The Good Neighbor - Bettes Kimberley A. - Страница 2

But the one thing they couldn’t do was make me quit missing her. She was everything to me. She always had been. She was the only woman I’d ever loved and that had ever loved me. And then she was gone, vanished from my life. The only evidence that she’d ever even existed was the very things in my house that I could no longer stand to look at.

Thinking of her now brought images to my mind. I could see her dark hair, her brown eyes, and her warm smile as if she were standing in front of me now. I could almost hear her voice. As was always the case when I dared to let myself think of her, I couldn’t help but wonder what I had done to make her want to leave.

I had to force down the mouthful of cheeseburger I’d been chewing. It just couldn’t seem to find its way around the lump that had suddenly appeared in my throat. I knew there’d be no way I could finish the meal now. Not with thoughts of Holly on my mind. I’d lost my appetite.

I looked around for the dog that roamed the neighborhood, planning to give him the remnants, but I didn’t see him. I set the food on the table, also known as my footstool. I leaned forward in the chair, putting my elbows on my knees, unsure what to do now. I had a restless feeling. It was the same restlessness that always came when I thought of Holly. And with Andy working night shift, I had no one to take my mind off her.

I hated when Andy worked nights. It meant I had to sit on the porch alone, until it was late enough to go to bed without feeling guilty that I’d turned in too early. There had been many nights where I’d given up and gone to bed before the sun had set. I felt as though I’d wasted valuable, nonrefundable time out of my life by doing so, but I was just unable to continue dragging myself through the day. The loneliness, the emptiness, the hollowness that had become my life was sometimes just too much to bear. There were days when I didn’t want to get out of bed at all, but I forced myself. I knew that the amount of time that had passed since Holly had disappeared from my life was appropriate for me to move on. But somehow, I still couldn’t manage to do so. Though things had gotten a lot better for me, my wounds were still not completely healed. There wasn’t an open wound now, but there wasn’t a scar either. It was more of a scab. I was close to being healed, but not quite there yet.

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, listening to the crickets chirp. The sound of a door closing snapped them open.

“You still out here?” Andy asked as he came out of his house.

“I’m not still out here. I’m out here again,” I said, referring to what he’d said this morning about his bathrobe.

“You need a hobby, my friend.”

“I see you’ve decided to shed the robe for a night on the grind. I’m sure your co-workers will appreciate that. Do they know how awesome you dress while at home?” I teased.

“They’ve heard stories.” Andy indicated the house across the street from me when he said, “Quiet at Jenson’s place tonight, huh?”

“I guess so.”

“Thought you were against all forms of stalking,” he said, furrowing his brow with feigned suspicion and folding his arms across his chest.

“Is it stalking when I never have to leave my front porch?”

Andy laughed. “Guess not.”

Suddenly, the peaceful sound of a quiet night was shattered. Andy’s head jerked abruptly and I shot out of my chair as if my ass were on fire.

“Was that a scream?” he asked in a loud whisper.

I could only nod. We ran off our porches simultaneously, in search of the sound. Both of us stood on our lawns, heads tilted, scanning the street, listening for another sound. Finally it came.

Andy breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Damn,” he said. “That scared the hell out of me.”

“Me too,” I said. My nerves were tingling. The sudden rush of adrenaline had brought everything to life in me that had been dormant for so long. My heart raced. I enjoyed the feeling. It reminded me that I was alive. Something I’d seemed to have forgotten. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Who lets their kids run around the yard at night screaming like that? Especially when you just moved into the neighborhood?” he asked, watching the kids down the street run circles in the yard of their new home.

“I don’t know. Probably someone hot,” I said, teasing him.

“I only said that for your benefit,” he said smiling. When I didn’t return his smile, he looked at the ground, suddenly embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Owen. I didn’t mean anything by that.”

“It’s okay,” I lied. It wasn’t okay. I may be ready to try to let go of her memory, but I certainly wasn’t ready to move on that way. I didn’t even know how to move on that way.

“Still. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Andy?”

“Yes?”

“Aren’t there some people somewhere waiting for you to grace them with your presence?” I smiled, letting him know to forget about it.

“Yeah. Can’t keep my fans waiting,” he said in a lighter tone, walking to his car. “I’d tell you to be on the porch when I get home and we’ll keep an eye on Jenson, but I’m sure you’ll be there already, not stalking him.” He laughed and got in his car before I could respond.

He drove away, leaving me standing on the lawn listening to the sounds of chirping crickets and screaming kids.

2 Owen

When I stepped out the door the next morning, I saw the mess. I’d forgotten to bring in the burger and fries. The neighborhood dog had found and eaten it, but the wrappers were lying on the porch. At least he hadn’t ripped the wrappers to shreds as most dogs would have done. I stooped down to pick them up.

“Hello,” said a sweet, feminine voice.

I looked up as she stepped off the top step and onto the porch, only a couple feet from me. I stood, trying to appear as though I wasn’t looking. But I noticed her painted toenails, her sandals, her ankle bracelet, her toned legs, her curvy hips wrapped in jean shorts, her white blouse, her slender neck, and her beautiful face.

“Hello,” I said in return. I wasn’t sure what else to say. I thought I was doing good to manage to speak actual words. I was so taken with her that I was certain all I’d be able to do was spew forth some nonsense. But somehow my tongue hadn’t failed me.

She smiled. “I just moved in down the street. I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Carla Jones. You probably heard my kids last night. I hope they didn’t bother you, but they were so excited to learn that we’re walking distance from a park.” She laughed lightly.

“Well, I did wonder if you always gave them caffeine before bed,” I said with a smile.

She laughed again. “No, usually, you don’t even know they’re there. They’re very good kids. Thankfully,” she said.

Andy pulled into his driveway. I could feel him staring at us. I did my best to ignore him.

“Why thankfully?” I asked.

“Well, being a single mother would be a lot harder for me if they were unruly.”

“Yeah, I guess that would make it harder. So are you moving from somewhere else or another part of town?”

I felt Andy gawking as he slowly made his way into his house and I felt myself start to blush. I knew there’d be a lot of questions from him later.

“We moved here from Dallas. My Aunt Elaine passed away last February and she left me the house in her will. I packed up the kids, and moved here. It’s scary, you know. Starting over.” She looked down the street at her kids playing in the yard and smiled.

“Elaine was your aunt, huh?” I did what I could to keep my voice from tightening.

“Yeah. Did you know her?” she asked, turning her attention back to me.

“I did. I used to shovel her walkway in the winter. I helped her carry in groceries a few times. That sort of thing. My wife knew her better than I did,” I said tightly. I was losing the battle to keep my voice loose and nonchalant. I quickly added, “I never found out what happened to her.”