“And so, they see you as their friend?”
“Most definitely. I told them I needed to look at their home, to make sure it was in good condition.”
“I noticed none of them followed you around the hives when you did investigate them.”
“Right. They know I’m there to protect and support them. It was like a group of friends following me around, curious but unthreatened by my presence.”
He lifted his Stetson, scratched his hair, and then settled the hat back on his head. “Unbelievable.” And then he gave her a teasing look. “Are you sure you aren’t fey? A fairy in the disguise of a human, come visiting?”
“I’ve been accused of that,” she assured him with a slight smile, taking her notebook and opening it. “Most beekeepers have a very calm energy around them and bees pick up on that. That’s why we can work in the hive and outside of it without upsetting them and making them feel threatened.”
“It takes a particular type of personality, I suppose?”
“You could say that,” she said, scribbling down notes on each hive’s exterior condition.
Chase gave her a humored look. “I feel like I just went from this world into another dimension or universe. Sort of like that movie The Matrix, or The Twilight Zone.”
She smiled fully. “Do you read science fiction, by any chance?”
He laughed. “Guilty as charged. Not that I have a lot of spare time, but I’m a great sci-fi fan and reader. Usually, I listen to them in audio-book form because I’m out, driving around on the ranch a lot.”
She became serious once more as they walked off the knoll and to the truck. Cari opened her own door and climbed in. “Listen, Chase, I’m more than worried Dirk will find me here someday. That puts all of you at risk. I believe, after a number of phone calls with Theresa, that she and her family can handle your hives very well. She’s what I call an ‘old-fashioned beekeeper,’ meaning she has a lineage of wisdom and working with bees, through the generations.” She held his darkening gaze as he pulled the seat belt across his body. “I feel guilty about being here. You’re wonderful people. I couldn’t live with knowing I might have caused any of you harm.”
Chase nodded. “I hear you, Cari. But I believe we can surmount these genuine concerns you have. Believe me, I’m not taking this lightly. I know my family could be a target, as well as anyone who works for the ranch.” He gave her a pleading look. “Please, stay awhile. At least to get this company of ours up and running properly. Theresa and her family will take care of the hives. My mother is thrilled about that. Finding out that most of our bees starved to death makes me feel guilty as hell. I thought Court knew what he was doing. But he didn’t. Just the way you went around the ranch and what you know about bee behavior, shows me everything I want to know. Please, stay?” His voice went low with pleading.
Moving uncomfortably in the seat, she squirmed inwardly, as well. Chase was very persuasive. If she hadn’t been drawn to him, woman to man, Cari would not have weakened. The image of Dirk shooting his girlfriend flashed before her eyes. “I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll stay long enough to get your operation in working order. I’ll have Theresa at my side, and there’s many things she needs to know, as well. After I’ve done all that, we’ll call my consulting work with your ranch complete.”
“Then where will you go?” he challenged quietly.
“I honestly don’t know. I haven’t figured this all out. It’s just happened. I know I’m still in shock over it, and when a person is in that state, they don’t think clearly.”
“You’re right about that, you are in shock. Anyone would be.” He rested the heels of his hands on the top of the steering wheel. Opening his fingers, he said, “Look, let us, the ranch and employees, be a refuge for you. No one’s better at this kind of stealth than me. I’ll hold a meeting with my employees, tell them what’s going on and get a vote from them because they, too, are at risk and it’s not right of me to make that decision for them. If they don’t want you here? I’ll abide by that decision. In the meantime, you can begin teaching me the business of selling honey. You have an MBA, and no one knows this business better than you. None of us around here do, that’s for sure. Could you stay long enough to see this through to that stage? I’m pretty good at business, anyway, but I don’t know the honey business, the distribution chain or anything else about it. That’s where you come in. I’ll pay you whatever consulting fee you want.” His voice went raspy. “I need you, Cari. Don’t walk away from us. We’ll keep you safe. I’ll also be talking to Sheriff Dan Seabert about the situation very shortly.”
Stunned by his emotional plea, she sat feeling it vibrate powerfully through her. Chase was not the kind of guy she’d always run into. He was different. Maybe, as some of her girlfriends opined, they needed twenty-first-century matriarchal males who respected a woman as an equal and treated them as such. Did Chase have an ego? Of course he did. But it was well in check and she could tell by driving around with him today, it didn’t run him. “I like that you’re able to admit when you don’t know something. And I like that you respect what I know. There’s many good things about you that make me want to be here.” She sighed heavily. “Look, I’ll stay on for a while. I don’t know what that means or how long that will be. I’m relieved you’ll talk to the county sheriff and any other law enforcement in your valley about Dirk. They need to know him on sight and that he’s dangerous. That’s all I can give you, Chase.” She saw his expression lighten, and she felt tension leaving the cab of the truck.
“Okay, that’s fair. Dan will have a plan after he checks out Dirk. He’s an ex–Navy SEAL and we have a SWAT team here as well. He’ll make sure the safety net around you is secure. Settle in with us. You’ll have a nice little suite in the main ranch house, and let’s go look at the office building where you’ll be. It’s only half a mile from the home. I work out there daily, too, so I’ll be around or nearby, sort of like a watchdog.”
“That feels good to me. Not that I’ve ever had something like this come up, where I did need some help.”
“Just consider me your friendly next-door-office bodyguard. Okay?”
She responded to his light teasing. “Okay, I can do that. Now, let’s go see the office?”
“The map of the place is on my office wall. You will want to look at it. I can get a copy of it made for your purposes.”
“Good idea. I do want to see it. We’ll need it to strategically place the hives.”
Turning over the engine, he took the truck out of park. “I’m going to be interested in your final strategy for our honey business.”
Warming to his mellow voice, Cari felt more at ease, less endangered by Dirk’s shadow and threat. How refreshing to meet a man who truly wore his heart on his sleeve. As they drove down another road toward a single-story, rectangular stucco building in the distance, she felt more safe than ever. Still, Cari did not want other people hurt or killed when Dirk came after her. And she knew he would. Dirk was always good at keeping his word.