Honey Apiary

2. Larkspur Cascade - Distracting

Larkspur erased the picture he'd created when his sister, Yarrow, said the name Honey Apiary. He gladly replaced the golden-haired, lanky, and tall girl image with the Honey before him inspecting the cabin. This Honey barely reached his shoulder and had great curves. The mop of curly black hair bounced around her head was beautiful. The feeling that came off of her, even after days on the road, was unsinkable. The moment he saw her, he knew that dinner had to be part of his welcoming duties.

Even though the Juniper Resort was all Yarrow's, he loved it. And, for the moment, he was living in the caretaker's cabin. When she asked him to give the new manager keys and direct her to the bartender, Mimi, because she was stuck in New York dealing with her other passion, YC Perfumes, it was an easy task to do for his beloved sister. Though from the moment he saw Honey rest her head on the steering wheel to practically falling on her face getting out of the car, he decided that he was going to expand his job from handing over keys to dinner and showing her the resort.

She walked over to the sink and turned on the water. "Yep, pretty lux for a cabin. I'm just happy to have a roof." She smiled and he looked to see the color of her eyes. He couldn't decide if they were blue-green or green-blue. She interrupted his thoughts. "Um, as much as I appreciate the welcome committee help. I'm..."

"Stop right there." With these words, he reminded himself he didn't have time for another attempt at having a girlfriend especially with the brewery taking off at astounding speed. "I get it. My duties did include "leaving". Our boss is smart. I'll be back at seven to complete my mission." He wasn't sure why he said that his sister was "our boss".

"Ok, great." He saw relief and exhaustion across her face.

He walked out, quietly shut the door, and then started to whistle. He wondered what he was confused about. Whistling, his business partner and best friend, Steve said was his tell when he was confused or stressed. Larkspur assured him that he actually liked to whistle.

Since then, Steve proved that his theory was right. The desire to whistle didn't happen when they decided to open a brewery together. Though, lately, he'd started to whistle whenever they discussed the interested investors who wanted to create another brewery on the east coast. Steve demanded that he needed to de-stress and exiled him to the Juniper Resort for two weeks of rest and relaxation. He was starting his second week of R&R.

Then it hit him exactly why he started to whistle after meeting Honey. He didn't have time for pursuing girls because even if he wanted a relationship, girls just wanted to be friends. It's the curse of being a geek. But, Yarrow would appreciate his effort in making her new manager feel welcome. And, he had to eat. Plus, Chef Sam's food was incredible.

He stopped whistling and went to chat with the chef about making Honey a sample of the foods from the menu. He decided Honey should have a good idea of the menu and the level of Chef Sam's skill as the new manager.

On the walk up the hill, out of habit, he pulled out his phone. In this area of the forest, there wasn't a hint of bars though as he climbed text messages started coming in. He had the same lack of reception at his cabin. This lack of reception was why Steve shoved him to the resort. As business partners, they knew when each other needed a break from the brewery.

While scanning to see if any of the texts required his attention, he walked into the kitchen.

"Hey, Sam," he said as he slipped the phone into his pocket. "Is that mushroom soup I'm smelling?"

"Yeah, It's been a great season this spring and the cool nights make it an evening favorite. Did Honey get here?" Sam drew out her name and did a quick raise of his eyebrows.

"Sam, you know Yarrow almost fired you instead of Susan."

"I can't help it if the ladies fall in love with this." Sam's Cheshire grin crossed his face. "Is she as sweet as her name tastes?" He said as he sliced onion with barely a glance at it.

"She's not the girl I imagined with that name. She's more, umm"

"Fiery! I do like a Fiery lass." He laughed as he said, lass.

"No, she's..."

"Did you look at her at all, Zeus?"

"Come on, you know I hate that nickname. You'll see her tonight and then you can try to describe her."

"Wow, way to go, man, a date. Don't worry. I'll turn down the charm."

"It's not a date. You know Yarrow asked me to welcome her."

"I thought Mimi was welcomer and you were the passer of the keys."

"Yeah, Mimi isn't exactly the best at being welcoming. And, I figured she should try your food so she knows what the quality of the restaurant is. Ms. Honey Aviary will be your boss when Yarrow isn't here."

"Ms. Aviary better be darn good at managing because Mimi isn't over Susan being fired. Yeah, you best do the welcoming."

"Umm, Ok, wow, I didn't think Mimi got along with Susan. Then let's give Honey some good grub so she feels welcome and fueled to handle whatever Mimi decides to throw at her." His phone rang. It was Yarrow's ring so, he answered it immediately.

As he walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room Sam said behind him. "I'll make sweet Honey a tasting menu that..."

But he didn't hear the rest because Yarrow was crying in his ear.

"I just want out of this damn city," Yarrow yelled and cried in her high pitch voice of desperation.

"What's up? Is it the storm?" he asked and remembered looking at the weather for her flight this morning, and he'd hoped the large bank of clouds wouldn't hit New York directly.

"Yes," her voice was still high pitched but not quite as desperate. "I'm stuck. Maybe for days. I'm heading back to the apartment now after being in the damn airport for four hours. I was all the way through security, too. Oh, Bud, I'm glad you're there. Did Ms. Aviary arrive? And, I bet I'm missing Sam's wild mushroom soup." With each word, her voice returned to normal.

When he heard his childhood nickname of Bud, he knew she was done with city life and yearned for pine trees. She'd stopped using it when he opened the brewery because she said she didn't want anyone to associate him with Budweiser. "I've got it. She's here, and Sam's making her a tasting menu. You know I love helping with the resort."

"You're the best brother ever. I'm still working on a better nickname. You know that Larkspur just never suited you. Our mother and her damn name choices. Ok, I really needed to hear your voice. I'm better now."

"Good. I think your new manager will be great. Don't worry. Goodbye, sis." He almost ended the call but then remembered."Hey, there's that one place with mushroom soup on eighth, remember?"

"Yeah, it won't be as good as Sam's, but it will do. Thanks."

He headed to his sister's office to use her computer to go through his emails. He couldn't forget the brewery completely. His nose and taste buds had done their work this spring and their special summer brews were in the tanks.

The brewery provided him with more than enough income on top of his trust fund. Steve kept pushing for them to start another brewery in Idaho, but Larkspur kept telling him that potatoes make vodka, not beer. Steve hated his business-related jokes.

Once they started canning, the distributors were begging for more. People seemed to like their flavors. But Steve never stopped wanting more fingers in the beer market and was always pushing the brewery's brand in new directions. The latest development was to work with investors to take their Rocky Mountain brew flavors to the east coast. As he thought about these expansions, he started to whistle.

"Fuck, Steve," he swore and then mumbled his mantra over and over. "Simple equals happiness