Chapter Eighteen #2
Still, how could he not love her?
“And those dark pink ones, those are redbuds, right?”
He nodded. How could he protect her if he didn’t risk seeing everything?
His gift allowed him to protect the people he loved and people he didn’t even know, to make sure he knew what was coming and how to keep them safe. And maybe protect the planet as well. And that meant seeing things he didn’t want to see, or outcomes he couldn’t change. Endings.
Seeing those things would likely tear at what sanity he had, but not seeing them? Not seeing them would be intolerable.
“I thought these mountains were at their best in the autumn, but I think it’s a draw,” she exclaimed. “The colors are so soft and delicate. I never knew there were so many shades of green.”
There is always loss, if you love. But without love, there is nothing.
“Daniel?”
“Sorry. Thinking.”
She had probably read every emotion he was feeling and sensed his confusion about their relationship, but still kept up her cheerful banter. Kept smiling.
Irrepressible. That was the word. Mel was irrepressible.
Not for the first time, he wondered what would have happened if they hadn’t been burdened with these gifts.
Would he have noticed the way her smile lit up the room?
Would he have been fascinated with her unruly hair and her dazzling eyes?
Would he have missed out on her enthusiastic impression of a tour guide in the piazza with Duke Ferdinando the First and his bees?
Or would he have brushed her off as just another nosy journalist?
Mel turned up Woodruff Mountain Road, and he could almost feel the mountain welcoming her. He shook his head, smiling.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just nice to be back on the mountain.”
“It is. I would stop and take pictures, but they can’t do it justice,” she said. “Does the whole mountain belong to your family?”
“Pretty much, except for some of the frontage on the highway,” he replied. “Nick’s looking into buying that, too.”
She inclined her head toward a road that led off into the woods to a house barely visible through the trees. “That place is yours too?”
“Actually, that’s Jamie’s home. We rent it out to her mom, Beth Campbell.”
“Any other houses up here?”
He shook his head. “Just the main house and the old home place, which is at the very end of this road.”
“And the road?”
Daniel sighed. “Belongs to us. Maintenance and all.”
“Developers must be salivating over this land,” Mel remarked.
“No developers will ever touch this mountain,” Daniel said. “It was pretty thoroughly protected by my grandfather. Even the family can only use it for certain purposes. He set aside funds and detailed plans to fight any kind of eminent domain claims the government might try.”
Mel looked around as she pulled up to the gate and entered the code. “That’s good.”
“You seem to know your way around pretty well,” Daniel said.
“I have a good memory.”
“You’d be surprised how many people can’t even find the turnoff to the mountain, much less the gate,” Daniel said.
Mel glanced in her rearview mirror. “Really? It’s pretty easy to see.”
“For you, maybe. Like I said, the mountain protects itself.”
The Mini emerged onto Star Crossing Meadow. “I love this spot.” Mel sighed, slowing down and gazing out at the vista of mountain ridges as they crossed the huge meadow.
“We have a welcoming committee ahead,” Daniel warned.
Jamie was running toward them across the meadow, and Mel hit the brakes.
“Climb on in,” Mel said. “I’ll drive slow so you can stand up.”
Jamie clambered in to stand in the middle behind the console, stopping briefly to hug both of them. Pooka loped up and followed along beside the car.
“I’m glad you’re home, Dr. Daniel. Them bees has swarmed, both hives, and I think they’re aiming to relocate to the old home place.
And we gotta go tell the bees over there about Lily anyways.
The doctor said she was a girl for sure.
And I learned how to make a couple more origami figures, Miss Mel.
You know origami is all about math, don’t you? ”
The whirlwind had arrived, and her name was Jamie.
“I don’t think the Woodruff Triangle bothers the bees much at all,” Jamie went on. “They never get lost.”
“The Woodruff Triangle?” Mel asked.
“It’s a part of the mountain where the GPS don’t work, nor compasses neither,” Jamie said.
“Actually, it’s shaped more like an egg, but nobody would want to hear about the Woodruff Egg.
People get lost up in there all the time.
They go in and they end up coming out in the wrong direction or they end up over in the Pisgah and can’t figure how they got over there.
Back last fall, we had all kinds of city folks an’ reporters get lost trying to find the Taggarts’ meth lab. ”
“Meth lab?” Well, that certainly got Mel’s journalistic senses tingling.
Daniel reached up to pat Jamie’s hand on his shoulder.
“It’s a long story. The Taggarts are long gone and no one needs to worry about that anymore,” Daniel said firmly.
“It was something,” Jamie said, more subdued than she had been a moment before. “Mom says it was about the most excitement we’ve ever had up here.”
“And the most we ever want to have,” Daniel added.
Mel considered how she might worm that story out of someone tonight.
“You know Dr. Grace and Mr. Nick are off meeting with Sheriff Jake over in the Pisgah about that poacher, right?” Jamie said as they pulled into the drive.
Daniel nodded. “Yep.”
“Miss Ouida’s making something special for supper tonight, since she found out you was coming, Miss Mel.”
Mel winced. “Please, just call me Mel, Jamie.”
“You sure?”
“I’m positive.”
“Or you can call her—”
Mel started to put her hand over his mouth, then stopped. “He was going to say Kohinoor. It’s my middle name.”
“It means mountain of light,” Daniel explained.
“That’s pretty,” Jamie said. “Suits you. But I think I’ll just call you Mel.”
Daniel laughed.
“Oh, and Eddie’s building a tree house for Lily beside the house right over there in the walking garden.” She pointed.
“A treehouse? She’s not even…” Daniel shook his head. “Never mind. Let’s at least get our stuff inside the front door and something to drink. You can show me who’s relocating while Mel gets some work stuff done. We can head up to the old home place later, if our guest wants a tour.”
“Sounds like fun,” Mel said.
Jamie clambered out as they stopped. “Okay! And I can show you my origami later. What can I carry in?”
Jamie was like a miniature dynamo, always on the move and radiating her own brand of energy.
It was invigorating. Whenever Jamie was around, the atmosphere became buoyant and light-hearted, which was how Mel felt as she settled in at the breakfast bar with her laptop and a freshly brewed espresso.
She polished her article while Daniel and Jamie headed for the apiary.
Ouida was making some kind of down-home Southern meal that had Mel’s nose twitching at the luscious smells filling the kitchen.
She gave the article one last look and emailed it to Lance, warning him, again, that she wanted no statements from Meyer included or she would pull it.
She might be eating a lot of ramen soon if she offended a regular customer, but…
Well, if growing up on the road had taught her anything, it was how to land on your feet in new situations.
It turned out Lance was thrilled with the article and accepted her demands. She had just ended the call when Jamie burst in the mudroom door and nearly slid into the kitchen, Pooka barking at her heels and Ouida waving her apron at both of them.
“All done?” Daniel asked, coming up behind her.
“Just about.”
“Ready to chase some bees? We’ve got two big swarms hanging up in the trees, and I think they’ll both fly before the sun sets.”
Jamie was practically bouncing with excitement.
“Ready as I’ll ever be,” said Mel. “Can I see the swarms before they fly? I’ve never seen one before.”
“We gotta hurry or we’ll miss ’em!” Jamie exclaimed. Mel grabbed her backpack and her keys and followed them out.
The swarms were one of the most amazing things Mel had ever seen. She’d seen photographs and videos of swarms, but to see and hear them in person, two of them no less, was a unique experience. A few of the cabin guests were out gawking as well.
“Don’t be alarmed,” Daniel said in a loud voice. “They are about as calm and content as they can be at this stage.”
“I thought you didn’t want them to swarm,” Mel said as she snapped photos of the two pendulous clumps, one hanging from a tree near the apiary and one clustered up on a corner of the honey house.
“Normally you don’t, but we’re experimenting with bait hives up in the woods and over at the old home place, plus the hives in the new apiary.
We’re trying some new lures and configurations on the bait hives, hoping to get a better handle on the criteria they use to select a new hive. ” They all headed for her car.
“I thought you already knew everything there is to know about honeybees, Dr. Woodruff,” she joked as Jamie climbed in.
“We’ll never know everything. Even if we could talk to them…” He trailed off.
She suppressed the urge to pry and peek at what was going on behind all the introspection.
“You think you know where these ladies are headed?” Mel asked, climbing behind the wheel.
“There’s a bait hive up above the old home place,” Jamie said. “I think it’s getting the most votes for one of the swarms. Can’t tell which swarm, though. There’s an empty hive in the new apiary that’s getting a lot of votes from one of ’em too.”
“They vote?” Mel exclaimed.
“They do,” Daniel said. “The ladies have a democracy. No, Pooka, you’ll have to stay here.” He tried to shoo away the hound, who was trying to clamber into the Mini.
“I don’t mind if he comes along, if it’s all right with you,” Mel said, and Daniel let the hound get in the rear seat with Jamie. “So how do they vote?”