How to Love Your Neighbour(38)

Some things never changed. Tammy Travis was one of them. Passive-aggressive bullshit that ultimately laid all of the blame at Grace’s feet.

When Grace had been notified about her grandparents’ passing and the will, her mother hadn’t been mentioned at all. Grace was already in California at the time. She had no idea if her mother had been notified, but clearly she knew Grace had inherited the house.

The letter served its purpose; her priorities were back on track. School, graduate, job, and then she could think about a man. One who would complement her life, not confuse it.

“Enough,” she said, pushing back from the table. No dwelling. She had plans for today. She went out the back door, noticing that Noah had someone working on his palm trees. In her shed, which needed fixing, she grabbed some gloves and gardening tools. She was going to plant his apologies.

Going back through the house, grabbing a bottle of water on the way, she bit back a scream when she opened the door and came face-to-face with a stranger.

He was tall with dark hair, good bone structure, and a decent physique. Attractive. Grace immediately decided he didn’t have a serial-killer vibe, which was backed up by the fact that he didn’t bite back his scream.

Grace laughed. He pressed a hand to his chest.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Damn. That scared the hell out of me.”

“Same. Can I help you?”

“Do you know CPR?” He grinned, his dark eyes joining in.

“You’re still breathing so I think it’d be a bad idea.”

“Good point. Okay. Let’s try this again. Are you Grace?”

He might not be a killer but she was still standing in front of a strange man who was a foot taller than she was, alone.

“Who wants to know?”

“Me. I’m your housewarming gift.” He spread his arms wide. His thin jacket opened, revealing a pale gray T-shirt and, fortunately, no guns or shady weapons. Maybe a little conceited but still no killer vibe.

“Excuse me?”

“Just introduce yourself already before she knees you in the goodies. I taught her how, you know,” Morty said, coming up behind her “gift.”

Grace rolled her eyes. “You did not.” She looked at the guy. “But I do know how.”

He swallowed, looked back and forth between them, and stepped to the side. “I don’t doubt it.”

Morty ambled up the steps, slower than usual, making Grace worry. Of course, if she asked, he’d blow it off, so she’d just observe and see if his hip or foot was acting up.

He gestured to the guy with a thumb. “This is Shane. He’s my gift to you.”

Grace crossed her arms over her chest. “While that’s very kind of you, I was hoping for a puppy.” She smiled at Shane. “No offense.”

He laughed. It was a good laugh. Like his smile. “None taken. Puppies are definitely cuter but I have a few skills they don’t.”

Her forehead creased. Morty barked out a laugh. “Attaboy! Some things are worth bragging about.”

Shane’s cheeks went a pale shade of pink. “Not what I meant. Can we please have a complete restart?” He stepped forward. “I’m Shane Dade. John’s son. I’m in construction and renovation.” He pointed to his truck, which clearly read DADE FOR YOU. “Morty’s asked me to take care of your back porch, knocking out a wall, and any minor repairs that need to be done.”

Grace looked at Morty, her grin widening. He waved his hand at her. “Don’t make a big deal out of it. I plan on being over here and don’t want to fall through that death trap back porch.”

“Uh-huh. How very self-serving of you.”

He nodded, smiling at her. “That’s right. A man’s gotta do what’s best for himself.”

She stepped forward, despite his look of worry, and wrapped her arms around him. “I won’t try to talk you out of it since you won’t listen, so instead, I’ll just say thank you.”

He patted her back. “Good girl. Thank me properly by making me some coffee now while Shane unloads his truck and regains his composure.”

“Hey. I’m composed.”

Morty shook his head. “Kids these days have no game. Telling her you’re her gift. Sheesh.”

Grace put a hand to her mouth to cover a laugh. Morty’s tone was so disappointed that even Shane laughed.

“I’ll try to do better, Morty.”

“Don’t want to end up alone, you’ll need to.”

Before Grace could head indoors, Morty stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Glad you aren’t being too stubborn to agree.”

She smiled, her heart full of love. “I’m growing as a person.”

While Morty chatted Shane’s ear off as he worked, Grace dug holes along the fence that separated her yard from Noah’s. It seemed like a good place to plant the flowers, which would bloom gorgeously. She measured the space between each hole, taking her time because she wanted to enjoy the project. It might have been overkill as far as apologies went, but she never would have spent this much money on flowers.

Between that and Morty footing the bill for the deck repair and the wall removal, she was nearly giddy with ideas. When she’d played around with designs this morning, she’d had the wall dividing the kitchen and living room in place because she thought it’d be a long time before she could make that change.