The Keeper of Bees
Contents ( 49)
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
- CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
- CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
- CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
- CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
- CHAPTER FORTY
- CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
- CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
- CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
- THE SAME BREATH
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
THE KEEPER OF BEES
HAZARD AND SOMERSET: A UNION OF SWORDS
BOOK 5
GREGORY ASHE
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2020 Gregory Ashe
All Rights Reserved
CHAPTER ONE
JUNE 30
SUNDAY
6:12 PM
EMERY HAZARD WAS LOSING AN ARGUMENT.
“I did not say dancing was stupid.”
They were gathered in their neighbors’ kitchen. Nominally, it was a party.
“No,” his fiancé, John-Henry Somerset, responded. “I believe your exact words were ‘It’s pedestrian.’”
“And,” their friend Noah put in, “he said it’s just a way of distracting people from serious concerns like the International Monetary Fund’s leadership blunders from 2010 to 2017.”
Hazard was seriously reconsidering the friend part. “You’re not helping. Look, I know you want a big wedding—”
“I want it on record,” Somers said, “that I don’t want a big wedding.”
“—and I’m fine with a big wedding, but I think dancing would get chaotic.”
“And he said it was the opiate of the masses,” Gray Dulac said. Somers’s partner elbowed into their conversation around the island in Noah and Rebeca’s kitchen. “That’s from Marx, bitches.”
Hazard decided Dulac needed some friendly advice, so he said, “Stay the fuck out of this.”
“Language,” Rebeca said as she walked by, and then a passel of kids shot through the kitchen. “And Emery also said dancing was a frivolous use of calories, and it was particularly unethical in light of all the malnourished people across the world.”
“Rebeca,” Hazard said, unable to control the wounded tone.
She shrugged. “You did say that.”
“My point,” Hazard said, “is that we can do something besides dancing.”
“It’s a wedding,” Somers said.
“He probably can’t dance,” Dulac said.
“He’s Emery Hazard,” Noah said, “of course he can dance.” Then he added, “He’s probably just really bad at it.”
“Emery can dance,” Nico, Hazard’s ex-boyfriend, put in. “He’s a really, really good dancer.”
“Suck up,” Mitchell said. The red-headed kid had been crushing hard on Nico, and now he gave him a playful shove. Nico, who was gorgeous and all arms and legs, pretended to tumble into the refrigerator.
“I’m with Emery,” Wesley said. The pastor nodded and added, “There’s absolutely no reason to have dancing.”
“See?” Hazard said.
“It’s godless and immoral.”
Hazard groaned.
“And,” Wesley said, grinning as he pulled his girlfriend Susan against him, “even though godless and immoral things can be tremendously fun, Emery’s obviously just a bad dancer.”
“I’m a fine dancer,” Hazard said. “It’s all about rhythm and rhythm is all about counting. I’m a great dancer.”
Somers just shook his head.
“And,” Hazard said, “the only reason I’m against dancing is that to be a good dancer, a really good dancer, you have to have an ass. And some people in this room have absolutely no ass. Zero ass.”
Total silence; then, from upstairs, a thunderous crash from the kids.