The Deadbeat Next Door

by Katharine Sadler

  “Miss Harrison,” Missy said in a pinched voice.

  “I just wanted to introduce you to my fiancé, Cody Reynolds,” I said. “He’ll probably be stopping by from time to time, and I thought it would help if you’d met him.”

  Missy frowned, her brow creased in confusion. She stood and extended a hand to Cody. “It’s nice to meet you Mr. Reynolds. Are you from around here?”

  Cody gave her a charming smile. “No, ma’am. I’m from South Carolina originally. I’m in town looking for property to establish my winery. I just got lucky enough to be neighbors with Carrie.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. “I saw her and I knew I’d be an idiot not to grab her and hold on tight.”

  I elbowed him in the side, because he was seriously sounding more like an aggressive stalker than a smitten fiancé. He squeezed my neck a bit harder than necessary.

  Missy smiled, but her expression suggested she’d tasted something nasty. “Yes, well, there’s no accounting for taste.” She looked at me. “I hope you don’t think parading him in here will end your probation?”

  Cody’s whole body tensed. “I’m sure Carrie explained that she had a bad reaction at Philistine’s the other night from a combination of allergy medicine and alcohol.”

  Missy glared at him. “I’m aware that she fed me a story to excuse her bad behavior,” Missy said. “It doesn’t change the fact that she was behaving, in public, in a way that is improper for anyone who cares about the education of young children and the influence her actions may have on them.”

  Cody’s hand over my left shoulder tightened into a fist and I had a bad, bad feeling that this would all spiral downhill. “I wasn’t trying to make excuses—”

  “Miss Harrison,” Cody said, “was out for a night with friends. It wasn’t a school function or in any way associated with her job. I’ll have to consult with my lawyers, but I’m pretty sure your authority doesn’t extend to what Miss Harrison does in her free time.”

  Missy paled a bit at the word lawyers, but she’d never been one to back down easily. “This is a small town, Mr. Reynolds, and public opinion matters. I’ve had calls from several parents about Miss Harrison’s behavior and I can’t ignore those complaints.”

  My stomach dropped and I was pretty sure I was going to be sick. “You’ve had complaints?” My voice was a bare whisper of sound.

  Missy’s triumphant smile kicked my fear and disappointment in myself right into anger and annoyance. She was on a power trip and looking for revenge and I was sick of it. I loved my job and I loved working for the public school, but maybe it was time to brush off my resume and apply at the only other high school in town, a snooty private school that paid a lot better and wasn’t headed up by my arch-nemesis. “Yes,” Missy said. “Numerous complaints. I’m sorry Miss Harrison, but your probation stands.”

  “Thank you for your time Principal Melcher,” I said. I squeezed Cody’s side hard. Maybe a little too hard, since he jumped in place.

  I pushed him toward the door, he dropped his arm from around my shoulders, and we left. He took my hand again as soon as we were out the door and I didn’t drop it. My plan might not have worked, but now that I’d lied to my principal, I had to keep up the ruse.

  “What did you pinch me for?”

  “I just didn’t want you to get all belligerent and say something to make her mad,” I said.

  He stopped next to my car and faced me. “Believe it or not,” he said. “I do understand the need for tact and diplomacy, but that woman is clearly unreasonable and borderline insane.”

  “Maybe. But she’s not entirely wrong. This town is small enough that what I do can get back to my students. I didn’t set a good example the other night.”

  He frowned down at me. “You went out with your friends and you had a good time. So, you had a bit too much to drink. It’s not like it happens all the time.”

  I was so sick of this argument. “It doesn’t matter. She’s the boss and what she says goes. Thank you for pretending, but since it didn’t make any difference, we can probably break up, or at least stop spending so much time together.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I still need you to help me close the deal on the Gregory place, so we at least need to pretend until that goes through. I’m taking you out on a date.”

  “Fine.” The least I owed him was to help him get his property from Bart. “I’ll meet you back at my house?”

  “I’ll pick you up at six,” he said with a wink.

  “Okay.” I was suddenly nervous. “Um, how fancy will this date be? What should I wear?”

  “I was going to leave that up to you,” he said. “We need to be seen, so what’s the most happening place in town?”

  I smiled, that was one question that had an easy answer. “Fitzroy’s Cajun Cuisine. Dress casual.”

  “Cajun? I thought this was Virginia, not New Orleans.”

  I smiled. “You think we don’t have any class or culture here?” In all reality, there wasn’t much Cajun food at Fitzroy’s, but it was good southern fare and very popular with the locals. The owner was a good-ol’ boy who’d married a woman from New Orleans, and they’d combined their cooking styles and come up with a tasty and popular menu.

  His smile made my belly flip. “No offense intended,” he said. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

  I watched him walk to his truck and my eyes fell to his butt without my direction or intention. I shook my head and got in my car. I didn’t like him. I was just attracted to him, and this was all temporary. I put my hands on the steering wheel and the ring he’d given me flashed in the sunlight. It was gorgeous, yet simple and understated, exactly the sort of thing I’d choose for myself. If this were real. If I was really about to start my life with the man I loved. A lump formed in my throat and I swallowed it down. Maybe it was time to stop looking for a husband and dreaming of a family. Maybe it was time to accept what I had in the moment and make the best of it. I started my car and backed out of my parking spot.

  ***

  Cody knocked on my door at six on the dot. I’d chosen to wear a lilac sweater set and jeans. I didn’t have a lot of casual clothes in my wardrobe, other than old t-shirts and shorts I used for gardening, and I didn’t want to over-dress for dinner and look like I was trying too hard. I’d tried on fifteen different outfits before I’d decided what I was wearing. I’d swiped on a bit of make-up and put my hair up in a high ponytail. I was almost certain Dilly would hustle me back to my room if she saw me, but she wasn’t there and I wasn’t trying to impress Cody. I wasn’t. I was trying to put on a good show for the people who knew me best, the gossips of Catalpa Creek.

  I opened the door to find Harrison on my doorstep. I swung my left hand, the hand with the engagement ring on it, behind my back. Harrison grinned and grabbed my left arm and pulled my hand into the light. He pushed his way into the house, dragging my arm with him, and closed the door. “You know, as your only nephew and your only blood family member in town, I would have thought you’d have told me you were dating someone, much less that you’d gotten engaged.”

  My doorbell rang and I tore my hand from Harrison’s grasp. “It’s not what you think.”

  I opened the door and was struck momentarily dumb and blind by Cody on my front porch in black jeans, boots, and a maroon button-down that molded to his sculpted chest. He hadn’t shaved, so there was a bit of scruff on his face and his eyes lit as they traveled over my body. “You look gorgeous,” he said, when he got back to my face.

  “Right,” I said. This man was either delusional or a bucket of lies. “Can you give me—”

  But he grabbed my waist and pulled me in for a kiss that made me forget what I’d been about to say, where I was, or who was in my living room. Cody took a step back and smiled at me.

  “What the hell was that for?” I asked.

  He bent and nuzzled my neck. “Because I wanted to. And because Betty is on her front porch.”

  “Right.” My
voice came out as more of a gasp, but that was because his big, warm, masculine hands were squeezing a bit too tight on my waist.

  A throat cleared behind me and all my skewed circuits jumped back on line. I stepped away from Cody, into the house, and he followed me, shutting the door behind us. I faced my nephew, my cheeks heating and my stomach sinking.

  “What were you saying about this not being what it looks like?” Harrison asked.

  Cody put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side. It felt…Oddly comforting. I shrugged his arm off and put some distance between us. “How did you even hear about the engagement?”

  Harrison rolled his eyes. “You know Grandma and Grandpa talk to Norma Jane at least once a week. How could I not have heard? They’re really upset you didn’t tell them, by the way.” Norma Jane had known my parents since they’d been in elementary school together. My moving into Norma Jane’s neighborhood had brought them closer than ever before because my parents liked the idea of her spying on me and because Norma Jane loved to feel useful. Of course, my parents knew and I…It’s not like I hadn’t known that would happen, but I’d been living pretty comfortably in denial.

  “Why don’t you look more upset?” I asked.

  Harrison smiled over my shoulder at Cody. “Because he seems like a good guy to me. And you never do anything spontaneous or just for yourself. I’m happy for you.”

  I just stared. I didn’t even know where to start with him. “You’re happy for me? You’re happy that I’m engaged to a man I’ve known for less than two months and dated for…” I stopped because I wasn’t dating Cody at all. “And what do you mean he’s a good guy? What do you even know about him?”

  He smirked. “I know that he punched me for making you cry. I know he cares about you and I know you, Aunt Carrie. You wouldn’t commit yourself to someone without knowing exactly what you’re getting into. You’re the most responsible, careful person I know.”

  I looked back at Cody. “You punched my nephew?”

  Cody looked not the least bit apologetic. “He made you cry.”

  “Don’t get pissed at him,” Harrison said. “It was the wakeup call I needed.”

  “You couldn’t have just given him a talking to?” I asked Cody.

  “Says the woman who hit me in the face with a trowel.”

  I couldn’t really argue with him there. I turned to face my nephew. I wanted to allow him to keep thinking I was a paragon of responsibility, but that would be a lie and I’d never lied to him before, not even about the tough stuff. “I’m not really engaged to Cody,” I said. “The truth is I—”

  “She agreed to pretend to be my fiancée to help me out,” Cody said. “I’m interested in a piece of property, but the man who owns it won’t sell it to me without proof of my commitment to the town.”

  “Why would you agree to do that?” he asked me, while he glared at Cody. “And why is he kissing you if this is just pretend?”

  “Because he’s helping me, too,” I said, narrowing my eyes at Cody. “I messed up, Harrison. I went out to Philistine’s with Lance, Dilly, and Cody and I had too much to drink. Cody took me back to his house to take care of me and…You know how this town is for gossip. Word got back to my boss and it just made sense to pretend that Cody was my fiancé.”

  Harrison didn’t look any happier, his frown deepening. “So, why the kissing on the porch?”

  “Keeping up appearances,” Cody said. “Betty was watching.”

  “Can I talk to you alone for a minute, man?” Harrison growled in Cody’s direction.

  “Sure,” Cody said.

  I huffed and barely resisted stomping my foot. “No. I’m an adult and I don’t need you two sneaking off to talk about me behind my back.”

  “We weren’t being sneaky,” Cody said.

  “Whatever you have to say,” I said through gritted teeth. “Say it to me.”

  “Fine,” Harrison said. “I’ve never known you to do anything dumb, Aunt Carrie, but this is idiotic. Cody clearly has a very real thing for you and one of you, probably him, is going to get hurt. Not to mention that if anyone other than me finds out what you two are up to you’re going to have a lot more problems than an arch nemesis and a grumpy landowner.”

  “Arch nemesis?” Cody asked.

  I waved him off.

  “Not to mention,” Harrison said, “you taught me to always be honest, Aunt Carrie, because when you lie…“ He gestured to me to finish the adage.

  “You’re only lying to yourself,” I sighed. “You’re probably right, but it’s too late now. We’re in this and we’re going to see it through. It’s only going to be a couple weeks and then we’ll break up and everything will go back to normal.”

  “Uh-huh,” Harrison said. “I really hope you know what you’re doing.” He smacked Cody’s shoulder in a less than friendly way. “Don’t forget this is pretend. If you touch my aunt, I will end you. If you hurt my aunt I will bury you alive.”

  “I thought I was the one likely to get hurt,” Cody said.

  I rolled my eyes at both of them. “No one is going to get hurt. Cody and I are entirely incompatible and he drives me crazy in the worst kind of way. And for the record, I am fully capable of taking care of myself in the event that Cody tried to touch me in a way I don’t want.”

  “I have the scar to prove it.” Cody pointed to the tiny scab on his forehead and Harrison leaned in close to see it.

  “You really threw a towel at him?” Harrison asked.

  “It slipped out of my hand.” Okay, that was a lie, but…Damn it. “Fine, it didn’t slip. I threw it, but I was trying to throw it away from him, not at him.”

  Harrison finally smiled. “She has the worst aim. You should have seen her trying to throw the ball around with me when I was a kid.”

  “Okay. Time to go Harrison. I’m hungry and Cody is taking me to dinner.”

  “What do you want me to tell Grandma and Grandpa?”

  “I’ll call them tomorrow. I’ll think of something.” I couldn’t tell them the truth. They were worse gossips than Norma Jane and Betty and, even though they lived in Florida, they knew everyone in this blasted town and talked to them all on a regular basis.

  “I just want to reiterate that I think this is a bad idea,” Harrison said. “But I’ll be here for you when it all goes to hell.”

  “Great.” I didn’t like that he was seeming like the more responsible one. “I’ll call you after I talk to Mom and Dad and let you know the official story.”

  He hugged me, punched Cody’s shoulder harder than necessary, and left. After the door shut behind him, I turned to Cody. “In the future, when Harrison’s here, stay out of our conversation.”

  “I was just trying to help.” Cody frowned, but amusement sparked in his eyes and I remembered what he’d said about me being cute when I was riled. That only made me angrier.

  “Next time, don’t help. I’ve managed just fine for twenty-eight years without your help and I sure as hell don’t need it now.”

  “Except for the part where I pretend to be your fiancé.”

  I glared at him, glad I didn’t have anything in my hand, because I’d definitely be throwing it at him. “Let’s just go to dinner.”

  I tried to move past him, but he grabbed my elbow to stop me. I pulled my arm free and faced him. “What?”

  He frowned, all amusement wiped from his face. “For what’s it worth, Harrison wasn’t wrong. I don’t like to see you hurt or upset. I’m attracted to you and I’m pretty sure you’re attracted to me, but I think he’s right and it would be a terrible idea to act on it. I just want to make sure we both remember what this is really all about and we end this if it gets too be too much for either of us. Even if I lose the deal on the property.”

  His words touched me, as did the concern in his eyes, but I didn’t want to soften toward him. I didn’t want to like him even a little bit. It was much safer to hate him. “Like he said, I wouldn’t be the one getting
hurt. I could handle a physical relationship with you without getting attached. Despite what you may think, you aren’t impossible to resist.”

  He just stared at me and I didn’t blame him, even I was confused about what I’d just said. “You’re saying you do want to get physical with me?” He stepped into my personal space and ran his fingers lightly up and down my arms.

  “Not at all.” His touch was making me want to lean into him, to wrap my arms around him and pull him in close, but I didn’t back up. Leaning in or backing up would suggest I was affected by his touch and I absolutely wasn’t. “I’m just saying I could handle it.”

  “I’m saying that this attraction between us is beyond amazing. I feel it every time I look at you. If I fucked you, it would blow your mind and neither of us would ever be quite the same again.”

  His crass words should have offended me, but the husky tone he used to speak them and his bedroom eyes made them anything but offensive. I forced a laugh, my voice wavering. “You certainly have a healthy ego. I’m starving. Can we just get to dinner?”

  “Of course we can.” He led the way out of my house and I followed, locking up behind us.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Cody

  “Hello, Mr. Gregory,” I said. “How are you today, sir?”

  He didn’t smile at me, he just waved me to the rocking chair next to him. He looked worn out and grim, on the front porch of his home, which also looked worn and grim. “I expect you’re here to tell me all about your shiny new fiancée.”

  I sat in the rocking chair, feeling not unlike a bear about to walk into a trap. “I did want to tell you that I’m engaged to Carrie Harrison. I thought it might be the kind of investment in the town that would convince you to sell me your property.”

  Bart grunted. “Carrie Harrison? Lovely girl. I believe I’ve spoken to her parents a time or two. Such a tragedy when that beautiful daughter of theirs was killed. I suppose you never get over something like that. I suppose Carrie has never gotten over it.”