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way or the other. She was wound tight and stressed. It was so clear to him, in the way she bit her lip and in the way her fingernails were chewed down to the nubs. Poor thing, trying to save a business that never really was. Or maybe she was a nervous wreck because she knew and was afraid of getting busted. If only he could tell her what he knew, why he was here, but he could not.
    So what if she was stressed, American, and beautiful? Ripe for the picking. That shit only went so far when you had a job to do. A job that would make or break him. Even if he fell madly in love with her—and hell, that wasn’t likely to happen—he’d still have to leave her behind. He’d seen way too many marriages destroyed by the agency.
    But, my, my, he liked to watch her walk away. And as they walked through the bedroom corner of the one-room cabin, he pushed away thoughts of spreading her out on that big bed covered in quilts and exploring every inch of her.
    She walked into the living area and gasped. “What are you doing here? You startled me!”
    As Gray followed, he saw another man there in the doorway. He was dark, tall, and young.
    â€œThey said you were here,” he said, eyeing up Gray, who was coming away from the bed.
    â€œSorry to interrupt you,” he said after a moment. He was local and devilish looking with wild eyes and curly black hair.
    â€œGray, this is Liam, one of the gardeners on the property. Liam, this is Gray, interviewing for the position of master beekeeper. I was just showing him around,” Jennifer said.
    Liam looked incredulous.
    Jennifer stiffened. “What can I help you with?”
    â€œI have some business to discuss with you,” he said, eyeing her up lasciviously.
    â€œI’m sure it can wait,” she said, starting to walk away.
    He grabbed her arm roughly. “No, it can’t.”
    â€œTake your slime-ball hands off of me,” she said, freeing her arm from him.
    Gray stood straighter, razor-sharp.
    â€œLook—” he started to say, and reached for her again. But something in Gray erupted. “Jennifer—”
    Gray suddenly stood between Liam and Jennifer, crossing his arms.
    â€œI’ll talk with you later, Jennifer,” Liam said.
    â€œDon’t bother,” she said.
    â€œWhat?” He tried to reach for her yet again. Gray grabbed him by the back of the neck and twisted his arm behind his back.
    â€œThe lady asked you to leave,” he said, pushing him out the front door. “I suggest you do so.” He shoved him to the ground and watched as he flailed around until he stood back on his feet.
    Oh, man, he’d just lost his temper and went way out of line. He was on a job interview for chrissake. He turned to face Jennifer, holding his breath, only to see her grinning, eyes sparkling. He mustered up the words to apologize.
    â€œYou’re hired,” she said, extending her hand. “When can you move in?”

Chapter 6
    A few days’ time was not too long to wait. After all, the winter-sown oilseed rape—starflowers—was just beginning to bloom, and she still hadn’t gotten her shipment of Italian bees. By her estimation the harsh Scottish winter had taken about half of the estate’s bees. One of the things she wanted to improve was their wintering technique. It seemed like a lot of money was wasted on buying new bees every year.
    Well, that’s one of the ways the money had been wasted. How did the family survive in the big old drafty house, keeping all the lands on what little money they made from the honey and the bees’ pollination services? It just did not make any sense.
    For about the first few months, things went smoothly, then bills came due and there didn’t seem to be any money. She pored over the records and accounts, so frustrated with their ancient way of keeping the books. Ren had wanted to pull his hair out from the frustration.
    â€œMy parents