The Beekeeper's Daughter. Janice Carter

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СКАЧАТЬ said, drawing out her reply. “And…I was ready for a change.”

      She shifted her attention back to the road. So there was another reason as well.

      As she neared the junction, Annie slowed down to turn into the driveway of the farm with the red barn.

      “This place looks familiar,” Will commented.

      “I bet you didn’t get more than a glimpse of it through the dust cloud I spun.” She looked across at him and grinned.

      Definitely not feeling defensive, he thought.

      “The Vanderhoffs live here,” she went on. “They keep a lot of our hives in their orchards. The swarm’s in one of the apple trees out back, past the barn. It’s about a five-minute walk.” She reached behind the seat and pulled out the canvas. “I’ll get the box and my suit from the back, but could you bring the two supers? I always carry a couple in the truck in case of a swarm or if I need to set up a new colony. I’ll let Marge know I’m here. Oh, and there’s a hand saw. I’ll need it, too.”

      Will watched her walk up to the back door of the farmhouse. He had an odd sense of familiarity, as if he’d helped her with a job like this many times. Perhaps it was the casual way she accepted his presence—her assumption that he’d be right behind her, doing his part.

      His eyes narrowed when the screen door opened and what could have passed for a small bear bounded out and lunged at Annie. Will pressed down on the door handle, about to rush to her rescue, when he realized it was a dog. Annie dropped the box to hug it as a woman appeared in the doorway. Annie turned and gestured for Will to join her.

      He hesitated. He wasn’t much for social conventions since the accident. Getting out of the truck, he went around to the back for the supers. The dog raced toward him, barking, and Will froze.

      “Bear!” shouted the woman.

      I called that one right, Will thought, as the dog bounced back to its owner. He hefted the supers out of the truck and walked toward them.

      “Marge, this is…uh….”

      “Will Jennings,” he quickly filled in. She’d already forgotten his name.

      The woman smiled politely, waiting for some addition to the introduction. But when none came, she said to Annie, “I’m sorry Ted isn’t here to help out.”

      “Will and I can manage. I just wanted you to know why the truck was here. And thanks for letting me cut the branch.”

      Will followed her across the yard, past the barn and into an orchard so large he couldn’t see the end of it. “Quite a place,” he said as he caught up to her.

      “They keep a good third of our hives here. Listen,” she said, stopping him, “I hope you don’t think I forgot your name back there. I was just trying to think of what to say about you. I mean…” A red stain crept up her neck. “You know how people always tack on something about the person they’re introducing? Like, this is—”

      “I know what you mean,” he said, cutting her off. “You could have said I stopped in to buy honey.”

      The stain deepened. “I have a tendency to babble awkwardly,” she finally said with an embarrassed laugh that made Will regret his bluntness.

      They continued walking. There was a cool breeze in the dappled rows of trees laden with pink-and-white blossoms and Will greedily sucked in the fresh perfumed air. He could have been on another planet, the place was so far removed from Newark. A muted hum drifted toward them on the breeze and grew increasingly louder the farther into the orchard they walked.

      Annie dropped the box and saw onto the ground and stared up into a tree a few feet away. Will swallowed hard. Thousands of honey bees clung together in a massive, pulsing pendulum hanging from a branch. His first impulse was to vacate the area immediately.

      Without taking his eyes off the swarm, he whispered, “How’re you going to get them down from there?”

      “It’s tricky,” she said, “but not complicated. The swarm came from one of those hives.” She pointed to half a dozen towers of white supers about a hundred yards away. They were stacked in groups of four to seven, with bees flying in and around them. “Once the bees have left a hive with the queen, they won’t return. The hive has likely been taken over by a new queen. I have to get the swarm to go into a new hive, which I’m setting up with the two supers you’re holding. Come on.”

      Will gave the tree a wide berth.

      “The swarm won’t bother you,” she said, smiling. “The bees are in what my dad calls a state of bliss. Before they leave with the queen, they fill themselves with honey. They’re really docile right now.”

      “But won’t they want to protect the queen?”

      “They are. She’s in the middle of the cluster. Here, I’ll take the supers.” She set them one on top of the other onto a wooden stand about five feet away. Then she picked up the canvas tarpaulin and unrolled it, spreading it on the ground directly in front of the supers.

      Will was fascinated by her unhurried manner. Obviously, she’d done this many times before. He watched as she climbed into a white jumpsuit made of some kind of canvas material. The bee suit. Zipping it up, she reached down for the helmetlike hat with its mesh curtain and a pair of gloves.

      “Okay,” she said, “now for the fun part. This is where you get to help.”

      Uh-oh. He didn’t want to risk a reply, in case his voice gave him away. Swallowing, he traipsed behind her as she headed back to the tree with the swarm where an aluminum ladder was propped against the trunk. Annie picked up the hand saw.

      “I’m going up the ladder to cut off the branch holding the swarm. It’s not very thick, so it won’t take more than a few seconds. You’re going to stand right below the swarm with the box. When the branch is cut through I’m going to lower it very carefully into the box.”

      “That I’m holding,” he said.

      “It’s going to be heavy,” she warned.

      “Uh-huh. So how come I don’t have one of those outfits, too?”

      The obvious concern in his voice drew a smile from her. “Don’t worry. You’re the box man. I have to hold the branch with one hand and saw with the other. Besides, as I said, the bees are in a—”

      “State of bliss. Right. And what if they quickly shift into some other state? Like a state of attack?”

      Her smile widened. Will had the uncomfortable feeling she was enjoying this. “They won’t, trust me. I started helping my dad collect swarms when I was about ten years old.”

      “Won’t they just, uh, freak out and take off?”

      Annie shook her head. “They want to stay with the queen.” She positioned the ladder closer to the branch with the swarm and began to climb, saw in hand.

      Will felt his heart speed up. He was certain the swarm would either attack her or head immediately for him, and wondered how much protection the cardboard box would offer. Instantly, he had an image of his hapless cartoon self being chased СКАЧАТЬ