Page 52 of Beehives and Broken Heroes

He’d lied . . . to her.

The one man she’d not once ever worried would lie to her.

And he’d done it about another woman.

Just like her dad had lied to Millie.

Like Tony had lied to her.

Like every loser she’d ever dated had done.

Allie sucked in a gasp, feeling like she’d just been punched in the gut.

“Are you okay?” Alana placed a hand on Allie’s shoulder.

“No,” she said. “I’m not.” She stepped out of line and left the store.

Chapter 17

Brandon stood in the middle of the open field at the fairgrounds situated between the drive-in theater and the cultural hall directly adjacent to Tortoise Cove. Several balloons were already up, bright reds, yellows, purples, greens, oranges, and more against the clear blue sky and reflected in the calm waters of the cove. Zoey always loved these festivals and taking pictures of them. If he weren’t so worried about Grant, he’d invite her to come.

He was finally ready for that step. He missed his baby sister, and he wanted her to visit him, wanted her to meet Allie and his friends here in Harvest Ranch. And eventually, he was going to have to mend bridges with Rick and Maryanne. Bringing Zoey here would be the first step in that process. One at a time. And he would invite her as soon as he got this mess taken care of.

His pilot, Ralph, was preparing the Carroll balloon to go up.

“You have enough helium canisters to get through the rest of the festival?” Brandon asked. The fire department had said only one canister had caused the fire.

“I’ve got plenty,” Ralph said. “Honestly, I can’t believe I left one and that it had a leak. I was sure I’d gotten them all out. I always double-check that they’re safe. I don’t know how it could have gotten a leak. I feel terrible about your barn.”

Brandon clapped him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, Ralph. Not your fault.” Brandon knew firsthand how fastidious the man was about safety, having worked with him for almost ten years, and it killed Brandon that he couldn’t tell him what had really happened.

“That’s mighty kind of you to say.” Ralph didn’t look like he believed that for one second.

Brandon’s phone beeped, alerting him of an incoming text. He pulled his phone from his pocket.

Andy: Almost to your place.

“Ralph,” Brandon said, looking up at the older man. “I’ve got to get going. If you need anything, let me know.”

He raced back to Main Street, just catching sight of Allie leaving the honey shop and heading up Main as he rounded Cash’s restaurant. Despite all, just the sight of her made him smile. He hurried to his truck as a lump of guilt settled in his stomach. He’d lied to her about Alana earlier. Flat-out lied, and it made him sick to his stomach.

He jumped in his truck, hurried down Maple, and made a right onto the highway, driving past the gas station and Milo’s Auto Mechanic on the right.

Maryanne had left him because she’d felt she couldn’t trust him. He’d had to keep things from her because of his job, but he’d never lied to her. He’d hated that Maryanne couldn’t trust him even though he’d never given her reason not to. She’d known he was military police, but that hadn’t been enough for her.

And then there was Allie, who’d given him her trust wholeheartedly. She’d never said as much, but he’d felt it in everything she did and said. She trusted him, and the difference between her and Maryanne made him wonder why he’d stayed in his relationship with Maryanne, why she’d been the one to break up with him, why he’d mourned for so long.

He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him this morning—he needed Allie’s trust, craved it, yet she’d asked who Alana was and he’d opened his mouth and spouted Chris like some imbecile. It’d seemed easier than just saying, “Allie, I can’t tell you, and I can’t tell you why I can’t tell you.” Instinctively, he’d known that wouldn’t fly with her. She was too curious. Like a cat with seven lives. And she’d already been kidnapped once! All he wanted was to keep her safe, so he’d lied, but he couldn’t let that stand. He was going to tell her next time he saw her. Come clean. More than anything, he wanted her to know that her trust was warranted. She wouldn’t be happy, but it’d be better in the end.

A few minutes later, he pulled into his driveway. He went to check on the horses, make sure they had enough water, then came back to the house, surprised to see Allie speeding up his driveway. She slammed on her brakes, narrowly missing the back end of his truck as she skidded to a stop. Dust swirled up around her car, but she didn’t wait for it to settle. She jumped out, Honey followed—tail wagging away—and she slammed her door behind them.

Brandon walked toward her, nerves twisting his stomach. “Sunshine?”

Allie looked like she might spit daggers as she stalked toward him with her hands balled into fists. “Don’t call me that.”

On instinct, or out of self-preservation, Brandon stepped back—mentally shaking himself for being intimidated by a woman half his size in height and mass. “What’s happened? Are you all right?”

“What’s happened?” she snarled. “What’shappened?”

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