“Don’t flatter yourself,” he says without heat. Then his eyes rake over me in what feels like an undressing. His good humor fades. “I need to get this alarm set up.” He bends down and starts removing equipment from the box.
Yep, hot and cold—oh well. I go to the kitchen and put the ribs in the oven. “Want anything to drink?” I ask. “I picked up a couple of Irish stouts.”
“You did?”
“I remembered.”
“I’ll save it until after I’m done.”
“K. I’m going to deliver these fobs.”
He nods and moves out of my way. “Remember what I said about Freddy and the mother.”
“Yes.”Jeez.
First, I drop one off to my pilot tenant on the third level, who happens to be home for the weekend, then to the wife of the couple in 2B, and lastly to Miss Carol. Of course, she can’t resist telling me what a bad decision I’ve made. While I still think Stiles is wrong about her and Freddy, she does need to stop meddling.
“It’s my property to protect as I see fit,” I say with as much politeness as I can muster. “I hope you can respect that. But if you can’t, you are free to find another place.”
Tears spring to her eyes. I know they’re probably more for effect because she’s that extra, but I still feel bad. Returning to my apartment, I fill in Stiles.
“You did the right thing,” he says.
“I know. It’s just the look on her face…like I really hurt her.”
“She’s your tenant, not your friend.”
“You’re right. I guess living with your tenants can breed familiarity, although Miss Carol takes it to a whole new level.”
“Why did you do it?” he asks, mounting a white panel near the door.
“I was tired of renting an overpriced condo in the city. I liked Brockville. Lexie was already living here, much to her parents’ disappointment. Not upscale enough for them, but I thought it was so pretty, almost like a small town. When this house went up for sale, I saw an opportunity to move and earn an income.”
“Very enterprising.”
“My parents taught us—my brother, Jared, and me—the importance of financial management. We were lucky that our maternal grandparents set up a trust fund for us to access at twenty-five. I used that for a down payment and renovations. The rentals give me enough income for the mortgage and some extra for other investments I’m planning, like eventually starting my own firm.”
“Smart.”
“Do you own or rent?”
“I own, but I’m renting out my place at the moment since I’m living with my grandfather. He has advanced arthritis and needs some help. Not that he’s all that good at taking it.”
Okay, I wasn’t expecting that. These nuances to Stiles make him all the more human. “You two must be close.”
“Yep. Pops has always been there for me.”
Pops—I like that. “My grandparents on my mom’s side are gone. And the ones on my dad’s are still in Ireland. I love visiting them.”
He takes out his drill to start on the peephole.
“I guess you better break it to me now…how much is all of this going to cost?”
“Just the monthly monitoring on the alarm. I sub-contract that to a service. But I already had the equipment in stock, and the rest is labor.”
“You’re doing this for free?”
“It’s no big deal,” he shrugs. “Mr. and Ms. Peters are VIP clients, and you’re important to them.”
