Alpha's Castle - Ella Goode Page 0,3
to let this go.
“See?” He turns around to look at me. “Was that so hard?”
“Not as hard as your head,” I mumble under my breath. Or the rest of him for that matter.
“Dane, is that you?” I turn to see a tall blond woman coming our way with a smile on her face. “Someone bought Mae’s place? I didn't know it was on the market yet.” She flips her gaze towards me. “Anyway, who is this?”
“I’m Khloe.” I give a small wave, wanting to make a good impression on my neighbor.
“Connie. I own the bakery.” She points toward it. I’d eyed it when I rolled into town. The most wonderful smells have been coming from it all day.
“It’s nice to meet you.” She looks back to Dane. “Told you I seen something.” She winks at him. “Come over for some pie.” She walks over to him, wrapping her hand around his forearm. I fight the weird feeling in my stomach because this is my chance to escape and I should be taking advantage of it.
“Since you know how to open it, I’m guessing you know how to close it.” I take a step back. “Nice to meet you, Connie.” I give her a smile before darting back toward my front door. I hear Dane shout my name, but I keep on moving until I’m inside. This time I remember to lock the door.
Not that I think it matters much with someone like Dane. He clearly does whatever he wants.
3
Dane
“Why didn’t you tell me Mae had a niece?” Connie asks.
“I didn’t know.” I unpeel her fingers from my arm so I can answer my phone.
“Kathy from the power company called to let you know that the intruder at Mae’s place is actually Mae’s great niece who inherited the property so please don’t shoot our new citizen.”
“You know me, Bev, finger’s always on the trigger.”
“It’s a good thing that Ren is on the way for cleanup then,” she says cheerfully before hanging up.
“Ren’s on the way?” Connie strains her head, looking around to see if she can spot her little brother.
“Yeah. He was worried.” Upstairs, the lights are blazing. There isn’t any danger, but I don’t feel like leaving.
“You should come in. I have fresh strawberry pie cooling on my counter.”
“Haven’t had dinner yet. Best keep that for Ren.” I should really check up on the newcomer. Don’t want to come off inhospitable and all that. I take a step toward the door but Connie’s fingers dig into my arm once again.
“Where you going?” Her voice is a tad shrill.
Gently, but with intent, I lift her hand away. “It’s none of your business, Connie. Go inside and wait for your brother.”
The woman flushes and walks inside without another word. When the door closes, I walk up the stoop and give Khloe’s door a knock. She doesn’t answer at first so I knock again, only this time louder and with a mite more force.
Her feet clip down the stairs and the door flies open. She wears a scowl on her face. “What now?”
“Thought I’d make sure your place is clear before I left,” I say as I muscle my way inside.
“What are you doing? You can’t just come in here.”
I ignore her. Since the electricity is on, I flip on the store switches. Her purse is still lying by the front door.
“See. It’s empty.” She throws out an arm.
“You shouldn’t leave valuables in front of a window or a door.” I go over and pick it up. The place smells musty from being closed up for such a long time. I should’ve had Ren or the day deputy, Marty, come over and air it out. “I’ll send someone over tomorrow to help you clean up here. You gonna run this as a clothing shop?”
“What’s it to you?”
“Just curious.” There’s no one here but a few dust mites. I turn off the lights and nod toward the stairs. “I’ll take a look upstairs for you.”
“No. No you won’t.” She pushes at my chest, but since I’ve got about a hundred pounds on her, I don’t budge. It takes a couple tries before the realization sets in that she’s not going to win this round. With a sigh, she steps back. “Fine, but you aren’t going to find anything.”
“No harm in checking.” Before I can climb the back stairs, there’s a knock on the door.
A little line appears on Khloe’s forehead. She isn’t expecting anyone.
“It’s Ren, Connie’s brother,” I tell her as I cross over