Page 11 of Sheltered By Love

Having him next door was bad enough.

Now he’s going to be able to have access to my home.

I can’t even leave the kitchen in case he looks in the pantry, so I have to wait while he installs a panel.

I wait at the table pretending to read a book I got from the library and cross my fingers that he’ll work fast.

When minutes turn into an hour, and he’s still not done, I clear my throat and try my best not to look at the pantry.

“Do you think you’ll be much longer? I have an order that needs to go out.”

He stops what he’s doing and looks down at me. “What kind of an order?”

I hold out my arm and jangle the bracelet on my wrist. “I make jewelry.”

I never intended to start selling hand-crafted jewelry, but Nicki talked me into it.

It combined my love of drawing and my love of creating tangible things that are pretty.

His eyebrow lifts. “And that’s how you pay the rent?”

It’s an incredibly rude question, but I’m beginning to get used to his lack of manners. “Yes. It is.”

He goes back to fiddling with the wires. “How do you sell them?”

“Nicki runs a website and sells online for me.”

He nods. “So you don’t have to deal with the technical things?”

I stare at his broad shoulders as he works. “Yes.”

He doesn’t say anything for some time, for so long I think the conversation is over with.

He surprises me by climbing down the step ladder and hitching his thumbs in his tool belt as he looks at me. “What materials do you use?”

Thinking he’s genuinely interested, I smile. “Silver, mostly. But I also work with gold and platinum.”

His back stiffens. “And you keep everything in the house?”

I screw my nose up, wondering why he looks concerned. “Where else would I keep it?”

His fingers tap on the top of a screwdriver. “Do you have a business card you hand out?”

I’m still a little puzzled about his interest but I get up and rummage in the top drawer until I produce one.

He stares at it, brow furrowed as he looks it over. “I’ll go finish up at the front of the house, then get started on the sensors. I’ll give you a shout when I’m finished.”

He stalks out of my kitchen, taking my business card, and faux alarm with him.

I stare after him, listening to him as he sets up at the front of the house. More puzzling than his interest in my jewelry is why he wanted a card.

It doesn’t contain any information he doesn’t already have.

Rather than dwell on it, I steal my opportunity to open the pantry, grab the pet carrier, sneak out the back door, and pray Zane doesn’t think to look behind the shed any time soon.

Zane

I wait till I hear her walk up the stairs before I pull my cell phone out of my pocket.

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