Alpha's Castle - Ella Goode Page 0,4

to the door.

“Now how do you know that?” she wants to know.

“Cuz he was coming over to check on his sister and Connie will have told him that I’m making sure there aren’t any unwelcome guests.” I nudge her aside and crack the door open. Sure enough, Ren’s curious face peers at me from the other side.

“Connie said she’s got a new neighbor. Thought I’d introduce myself.” His hair is slicked back and he’s holding his hat between his hands. Connie must’ve told him the new neighbor was a woman.

“You can do that tomorrow.”

He cranes his head, trying to see past me. “I’m here now, though,” he protests. “Plus, Connie has a piece of pie for her.”

I take the pie and start to shut the door.

“Wait,” Ren calls.

“What is it?”

“What’s her name?”

“Tomorrow, Ren.” I shut the door and turn to Khloe. “Connie makes good pies. I’ll put it in your kitchen.” The layout of Mae’s place isn’t much different than Connie’s and since I’ve been here before, I head upstairs.

Khloe follows behind, arguing the whole way. “You can’t just barge in here and act like you own the place.”

“I’m just putting your pie away.” There’s nothing but boxes in the kitchen. I slide the pie onto a spare bit of counter and survey the rest of the place. Mae wasn’t much for that open concept living. She liked her rooms to be separate. The kitchen was made for cooking and the living room was made for living. “I can knock down a couple of these walls for you.” I pat the barrier between the living room and kitchen. “It’ll make it seem bigger here.”

“Maybe I don’t want that.”

“I think you do.” Khloe doesn’t seem like a closed-in kind of person. I make my way through the living room, which features more boxes, Mae’s ugly-ass plaid furniture, and plastic blinds covering the windows. The bathroom is clean and a couple of fresh towels have been hung on the rods. Khloe fixed up this space first. The one bedroom also smells of lemon and bleach. A white comforter is draped invitingly across the bed. “Looks nice,” I say. But it’s an understatement. I could crawl right onto that mountain of pillows and cotton and feel right at home.

“I’m so glad you approve.” She doesn’t sound happy at all. “You broke my microphone.”

I cock my head in question. I don’t remember breaking anything of hers.

“You made me drop a box and it had my microphone in it. I use that for work and now I’m going to have to replace it.

“Okay.”

“Okay? That’s all you have to say?”

“Pretty much.” I give the rooms one last peek before descending the stairs. Khloe is hot on my heels. At the bottom of the stairs, I tell her, “If you plan to open up a shop here, you’ll need to close by five.”

“Why? Is that some kind of town rule?”

“No. It just applies to you.” I tilt my head toward the handle. “Don’t forget to lock up once I go and don’t let anyone in.”

“What do you mean, it just applies to me?”

“Khloe, honey, you can’t have men in here after the sun goes down.”

“What?” she shrieks.

I tip my hat. “You heard me. Now lock up.” And I shut the door behind me.

4

Khloe

I sit in the kitchen happy with the progress I’ve made with unpacking and cleaning this place up. It helped that I couldn't sleep. My mind kept wandering back to the bossy sheriff. What makes him think that he can tell me who I can or can’t have come over? Why would he even say that? It doesn't make any sense at all. It doesn’t help one bit that he is crazy hot.

A knock sounds at my door. I glance at the clock on the wall to see it’s only a little after ten. Who would be here? I jump up, thinking it might be Dane. I don’t know why I’m excited. He’s probably only here to try to lay down some more ridiculous rules. Ones that I already know I’ll be breaking. I do have to admit it was fun sparring with him. It felt good to stand my ground for once. I’m the type that usually bends over to make others happy even if it’s not the best for me.

I open the front door to see Connie standing there. “Hi, neighbor.” She steps into my house without being invited. “I brought pie.” What is it with everyone around here inviting themselves in?

“Thanks.” She