by Autumn Marks
Mickey leaned forward and motioned for him to do the same. “I’m going to let you in on a little secret,” she said, lowering her voice. “It’s not those three men at the counter you need to worry about. Emily’s neighbor to the other side is quite nosy. She came in here talking about you two.”
Brandon nodded along and sat back upright. “Emily? I’m assuming that’s my neighbor’s name?”
“That’s correct. She’s really a sweet girl. Been through a lot.”
Sweet? She didn’t seem very sweet when he had met her. “I guess I’ll have to wait for that side of her.”
“Don’t judge her too harshly yet. But you didn’t come in here to talk about your neighbor. Are you excited about your new job?”
Was he excited about returning to the high school? No. Not at all. And returning to the high school would surely bring up memories of—
No. He wouldn’t go there. Not now. Not ever.
Brandon nodded. “I liked my old job and I hope to like this one as much, if not more.” More? Fat chance of that. But he knew Mickey took pride in Brookview and he wasn’t about to put the place down.
Mickey smiled. “Good. I’m glad to hear it.” She looked around the restaurant and then back at Brandon. “Well, honey, I need to get back to work. I assume you came here for breakfast and not to chat with me all day. What can I get you to eat?”
After his breakfast, Brandon drove home to finish unpacking. Putting his kitchen together took top priority so he could eat at home. He didn’t need to risk running into his neighbor in town again. He’d get enough of that living next door to her.
As he pulled in his driveway, he groaned. Not again.
His neighbor was outside pulling a push mower out of her garage. With his eyes down, he quickly made the trek from his car to his house hoping she wouldn’t see him.
Once inside, he chastised himself. He should go over there and make amends. The two of them were neighbors and he couldn’t avoid her forever.
As he peered out his window, his neighbor was bent over her mower, fiddling with some of its parts.
Then she kicked it.
Brandon didn’t want to get involved—shouldn’t get involved—but helping her out would be a way to get on her good side and maybe start over.
Or she could yell at him again.
He’d take his chances.
Chapter 3
It was only a lawn mower. A lawn mower Emily couldn’t seem to figure out. Her usual mower was so much simpler than this one. But her usual mower bit the dust a few weeks ago and her dad had graciously offered her his. He certainly wasn’t going to need it—not for a long time. Not much mowing to be done when you’re traveling the country in an RV.
She bent down again and stared at all the bells and whistles. How she’d managed to mow the yard the previous few weeks was beyond her. She hadn’t known how to start the mower then, but somehow, she’d done a combination of things that had resulted in the mower starting. If only she could remember what that had been. Sheer luck maybe? Magic? Kicking the mower seemed like the right thing to do, but even that hadn’t resulted in anything other than a sore foot.
“May I help?”
A flash of annoyance fizzled through Emily. The voice had come from behind her and without having to turn around, she knew it was Brandon. She’d seen him go into his house a few minutes ago. “Yeah, you can help me by picking up the piles of your dog’s crap.”
She stood up and pointed out the different piles of dog poop that were in her yard. There had to be at least four of them. The last thing she needed was to step in one of those while mowing.
“I’m really sorry about that. My dog isn’t used to this yard yet and apparently favors yours. I’ll pick them up and keep an eye on him from now on,” Brandon said, pulling the back of his neck with his hand.
“Be sure that you do. If you’ll excuse me, I need to get mowing.” She readjusted her sunglasses back on her nose and tried to think of the steps her dad had talked her through countless times. She’d call him and ask for his help, but the last time she’d talked to him, he and Wendy, her stepmom, were at the Grand Canyon. Who knows where they were now?
“I could take a look at it. Maybe I can get it started for you.”
“I already told you I don’t need help,” Emily said with a huff.
“So you’ve said.” Brandon ignored her and walked over to the mower.
The nerve of him! “What are you doing?”
Brandon crouched down next to the mower and looked around at all the different components. “When was the last time you mowed?”
“Last week.”
“What did you do to start it then?”
“I don’t remember. My dad said something about remembering a trick with the mower. I can’t remember what that is now.”
“A trick? Maybe he meant that you need to prime the motor before starting it.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“That’s this little button right here. When you push it, it puts fuel in the carburetor to start the mower up.”
“I pushed that already.”
“I’m sure you did. But pushing it isn’t going to help you out.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re out of gas,” he said matter-of-factly.
Emily was grateful for the barrier her sunglasses provided. But they certainly weren’t big enough to hide her cheeks which had to be about ten different shades of red. “Oh my gosh. I feel so stupid. I can’t believe I didn’t check that.”
Brandon smiled at her—not in a mocking way, but a warm and inviting smile. “It’s okay. It happens to everyone,” he said with a gentle shrug. “Do you have gas here?”
“I don’t think so. I need to go get some.”
He shook his head. “Don’t bother. I think I have some in the garage left over from the previous tenant.”
“No, I really appreciate it, but I can’t accept that.” After the way she had acted with him earlier, she certainly didn’t want him doing her any favors. She didn’t deserve it.
“I insist. This way I can put gas in it and start it up for you to make sure that’s the only thing wrong with it.”
Emily couldn’t argue with his logic. “All right. I concede.”
Once the mower was all gassed up, Brandon started it up to make sure it was running correctly. After letting it run a few minutes, he turned it off. “It looks like you’re all set here. I don’t see any other issues with it. You’ll be able to start it up on your own now.” He turned to leave.
“Wait,” Emily said, halting Brandon in his tracks. “Thank you so much for this. It’s really sweet of you to help me out especially after…”
He waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. I’m happy to help. If you need anything else, just come and knock on my door.”
She stuck out her hand. “I’m Emily, by the way. I never got a chance to tell you my name.”
Brandon took her hand and shook it. While their hands were joined, she noticed Brandon’s bright, sparkling blue eyes, which stood out against his dark eyelashes and tan skin. They were mesmerizing—and she struggled to pull her gaze away.
“Well, Emily, I’ll leave you to your mowing. I have a lot of stuff to unpack…and dog poop to pick up.”
“Do you need help unpacking?” Why had she just said that? She had no desire to get involved with helping him but it had just come out of her mouth.
Brandon smiled. “No, I think I can manage. Thank you for offering. If you’re okay with this mower, I’m going to go get something to take care of Ollie’s mess.”
Emily watched as he walked away. She couldn’t help it. Once she truly allowed herself to really look at him, she had to admit he was good looking. And so different from Jason. Jason was always so neat and proper. He always kept his hair neatly trimmed and his face clean-shaven. Jason dressed up even when he was going around the block for a cup of coffee.
Brandon was much different. He had a rugged e
dge to him with the scruff on his face and closely cropped sandy blond hair. His athletic shorts sat low on his hips and when he’d been crouched down earlier, his shirt rose up to reveal defined back muscles.
And those eyes…
Speaking of eyes, Brandon turned around and Emily couldn’t hide the fact that she’d been staring at him. “Do you need help with anything else?” he asked.
She snapped her attention back to the mower. “No, I’m good here. Thanks.”
This time when Brandon turned back toward his house, Emily made sure not to stare.
But one little peek wouldn’t hurt.
Was he imagining things or was Emily still staring at him? He’d turn around again but he had clearly embarrassed her when he caught her the first time. And with failing to realize her mower had been out of gas, she’d had enough embarrassment for one day.
But she was definitely staring. No doubt about it.
Up close, he’d gotten the chance to really look at Emily. She probably stood only a few inches shorter than him, if he had to guess. Her long, brown hair had been tied back in a ponytail, revealing a long, slender neck. And every single one of her curves had been on full display in her tight tank top and short athletic shorts.
Yeah, he’d been checking her out too.
But he wasn’t even going to entertain the idea of dating his neighbor. What if things went wrong for them?
Been there. Done that.
While living in Charlotte, one of his past girlfriends had been someone who lived two townhomes down from him. She had seemed like the perfect match for him; she liked all the same things he did, she cooked for him, and had even met his mother when she’d been in town visiting. They dated for six months until one day she quit texting and calling him—odd, since they never went more than a few hours without communicating. When he tried calling or texting her, she wouldn’t respond. Curious to know what was going on, he started keeping an eye on her townhome and saw another man coming and going from there quite frequently. When he’d confronted her about it, she said her boyfriend was finally out of jail so she didn’t want to see him anymore. Every day when he’d see her car in the parking lot, it was another punch to the gut knowing that what they had was meaningless to her. He was merely someone to fill a void while she waited for her true love to come back. He’d been used and she didn’t feel the least bit sorry about it.
From that point on, Brandon refused to date anyone living so close to him and when his lease ended, he moved to a different complex.
Moving somewhere else wasn’t an option in Brookview. There weren’t that many places to pick from. And the entirety of his lease was still ahead of him, so getting involved with Emily? Not a chance.
Brandon went inside the house to find a bag for Ollie’s land mines and while Emily was busy mowing her backyard, he picked them up and left them in the trash can in his garage. When he returned inside, he spotted his lazy dog sprawled out on his couch.
“You,” he said, pointing to Ollie. “You’ve made quite a mess out there.”
It wasn’t unusual for Brandon to talk to Ollie. At times, it seemed that Ollie was the only one who would listen to him.
Ollie picked up his head and cocked an ear.
“You need to learn your boundaries. I can’t have you out there making messes in her yard all the time. It’s gross.” Not only was it gross, it humiliated the hell out of him.
Ollie got up, turned around once, then settled himself back on the couch.
Brandon rolled his eyes. He left Ollie to his slumber and began to walk toward the kitchen until a knock at the door changed his course.
Is it Emily? It was the first thought that came to mind. But did that mean he wanted to see her?
No, it couldn’t mean that. They were neighbors and who else would be knocking on his door? Maybe she was having more issues with her mower.
“Mom, what are you doing here?” he asked when he opened the door and found his mother on his doorstep.
“I came to help you unpack.”
His petite mother was in her early sixties but didn’t look it. She had kept her youthfulness about her and with her sandy blond hair and blue eyes, it was clear who Brandon had gotten his looks from. His height had come from his dad, although he was content to never acknowledge that man again.
“You know you don’t have to help me out. I can manage.”
“Sure, but it’ll go quicker with two people. I may not be able to lift the heavy boxes, but I can at least put dishes away and get your kitchen put together for you.”
She walked back to the kitchen and sat on one of the dining chairs in front of a stack of boxes.
Brandon joined her in the kitchen and leaned up against the counter. He picked at the tape on one of the boxes that was on the countertop. “Don’t you have someplace more exciting to be?”
“Your dad is taking a nap and there are only so many times I need to work in my flower beds. Truth is, I’m not used to having so much time to myself. I’ve even thought about picking up shifts at the bank for something to do.” His mother had recently retired from her work at the local bank.
“You could always volunteer. I’m sure the animal shelter could use help,” Brandon said.
“Then I’d end up with a house full of pets. Speaking of pets, how’s Ollie adjusting?”
Brandon chuckled. “You should ask my neighbor that question.”
“Oh, so you’ve met your neighbors already? How did that go?”
“Only the neighbor to the left. We didn’t exactly hit it off. Ollie made sure of that by pooping in her yard.”
His mother smiled. “Once he gets used to his boundaries, he’ll be better. Have you talked to your landlord about putting in a fence?”
“Yeah, he said he’ll pay for half of it and he’s not picky about the type of fence as long as it’s not a chain-link.”
“Well, that’s good. When are you going to put that in?”
“It’s going to have to be soon. Ollie keeps pooping in Emily’s yard and she’s tired of it.”
“Emily? I’m assuming that’s your neighbor’s name.”
“Yeah, that’s her. We met today when I helped her out with her mower. She couldn’t get it started.”
“I think I’ve seen her around town, but so many more people are coming and going these days. Brookview isn’t like it used to be.”
“Seems the same to me.”
“Maybe it hasn’t changed all that much to you, but it’s definitely different. Your neighbor though, is she pretty? Think there might be something there?” Linda said with a grin.
Brandon narrowed his eyes. “Don’t get any ideas. It’s not happening.”
“This isn’t Charlotte. Your complex there wasn’t in the nicest area and your experience isn’t likely to happen here,” she said.
“Okay, so maybe my neighbor doesn’t have a boyfriend in prison, but you’re assuming things will work out perfectly. What if they don’t? Then I’m stuck living next door to her and it just becomes awkward.”
“All right. Settle down. You know I only want to see you happy.”
Brandon had always been the one to worry his mother. He was sure any gray hairs she had came from her worrying over him. When he had moved away to Charlotte, she called every day to check on him. She had visited at least five times within his first year there and had done everything to make sure he would survive on his own.
But happiness was something she couldn’t provide. He had to find that for himself.
“I just got here. Give me time to adjust,” he said.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to interfere.”
Brandon righted himself and pulled the tape off of one of the boxes. “So, did you come here to talk about my love life or were you going to actually give me a hand?”
His mother smiled. “I’ve nagged you enough for one day. I suppose I can help you out now.”
Chapter 4
She was the last to arrive at the bridal shop for th
e final dress fitting. It was only five minutes, but between Stephanie and Audrey, Emily had already received ten texts asking her where she was. Her last showing of the day took a lot longer than she had anticipated.
As she walked through the door to the shop, a bell chimed over her head. Fantastic. Her attempt to sneak in quietly was now blown.
“Where have you been?” Audrey whispered. “Stephanie has been going nuts. I’ve been texting you and you didn’t respond.”
“I’m sorry. I had a showing tonight that ran late.” Emily looked around the bridal shop. Stephanie’s younger sister was the only other member of the bridal party and she was sitting a few chairs over looking at her phone. “Where’s Stephanie?”
“She already went back to try on her dress. She wasn’t about to be held up by you.”
Emily chuckled. “It wasn’t that long ago you were acting this way too.”
Audrey sighed. “I know. I’m trying to be understanding. I just hope the wedding day goes off without a hitch. I don’t want to be around her if it doesn’t.”
“Well, I won’t be the one to hold up anything.”
Audrey took Emily’s hand. “How are you doing with…you know?”
She flashed a smile. “I’m doing fine with it. I mean, five years isn’t a long time at all.”
Audrey picked up on the sarcasm and frowned. “I’m really sorry that happened. He doesn’t deserve you anyway.” She put her arm around Emily’s shoulders. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Emily said in a tone she hoped would convey the strength she wasn’t feeling.
Audrey raised an eyebrow.
“Really. You won’t even know anything happened,” Emily said, trying to reassure herself more than Audrey.
At that moment Stephanie joined the others with the seamstress following closely behind. “Emily! You finally made it! Where were you?”
“Sorry, I got—”
Stephanie flicked her hand. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. What do you guys think?”
Her friend looked stunning. Her red hair and fair skin complemented her ivory gown beautifully, and all the lace detail on the A-line dress gave it a classic look. Instead of a big, full-skirted wedding dress, Stephanie had gone for simple and form-fitting. It was perfect.