“That works just fine.” He stuck out his hand and I took it, and we parted ways.
I had a new job. I sure as hell didn’t need it. Between my pension from the force and the rest of the money I’d saved and invested, I was good on money for a good long while.
But the more I’d thought about it, the more I realized Hugh had a point. As much as I wanted to hole up in my place and not talk to a soul, it just wasn’t possible. People would start talking, and God only knew what kinds of crazy rumors they’d cook up behind my back. I didn’t hold it against them – it was just how people were. Being a somewhat familiar face in town would give me a chance to dispel rumors before they had a chance to start. And it would quell curiosity as well, giving me a chance to live in the peace and quiet I sought.
A soft rain pattered on the windshield as I drove to the local grocer. I glanced at door, the interior of where the woman had hit me as mangled inside as it was out. At the nearest red light I reached over and tried to open it. No dice. It was stuck, likely needing to be replaced. Last fucking thing I needed to deal with.
Fixing the truck wasn’t a problem – I’d replaced doors before. But as stupid as I knew it was, the truck was the last bit of her I had in my life.
I pushed that thought out of my head, flicking the wipers on as I drove through town. A few minutes later I was parked at the grocery store. I picked up only a few things, making sure to get a bottle of whiskey for the night. As I made my way through the Halloween aisle, bag after bag of candy on display, I said a silent thanks that I wouldn’t need to stock up on any of that.
After paying, and ignoring attempts at small talk, I headed back to the truck and drove home. Try as I might’ve, however, I couldn’t stop thinking about the woman who’d hit my truck.
As furious as I’d been, as much as I’d lost my temper with her, she was still gorgeous enough to give me pause. Her hair was brown and wavy, framing her features, which were mousey in a sexy kind of way, perfect. Her body was something else, and I could tell she was all kinds of full and curvy under those warm clothes. Just the thought of her was enough to make my cock shift in my jeans.
But I put her out of my mind as quickly as she appeared. I knew it wouldn’t be the last I saw of her. After all, we drove past one another on our way into town that morning. That meant she likely wasn’t just someone who also lived in town with me, but a neighbor – a neighbor with California plates.
Had she just moved into town, too? Was she running from something just like I’d been? Didn’t matter. I wasn’t there to make friends.
I drove up the winding road toward my place, and as I arrived at my cabin, I spotted a big orange delivery van parked out front, a pair of men setting a large package on my porch. They climbed back into their van as I pulled up, and I didn’t get a chance to stop them before the package was delivered and they were already driving off.
“Hey!” I stuck my head out the window, trying to call after them. But it didn’t do me any good – the van trundled down the road, vanishing among the trees.
I parked in front of my cabin, the rain coming down in sheets by this point. After gathering the few groceries I’d purchased, I rushed to the porch and laid eyes on the box. It was huge, and a light shove to the side let me know that whatever was inside, it was heavy as hell.
Rain dripped through the porch roof. My place was a fixer-upper, and the leaks were something I needed to get to sooner rather than later. But for the time being, I stepped inside and dropped the groceries on the sofa, then returned and grabbed the box and dragged it inside, not wanting it to get soaked.
Once inside, the door shut, I looked over the box. The first thing I noticed was the name – Mandy Davis. Then I noticed the name of the shop it’d been sent from – The Little Shop on the Corner. I scanned my memory, trying to find out why that name sounded so familiar. Then it hit me – it was the name of the shop that the woman who’d hit me had pulled out from earlier that day.
The box, whatever it was, had been meant for her. The address on the packing sticker was wrong – my address, not hers.
Sighing with irritation, I grabbed the groceries and headed to the kitchen to put them away. After, I opened the bottle and took a swig. The whiskey was just what I needed, the sharp sting taking the edge off the frustration that’d been running through me since the accident.
Now I had a new source of annoyance to deal with – the fact that this Mandy chick had ordered a giant, heavy piece of furniture and sent it to my house. And I had to figure out what the hell to do with it.
Before I could put too much thought into the matter, the rain outside died down. It was pure Washington weather – pouring rain that started one second and was done in the next. But I knew there was a good chance it’d recommence.
Better to deal with this problem sooner than later, I figured. I took one more swig of the whiskey before recapping it and setting the bottle on the counter. I opened the door and propped it so I could walk through easily with the giant box. I wrapped my arms around it and lifted with my legs.
“Ah, hell!”
The box was heavy, but more than that, it was awkward to carry. Once I had my bearings, however, it wasn’t too bad. I carried the damn thing outside, my boots sloshing in the wet dirt. With a heave, I set the box in the bed of my truck and dusted my hands. The sky was still gray, the clouds roiling above. No doubt the rain would start again soon.
I hurried into the house and grabbed my keys, striding out to the truck once I had them in hand. After securing the box with the straps on my truck bed, I closed the back and got inside, turning over the engine and driving off.
It was a real pain in my ass. All I wanted to do was stay inside, polish off the bottle of whiskey, and do some repairs around the house, get the stove going so I could have some heat in the place. Barely even a couple days in the town and I was already dealing with other people’s bullshit.
The cabins in the mountains were connected by a main road, smaller roads branching off that led to the houses. Mandy’s was just my house number flipped around, so it wasn’t hard to find. I pulled onto her road and spotted her little cabin only a few minutes later.
I noticed that, while the place was in slightly better shape than mine, there were more than a few things that needed to get sorted out before the place was completely livable. None of my concern, I reminded myself as I parked and got out.
At the front door, I raised my fist to knock, but right before I made impact, something strange happened – my stomach tensed. Was I nervous? No, couldn’t be. Was I…excited?
I put all that bullshit out of my head and knocked.
She peered through the curtain, her eyes widening when she saw me. “Yes?”
I could tell she was leery. Couldn’t blame her. She was a woman living alone, I assumed. And strange men coming to your front door unannounced didn’t exactly go over well. A strange man she’s had an altercation with earlier in the day was probably even more cause for concern.
“I’m your neighbor. I got a package that was meant for you. I’m gonna leave it on your porch and take off, if it’s all the same to you.” I didn’t wait for her answer. I turned and started toward my truck, glancing up one more time at clouds. I opened up the truck bed and undid the straps.