“Please! And let’s change the subject.”

He had this smile. One that was going to be stuck in my head. And those eyes. He had those translucent blue eyes. And he had my number. Boy, did he ever.

Dinner was so much fun. Once we changed the topic of discussion to other things, we found an easy rhythm. He thought my stories about my mother, the queen bee, were hilarious, and I thought his stories of the old island residents were wonderful. I told him about my stupid job that I loved at Publix and he told me about the summer he learned to surf.

On the way home, we drove down to the tip of the island to look at the sky all streaked with red and then purple and then pink and marveled at the power of nature and we watched the sky become dark and the stars come out, countless stars twinkling all around and above us. And yes, of course, that’s when he kissed me. It was not what I expected, but if it had not happened then I knew it never would.

“I knew you couldn’t resist me,” I said, still trying to catch my breath.

“You were right,” he said. “Let’s get you home.”

When we turned on my block at Station Twenty-three, there was an ambulance and a fire truck at the end of the block. My heart was in my throat. Had something happened to one of the boys? I couldn’t bear to think about it.

“I’m on it,” Ted said and stomped on his gas pedal, screeching to a halt in front of Archie’s house. “Stay in the car.”

“Okay,” I said.

Please don’t let it be the boys! I thought and prayed. I waited while he went inside and I worried, praying like I had not prayed in my life.

Soon, two EMS workers came around from my backyard with a body in a body bag on a gurney. It was an adult.

At the same time, Ted came out of Archie’s house and walked up to the side of our car and leaned inside.

“Sharon’s dead. They think she was stung to death by your bees. Archie found her in your backyard.”

“Oh, my God! That just can’t be!”

Chapter 28: Bee Cool

“Bees gorged with honey are less likely to sting,” I said. “My hives are full of honey.”

Ted said, “There’s going to be an autopsy. It’s going to be what it is, Holly.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Bee Cool

Ted went back inside Archie’s house to be sure Archie and the boys were okay for the night. He told me Archie was terribly upset and it would be best if I stayed in the car and didn’t make contact with them.

I called Leslie on my cell. Leslie put me on speaker.

“You’re not going to believe what’s happened here.”