Harmony reached out to grab Aiden’s hand. He kept pulling away and wandering off to look at other things and she had to keep a tight hold on him. She couldn’t lose him here, in the middle of the county fair where there were so many people. She’d be fired in a second.
Connor and Hunter wouldn’t stop fighting with each other. Hunter pushed Connor for walking too close. Then Connor pushed him back for pushing him. Why in the world had she thought taking the boys to the fair was a good idea? She’d really thought they’d be so excited and distracted by the sights that they’d behave.
She already had a headache and after a few hours, was more than ready to leave. But the boys were just getting started and wanted to ride the rides. Which would surely be a hassle because the older boys couldn’t handle waiting in line, and Aiden wasn’t tall enough to go on the big-kid rides. Hunter and Connor wouldn’t want to go on the little-kid rides with him, either.
Up ahead she saw the building that had bees and honey products. Maybe the boys would stare at the live bees for a while and give her a minute to breathe.
“Wanna see some bugs?” she asked them.
Hunter and Connor both said, “Yeah!”
But Aiden looked scared. “What kind of bugs?”
She leaned over to whisper to him. “Bees, but they’re all in a glass case where they can’t get out and hurt you. Okay?”
He nodded and they walked toward the building.
Inside, they did look at the bees for a little while, then they wanted honey.
“I’m sure there’s a booth somewhere that sells honey sticks.” She looked over and saw a large banner that read “Bear Natural Honey.” The table below had many honey-related products, including flavored honey sticks. And behind the table was one of the hottest men she’d ever seen.
Big and muscular, he was tall and had enchanting eyes. She couldn’t help but stare at him. His blond hair fell into his eyes and he brushed it away.
“I see some,” she said, and dragged Aiden over to the table. Hunter and Connor followed, pushing each other again.
When they got to the table, she told them, “Each of you can pick out two.” She smiled at the man. “Hi.”
He smiled back and she almost melted. The boys started pawing through the honey sticks and finally chose their flavors.
“We’ll take six,” she said. She handed him two dollars.
“How do I get this thing open?” Connor asked.
Harmony looked at the stick. She didn’t see any place to open it. She tried squeezing the ends, but that did nothing. She looked over at the man. “Help?”
He took the stick from her and pinched it in his thick fingers just below where she had tried to do the same thing.
“You have to find just the right spot.” He winked at her.
He looked like he would find just the right spot, indeed. Her face went warm at the thought and she looked away.
Then Hunter and Connor, like they always did, started fighting.
“That one is mine!” Hunter said.
“No, I had the cherry one,” Connor said.
Hunter pushed him. “You had strawberry. The cherry one is mine!”
The man pulled another cherry honey stick from the display and handed it to her. “Here. Just take another cherry one.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”
He waved it off. “No problem. Better than hearing them fight.”
She handed the cherry honey stick to Hunter.
But then Aiden said, “Hey! He got three! I only got two.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. Of course it couldn’t be that easy. “Just charge me for three more.”
Then Aiden and Connor went back to the display and pulled out two more sticks.
“I guess they get to be a lot, huh?” the man asked. He looked like he was somewhat horrified at their fighting.
“Yeah. They really don’t pay me enough. Some days I can’t wait to get home.” Maybe if she made it clear that it bothered her, too, it wouldn’t ruin her chances with him.
He pulled his eye brows together. “They’re not yours?”
“No.” She chuckled. “Thank goodness. I’m their nanny.”
“Oh.” He laughed, too. “I thought you looked too young to have three kids that old.” He looked relieved, which made her feel relieved, as well.
She smiled. “Thank you.”
Harmony kept her head facing the boys, but she could feel him watching her. She needed another reason to talk to him, to keep things going between them.
“So, are you having one of your own soon?” he asked.
Her face went hot and she looked down at her top. It was loose fitting. Did it make her look pregnant? “No, why? Do I… look like I am?”
“Oh no,” he said, shaking his head. His face went pink. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Oh.” She let out a relieved sigh.
“I just meant, umm…” He scratched the back of his neck. “Is there someone in the picture? Someone you’re seeing? Like a boyfriend?”
“No, there’s no one.” Not yet anyway, but if he wanted the job, she’d gladly give him the title.
“Harmy, I have to go pee,” Aiden said, holding himself and wiggling back and forth.
“Sorry,” she said. Why did he have to go right now? If she didn’t get him to the bathroom soon, though, he’d wet his pants and she’d have even more of a problem on her hands. “I better get him to the bathroom. It was nice meeting you.”
“Wait,” he said, following her a few steps. “Could I maybe get your number? Maybe you’d want to go out sometime? You know, without all the kids.”
She smiled and her heart jumped for joy. “You wouldn’t want to help me wrangle these wild kids all night?”
“Uhh…”
“I’m kidding. I’d love to.”
He took out his phone and she gave him her number.
“I’m Harmony,” she said. Aiden tugged on her hand and she walked a few steps toward the door, looking back at the man.
“Beck!” he called after her. “I’ll call you!”
* * *
Meeting Beck had been the highlight of the fair by far. By the time they got back to the car, the boys were tired, still fighting incessantly, and Aiden was covered in cherry water ice stains. Next time, it didn’t matter how much their parents gave her to take them, she wouldn’t do it.
She wondered when Beck would call. There was the standard three-day wait, but was he that type of guy? Maybe he was so into her that he’d call sooner. She thought about what she’d say when he called and what she’d wear on their first date.
After three days passed and he hadn’t called, she started to think he wasn’t going to. Had she done something to make him second guess getting her number? Maybe he’d met someone better after she’d left his booth. Disappointment filled her. It wasn’t exactly easy to meet guys as a nanny. Most days she was with a two-year-old and a six-year-old all day, then some evenings, when their parents had to work late, she watched Aiden, Connor, and Hunter.
Unless she took the kids out, she didn’t meet anyone aside from whatever new imaginary friend had been created since last time she was with her charges. And when she did take them out somewhere, she was either too distracted to notice any guys, or she was so frazzled and disheveled that she was not attractive at all.
So, when Beck still hadn’t called by the fifth day, she’d given up completely. By the next week, when it had been a full eight days since she met him and her phone rang, he was the last person she expected it to be.
“Hello?” she said as she folded laundry on one of her nights off.
“Hi, is this Harmony?”
“It is.” Who was this guy calling her? She tried to place his voice, but couldn’t.
“Hey, this Beck. I met you at the county fair?”
It took her several seconds to realize who he meant. “From the honey booth?”
“Yeah, that’s me.”
“Oh wow.” She set down the towel she was folding. “I didn’t expect you to call. It’s good to hear from you.”
“Oh. You didn’t?”
“Well, I just mean that it’s been over a week, so I thought you’d changed your mind.”
He chuckled softly. “No, I’m just sadly not very good with women.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“Thanks, but it’s true. I had a girlfriend for a long time, so I skipped a lot of years of practice asking women out. Since we broke up, it’s been a struggle.”
Oh no. Was he on the rebound? This could end up being a disaster. “Did you break up recently?”
“It’s been almost a year now. But we were together for four.”
That wasn’t bad, then. A year should be time enough. “Sorry to hear that. I guess it’s good luck for me, though.”
He chuckled. “Right. So, about that. Do you want to get dinner or something? Is that too boring of a date?”
“No, not at all. Gives us a chance to talk and get to know each other.”
“Great. Umm, what kind of food do you like?”
He was right. He sure wasn’t good at this. It was kind of cute, though. “There is a fabulous Mexican restaurant over on Green Street.”
“Great. Let’s do that, then.”
“Perfect.” Now, the day and time… She wished she could just tell him what to do next and get it over with. This was getting painful, cute or not.
“So, umm, how was your day?”
“Good. Don’t we need to pick a day and time to go out, though?”
“Oh, right. Geez. Sorry. Friday?”
“That works for me.”
“I guess like 7?”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Perfect. Want to just meet there?”
“Sure.”
Good thing he was so cute, for all his awkwardness. Hopefully, he’d get past that soon. If he was like this every time he tried to ask someone out, no wonder he hadn’t had much luck.
“What do you do, anyway?” she asked.
“Oh, I take care of the bees. I’m a beekeeper and I do some of the household stuff. My business partners and I all share a house and that’s where our bees are kept and the honey processing plant is.”
“You do it all right there on your property?”
“Yup.”
“You’ll have to give me the tour sometime. I’d love to see all that.”
“Sure. It’s kind of my passion in life.”
She smiled. “That makes sense. I think the sweetness has rubbed off on you.”
There was a bit of a pause. Then he said simply, “Thanks.”
Hopefully in person, this would go much better.
* * *
Harmony found herself more nervous than normal for their date. Partly because he seemed so nervous. Was it just going to be completely awkward the whole time?
The babysitter knocked on the door and Harmony let her in.
“Thanks for coming, Rachel. This is a first date, so who knows how long it’ll be.”
Rachel grinned at her. “I hope you’re out all night and he’s the man of your dreams.”
Harmony sighed. “Let’s hope. I don’t know, though. He seems a bit unsure of himself.”
Rachel scrunched up her face. “That’s never good.”
Logan came running into the room then. “Rachel!” He jumped at her, and she stumbled back, but caught him in her arms.
“Hey Squirt, you ready for a super fun night?”
“I got the Xbox all set up!”
“Awesome.”
Harmony gave Rachel a quick hug, then squeezed Logan and kissed the top of his head. “Don’t wear Rachel out, Logan.”
“I won’t!” he called from the hall as he ran to the living room.
Harmony closed the door behind her and smiled. She’d met Rachel, a fellow nanny, at the park a few years ago. They were both there with their charges, trying to get some peace. They’d bonded over nanny-life discussions and had been friends ever since. They tried to get together with their kids every week. The kids loved it and it gave them adult time to talk. And Rachel was so awesome and loved kids so much that she babysat anytime Harmony needed her. Harmony would take her out for lunch next week to pay her back.
Harmony pulled up to the restaurant and went inside, keeping her eyes peeled for Beck. She found him just inside the restaurant, sitting in the lobby, his feet bouncing. He looked up and got to his feet when he saw her.
They were seated and sat across from each other. He fidgeted, twisting his fingers together and apart.
“I’m not going to bite, you know,” she said.
He let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. This is actually my first date in years. I’m not really sure what to do.”
“Well, first, relax. We’re here to have fun. Second, be yourself. It’s that easy.” She smiled at him and he smiled back.
“Thank you for understanding. I feel like a total idiot.”
“Well, I’m sorry to say that I have plenty of experience dating. First dates, at least. I don’t seem to get much farther for some reason.”
Well, not for some reason. For one reason. She tried to wait as long as possible before telling her date that she had a six-year-old son, but somehow, it managed to come up in conversation, usually by accident, and then she never heard from them again. As if being a single mother at twenty-four wasn’t hard enough, it also made her a social pariah in the dating world.
At this rate, she’d probably have to wait a few years for the men she dated to have kids of their own. Someone told her once that when you got to your thirties and were dating, having a kid was much more acceptable. Only six years to go.
“I can’t imagine why that would be,” Beck said.
She shrugged. “Maybe after this date, we can talk and tell each other everything we did wrong.”
“Or everything we did right.”
“Whoa,” she said. “Let’s not get too optimistic.”
They laughed, which helped relieve some of the tension. She couldn’t stop looking at him. He was just so good looking. His broad shoulders and muscular arms. Even the facial scruff he wore, which she usually didn’t like, looked so good on him. Once he relaxed a bit, he was funny, too. She found herself laughing a lot.
“Having a kid that’s allergic to bees is the worst,” she said. “I had a charge one time that was so bad, she needed an Epipen. I was so terrified of using it that I never wanted to let her outside. I did a lot of puzzles that summer. And the worst part was, a bee got in the house and stung her, and I ended up having to use it anyway.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, when bees get scared, they sting. They’re fascinating creatures, really. I’ve been stung so many times, I don’t even feel it anymore. But the allergy thing is scary. My brother, Knox, is dating someone who’s allergic. Except, no one knew until she got stung. That was a fun day. She started swelling up and he had to rush her to the hospital. Now she has an Epipen.”
“Hmm,” she said. “That must be tricky. Dating a beekeeper when you’re allergic to bees.”
“That’s not even the best part. She’s also our live-in housekeeper. Try living with beehives when you’re allergic. I don’t know how she does it.”
“That’s crazy. Though, I’d love to see the hives in action. That’s why we came into the bee building at the fair. I like to look at the displays of bees and see them making the honey and everything.”
“It’s a lot simpler and more complicated than it looks.”
“I’m sure,” she said. “What made you get into bees in the first place?”
“My business partners and I needed a business idea. Honey seemed like a good way to go, so it made sense that we’d get our own hives. Someone had to learn about the bees and take care of them, so my brother and I volunteered to be the ones. I didn’t want to get into sales like Dax, and I’m not great at office stuff, so it fit. I get to do the dangerous, physical job and they get to sit inside all day. It works well for everyone.”
“Is that why you’re so built?”
He pulled his mouth into half a smile. “We all work out, too. We do a lot of running and lifting.”
She looked over his muscles appreciatively and felt the vibration of her phone in her pocket. She didn’t want to answer it, or even look, but anytime she was away from Logan, she felt obligated. Sure enough, when she glanced at the screen, it was Rachel calling.
“Sorry, I have to take this,” she said.
“Harmony, I’m so sorry to interrupt your date. Logan just threw up and it seems that he’s running a fever. It came out of nowhere. He was fine when I got here, then all the sudden he said his stomach hurt and he threw up. He’s okay now, but I wanted to let you know.”
“Okay. I’ll be right there.”
She hung up and put her phone back, then looked at Beck with a long sigh. “I’m really sorry. I have to go.” She chose her words very carefully. She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want to give anything away just yet. “One of the kids I care for is sick. I have to run.” There. That was true enough, right?
“Oh, okay.” He looked around for the waitress. “I’ll take care of the check and everything. Go ahead if you have to go.”
“I’m so sorry. I had a really great time, though.”
“Me too. I was hoping we could maybe do this again?” He raised an eyebrow and gave her a hopeful smile.
“Definitely. I’d love to. And hopefully, next time there’ll be no child emergency.”
“Must be tough being a nanny. I don’t know how you do it.”
She put on her coat and reached for her purse. “Well, they’re just kids. You get to know them, and you grow to love them.”
“I guess. I think I’m nowhere near ready for that.” He chuckled. “I give you all the credit in the world for taking care of kids that aren’t even yours.”
“It’s a paycheck.” She winked and slid out of the booth. “Thank you again, Beck. It’s been really great.”
“I’ll call you?”
“Please do.”
She hurried out of the restaurant and got into her car. He would definitely call, she thought. They’d had a great time and everything, but she didn’t have high hopes.
He’d said he wasn’t ready for kids. He had seemed horrified watching her with the boys at the fair. What would he do when he found out about Logan? Probably the same thing all the other guys did. Stop calling.
Maybe what she really needed to do was find a guy with a kid of his own. That way, there would be no issue. Or she could just go around with a big sticker on her forehead that proclaimed, “Single Mom,” so that no one would be surprised. They could choose to ignore her from the beginning and never even ask her out and get her hopes up.
* * *
Harmony looked down at her phone the next day and saw that Beck was calling. That was fast.
“Did the kid recover?” he asked.
She looked over at Logan, who was balled up on the couch. “Getting there,” she said. “Though I did have to clean up puke twice today. I hope your day was better.”
“Actually, I’m not sure about that.”
“Really? What happened?”
“It’s a whole big mess. We’ve had some trouble with this other group in the area. A bunch of ladies trying to ruin our business.”
“Uh oh.” She chuckled. “Can’t handle the competition?”
“I wish that’s all it was. But it seems they’re the ones who can’t handle the competition. It started out with them just messing with our displays in Mason’s, but now it’s progressed to much worse. We had to talk with the police today to make statements. They set fire to our processing plant and attacked and killed one of our hives.”
“Oh, my goodness. That’s crazy.”
“Yeah. It’s been rough,” he said. “Luckily, we caught the fire in time and nothing was seriously damaged. They’re going to arrest them and schedule a trial. I guess we gave them enough evidence and everything. So, it looks like we get to go to court next.”
“Not fun. But, if it gets them to leave you alone, it’s worth it, right?”
“So long as they don’t do anything in the meantime to retaliate for us pressing charges.”
“I think maybe your day was worse. At least I got to sit around and watch movies in between cleaning up the puke.”
“Oh, yuck.” He made a disgusted sound. “I don’t know how you do it.”
“I guess I’m used to it. I’ve been taking care of kids for about six years now.”
“I guess by the time you have your own, you’ll be all set.”
Oh no. How should she answer that? She hesitated too long. She said, “Yeah, I guess so.” But then she felt bad for lying.
“What are your plans for today?” he asked.
“Nothing much. I’m just hanging out at home. Got some laundry to do. You know, fun stuff.”
“You’re home now?” he asked.
“Yup. What are you up to?”
“Just driving home. I’ll be making a stop soon.”
“Oh, okay, well I’ll let you go then. Maybe we can talk later?”
“That sounds great,” he said. “Talk to you soon.”
She helped Logan get up and go to the bathroom, then settle back onto the couch. “Do you want any soup or crackers or anything?”
He shook his head and pulled his stuffed bear closer to his chest. He always got quiet when he was sick. He’d usually just watch TV and hold his favorite stuffed animal. The trashcan was close to his head so that he could grab it in a hurry if he needed it. She hoped he was done throwing up, though.
She put a load of laundry in the washer and sat back down, picking up her book. Logan wanted to watch his favorite movie for the hundredth time and she needed something else to do besides hear the same dialogue over and over.
She’d just turned the page when there was a knock at her door. She wasn’t expecting anyone, but maybe Rachel was coming to check on them.
Harmony opened the door to find Beck standing on her porch, a pizza in his hands.
“I thought maybe I’d surprise you with some dinner,” he said, grinning at her.
Her eyes went wide and her stomach turned. Maybe she’d be needing the trashcan next. This was not how this was supposed to happen. She wanted to wait longer before telling him. Get to know him better. But now he was here and there was no way to hide the truth any longer.
“Hi Beck.” She glanced behind her into the house. Logan must still be on the couch. “I, umm… didn’t expect you.”
“That’s what makes it a surprise. Is it a bad time?”
“No, it’s not that. I… Well, just come on in.”
She stepped aside and let him in, then she led him to the kitchen.
“Do you always watch kids’ movies when you’re home in the evenings?” he asked, nodding toward the living room where the loud, cheerful singing was coming from.
“Well, here’s the thing, Beck.” She twisted her fingers together and glanced toward the living room. “My son is in the other room watching TV. He’s the one that’s sick.”
Beck’s face went slack and still. He stared at her for a long moment. “Your son?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but you seemed freaked out by kids and I’ve had some really bad experiences with guys not calling again after they found out, and I really liked you, so I guess I was hoping that when you got to know me better, you’d be okay with it or something.” She covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“Oh, well, it’s… Umm, it’s okay, I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Well, I don’t know anything about kids. I don’t really know what to do with them.”
“You don’t have to do anything really. Just be there and hang out with them. They’re people, too.”
He nodded absently. “They seem like they need so much attention and… I don’t know. Guidance? What do you call it when you have to yell at them all the time?”
Harmony felt like she could cry. This was not going well at all. He really was freaked out about kids in general. Was there anything she could do about that? Any way to make it better for him?
“He’s sick, today, so he’s just watching TV,” she said. “That’s not too hard, right? We can just eat some pizza and watch TV. It’s not scary.”
“Okay.”
But he seemed really unsure. “Unless you just want to go. I’d understand if you can’t handle it.”
“It’s not that I can’t handle it, I’ve just never had to before.”
“Want to come meet him?”
“Sure, I guess.”
She walked into the living room and Logan looked over at her. “Hey, Logan, this is my friend, Beck.”
“Hi.” Logan held up his hand, but didn’t lift his head or get up.
“Hey.” Beck held up his hand back.
“Want some pizza? Beck brought some for us.”
“Okay.” Logan pushed himself up so he was sitting. His hair was disheveled and sticking out in all directions. His face was red and sweaty, his eyes still glassy.
Harmony looked back at Beck. “Want to grab the pizza?”
He walked back into the kitchen, then returned with the pizza. He set it down on the table and sat on the couch beside her, the opposite side from Logan.
Beck and Harmony each picked up a slice, then Logan reached over for one. Beck watched Logan eating. Logan shoved most of the slice into his mouth.
“Hey, slow down,” Harmony said. “You’re going to make yourself sick again.”
Logan pulled the slice back out of his mouth. Beck’s eyes widened. Then, Logan proceeded to roll up the slice and bite the end of it, taking little bites of his pizza roll and chewing loudly.
“Sorry,” Harmony said quietly. “Boys can be gross eaters when they’re little. One of my past charges used to pull the cheese off, then suck off the sauce, then break the crust into little pieces and wrap the cheese around the little pieces.”
“And you just let them do that?”
She shrugged. “Kids have to be able to explore the world and learn. I try to let them be themselves as much as possible. Unless it’s going to hurt someone or themselves or make a huge mess, then I usually let them. You can’t yell at them for everything.”
Beck was still watching Logan, who now wiped his mouth on his pajama sleeve, sending a smear of red sauce to cover the little trains.
Beck finished his slice quickly and stood. “I’m going to get going.”
“Already?” She stood, too.
“Well, he’s sick, so I don’t want to catch it or anything. And I’m sure he’s not really, umm, up for guests or whatever.”
“Okay, sure. I don’t want you to get sick.”
He nodded and walked to the door. Harmony followed him.
“Just tell me now if you’re not going to call,” she said. “I don’t want to sit around waiting if you can’t do the kid thing.”
He stopped and turned to look at her. The sun was setting and the light coming from behind him was golden orange. It made his hair glow yellow, like it was on fire. And that made the rest of him look darker and even more handsome. She really wanted him to be okay with Logan. To take a chance on them both and see what it was like. To give them a chance and see that kids didn’t have to be scary.
“I think… I’m just not sure, Harmony. I’ve never been around kids or dated anyone with them. I just need time to process this and think.”
“Sure.” She gave him a sad smile. “If you could just let me know either way, that’d be great. Like I said, there’s nothing worse than waiting for a call that’s never going to come.”
“I will. I’ll let you know. I hope he gets better.” He started to walk away.
“Hey Beck?”
He stopped and turned back to her again.
“Thanks for the pizza and for stopping by. It was great to see you for a few minutes, even if it did turn out to be a disaster. I’ve been really enjoying getting to know you.”
“Me too.” He let his gaze linger for a long moment before finally turning away and getting into his car.
* * *
Harmony dreaded hearing her phone ring. She knew it would be Beck telling her he couldn’t do the kid thing. How could he ever be okay with it after the way he reacted? But would he even bother calling, or would he just never call again? She didn’t know him well enough to know for sure.
Days went by and she didn’t hear from him. She’d decided he wasn’t going to call after all. How long did he really need to process? But, she waited. She waited a whole week since he’d shown up at her house. When she still didn’t hear from him, she picked up the phone.
“Hey Harmony,” he said.
“Hey. So, you didn’t call like you said you would, so I’m assuming you decided you couldn’t do the kid thing and couldn’t bring yourself to call to tell me?” She tried to keep her tone light, but she was angry and frustrated and deeply disappointed. She’d really wanted this to work and she really liked him.
“I’m sorry. I should have called. But to be honest, I’m still not really sure. I mean…” He let out a long sigh. “I really like you, Harmony. But kids just overwhelm me. I don’t know what to do with them.”
“Okay, well how much time have you spent with any?”
“Not much.”
“And don’t you think that maybe that’s why you feel overwhelmed and like you don’t know what to do? If you spent more time with kids, you’d see that they’re really not that bad.”
“What if I do something wrong?” he asked. “What if somehow I don’t know what to do and one of them gets hurt?”
“Beck. Kids aren’t like some delicate flower where if you put them too close to a draft, they’ll die. They’re just people. You manage to be around your friends without hurting them, right? It’s really not any different. You know how to keep yourself alive. The same principles apply. Didn’t you ever have a pet?”
“We had a dog when I was a kid.”
“Well, there you go,” she said. “You feed the dog and give it water and make sure it doesn’t run out into the road. Except with a kid it’s even easier because once they can talk, they’ll even tell you when they’re hungry.”
“I know it’s easy for you and this probably seems really ridiculous, but it just freaks me out. I’ve been anxious all week thinking about this. Every time I picture myself spending time around your son, something goes wrong in my mind.”
“It’s only easier for me because I’ve spent so much time with them. When you first got the bees, were you an instant expert? Did you keep them all alive perfectly? Or did you maybe have some figuring out to do? Some things to learn about beekeeping?”
“I read a bunch of books, so I knew some stuff. But I guess I did learn as I went.”
“If you really want to, there are plenty of books on kids. And you have me. I can help you, especially when it comes to Logan.” She was pacing the room now, an idea coming to her, and hope daring to well in her chest. “I have an idea. Just listen, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Come and hang out with Logan and me. We’re going hiking next weekend. Come with us. You don’t have to worry about taking care of him or anything because I’ll be there. You don’t have to do anything except maybe talk to him. Leave all the parenting up to me and see what happens when you just hang out and get to know him.”
“Where?”
“At the state park. They have some nice trails and we’ve gone a few times. You do hike, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Okay then. You’ll come? See what it’s like? You can always change your mind later and run away and never talk to me again.”
“I don’t want to do that, Harmony. I want to get to know you.”
“Then what’s your hold up?” She squeezed her fist and eyes shut hoping he’d agree. She waited and finally, he answered.
“Okay. I’ll give it a try and see. I guess I did always picture having my own kids someday. Not any time soon, but even if I want them eventually, I’ll have to get used to them.”
A smile spread across her face. “Perfect. You’ll see. It’s really not so bad being around them.”
“I hope you’re right.”
She laughed. “They can even be a lot of fun, you know. Logan might surprise you.”
“I sure hope so.”
* * *
Beck knocked on Harmony’s door at 10 a.m. sharp. She pulled open the door with a huge smile to hide her anxiety.
“Morning!” she said.
“Morning.” He stepped inside, a small gym bag hanging from one hand, and followed her to the living room, where Logan was tying his shoes.
“I’m just going to run to the bathroom real quick,” Harmony said. “Logan, why don’t you show Beck your new truck?”
Harmony dashed upstairs and used the bathroom, then snuck back down to listen to what was happening in the living room.
“It does this, too!” Logan said and lifted up the back of the truck to show him how it tipped. “What’s your favorite kind of truck?”
“Umm, I guess a pickup truck?”
“Do you have a pickup truck?”
“No,” Beck said. “But my brother does.”
“Cool! What color is it?”
“Red.”
“I like red. Do you like red? What’s your favorite color?”
Beck paused a moment. “I guess blue. Is red your favorite?”
“Mmm, I like red a lot, but I think green is my favorite. Do you want to see my green truck?”
“Okay.”
Harmony smiled at the interaction. Logan had no problem talking to people and making new friends. And it seemed like he was going to make Beck his new friend. If Beck answered his questions and talked to him, hopefully he’d see how unscary kids could be.
“Hey guys,” Harmony said, coming back into the room. “Ready to go?”
“I was just going to show Beck my green truck.”
“Why don’t you go grab it and show him in the car?”
Logan ran out of the room, then back in a minute later with a mini green pickup truck in hand.
They got into Harmony’s car, she waited until Logan had his seatbelt fastened, then they drove off toward the state park.
Logan continued to talk about his car and grill Beck with questions. Beck went along with it, answering and asking a question back now and then. She looked over at him and smiled. He smiled back. Maybe this was going to go better than she thought.
They arrived at the park and got out. Harmony stretched her legs while Logan decided which car to bring along.
“I think I’ll go with my green truck,” Logan said. “Since pickups are Beck’s favorite.”
“Will it fit in your pocket?” Harmony asked.
“Yup!” Logan tucked it into the front pocket of his sweatshirt.
They walked to the path and started on their hike. They weren’t more than twenty feet onto the trail when Logan stopped.
“Look! This one’s all chewed on. Cool.” He held up a green leaf with a big hole chewed through the middle.
A few minutes later, Beck paused and pulled a leaf from a tree and handed it to him. “This one looks chewed on, too.”
“Awesome!” Logan took the leaf and tucked it into his sweatshirt, where he’d put the other one.
They hiked for a half hour before they decided it was time to turn back. Logan could only go so long without getting tired. There was no way Harmony was going to carry him all the way back to the car.
After they turned around, a few minutes went by, then Logan screamed, “A bee!”
He flailed his arms around, trying to swat it away.
“Stop,” Beck said. “Don’t move.”
Logan froze, but whimpered, “It’s going to sting me.”
“No, it won’t. Not if you hold still.” Beck stooped to pick a wild flower. “Bees sting when they’re afraid. If you swat at it, it will get scared, and that’s when it might sting you. Watch this.”
Beck held the flower close to the bee. He turned it so that the center of the flower was in the bee’s line of sight. The bee flew right to the center of the flower, away from Logan. Beck set the flower gently on a rock. Logan bent over to watch the bee at work.
“The bee is collecting pollen to make honey. That’s why he goes into the flower. Then, when he has enough, he’ll fly back to the hive and it’ll eventually be made into honey.”
“Whoa,” Logan said. “That’s cool.”
“Did your mom tell you that I’m a beekeeper?”
“Yeah, but I’m afraid of bees.”
“You don’t have to be,” Beck said. “Once you understand them better, you’ll see they’re not scary. Maybe I’ll show you my hives sometime.”
The bee left the flower and Logan stepped back away from it to watch it. After it flew off, he relaxed and picked up the flower.
As they walked, Logan and Beck collected several more leaves and some flowers, too. They came to an area with a large patch of flowers on one side. Logan picked a small purple flower and handed it to Harmony.
“So pretty. Thank you,” she said.
“Oh! I see a better one.” Logan walked to the side of the trail and bent to pick up another flower. As he stood back up, his foot slipped.
That side of the trail went down at a steep angle, and several feet below was a drop off. The cliff went a long way down and ended with rocks and boulders at the bottom.
“Logan!” Harmony shouted and reached out to grab him. She gripped the edge of his shirt, but he was already falling. His shirt tore out her hand and he was sliding to the edge of the drop off.
“Hold onto something!” she shouted and went toward him as quickly as she could without falling herself.
“Harmony, no,” Beck said. “Get back. I’ll get him.”
Beck slid down the hill. Logan was ahead of him, still slipping toward the edge of the drop off. Logan screamed as his foot went over the edge.
Harmony watched in shocked terror as Beck leapt in the air and landed on the ground on four large paws. He was a huge black bear, running at her son, who was now hanging onto the edge of the cliff with two hands.
Logan’s hands slipped and Beck dove off the cliff after him. He wrapped his body around Logan and they tumbled together, rolling fast down the side of the cliff toward the rocks at the bottom.
* * *
They landed with a crash. Beck’s furry body was still wrapped protectively around Logan and when they landed, Logan jumped up and looked back up at his mother.
“Are you okay?” she shouted.
“Yes!”
But the bear didn’t seem to be moving.
“Is Beck hurt?” she called down.
Logan shook his shoulder. Beck uncurled his body and stretched his paws forward, then stood up on his hind legs. Logan looked back at her and shrugged.
Then, as they both watched, Beck got onto all fours and his black bear fur receded into his skin, leaving him human again. And naked.
Even from so far away, Harmony could see exactly how muscular his body was. Ripped was the only word she could think of. Every inch of him was muscle. And he had a good butt, too. He covered himself with one hand and held up the other to wave to her.
“Are you okay?” she called down.
“Yes,” he said.
“How will you get back up here?” she shouted. “And what will you wear?”
But Logan was already taking off his sweatshirt. He handed it to Beck, who tied it around his waist.
“Meet us at the car,” Beck called. Then, he picked up Logan and carried him out of sight, into the woods.
She hurried to the car as fast as she could, trying to process what had just happened.
Now that the immediate moment was over and Logan seemed to be out of danger, the adrenaline was fading, leaving her mind racing.
Had Beck just actually transformed into bear in front of her eyes? Was there anyway she could have imagined it or hallucinated it? Maybe this was all a dream and she’d actually passed out when Logan fell. That was a much more likely explanation than thinking he’d really become a bear.
Bear shifters were just fairy tales. Something parents told their kids to make them behave. Go to sleep or I’ll turn into a bear and eat you. Eat your vegetables or the bears will come after you and make you do it. But they weren’t real. People couldn’t actually turn into bears.
Harmony kept hurrying, avoiding branches and rocks on the path. All she needed was to get hurt herself.
She had to figure this thing out before she got to him. If she asked if he’d become a bear, she would sound insane. What would be the most logical explanation? That Beck had curled around Logan and the sight of them tumbling must have just looked like a bear. An optical illusion. And his clothes must have gotten torn in the fall. Yes. This made much more sense.
She finally saw the edge of the parking lot where her car was. To her right, she saw Beck, still carrying Logan, still wearing just the sweatshirt around his waist, just coming out of the woods.
He put Logan down when they reached the car.
“Mom!” Logan exclaimed, his voice full of awe. “Did you see what happened?! Beck turned into a bear!”
“Shh.” Beck looked around, then knelt down closer to Logan. “Hey, buddy, can we keep this just to ourselves? Not everyone is okay with the bear thing.”
“Okay.” Logan nodded, wide eyed. “Like a secret?”
“Yeah, a secret.”
“But I can’t have secrets from my mom.”
“No, no,” Beck said. “She’s part of it.”
“Okay.” Logan pulled opened his door and hopped into the seat.
Beck stood and slowly turned to face Harmony. He looked at her for a long while, waiting.
“Say something,” he said.
“Well…” She tried to take her eyes off his sexy body, but failed. She settled for staring at his chest. There was no way she could look him in the eyes yet. “I’m just trying to figure out what happened. Because it looked like you turned into a bear.” She laughed. “But people don’t actually do that, so there has to be some other explanation. I just don’t know what it is yet.”
He didn’t respond. She could feel his eyes on her and finally, she moved her gaze up to meet his.
“Harmony,” he said. “I know it’s shocking. There’s nothing to be afraid of, though. I won’t hurt you or Logan. All of my business partners are bear shifters, too. We’re actually a clan and that’s why we all live together.”
She nodded. “Oh okay. That makes perfect sense. You’re a group of bears living together.” She laughed again, feeling on the verge of hysteria. “That’s why you like honey so much, right? It all makes perfect sense.”
He stood there and watched her for a while until she stopped laughing.
“I’ll understand if you never want to see me again,” he said. “I know this is very strange and unbelievable. But I think we should take Logan to the hospital to have him looked at just to be safe. I broke the impact of his fall, but he still could be hurt internally or something.”
She nodded. “Right. The hospital. Because Logan fell. That makes sense. Let’s do that.”
She got into the car and so did he. He picked up the bag at his feet. Inside it were shorts that he pulled on and a t-shirt. Probably better that way. She shouldn’t be just sitting there checking him out. Not until she could make this all sink into her mind.
He wasn’t denying the bear thing. He was really a bear shifter. She kept telling herself this over and over. Eventually, maybe, it would sink in.
* * *
They got to the hospital and explained that Logan had slipped down a cliff and landed hard. They thought he was okay and he wasn’t complaining that anything hurt, but they wanted to be safe.
The three of them sat in the waiting room for a few minutes. Then, Logan’s name was called and Harmony stood and took Logan’s hand to lead him to the doctor. They went back to a small exam room.
“Mommy,” Logan said while the doctor checked his reflexes, “Can you get Beck?”
“Sure.”
She was a little surprised at this, but she went quickly back to the waiting room and found Beck sitting there, Logan’s green truck in his hands.
“Beck?”
He turned and looked at her.
“Logan is asking for you.”
He looked shocked, but got up and followed her back to the room.
“Hey!” Logan said, excited to see him.
“Look what I have,” Beck said, and handed over the truck.
“Nice!” Logan drove the truck over the crinkling paper on the exam table, making sound effects as he went.
Logan put his fingertips on the table and made a roaring sound like his hand had become a bear. He drove the truck to his bear hand and the hand attacked the truck.
He stopped and looked up at Beck. “Do you think a bear could pick up a truck and throw it?”
“Probably not. But maybe if he had help from his friends.”
“Bears are super strong, right?”
Beck nodded. “And fast.”
“They can outrun anything!”
“Maybe not anything. Tigers are pretty fast, too.”
“Tigers,” Logan said in awe. He looked to the doctor, who was now listening to his breathing and whispered to Beck, “Are there tigers?”
Beck nodded. “Lots of tigers live in the zoo and in jungles.”
Logan pulled his eyebrows together, not sure what to make of this info.
“I think he’s just fine,” the doctor said. “But keep an eye on him. If he starts to complain of any pain at all, bring him back in and we’ll do some x-rays.”
“Thank you,” Harmony said.
They left the hospital and drove back to Harmony’s house. When they got there, Beck bent down to Logan.
“Be safe, okay dude?” Beck ruffled his hair and held up a fist.
Logan tapped it with his own, then handed him the truck. “Take this. I know it’s your favorite.”
Beck took the truck and smiled at Logan. “Thanks.”
“Go on inside,” Harmony said. “I’ll be inside in a minute.”
Logan ran through the garage to the door. “Bye Beck!” He waved, then went inside.
Beck handed the truck back to Harmony. “I’m sure I’ll never see him again, and he’ll want his truck back eventually.”
She took the truck and held it in one hand, then crossed her arms. “So, you’re still not into the kid thing, then, is that it?”
He faced her and mirrored her pose. “No, that’s not it. You seem really freaked out about the shifter thing. I figured you wouldn’t want me around.”
“Well.” She sucked in a breath and blew it out. “I figure since I didn’t tell you about Logan right away and you didn’t tell me about this, and since both of us have something that people tend to kinda freak out about, that maybe we’re even.”
“Even?”
“If you’re willing to try dating someone who has a kid, then I’m willing to date someone who turns into a… a bear.” It felt so weird to actually say it out loud. But that was the truth. They both had their secret “thing” to deal with. She couldn’t turn away from him after making such a huge deal that he needed to try things with her.
“You’re sure?”
“If you’re sure that you can handle a kid.”
He took a step closer to her. “And the bear thing doesn’t freak you out?”
“No.” She dropped her arms to her sides. “It totally freaks me out. But doesn’t being around Logan freak you out still?”
“Yes. Especially after he almost died today.”
When he said it like that, it brought reality into sharp focus. No matter what happened with them, he still had saved Logan’s life today. Tears came to her eyes as she thought about it.
“I can’t thank you enough for that.” She wiped her eyes.
“No need.” He stepped closer again and wrapped his arms around her.
“I want to date you and spend time with you and Logan both. If you’re okay with the bear thing, I’m okay with the kid thing.”
“Okay.”
He looked at her for a long moment, then pressed his lips to hers. She melted into him, letting his warmth flood over her. She pictured his hard muscles as she moved her mouth against his and felt his tongue slip between her lips. She wanted him and her whole body wanted him, too.
Beck’s phone ringing broke their kiss. He’d ignored it the first time, then the second, but on the third, he pulled back from her and sighed.
“Sorry,” he said. “I guess I should see what’s going on if they’ve called three times.” He looked at his phone. “It’s my brother.”
He answered, but held her close as he listened. “Are you kidding me?” He shook his head and said, “Okay. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Everything okay?” she asked when he hung up.
“Remember that arsonist I told you about? And the ladies that attacked our hive?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, first of all, I can tell you now that they’re a rival bear clan. All women like my clan is all men. Knox just told me that they got off on some technicality. So, it looks like no justice will be served after all.”
He narrowed his eyes in disgust.
“I’m sorry. That’s really awful.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “I should get home and talk to them. We have to figure out what we’re going to do. How we’re going to protect ourselves from them.”
She nodded. “Sure. I understand.”
“I’ll call you later. And I really will this time. I want to make sure Logan is still okay anyway. And maybe we’ll go out this week?”
“I’d love to.”
He kissed her again, more briefly this time, then got in his car and drove off.
* * *
Harmony turned into Rachel’s driveway and stopped the car, then got Logan out.
“But I want to see Beck, too,” he whined. “It’s not fair!”
“Logan, you got to play with Beck all weekend, and several times the week before. You’ll see him soon, okay? But we need to have some time alone tonight. Some grown up time.”
Logan stuck his lip out. “Fine.”
“You’ll get to play with Rachel all night. You love sleepovers.”
“Will I get to stay up late?”
“I’m sure Rachel will let you stay up a little late.”
His frown faded. “Okay!” He ran toward the house.
“Hey guys,” Rachel said, opening the door.
“Thank you so much, Rach.” Harmony gave her a quick hug and set Logan’s bag down in the hall. “I owe you big time.”
“Uh huh,” Rachel said, grinning. “You owe me steamy details of your night with McHunky.”
Harmony chuckled. “It seems like we’ve been waiting so long for this night.”
“It’s been two months,” Rachel said, “That is kind of long.”
“I know. It’s just been tricky. I didn’t want us to have to rush or worry about waking Logan for our first time, you know?”
Rachel wiggled her eyebrows. “Oh, I know. I just hope he’s as amazing in bed as he looks like he’d be. And maybe he’ll have to hook me up with one of his business partners. Those men are all huge and buff.”
Harmony hugged her again, then squeezed Logan tight. “Be good,” she said to him. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“First one to the Xbox gets to choose the game!” Rachel said.
Logan ran into the other room and Rachel followed, waving goodbye to Harmony.
Harmony drove home and changed. She’d picked out this outfit just for tonight, but now that she stood in front of the mirror in her bedroom, she felt a little nervous. She hadn’t slept with anyone in a long time and this lingerie left her feeling very exposed.
But, it was Beck. Beck, who she’d gotten to know over the last two months, who’d become close to Logan and loved hanging out with him. Beck, who’d even watched Logan one night so Rachel and Harmony could have a girls’ night out. Beck, who she was not only going to bring into her bedroom tonight for the first time, but who she was also going to say “I love you” to tonight. She hadn’t said those words or felt like this in a really long time, either.
There was a knock at her door, and her heart leapt. She was so filled with anticipation, her palms were already sweating. She opened the door slowly, revealing herself a little bit at a time.
Beck stood watching with a smile of pure desire on his face. When the door was fully open, he took his time looking her up and down.
“Dang, you are hot,” he said. He stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. “I almost can’t even look at you, you’re so hot.” He adjusted the crotch of his jeans. “You’ve already got me hard.”
She smiled and walked backwards into the bedroom. He followed her and once they were in her room, he closed the door and wrapped her in a tight embrace. He pressed her back to the wall and kissed her.
His body pressed against hers, trapping her between the hard wall and his hard cock. Her head felt light with desire, and every inch of her body longed for him.
“It’s been so long,” she whispered.
“We’ll take it slow.”
“I don’t think I want you to.” She lifted his t-shirt and pulled it over his head. She ran her fingers along his muscles, stopping to pinch his nipples.
He raised an eyebrow at her and reached out to do the same. She squirmed and bit her lip.
“Do you like that?” he asked.
“Yes,” she breathed.
“How about this?” He dragged his fingers down and slid them under her panties, then slipped his finger inside her.
She let out a moan. “Yes,” she said.
He pushed her panties to the ground and moved her legs farther apart. “You’re so wet already,” he said.
“That’s because I want you so badly.”
She unzipped his jeans and pushed them to the ground. Then she dropped to her knees in front of him and took his hard cock into her mouth.
As she stroked and sucked him, he leaned against the wall with one hand, his other hand on top of her head. “That feels so good,” he said.
“Good.” She stood up and kissed him.
Then, she wrapped one leg around his waist. She was still pressed back against the wall. She pushed her shoulder back and thrust her hips forward, letting his dick slid between her wet lips. He rubbed against her clit, sending tingling waves through her body.
He growled softly in her ear. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you right now. Foreplay time is over.”
He picked her up and pressed her whole back against the wall. Then he thrust his cock inside her, making her cry out in pleasure.
He held her ass and moved her up and down on his dick, using the wall to press inside her deeper.
“You feel so good,” she said. “Harder.”
He obliged by thrusting in deeper and faster, slamming against her as hard as he could.
“You’re going to make me cum any second,” he said.
But she cried out right then as the waves of pleasure rushed over her. She was dizzy with the feeling.
He thrust in several more times, moaned loudly, then held her close to him, panting and leaning against the wall for support.
After a minute, he pushed off from the wall and carried her to the bed.
“That was so good,” she said, panting.
“I agree.”
He pulled her body close to his, curling around her so her back was against his chest.
They lay like that for a long while. He let his fingers trail over her breasts and nipples, rubbing them between his fingertips until they grew hard.
He reached down and stroked her clit gently and she moaned. He spread her wetness around her and lifted her leg up and back so it lay over his.
He was hard again and he pressed his dick against her, rubbing the tip around to get it wet, then slipped it inside her.
She gasped in the sudden pleasure, then let out a moan. She pushed her hips back into him, moving him deeper inside her.
He rubbed circles around her clit as he moved in and out of her, slowly this time.
They moved together, gently forward and back, letting the feeling of touching each other take over them. The sensation built slowly until she reached back and gripped his hips, pulling him forward and she cried out in orgasm. He finished a few moments later.
He wrapper her in his arms again and held her close.
“I think I could do that for the rest of my life,” he said.
She turned to face him, her legs tangled in his. “I wanted to tell you something tonight. I’ve been waiting for just the right moment.”
“What is it?”
She touched her forehead to his and said, “I love you.”
He closed his eyes and his mouth spread slowly into a wide smile. “Really?”
She nodded.
“Tell me again.”
“I love you,” she said.
“It’s been so long since I heard that. It feels so good.” He kissed her, then looked into her eyes. “I’m in love with you.”
She let her fingers slip into his hair. “It’s been a long time since I heard that, too.”
“Don’t think this is weird of me, but I love Logan, too.”
“Really?”
Tears came to her eyes at this. It was one thing for him to say he loved her, but to love her son as well?
“Thank you for convincing me to give him a chance. You’re right. Hanging around kids isn’t nearly as scary as I thought it’d be.”
“Neither is hanging out with a bear.”
He chuckled. “Thank you for taking a chance on me.”
“Same.”
He closed his eyes and she closed hers and they drifted off to sleep, tangled in each other’s hearts.