Page 17 of Beehives and Broken Heroes
“Sticky and Sweet, this is Kathy. How can I help you?”
Brandon breathed. “Hello, Kathy, how are you?”
“Brandon, hey! How are you?” Kathy asked in her normal cheerful manner.
“I’m good,” he said. “How’s your Chevy?” Her little ’98 pickup had broken down last week on the highway between Harvest Ranch and Charleston. He’d been on his way into town and had stopped to give her a tow to Milo’s shop.
“Running. Thanks again for your help.” She giggled. “I told my brother what happened, and he’s trying to get the mayor to give you a medal.”
He dropped his head to his hand. Yeah, that sounded like something Deputy Morrison would do. “I was happy to help.”
“Who you looking for, Allie or Josie? Or either?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. He wanted to ask for Jo, but Brandon was a single man and Cash was his friend—singling out Jo, who was one of the finest gals he knew, didn’t seem respectful. So, even though he didn’t want to talk to Allie, he said, “Either,” then held his breath again. Just not Allie.
“Josie,” Kathy called. “Brandon’s on the line.”
He breathed again. Thank goodness for small mercies.
“Here she is,” Kathy said.
“Hey, Brandon, what’s up?”
He glanced up to the rafters. “We’ve got wasps in the barn.”
* * *
“Being a professional means doing your job on the days you don’t want to do it.”
- David Halberstam
“Tell me again why I have to go?” Allie asked, head resting between her arms on the desk in the back office of Sticky and Sweet.
“Because Cash and I are checking out venues for the wedding this afternoon.”
“So, can’t you go tomorrow?” Allie sat up. “Or we can see if Uncle Mark is available?” Uncle Mark put in time for them during the spring through fall. He did a lot of the heavy lifting around here, and when they got their bees back from California next week, he’d help them set the hives up in their respective places all over town and in the county.
“He’s working his real job today.” Uncle Mark was an accountant. Jo shook her head and frowned at her. “You’d think that Brandon was the one who tried to cheat us and not Tony, by the way you treat him.”
Allie sat up, angered by the mention of Tony’s name. Great, she’d need a shower to get the ick off now! “That’s not true.”
Jo raised her brows and stared her down.
“Is it?” Allie wilted in her chair.
Jo nodded.
“It is, isn’t it?” Allie thudded her head down again. After lots of reflection, Allie had admitted to herself that she missed Brandon, but the fact of the matter was that even in the two weeks when she’d managed never to be in the same room as him, she’d still seen him. She’d seen him when he’d popped into the store, when he came to family dinners, and occasionally on the street. But not anymore. After her embarrassing outburst behind Cash’s restaurant last month, he’d started avoiding her. And she’d hated it.
“Yes, it is.” Jo grabbed her navy-blue raincoat from the rack by the back door. “You want to be a professional? Act like one. He’s an investor and our friend. And he deserves better than to have you taking out your Tony drama on him.”
That hit home. The podcast she’d been listening to this morning,The Art of Being a Boss, had talked about showing up even when you didn’t want to. Had Jo heard it? That was awful lucky timing if she hadn’t.
Allie wanted to argue that it wasn’t just her Tony drama, but also her men-in-general drama—and dad drama, but she’d kept that last one a secret for months and had no intention of dumping it on her sister now. “Fine, I’ll head over after work.”
“Kathy’s agreed to cover the afternoon shift, and Diana’s coming into help in an hour.”
Diana was the middle daughter of Aunt Sophie and Uncle Mark. She was so serious all the time, rarely smiled, quoted a Bible app she had on her phone incessantly, and had perfected a judgmental stare. Allie couldn’t stand working with her, but somehow Kathy didn’t seem to mind. Diana even got along with Kathy. Still, Allie didn’t feel up to dealing with Diana today.
