“Your husband is not a handyman…”
“You know what I’m saying, Mia. He can be like a spy for us! He’ll go over and scout out the situation and get a feel for how much longer this nonsense is going to go on. Come on, what do you say?”
“I say I’m ready to pull my hair out of my head!”
“Well, don’t do that. You happen to have gorgeous hair, so…no. Just no.”
With a weary sigh, she said, “Fine. But something’s got to give soon or the only thing you’re going to have to worry about is bailing me out of jail.”
“Okay, drama queen. Save that rage for the murderer in your book.”
“As of right now, I could be the murderer in my book.”
“Mia…”
“Fine. I will try to have a better attitude, but you’ll see when you’re here tomorrow just how awful it is.”
“We could always switch houses. We don’t have a fantastic view of the ocean, but it’s quiet.”
Mia knew she was only joking and couldn’t help but laugh. “You’ll be sorry when I take you up on that offer.”
“Um…no I won’t. Your house is spectacular and almost three times the size of mine, so…yeah. It wouldn’t be a hardship for me to stay there.”
It was a ridiculous thing for them to be talking about and Mia did have some errands to run so she knew they would talk about the noise and the nuisance tomorrow.
“What time do you want to come over tomorrow? Lunchtime?”
“That works for me and I’ll bring the lunch.”
“You don’t have to do that, Syd. I’m getting ready to go to the grocery store now. I can pick something up for us.”
“Nope. It’s my treat.”
“Thanks.”
“Go do your thing and try not to kill your neighbor—except in the book. In the book you can do whatever you want if it helps you with your rage.”
“Oh, believe me. It does.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
When they hung up, Mia walked around and gathered her purse, keys, and sunglasses. Her car was in the garage so she didn’t have to go outside and even chance running into Mr. Power Tools.
She snorted a laugh at the nickname she’d given him.
“Maybe I’ll put that in the book,” she mused as she walked down the stairs to the garage.
For the next hour she was able to push all thoughts of noise and nuisances out of her mind while she browsed the aisles of the local grocery store. She loved to cook and as crazy as it was, food shopping was actually a joy rather than a chore for her. So, she found the best produce, picked out some choice pieces of meat for some dinners, and marveled at the fresh seafood. Living on the beach definitely had its perks, and as she put items in her shopping cart and planned her meals, Mia found herself smiling.
All the way home and even while she carried all the bags into the house—thanks to the built-in elevator—her smile was firmly in place. And when she opened the sliding glass doors along the back of the house and heard nothing but the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, she almost wept with gratitude.
“Finally,” she murmured. “Maybe I’ll be able to enjoy a glass of wine out on the deck with a little peace tonight.”
As soon as the thought took hold, Mia raced to her bedroom and changed into a pair of leggings and a t-shirt, tossed her long hair up into a ponytail, and grabbed a hoodie before making her way back to the kitchen. She paused at the open doorway to listen once again to make sure no power tools or obnoxious singing had started up. When it seemed like the coast was still clear, she giddily made her way to the kitchen and poured herself a large glass of merlot.
“I deserve this.” The sun was still shining brightly, so she scooped up her sunglasses and walked out onto the deck. Lifting her glass to the beach, she said, “Glorious.”
Five minutes later, when it was still quiet, she decided to walk down onto the sand and really enjoy the time. Slowly, she walked down the steps from her deck and once her bare feet hit the cool sand, any lingering tension left her body.
She walked close to the water and cautiously tested it—but it was freezing—and then quickly skirted away from where it was crashing on the shore. There was no rush to get back to the house. She had no one to worry about but herself, and as she strolled up and down the beach, she wished every day could be like this.
If the sound of the ocean was the only sound she heard, she’d be the happiest person alive.
If she could take breaks from writing and walk in the sand, it would be the best form of therapy.
If she could…
Loud music broke her concentration and killed her inner peace. Tonight’s selection was some sort of hard rock—Aerosmith, maybe? Either way, it was far too loud and far too inconsiderate for Mia to ignore any longer. As much as she hated confrontation, she hated this guy and his bad manners even more.
Stomping up the sand with her glass of wine still half full, she mentally prepared what she was going to say to him. In her mind, she calmly but firmly told him what a bad neighbor he was and how much he was ruining her stay in Magnolia Sound. He, of course, would scoff at her at first, but then apologize. That’s the way civilized people did things.
Then she thought of her character in the book she was writing. There, Colton Maxwell would simply laugh in her face and tell her she was just a silly little woman and to go on her merry way because he didn’t give a damn about being a good neighbor. He’d use colorful—and offensive—language the entire time before throwing something against the wall and kicking her out.
But this was reality, not fiction, and at the foot of the stairs leading up to his deck, she paused and prayed he wasn’t really like the character she created.
Suddenly, she didn’t feel very brave or confrontational. She thought of what Sydney had said earlier and decided maybe it would be best to wait. Her friend was way more confident than Mia ever was, and if Sydney came over here and talked to this guy, Mia was sure he’d listen.
With a weary sigh, she took one step back and then another and was about to turn when a large object came flying off the deck along with a growl from somewhere up on it.
Screaming, her wine splashed all over her as she dove to get out of the way. And with a mouthful of sand, she silently prayed something heavy wasn’t about to land on her.
“Son of a bitch!” Austin heard the scream and couldn’t believe he’d been stupid enough to throw the sink off the deck without making sure no one was walking nearby.
Although, in his defense, he hadn’t seen anyone out on the beach all day, so…
Not the point, dumbass! Obviously someone’s out there now!
Rushing down the stairs, he saw a woman curled up on the sand.
“Holy shit!” Rushing to her side, he dropped to his knees and gently rolled her over. He saw a large bright red stain on her shirt and thought for certain he’d killed her. “No,” he muttered. “No, no, no, no!” Carefully, he examined her and was feeling around for her pulse when one small hand reached up and smacked him away.
“Stop touching me!” she cried as she carefully sat up. “What in the world is the matter with you? Are you seriously trying to kill someone?”