Page 11 of Everything Christmas

“No, Merry. I am the condo board president.”

“Wow. Mr. We Haul arrived at what? 6:02? But you felt compelled to write me up anyway. You had the power to cut me some slack on the association fees, too, but couldn’t find it inside you to do that, either. You’re really quite a jerk, aren’t you?”

“Just doing my job. I wouldn’t be if I turned a blind eye to violators. I don’t want to be accused of bending the rules for a neighbor, either. You’ll find I’m a stickler for the rules as you get to know me better.”

“I hope not.”

“You hope not what?”

“I hope I don’t get to know you better. What I know so far is plenty, thank you very

much. And to be perfectly frank, as a neighbor, you suck. Now, is that all?”

She knew she was being rude, but after spending $550 and having nothing to show for it, she wasn’t feeling very polite. Before he left, he delivered one final death blow to her dwindling bank account.

“By the way, that was brake fluid dripping from your car. They’re shot and it’s not safe to drive. I had to park it in your garage because you can’t leave it on the street. Do not attempt to drive it. I had to use the emergency brake to keep from going through the wall into your house. When you read your ticket, you’ll see I flagged your vehicle as unsafe. You’ll have to get it towed to the nearest garage and fixed before you take it on the road again.”

As tears gathered, her profits from an exhausting weekend going up in smoke in one fell swoop, she took a step back and, for the third time that day, slammed the door with a resounding thud.

***

AS HE WALKED AWAY,Reese cursed under his breath.

Seeing her struggling not to cry a second before the oak door shut in his face, he’d almost knocked and asked for the tickets back. The instinctual need to protect and rescue were compelling, but he’d tamped them down. Instead, he’d acted like an ass to keep her at arm’s length and to stop her from looking at him like she wanted to jump his bones. It was better for his sanity and his heart if she thought he was a jerk.

After the way he acted just now, that shouldn’t be a problem anymore.

Chapter Five

Perched on a hard,plastic chair in the customer waiting area of a dingy repair shop wasn’t exactly her idea of a good time. The scent of oil and burnt rubber permeated the air, mingling with the faint aroma of stale coffee from the nearby vending machine. Merry sighed, impatience making her check the time on her phone for the twentieth time in the past hour at least.

The holiday season was in full swing, and her to-do list seemed never-ending. Instead of tackling it head-on, she found herself stranded without transportation, forced to endure the agonizing wait for the mechanic’s repair estimate. She had a sinking feeling it was going to be bad. She could feel it in her bones, just as surely as the chill in the damp, dreary room.

“Ms. Noelle.”

Merry sprang from her chair like a jack-in-the-box and hurried toward the man in the doorway, engrossed in his clipboard. He wore a grease-smudged uniform of dark-blue pants and a shirt three shades lighter with “Johnny,” embroidered over his left pec. His fingers and nails were stained black, and Merry had to wonder if they ever came clean.

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