Rocked (The Everyday Heroes World) - Julia Wolf Page 0,9

a few curses, all coming from the other side of the trees.

Yesterday had been a wash as far as getting any writing done. I’d spent my day after my visit from Ellie walking around town and grabbing pancakes for lunch at Bertha’s. That little kid hadn’t been jerking me around; the pancakes were the best I’d ever had.

I didn’t know if it was the fresh air or not having anything else to do, but I crawled into bed at ten o’clock and knocked right out. This morning, I woke up feeling even better than yesterday—clearheaded and buzzing with possibilities.

More cursing had me setting down my coffee and lifting off the slightly creaky swing. Guilt had me crossing my yard and slipping through the trees to see if I could be of any help.

I found my new neighbor, Kat, with a chain wrapped around the broken wooden post that once held her mailbox, tugging with all her strength. Her face was tinged pink, and despite the relatively cool day, sweat dotted her forehead.

“Hey,” I said as I approached. “Think I could help?”

With a groan, she dropped the chain and wiped her face on the sleeve of her loose flannel shirt. Then she cocked her hip as her eyes flit about me, from the Nike 1’s on my feet to my Prada aviators. When she finished her perusal, she smirked.

“I’m all good.”

I took another step closer. “Come on. I heard you cussing up a storm from my porch. If everything was going smoothly, I doubt you’d be telling God and all his disciples to go fuck themselves. Frankly, I’m a little scandalized.”

With a huff, her hands went to her cocked hips. “Fine. I guess I should let you help since this is my first kidless, workless day in a long while and I don’t want to spend it replacing a mailbox that was perfectly fine two days ago.”

“That’s what I’m saying.” I clapped my hands together and put my game face on. Manual labor had never been my bag, but I could do this. I picked up a shovel off the ground and leaned my elbow on it. “Think maybe I should dig deeper?”

She turned to the splintered post and shrugged. “Have at it.”

So, that was what I did. I dug the post out of the ground while Kat watched in silence. Every so often, I’d peek at her to see if maybe she’d softened toward me, but no dice. The woman was a stone wall.

The kicker for me was she looked so damn nice. She seemed too young to be Ellie’s mom, but she had this way about her that made me think she’d be the type of mom anyone would be lucky to have. Weird thought for me since my own mother was pretty much worthless. But I’d met Ellie; that kid’s self-assuredness had been nurtured since birth. She was a sassy-ass little turnip and made no bones about it.

I glanced at Kat again, taking in her baggy top and well-worn jeans, the tumble of golden-brown waves tucked behind her ears, and oversized sunglasses covering half her face. Outside of these circumstances, I’d never give her a second glance. Aside from the shine of her hair in the morning sun, there was nothing about her that stood out. I’d even say plain, but that would only be in comparison to the women I was used to being around in LA and NYC.

This time, she caught me checking her out. “What?” she asked.

I paused in my shoveling. “Nothing. Just curious if you’re this friendly with other tenants.”

One dark brow arched above the frames of her sunglasses. “Most tenants don’t crash into my yard as their introduction. But no, I’m not much friendlier with our other renters. Veego handles all that.”

“You own the place together?” I asked.

“Yep.”

I nodded toward the house behind her, which was twice the size of my cottage, but still small by most people’s standards. “That one too?”

Her brow dropped. “No. That’s mine.”

“Ah, cool.” I couldn’t quite get a bead on their relationship. My first night here had been a fog, but I remembered Veego telling me he and Kat weren’t married. And Ellie mentioned her dad picking her up.

I shook my head. It wasn’t my business. I was here to write and create, not get involved in the mess of people’s lives I’d be exiting in a month or two.

She came to stand beside me, peering at the hole I’d dug. “I think we should be able to