap around this one to keep the hive secure. Then, we can put it in your van.”
Suit up? She swallowed a trace of nerves at the idea of having bees potentially crawl on her.
“What about when I get it home?” Keely wondered if she’d made a mistake not letting Hailey give the job to one of the Rough Hollow farmhands, but she’d hated to let someone else do the work for her when she was already renting the bees free of charge. “Will I need protective gear to unload the hive?”
“Yes, but I’ll give you a suit to take with you.” Hailey’s hazel eyes tracked one of the forager bees coming back to the hive, but for the most part, the activity was low at this time of day. “Come to think of it, do you want to bring the van around back so we don’t have as far to carry it? Maybe park over there?”
She pointed to indicate a spot.
“Sounds good.” Keely tried not to show her unease with the plan now that she realized it involved bee suits. She’d seen farmhands handle the boxes before, and they hadn’t suited up. But maybe that’s because they weren’t scared of bees– or were more adept at avoiding agitation. “Is there anything else I should know?”
