by Nikki Rayne
“What happened?” I asked between quick breaths as I approached.
“Oh, my God, Hope, I don’t know,” Tori said, rubbing her neck with a shaking hand. “She just fell. I tried to catch her, but I’m afraid she still landed too hard.”
“She’s okay. She just fainted,” the neighbor said, pulling her hair away from her neck. He didn’t look up from her. “Could you go inside and get her some water?”
I didn’t question the guy who’d just been a complete asshole. Instead, I ran inside the house and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
When I got back outside, Tori was on the phone, giving out my address.
Olivia was on the ground, with tears rolling out the corners of her eyes. “You’re all overreacting. I can’t afford this. I’m fine.”
Her breathing seemed to have returned to normal. Tori held up her hand to silence her.
“We’ll figure out how to pay for it,” I said, lowering myself down to the ground.
My neighbor grabbed the bottle from my hand and helped her take a drink. Olivia was only able to take little sips.
“What happened?” my neighbor asked.
“Panic attack,” Olivia said. “That’s all it is.”
“Do you get them often?” he asked.
Olivia bit her lip. “I used to. Sometimes.”
“Let’s just get you checked out to be sure, okay?” he said. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. What’s your name?”
“Olivia,” she said, wiping away one of her tears.
He smiled at her. The smile was so incredible I almost took a step back. He was so utterly different than the man, who’d basically just scolded me for having an upset friend only minutes ago.
“Hi, Olivia, I’m Max,” he said. “I know people at the hospital, and I’ll make sure they’ll take good care of you, okay?”
Olivia sniffed and offered him a sad smile. “Okay.”
Great. Now both Tori and Olivia were going to think he was some amazing guy because he helped her and smiled at her. Big deal.
It didn’t take long for the ambulance to show up. Max helped the guys get her onto the gurney. He even helped Tori into the back of the ambulance after she handed me her keys.
He whispered something to the paramedics before they drove off, leaving us both standing there staring after them. The only thing between us was a dreadful silence.
I cleared my throat, wishing I could magically disappear and reappear inside my house. “Um, thanks for helping my friend.”
“Yeah, no problem,” he said. “She’s going to be okay.”
“Thanks,” I repeated. “What did you say to them about her?”
I couldn’t believe the intrusive question had escaped my lips. My talking before thinking was probably one of the reasons I’d gotten fired.
“Just some buddies of mine,” he said. “They’ll see what they can do about reducing the cost.”
“Are you serious?” I asked, my hands dropping to my sides as if they’d been holding twenty-five pound weights.
Max shrugged. “Don’t tell your friend, though, can’t promise anything, of course.”
“Wow, that’s really kind of you,” I said. “After your complaints about her being upset, I was pretty surprised to even see you out here.”
Max grimaced. “She still shouldn’t have been yelling obscenities. I mean, seriously, nothing could be that bad. This used to be a quiet neighborhood.”
There he was. That was the guy I’d talked to earlier.
“Her husband is rather abusive. Mainly verbally. He calls her a fat ass among other awful things. I don’t care what she yells as long as she isn’t with him.” I placed my hands on my hips and shook my head. “Thanks for helping her.”
I turned and did everything I could to hold it together so I didn’t run away from him.
4
Max
Well.
That hadn’t gone well.
Not that I cared. That woman was impossible. It wouldn’t have mattered what I said to her. She would have blown it out of proportion no matter what.
I should have gone after her and apologized. Hell, her friend had just been driven off in an ambulance, and I was complaining about her cursing.
“Hey, dad,” Lily called from the front door. “What happened?”
“Just a friend of the neighbor,” I said over my shoulder.
“Is she going to be okay?”
I waved at her to go back inside. “She’s going to be fine. I’ll be in soon, okay?”
“Okay,” she said. “What’s for dinner? Can we have peanut butter and jam sandwiches?”
“Let me think about it,” I said.
What was my neighbor’s name? Her friend had said it, but I could quite remember.
Heather? Holly? No, Hope. It was Hope.
Not that I cared. As far as I was concerned, she was still a nightmare.
Lily and I had a nice evening together. After dinner - pizza - we sat together and watched a movie.
She was the sweetest daughter, and I was lucky to have her. It didn’t matter how shitty my day was when she snuggled up next to me and told me I was the best dad ever. Of course, letting her have pizza definitely helped.
“Daddy,” she said with a yawn after the movie ended. “I’m tired.”
“You look tired,” I said, smacking my thighs. “It’s late. Time to brush your teeth. I shouldn’t let you stay up so long on a school night.”
“It’s only nine, dad,” she groaned as if she were suddenly thirteen.
She was at a strange age. Half of the time, she was my sweet little girl, and the other half, she was a handful. She was gearing up to be a pre-teen. Something I wasn’t ready for.
“I love you, daddy,” she said as I tucked her in. She closed her eyes when I gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“I love you too, sweetie,” I said as I walked away, turning out the light.
She blinked twice in the direction of her unicorn nightlight. A deep breath puffed her body before she exhaled and settled into place.
I tip-toed away from her room, placing each footstep on the stairs carefully. If the fourth one creaked, she’d call me back to the room. Luckily, I managed to miss the spot.
I grabbed a beer from the fridge, pausing to look out the window. There was only one light on next door instead of the glowing beacon it usually was.
Perhaps with her friends away, it would be a quiet night.
I might have started to drift off when I heard a loud car grumbling in front of the neighbor's house. Tires squealed, and I got to the window just as cloud puffed out of the exhaust of an old, rusted car.
The two women from earlier today were standing at the end of the driveway. So much for a quiet night.
I peeked out between the curtains, watching them as they walked up to the house. They waited at the door for several minutes before it opened.
Hope was standing there in a tight tank top with her arms crossed. After a quick moment, she stepped to the side and let the woman who’d passed out into the house.
The other gave Hope a quick hug before walking toward her car. In a matter of seconds, she was gone.
The house next door was once again a beacon in the night. I just had to hope that was all it would be.
Unfortunately, hoping for silence was a waste of time. Pop music started blaring from the backyard.
I walked into the kitchen and looked out the back window. I wasn’t entirely sure when I turned into the guy that secretly watched his neighbors, but apparently, it had happened.
There was a light on illuminating the back patio. Lights inside the pool gave it a turquoise glow.
“What are you doing, daddy?” Lily asked from behind me.
“Getting a glass of water,” I replied as I fumbled for a glass and turned on the sink. “What are you doing up?”
Lily yawned. “I can’t sleep.”
“Why not?”
“The music is too loud.”
&
nbsp; Shit.
“Go on back to bed. I’ll take care of it,” I said before taking a sip from the glass I wasn’t entirely sure I’d washed. I placed my hand on Lily’s back and turned her around.
She walked away, dragging her feet. “Don’t be embarrassing.”
“I’m never embarrassing.”
I opened the back door and walked over to the neighbor’s fence. My knuckles pounded the fence when they hadn’t realized I was standing there.
“Would you mind turning down the music?” I asked when they both turned toward me. “It woke my daughter up.”
“Does she have earplugs?” the woman I’d helped only hours ago said.
“No,” I said, holding my anger in so tightly I thought my ears were going to pop. “She’s nine.”
The woman stood. “Wait! I know you! You’re the guy that helped me.” She turned to Hope. “He doesn’t seem that bad.”
Hope’s eyes closed slowly.
“Sorry,” the woman said in a loud whisper-like voice. She walked closer to me and stuck out her hand. “I wasn’t supposed to say that. I’m Olivia. Thank you so much for your help.”
“Yeah, of course,” I said, shaking her hand. “I take it, you’re fine?”
“It was a panic attack,” she said. “I’m fairly certain I shouldn’t have done two shots after whatever it was they gave me to calm down in the ER.”
I nodded. “Yeah, you really shouldn’t have.”
“I told her not to,” Hope said over the music.
“Doesn’t look like you tried very hard to stop her,” I said.
“Jesus,” Hope said. “I’m not her parent. I know, it’s like your thing to be the neighborhood dad, but she’s a grown woman. There is only so much I can do. I got home after a long flight and lost my job today. You really think I want to be up, making sure my friend doesn’t like die or something?”
Olivia covered her mouth, but her laugh almost instantly leaked out. “I’m not going to die.” Her mood did a one-eighty. “You know, I didn’t have a good day either. I left him. I don’t have a dime to my name.” Olivia started sobbing. “I don’t even know where I’m going to live.”
I took a step away from the fence. “I’m really sorry to both of you.” I looked back at my house. “But please, if you could just turn the music down a little, I’d really appreciate it.”
“And I’d appreciate it if you’d stop telling me what to do,” Hope said.
Olivia placed her hand on her stomach. “I don’t feel good.”
She grabbed the top of the fence. Her knees looked as if they were made out of red licorice.
Olivia dropped to the ground and vomited. Hope covered her mouth and looked away.
“My grandma’s roses,” she said with a frown.
“I’m… sorry,” Olivia said between her bursts of puking and gagging.
It seemed more like she was apologizing for me seeing her throw-up than she was about the roses. She held her hand up over her head. Several minutes later, she stood with her back to me.
“I need to go inside,” she said before dashing past Hope.
Hope turned off the music and glared at me. She grabbed a hose and walked over to the fence.
“There,” she said, barely glancing at me. “The music is off. You can leave now.”
Hope squeezed the nozzle and aimed it toward the roses. She gagged and turned away from me.
“I can do that for you,” I said. What the hell was I doing?
“What? Why?” she asked, daring a quick glance.
I shrugged. “Doesn’t bother me, and clearly, it is getting to you.”
“No one wants to clean up vomit,” Hope said.
I laughed. “I don’t want to, but I clean it up nearly on a daily basis at work.”
She stared at me for a long moment. “Are you sure?”
“Sure,” I said.
“I’ll owe you one,” Hope said.
“I’ll hold you to that,” I said, unable to stop the smile that grew on my face.
She smiled back. It was a smile that tensed my muscles.
Holy shit. Hope was so fucking hot.
I wasn’t entirely sure how she could irritate me so much while at the same time, I wanted to do nothing more than drop the hose and push her up against the fence.
“I’m going to go check on her,” Hope said lightly touching my arm. “Thanks so much for doing this for me.”
I swallowed and turned slightly so she wouldn’t see my dick pressing against my pajama pants. “Yeah, no problem.”
5
Hope
Olivia was passed out on the kitchen floor. I knew she was fine because she was snoring like an overweight, fifty-year-old man lying on his back.
There was no way I was going to be able to get her upstairs to her bedroom myself. A clunky-thunk shook the pipes when Max turned off the water, and a thought popped into my head.
I couldn’t believe what I was about to do. My house was a mess since I hadn’t been around to clean. Everything about my life was currently a mess.
And worst of all, the neighbor had been nothing but a jerk. Then again, it had been nice when he helped Olivia after she’d fallen, and he was outside hosing off my flowers.
I walked to the back door with my arms wrapped around my middle. The door squeaked as I pushed it open. I drew in a deep breath.
“Hey, Max?” I said.
“Yeah?” he said, turning to face me.
“Is there any chance you could help me get Olivia upstairs?” I asked, wincing. “She passed out on the kitchen floor.”
He glanced over at this house for a quick moment before turning back to me. The wind blew, and the cool breeze felt like ice against my bare skin.
“Um, yeah, sure,” he said.
It seemed as though he was anxious to get back home. “I can just let her sleep on the floor. Spread a blanket over her.”
“It’s not a problem,” Max said. “Just don’t like leaving Lily alone for long.”
“Oh, right,” I said. “How old is she again?”
“Only nine,” he replied as he grabbed the back door and held it, waiting for me to step inside. “She’ll be okay.”
I flashed him a thin-lipped smile. “We’ll be quick.”
He nodded. It was only a few steps to Olivia’s snoring body.
“Geez,” Max said, covering his ears.
I chuckled. “I know, right? And you thought the music was loud.”
“The music was loud,” Max said.
“She kept turning it up,” I said. “In her state, nothing is loud enough.”
Max bent down and scooped her up. I hadn’t realized how muscular he was until that moment. His biceps were tight, and the tendons and veins bulged in his forearms.
“Which way?” Max asked.
“Upstairs,” I said, gesturing toward the living room.
“Lead the way,” Max said.
I walked quickly to the room Olivia would be staying in. It didn’t seem like Max was having any problem carrying Olivia.
“Here,” I said, pushing open the door to the purple room. It was the room my grandma had called the guest room even though she never had any guests.
The walls were painted in a pale purple, and the wood trim had been painted white. There were several paintings on the wall, each one with purple flowers inside the white frame.
Max lowered Olivia down on the bed and pulled the bedspread over her. He followed me out of the room, leaving the door open a crack just as I imagined he did with his daughter.
“Well,” Max said, stopping at the door. “You should probably check in on her from time to time.”
“Even if I hear her loud and clear?” I asked.
“Nah, but if she stops, definitely just pop in and make sure she’s still breathing,” Max said. “If you need anything, I’m just next door.”
I chewed my lip. “Thanks… for helping me. I didn’t expect that.”
“Why not?” Max asked. “
I’m not a bad guy.”
“I guess not,” I said. “But you’re a grump. When I was growing up, we had this neighbor who’d steal our balls and yell at us if we stepped on his lawn. You remind me of him, except he wasn’t anywhere near as attractive as you are.”
Max looked down at his slippers. I assumed he was going to get pissed.
“You think I’m attractive?” Max asked, looking up to meet my eyes.
I swallowed hard. I could feel the breaths causing my chest to rise and fall quickly. My cheeks were warm.
“You should go and check on your daughter,” I said.
“Yeah, I should,” Max said.
I took a step closer to the door because it seemed as though he was frozen in place. Like he was waiting for something.
“Um, do you want my number or something?” he asked, running his fingers through his hair.
My eyes narrowed. I shook my head as if I didn’t understand.
“In case you need help,” he said. “Although if she stops breathing or something, you’d probably want to call 911, not me. But if she threw up again, I could be over in a few minutes.”
“Oh, um, sure,” I said, picking up my phone from end table. I stepped up beside him and handed him my phone.
He took the phone and smiled.
Why was I standing so close to him? And why did he smell so damn good?
“Here,” he said, looking down into my eyes as he handed the phone back.
I wasn’t sure why, but I was finding it hard to breathe. He was so damn attractive. And his muscles… I wanted to run my palms down his arms. Feel the hardness under his soft skin.
“I should go,” he said.
“Yeah, right,” I said, my fingers shaking as I sucked in a breath. “Thanks again for your help.”
He flashed me a smile that set my insides on fire. “Anytime.”
6
Max
It had been days, but I couldn’t stop thinking about her. The only time she didn’t pop into my mind was at work when I was with a patient. Or if my daughter was telling me about her day, but any time there was a moment of silence, she was all I thought about.