Unexpected Sting by Viola Grace (free reads .TXT) 📕

Nana Baker scowled. “That isn’tan appropriate greeting, Stinger.”

She paused with her hand on theback of the chair. “You are right, Nana. Sorry.”

She walked over to Arthur, andhe got to his feet. She stuck out her scratched-up hand, and heextended his to engulf it. “I am Stiila Rosos, pleased to meet you,Arthur.”

He nodded. “Arthur Orion, atyour service. What happened to your hands?”

“I forgot I had gloves.”

She glanced at Nana, who waswatching them with a delighted smile. “This is the guy youhave been trying to catch for me for the last seven years?”

Nana grinned. “Yeah. You twolook so cute together. I will get the lemonade.”

Arthur leaned down and murmured,“You are the bookish little girl that my grandma helpedraise?”

“Yup. I was born here. My mom isclose with her family, but Nana offered to help her during thepregnancy when everyone was busy with other things. So, I was bornhere, raised here, and my mom just lives up the road a fewfarms.”

He looked down at her.“Damn.”

She smiled and went to sit inher seat.

Nana brought out her cart andstarted to unload the food onto the kitchen table. Stiila sat withher hands at the edge of the table, and Arthur looked like he wasstruggling with something.

“Stinger, you are working. Yougo ahead.”

“Thanks, Nana.” She served up ahealthy heaping of the macaroni soup, covered it with the shreddedcheese, took two large sandwiches and a glass of lemonade.

She got to work eating, andArthur frowned. “Stiila, why are you here?”

Nana smiled. “Stiila has alwayscome every month or two since her mom and she moved down the road,and she helps me with the maintenance on the house. She built thechair you are sitting on, the table we are eating on, and she hasdone most of the fencing on the property. She’s a tough littlegirl.”

She ate quickly and quietlywhile Nana was talking. Nana chattered on about all the things shehad built or fixed around the farm, including the maintenance onthe car and trucks.

When she was done, she finishedher lemonade, and Nana pierced her with a glare when she gatheredher dishes. “Where are you going, Stiila?”

“Um, I am going to put my dishesin the sink and get back to work? The sink is on my list, so I needto grab my belt.”

“I made dessert.”

Stinger thudded back into herseat. “Yes, Nana.”

Nana continued talking about herto Arthur, and Stiila turned redder and redder as she waited fordessert that had been ordered.

Stiila finally said, “Nana,Arthur and I have met at Nessa’s event. We met, we danced, wetalked. He doesn’t need to know about my issues inkindergarten.”

Nana waved that off. “He’spaying attention, so I am going to keep talking. He needs to knowyou have always been kind and courageous.”

Stiila looked at her. “Why? Whydoes he need to know that?”

“Well, he tends to attractslutty women who just want him for sex. He might enjoy it, but I amnot going to get any great-grandkids that way.”

Stiila looked at her. “That isexactly the way you get them; they would just all have differentmothers.”

Nana scowled. “Those kinds ofwomen are not what I want for him; sleeping with a guy on the firstmeeting is so low class.”

She nodded. “Great. Of course.Please excuse me.”

She got up and brought herdishes to the sink, looked at the pipe that bore obvious recentsigns of being loosened, and she tightened it with her hand. Nanaliked to make a lot of the interior chores up just to get Stiila tospend more time with her.

She fished the list out of herpocket and crossed off the pipe. Now, she had to check the looseshingles.

She walked through the diningroom and heard the scrape of a chair. She heard the footfalls afterher when she was putting on her tool belt.

“She didn’t mean it the way itsounded.” He was standing close to her as she finished with theclick.

“She really did. My mom got meout of here because the snipes about being a whore with a child outof wedlock got to be a bit much. It’s fine. I will finish the listand then make sure when I come back that we won’t run into eachother.”

He asked and followed her as shewent to get the ladder. “You will still be back to come work forher?”

“Of course. You don’t give up onpeople just because they disappoint you or you them. When shelashes out like that, she is working through something in her ownlife. Justifying her own actions. It just means I won’t stay formovie night anymore.”

She set the ladder against theroof and started climbing. The shingles that were loose weregenuinely worn. She removed them, sighed, and pulled replacementsfrom the storage shed via a small portal.

She used a tube of tar-basedadhesive, set the new shingles in place, and used wide-headed nailsto tack them into place. She set the shingles back in place, andwhen everything was back in normal shape, she got up and slid downthe ladder, driving a splinter into her palm. She winced. “Ofcourse.”

The soap and pitcher were gone,so she had to knock at the main door.

She looked at Nana’s tense face.“Nana, I need to use a bathroom sink and a first aid kit.”

“Take off your belt.”

“I can’t, Nana. The splinter isthrough my palm and one finger.”

Her elder’s eyes went wide, andshe was hauled by her wrist through the house to the kitchencounter. A basin of warm water, the first aide kit, and tweezerswere at the ready.

“I didn’t know that you andArthur had... met. He has a strong pull on women.” The hand hadbeen soaking for a minute when Nana looked at her.

Stiila snorted. “That he does,but I had used him as a dumping ground for a lot of lust; it was myresponsibility to help relieve some of the results.”

Stiila was surprised at the swatto the head she got. “Arthur can take it, and what did I tell youabout obligation sex?”

“That I don’t get anything outof it?”

“Precisely.” Nana put on herreading glasses and went to the tweezers soaking in rubbingalcohol.

Stiila let her hand relax as thelong path of the splinter was traced back with the draw.

She held her breath