Page 20 of Knight's Fall

His other hand tapped the folded newspaper where it sat on the counter. “I’ve been trying to find some rental property in the area, but the paper didn’t have much. I was hoping as a resident of the area, you might know of something that’s not in the classifieds.”

“So you’re looking to settle in Grayson Cove?”

His head tilted again, and she got the impression he was judging her for asking the question. Yet, he gave her that slight smile and answered like there was no issue with her prying.

“Something like that. Any ideas of properties that might be available?”

Courtlyn hesitated, but since she saw no reason to refrain from answering his question, she smiled. “Two, actually. One close to the Sheriff’s Department at the other edge of town. A customer of ours retired to Florida and uses the income from the property as supplemental income. It’s on Needham Drive. There’s a sign in the yard. The other is not too far from here on Cedar Lane. It’s not public knowledge that the owner is renting it, but you can ask about it at the hardware store. Ask for Conrad Noble. He owns the house, and he runs the hardware store. He’s there pretty much every day.”

Malcolm removed his hand from the bill and gave her a nod. “Thank you.”

Courtlyn’s eyes bugged when she saw the fifty-dollar bill on the counter. “Oh, but that’s too much.”

“As I said, it’s for the food, the information and your kindness. Keep the change. For yourself. Not her.” He pointed over Courtlyn’s shoulder, and when she glanced behind her, she saw Sissy standing there, her face a mask of rage.

When she looked back, Malcolm was already walking out the door.

“What the hell, Mac? You poached my customer?”

“Give it a rest, Sissy.” Tabby suddenly appeared, piercing the waitress with a hard look. “You took a break and gave Courtlyn your customer. She deserves the tip. Both of you get back to work.”

Courtlyn made sure to ring up the sale before pocketing her tip and heading back to the kitchen. Sissy was sure to make the rest of her shift a living hell, but Malcolm’s tip put her closer to her goal. She didn’t feel like she earned it, but it would seem her luck was pointing toward good today.

∞∞∞

Courtlyn slapped at the mosquito attempting to suck the blood from her leg. She glared at the small candle burning on the wicker table she kept on her landing next to the secondhand rocker she found at a yard sale.

“Citronella, my ass,” she mumbled, blowing out the flame.

Instead of keeping the bugs away, the candle seemed to attract them. Either that, or Courtlyn tasted so sweet to the mosquitoes they braved the offending odor coming from the candle. She never noticed mosquitoes populating her yard until she sat outside to enjoy a peaceful morning or evening.

The landing was barely large enough for the table and chair she kept there, but she made it work so she could relax out in the fresh air. Whenever she wasn't outside, she just moved them as far to one side as they would go to open up the space.

She sipped the water she also had on the table. The berry infused liquid was cool as it slid down her throat. A faint breeze danced over her skin, drying beads of sweat brought on by the summer heat. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a loose, messy bun, so the heavy strands wouldn’t trap the heat at the back of her neck.

It was a bit too hot for her to be outside, but she enjoyed the peace of her neighborhood too much to let the high temperature drive her inside.

“Hey.”

Courtlyn jerked to her feet, the sudden move turning her chair over on its side with a resounding thud. Her heart leapt into her throat and pounded in her ears as she spotted the large figure standing in the shadows by the front steps.

He moved forward, and she frantically searched around her for something — anything — that could be used as a weapon.

“I’m sorry I scared you. I thought you saw me. I’m your neighbor. You know, the one in the house behind you.”

Sexy Neighbor. The words almost slipped from her lips, but she swallowed them down. He hobbled closer to the front steps, where the light from the streetlamp illuminated him enough to confirm he was there, in her yard, speaking to her.

“What are you doing here?”

Her eyes drank in the sight of him. He held something in his hand that she finally determined was a cane. His hair fell to his shoulders. His shoulders were broad, his T-shirt outlining his muscled chest and arms.Holy smoke show, he was wearing shorts that showed off his thick thighs and toned calves.

Her hands immediately went to tug down the frayed hem of her denim shorts where they’d ridden up to show her fleshy thighs. Her T-shirt was stained from the many times she wore it cooking and didn’t bother to pretreat the spills and spatters that landed on the fabric. Her big feet were bare, her sweaty face was makeup free, and she was pretty sure her deodorant had worn off after a few minutes of sitting in the heat.

He smirked at her rude question, but he continued as if she had just given him the warmest greeting and offered him a beer as they talked.

“I was outside, stretching my legs, and I heard you outside. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I have a question for you. Two questions, actually.”

Her gaze fell to his cane, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish. “Oh, um, no, it’s fine. Let me help you up here, and we can sit…”

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