by Abby Gaines
By the time he’d reached the rear of the property he’d found another three holes, which made the dachshund more of an opportunist than an escape artist. Oliver considered the problem for a few seconds, but he really couldn’t see any alternative to biting the bullet and paying his not-very-neighborly neighbor another visit. She needed to be made aware of the issues with their shared boundary. As tempting as it was to simply attach a note to her dog’s collar and send him through one of the many holes in the fence, Oliver figured the news would probably be better received in person.
He ushered the interloper inside and clipped Strudel’s lead onto his collar. He had to practically drag the dachshund out the door, however, and he could hear Strudel whining beseechingly as he crossed to Mackenzie’s driveway. He knocked on her door, then looked down. The dog was staring up at him with sad eyes, the picture of abject misery.
“Yeah, yeah, your life is hell. I get it.”
He could hear footsteps inside the house. He braced himself for more rudeness. Mackenzie opened the door and stared at first him, then the dachshund.
“Why do you have my dog?” she asked, a frown furrowing her brow.
“Because he was in my yard. Twice. The fence between our properties is riddled with holes.”
She crouched, one hand reaching for the door frame for balance.
“Mr. Smith, what have you been up to? Have you been out making new friends?” Her tone was warm, even a little indulgent.
She knelt, rubbing the dog beneath his chin. Oliver stared at her down-turned head, noticing something through her dark, clipped hair. A white, shiny line sliced across her scalp along the side of her skull, then curled toward the front just inside her hairline.
A scar.
A pretty wicked, serious one by the looks of it.
She glanced at him. “Thanks for bringing him back.”
She wasn’t wearing a scrap of makeup. Her skin was very fair and her long, dark eyelashes stood out in dramatic contrast to her piercing blue eyes.
She unclipped the leash, then straightened. Maybe he was looking for it after seeing the scar, but it seemed to him the move wasn’t anywhere near as easy and casual as she’d like him to think. He reminded himself of the reason he was here—and it wasn’t to ferret out her secrets.
“We need to do something about the fence,” he said.
“There’s never been a problem before. Mr. Smith isn’t much of a roamer.”
“I think he’s more interested in Strudel than exploring the terrain.”
“That’s never been a problem before, either.”
His back came up. Admittedly, he’d come here primed to be annoyed because she’d been so dismissive earlier, but there was a definite tone to her words. As though somehow he and Strudel were responsible for her dog’s behavior.
“I guess times have changed. We should probably do a temporary fix and then get some quotes to have it repaired.”
The phone rang inside her house and she glanced over her shoulder. The move drew his attention to her breasts—small but perky. He gave himself a mental shake. As if he cared what her breasts looked like. They were attached to the rest of her, which was toned within an inch of its life and way too scrawny for his tastes.
“I need to get that,” she said as she refocused on him.
“Fine. But we need to deal with this fence or Mr. Smith is going to come visiting again.”
“I’m sorry, but I really need to take this call. I’ll get back to you.” There was a distracted urgency beneath her words as she reached for the knob.
He opened his mouth to protest—as the door swung shut in his face for the second time that day.
“You cannot be serious,” he told the shiny black wood.
But she was. She was also the rudest person he’d ever had the misfortune to meet. He was tempted to knock again and force her to deal with him, but he had an image of himself knocking till the cows came home and her ignoring him as she dealt with her vitally important, utterly life-transforming phone call.
He’d been de-balled quite enough by his wife’s staggering infidelity, thank you very much. He had no intention of hanging around to play the part of supplicant.
He remembered an old saying as he returned to his aunt’s house: no good turn goes unpunished.
Indeed.
ISBN: 9781460312735
Copyright © 2013 by Abby Gaines
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