Strange Neighbors

by Ashlyn Chase

  "You won't see a profit from this place for quite a while. It must have cost a mint. Plus Ralph says the plumbing needs to be updated. What if an injury took

  you out of the game permanently?"

  "I know that's always a possibility, but I have other things in the works too."

  "Like?"

  "I have stocks."

  "The stock market is terrible, or haven't you noticed?"

  He fidgeted uncomfortably. "Of course I've noticed. But there are other things I can do to make money."

  "For instance?"

  "Well, my manager told me to keep some notes in a folder in case later I want to write my memoirs."

  "Really?" Her eyes lit up. "Can I see them?"

  "No!" Crap, that was about the worst thing I could have said to an old busybody. He shook his head. "No, it's just a bunch of disjointed notes, not very interesting."

  "Wait a minute… You're going to share it with the world, but not me? Maybe I can help. I was a decent writer in high school. You were no Rhodes Scholar. I'm sure I could make it a lot less, well, grammatically incorrect."

  "I'll have an editor for that. And if it stinks, they'll hire a professional ghost writer, I'm sure."

  "Fine," she said casually. Dottie shivered. "Why is it always so damn cold in here?"

  Chad had just caught the end of this conversation. If only the guy was psychic, he could have a real ghost writer. That would be more fun than just watching live humans get themselves into train wreck after train wreck. Although, I have to admit, that's fun, too. I can't wait until his Aunt sneaks in and looks all over for his notes.

  At last her hand reached for the doorknob, but just before she left, she said, "Oh, and I might have a renter for 3A. Some bio-physic-something-or-other professor." "Good. Thanks, Aunt Dot."

  Chad gasped. 3A! That's my place! Well, we'll just see about that.

  As soon as she closed the door behind her, Jason rushed to his computer and changed his passwords.

  ***

  "All aboard, folks!"

  Jason assisted his date onto the Boston Duck Tour vehicle and whispered something to the tour guide.

  "I've always wanted to do this." Merry grinned.

  "Why haven't you?"

  "Well, it's not exactly around the corner from Rhode Island, and it seemed like I was always busy whenever my friend Roz and I thought about going."

  Jason took her hand. "C'mon, let's sit in the backfacing seats."

  "Isn't it colder out there?"

  "Don't worry, I'll keep you warm."

  Merry happily followed him to the end of the big yellow duck. They found seats and Jason wrapped one long arm around her back and cuddled her.

  "All ready to go?" their conDUCKtor asked.

  Jason gave a thumbs-up signal.

  Merry raised her eyebrows. "Why are we the only ones on the tour?"

  "Because I bought all the tickets." He gave her a sidesqueeze. "I thought we could talk and get to know each other better without a bunch of eavesdroppers."

  "Oh." Merry knew he could afford it, but did he give her the real reason for wanting the whole thing to themselves, or was he throwing money around just to impress her? Either way works for me. She chuckled. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

  The amphibious bus pulled out of the parking area and onto the street.

  "Well, for starters, why do you look more like a Martinez than a MacKenzie?"

  "Ah, that's easy. I was adopted. My mother wanted a daughter, had two boys, and then talked my father into adopting me from a local Catholic organization. I know I have Portuguese ancestors, but I don't know any other details about my birth parents."

  "That makes sense. Any curiosity on your part about finding your birth parents?"

  "None at all. I've wondered about them, but as far as I'm concerned, my dad and late mom are my parents."

  "Matt is younger, so they decided to have more?"

  "My teenage brother was a last minute surprise. He has ADHD and the little wack-job drives me crazy half the time, but I saw to it he did his chores, finished his homework, and went to school unless he had a fever of one hundred and one. He finally graduated from high school this past June—with honors!"

  Despite the way she spoke about him, she hoped Jason could tell that she was extremely fond of Matt. "He's the reason I didn't become spoiled. That honor always goes to the youngest."

  His jaw dropped. "So you helped raise him?"

  She shrugged. "I just did what any good sister would do."

  "Man, that's a lot to ask of a kid. How old were you two when your mom passed away?"

  "Matt was eight and I was sixteen. I stepped into the role of caretaker—but couldn't replace my mother. While my family recovered emotionally, and it came time to go to college, I commuted. I continued to live at home while working and finally decided it was time to leave the nest before I was old and gray and wondered what had happened to my life."

  "Wow. Even giving up nine years of it to raise Matt was a lot."

  "I know. I didn't mind, really. It was important. But if I stayed any longer it would've just become harder and harder to leave as time went on. Especially for my father."

  "I'm glad you decided to move—and even happier that you moved into my building."

  The way he looked at her sent shivers down her spine. He seemed to be feeling a combination of pride, admiration, and something else. His eyes had taken on a soft glow.

  "By the way," he said, "I'm thinking of going furniture shopping. Would you like to come along and help me pick out colors that go together? I'm not very good at that."

  "Are you sure? You seem like a stylish dresser. So far I haven't seen any striped pants with plaid shirts and polka-dotted sweater vests."

  He laughed. "I wear solids so I don't have to worry about prints clashing, and my uniform isn't much of a challenge."

  "When were you thinking of going?"

  "Tomorrow?"

  "That's the day I was planning to go out to lunch and

  shopping with my friend, Roz."

  "Oh, well, maybe some other time. It was mostly an excuse to spend more time with you, anyway."

  Merry's cheeks heated. "You sure are a charmer."

  "Nah."

  "Ah ha! I knew you were too good to be true."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I've been waiting for some kind of imperfection to show up. Liar, liar, pants on fire."

  He raised his eyebrows. Either that was so immature it bothered him or… oh, maybe they were on fire, figuratively speaking. She glanced at his crotch. Yup, a nice big bulge right at the intersection of said pants.

  The giant "duck" rolled into the water of the Charles River. As its tires left the boat ramp, the vehicle floated. The breeze picked up and chilled him, so Jason zipped up his jacket. He'd caught Merry stealing a glimpse at the tent in his pants before he covered it, though. Not that he wasn't proud of his assets, but it was damn cold. Better hide it before there's any shrinkage.

  "Want to go inside?" he asked.

  "Sure, but when we sit down, can it be my turn to ask the questions?"

  He smiled. "Turnabout is fair play—as they say."

  The tour guide had apparently been told to take the night off from commentary. He smiled as the couple reseated themselves and remained quiet. Then he turned his back and let them have their privacy again.

  Jason took the opportunity to cup Merry's cheek and give her a tender kiss. She melted into him and wrapped both arms around his back. They fit as if they were made for each other. Her lips were so soft and kissing her

  warmed him like no jacket could.

  Jason knew he was falling fast and hard, but for some reason putting on the brakes felt like the wrong thing to do. When they finally pulled apart, she sighed and said, "You're very good at that."

  "So are you."

  "I doubt I've had nearly as much practice as you've had. You must inspire me."

  He smiled, then kissed her on h
er forehead. Better move on to another subject. "So what else did you want to know about me?"

  "Oh, I don't know. What's important to you— besides baseball?"

  "Yeah, that's pretty much a given. I like other sports, too. I played football back in high school. I like to swim. When I finally had to concentrate on one thing, it wasn't hard to decide. Baseball is where my heart has always been."

  "Swimming, huh? I love to swim too. I grew up near the beach and my parents felt we all needed to learn to swim as early as possible, for safety if nothing else. Where did you swim in land-locked Minnesota?"

  "I guess you don't know our state's nickname. Land of Ten Thousand Lakes?"

  "Oh, yeah. That sounds familiar now."

  "My family had a place on Lake Superior. You'd be surprised how much it resembles the ocean. Complete with lighthouses, fishing boats, and seagulls."

  "I'd love to go there someday. But then, I'd love to go anywhere. I've never been out of New England, except for a couple of trips to New York."

  "Seriously?" Jason caught himself, but it was probably too late. He didn't mean to point out how unworldly

  she was.

  "I guess you've traveled all over the country."

  He laughed. "Yeah, I've seen quite a bit of this big mud ball we live on."

  "More than the United States?"

  "Yeah, besides Canada and Mexico, I've been to Europe, Russia, and Japan."

  "Japan? You're kidding! When did you go there?"

  "In college. Baseball is a huge sport in Japan, and I was curious about the place."

  "So you just up and went there?"

  "Yup."

  "By yourself?"

  "Yup."

  "And Europe? Where did you go in Europe?"

  "All over."

  "Really? How?"

  He shrugged. "Frequent flyer miles." If she only knew.

  "Wow. I don't think I'd have the guts."

  "Then I'll have to take you with me and show you the world."

  She grinned and her perfect, white smile lit up the night. Jason really did want to show her the world—his world. And he wanted her in it from now on.

  ***

  "Yes, you can come over and see it any time tomorrow. I'm the manager and I should be home all day." Dottie twisted the telephone cord in her hand as she spoke to a prospective renter.

  Chad was leaning against the wall, in an incorporeal sort of way, listening in with great interest. Oh, great. She wasn't kidding. Some poor shlub will rent the place, move in, and I'll have to scare him off. Or maybe I can discourage whoever wants to live there before that. I hope the new landlord will catch on eventually and leave my apartment alone. The old owner finally gave up trying to rent it.

  "It's been empty for quite some time, so I'll just do a little vacuuming and dusting before you get here."

  I like my dust right where it is, woman. You leave my dust alone.

  "Yes, I manage the place and my husband takes care of any maintenance needed, but I do a little light housekeeping outside the units too."

  Naturally. It's so much easier to eavesdrop that way.

  "Oh, it's no bother. It keeps me out of trouble." She chuckled.

  That's debatable. Wasn't it enough that I let her store a few things in my living room? Now she wants to take away the only place I can go for complete peace and quiet. I can't go to the attic anymore. It's now a penthouse. I can't go to the basement. It's a laundry room and vampire lair. Just where am I supposed to have my hip pad? I refuse to haunt a cardboard box in the alley.

  "I'll see you at two o'clock, then. I know you're a professor and probably very trustworthy, but please bring references and paystubs as proof of employment, anyway. Oh, and you know the security deposit is one month's rent, right?"

  She ought to make it two and a half. After I get through with him, the place might not look the same.

  ***

  "It was so nice of you to offer to visit my patients and cheer them up. I'm sure they'll love getting your autograph!" In the hospital elevator, Merry stood on tiptoes and kissed Jason's cheek. "Not to mention I'll probably rise in popularity among the staff."

  "Just don't tell them where I live. That's all I ask." He draped an arm around her. "If all goes well, I might come back another evening."

  "Hey, if all goes really well, I might get on the day shift!"

  "Is that what you want to do?"

  "God, yes. I'd love to have my evenings free like normal people." And come home in daylight… especially after the incident in the alley.

  The elevator doors whooshed open and they stepped out onto the corridor that led to the hospital's pediatric orthopedics floor.

  "I'll have to go in to report first, but one of the day shift nurses can tell you which patients are well enough to receive visitors. Report only takes about half an hour."

  He stopped walking. "Oh. I thought I'd get a chance to go into your patients' rooms with you."

  She tipped her head and asked, "You aren't shy, are you? I haven't been here for a couple of days, so I'm not sure which patients would be up for a visit. Of course, if you don't mind waiting until after report…"

  "Whatever works for you is okay with me. You go do what you have to do. I'm sure I'll find some casts to sign."

  She grinned. "I'm sure you will, too. And a lot of parents will be visiting, so you'll have plenty of people to keep you occupied." She winked. "Don't worry. I won't desert you for long."

  They rounded the corner, arriving at the nurse's station. Merry spotted two of the day shift nurses finishing their notes. Angie always sashayed around like she thought of herself as a femme fatale and Sam, though you'd never know it, was gay. Merry doubted that either one of them would know Jason by sight, so she opened her mouth to introduce him.

  Before she uttered a word, Angie looked up and gasped.

  "Jason Falco! Oh my God! What are you do—Never mind. What a fantastic surprise!" She rushed around the nurse's station and hugged him without asking if he minded.

  Shocked speechless, Merry observed the blonde bombshell hanging all over him and telling him what an adoring fan she was. The green-eyed monster rose higher in Merry's psyche than the Green Monster backfield wall she had heard of, bringing with it uncomfortable prickles up her spine. Is this how dating him will be? Is that why he just introduced himself as a 'friend of Merry's' rather than my boyfriend? Terrific.

  Sam ambled around the desk and stuck out his hand. As he and Jason shook hands, Angie sidled over to Merry and whispered, "How do you know him?"

  Too angry to speak, Merry gritted her teeth and didn't answer. What could she say? He had told her not to mention they lived in the same building. Now she didn't even want Angie to know they lived in the same neighborhood—or the same state! How many unwelcome guests would that bring to her apartment? Angie wasn't known for her ability to keep secrets.

  She had to think of a way to send Angie away. Preferably to another planet, but on the other side of the desk would have to do.

  "Ah, Ange, would you please make a list of the patients who would like a visit from Jason? I haven't been on for a couple of days, and I'd appreciate someone else who knows their conditions speaking to them first."

  Angie hooked her arm through Jason's and said in her syrupy sweet voice, "Why don't I take him around with me? There's no need for a list."

  Hell's bells. That backfired.

  Jason glanced at Merry and must have seen the annoyed look on her face. He said, "I'm sorry, Merry promised to take me around—if you don't mind."

  Merry wanted to kiss him. Maybe this type of behavior was what made him uncomfortable about events like the bachelor auction. Now Merry wouldn't miss it if she had to be wheeled in on a stretcher.

  Angie looked crestfallen and dropped his arm. "Oh. All right. I guess you can go around with whoever you want…." She rolled her eyes.

  Merry quickly pointed to the family lounge. "There's a place where you can wait for me. Or you can go to
the coffee shop and come back later if you'd rather."

  "I'd rather not walk into a roomful of strangers in case I'm recognized and stampeded." He smiled as if making a joke, but maybe he wasn't. "So I'll just wait over there." He nodded toward the lounge, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and strolled into the room.

  Naturally, an excited shriek followed. "Jason Falco!" someone exclaimed.