This was home now. Quiet. Isolated. Safe.
He climbed out of the truck and grabbed his toolbox from the bed just as the front door of the cabin next to his opened.
Dan Jones stepped out onto his porch, arms crossed, a sly look on his face.
David smiled despite himself. Dan’s cabin sat a good distance from his own, far enough that they weren’t on top of each other but close enough that they kept an eye out. Dan was tall and broad, with a broody expression that suggested ex-military without ever saying it outright.
“How was St. Augustine?” Dan called across the space between their houses. “Anything interesting happen?”
David set his toolbox on the porch steps. “The job went fine. Margaret’s pipes are holding for now.”
Dan’s grin widened. “That’s not what I meant.”
David sighed. “Are you hacking into street cameras again to spy on me?”
“Nope,” Dan said, shaking his head.
The door behind Dan opened, and his wife, Milly, stepped out with two beers in her hand. She crossed the porch and handed one to Dan before walking over to David with the second.
“Margaret told me about the stunning woman you ran over in the street,” Milly admitted, her eyes dancing with amusement. “She said you were all doe-eyed staring out at her when you came into the shop.”
David took the beer and shook his head. “Good grief. I’m moving back to China. At least there, everyone minds their own business.”
“I thought you hated it there,” Dan pointed out.
“And there are a LOT of cameras there,” Milly added with a laugh.
David opened the beer and took a long drink, knowing he wasn’t going to win this one. “Everyone is always watching.”
“So,” Dan said, settling onto David’s porch railing. “Who is she?”
“A tourist,” David told them.
Loud barking erupted from behind Dan’s cabin, and David turned just in time to see Chaos hurtling toward him, all legs and muscle and unbridled enthusiasm.
“Hey, boy,” David said, bracing himself as the eleven-month-old Belgian Malinois launched himself at his chest.
The dog’s paws hit David’s shoulders, and he staggered back a step, laughing as his dog, Chaos, slathered his face with kisses.
“Have you been good for Milly today?” David asked, scratching behind the dog’s ears.
“Aw,” Milly said, reaching over to scratch Chaos’s head. “He’s the best, and his training is really coming along.”
“I can’t thank you enough for training him, Milly,” David said, meaning every word. “It makes a huge difference.”
Chaos had been a handful when David first got him. Smart, eager, but completely untrained. Milly had offered to work with him, and the transformation had been remarkable. The dog still had his moments of puppyish chaos, but he was learning fast.
“We like to know we have at least one highly trained dog between us out here,” Dan said, taking a sip of his beer. “After all, we do live in the back of beyond on the outskirts of town.”
“I think his sister was adopted by the Christmas family that owns the Christmas Inn,” David said, watching as Chaos finally dropped to all fours and started sniffing around the porch. “The detective who took her gave her to Jack Christmas.”
“Oh no,” Milly said, her brow furrowing. “I would’ve taken her.”
“We’ll get you another one,” Dan promised, leaning over to kiss her hair.
They stood there for a while, drinking their beers and watching the late afternoon light filter through the trees. This was what David liked about Dan and Milly. They didn’t need to fill every silence with words. They just existed together, comfortable and easy.
“Hey,” Dan said after a while. “I’ve been contracted to do some work on Anastasia Island over the next two weeks. You interested in helping with the plumbing?”
