Bumble

Part 4

The last ward was located in a field off the main road into town. Penny hadn't planned to be hiking the woods, wading creeks, and jumping fences onto private property when she'd put on her favorite flamingo sundress. Her hair had frizzed and curled and it stuck to her forehead and neck in itchy pink clumps.

Leander seemed to be feeling the heat as well. He braced his hands on the dashboard, the A/C blowing his hair dry as they drove past the town sign. Penny pulled the bug over to the side of the road where he pointed. The sky was dark and the air was thick with enough humidity that Penny thought she might be able to swim in it.

"This way," Leander said; he seemed to know the way to each ward without a map. Penny chalked it up to magic. Leander's fairy senses (or whatever it was) lead them to the center of the field. Surround by tall grasses and a smattering of wildflowers that made Penny's legs itch, was a small clearing. Something in the center made her stomach drop. Every other ward they'd found had shown signs of wear. They'd plucked vines off of chipped garden gnomes, straightened scarecrows and wrested brambles from an old wishing well. The wards were weakened by the forces of nature, but they had yet to find a truly broken one.

Until now.

A stone sculpture of some sort hadn't just been tipped onto its side or covered with overgrowth, it had been smashed to bits. There were tire tracks through the mug that veered towards town, and for the first time that day, Penny felt a real panic. Someone had destroyed the ward to get into town.

Penny looked to Leander whose face was sullen. A frown pinched down the corner of his lips. "We can't fix this. You need to put up a new ward," he said.

Penny nodded. They trudged back to the bug where she popped the trunk. There wasn't much that could be used for a ward, but there was a slightly damaged bee skep that would have to do. As they headed back towards the broken statue, Penny felt the sharp blast of cool wind as the sky darkened.

"Leander," she said, as he burst through the tall grass and began to clear away the rubble of the previous ward. "We'd better get going. It's going to rain." As she spoke the wind picked up and sent her skirt whipping about her legs and a cool shiver over her exposed skin.

"Here," Leander said as he cleared a space. "Just set that here with the intention of protecting the town and the spell should take hold."

Penny set the skep in the grass with the fervent hope that whatever magic protected their little town would stop the storms her father had predicted. No sooner had she set the wicker hive on the ground, did she feel the first drop of rain on her cheek. Leander grabbed her by the hand and pulled her through the field towards a grove of trees that were much closer than the car. Penny just had time to check her watch before the skies opened up on them. One o'clock. She should have known not to test the accuracy of her father's forecasts.

When they reached the shelter of the trees, Penny's dress had been soaked through. Flamingos clung to her in places a lady should never have flamingos, but her attention was on Leander. His white shirt revealed long lean muscles and defined abs that made her mouth go dry.

"What bet did you lose?" Leander asked as he ruffled a hand through his hair to shake out the water.

"Anna Finch bet me I wouldn't have my first kiss by graduation," she said. She hated to admit it, but she'd always wanted her first kiss to be something magical, something special.

"I don't think I like this Anna Finch," Leander said as he moved closer.

"She was trying to motivate me."
"I'm glad she didn't." He moved closer, his eyes widening as he realized she was shivering. With a flick of his hand, Penny's dress was instantly dry again. With a second wave he dried himself. "You know I could hear you every time you talked to your grandmother's bees," he said.

Penny found herself moving closer to him as if an invisible string pulled her toward him. She might have been embarrassed knowing what she'd said so openly to the bees over the years. Yet every minute spent near her grandmother's hives, was a moment she wished she'd spent with her best friend. And she had. She'd whispered her every secret to him the past year to him.

He hadn't gone. Not really. She just hadn't known it.

THANK YOU FOR READING! I HOPE YOU ARE ALL STILL ENJOYING THIS LITTLE TALE!