Page 9 of Enemies in Paradise

I get a sharp, “Bear!” from Grandpa, but I do something I’ve never done before: I ignore him, walking right by him and my traitor dog Molly, who stays put with Rad at Grandpa’s feet.

When I get to the kitchen, sure enough, Charly’s made a mess. The large bowl is on the floor, surrounded by a trail of popcorn that leads to a half-empty bag on the counter. She has her back to me, scooping up the popcorn with her tiny hands and putting it in the bowl.

A few pieces go straight from the floor to her mouth, and I rush to take them from her. “Don’t eat that, Charly.”

She jumps at my voice, and tears spring to her eyes when I pull the popcorn from her hands.

“It’s dirty, Charly.” I crouch to get eye level with her, and she cries harder. “Did I scare you?”

She turns her back to me and nods.

At the same time, voices carry down the hall.Zach and Georgia.No doubt they’ll have Cassie with them, and I don’t want to see her again. Especially not today.

Not ever, to be honest.

She’s been rude to me since the first day we met. From the moment I saw Cassie, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. I’ve always had a thing for dark hair, and hers is almost black. I’ve imagined more than once how it would look if she didn’t have it pulled back. The few locks of hair she leaves down frame her sharpcheekbones and accentuate her green eyes. And it’s her eyes I can’t scrub from my brain.

I wish I could. Whenever she comes to mind, I try to replace thoughts of her with math problems. Making up my own equations calms me down. It gives me a different problem to focus on besides the one that’s frustrating me.

And currently, Cassie Lee is one big, frustrating, and unsolvable problem.

Along with forgetting her eyes, I wish I could erase our first meeting from history. That day at Georgia’s wrap party.

After watching Cassie from afar for days, I’d worked up the nerve to talk to her. Before I could say a word, I spilled my stupid iced coffee all down her shirt. If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, then she’d accused me of doing it on purpose and called me a pervert in front of an entire group of people.

And she used that I’m-a-cop voice they all have. The one that meansyou’re a criminal, and I’m in charge here, so don’t mess with me.

I hate that voice.

Darlene Voglmeyer uses that voice.

A month later, I get a bill for a new shirt. A hundred dollars.

What cop wears hundred-dollar shirts?

LA cops who believe coming from a big city makes them smarter than guys like me. That’s who. LA cops who then go on to treat a grown man at his brothers’ double wedding as if he’s the six-year-old ring bearer just because she’s a few years older.

Cassie made one comment after another about me spilling coffee on her.

When I finally returned her sarcasm with some of my own, she got totally offended and called me a creeper. I thought cops were supposed to be tough—have a thick skin.

Not Detective Lee.

The point is, I don’t like Cassie. I don’t care how hot she is, she’s not nice.

But I didn’t mean to be rude when I saw her today. I was surprised, is all. I’d only gone to the shop because I needed something to keep busy while Grace was here with Mom. Mondays, Wednesdays and part of Saturdays are usually my days to take care of Mom. Britta takes the other afternoons and Dad and my brothers split up the mornings.

Everyone in town knows which days I’m available for plumbing jobs. I don’t have appointments on the days I have Mom. They call the plumber fifteen minutes away in Fish Haven if there’s an emergency. And hockey practice is Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I decided to work on the car Dad and I haven’t touched in at least six months. Probably longer.

Not since Mom really started going downhill.

No one was supposed to be there. Especially not someone wanting to buy the shop. And especially not someone who thinks I’m a “creeper.”

Sure enough, Georgia, Zach, and Cassie walk into the kitchen, and Charly runs crying toward them, wrapping her arms around Georgia’s legs.

“What happened?” Georgia asks Charly, then looks at me.

I stand, keeping my eyes on Georgia and trying hard not to let them drift to Cassie. “I scared her. I didn’t mean to.”

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