Poppy’s elation at seeing her aunt does nothing to quiet the alarms blaring in my head. Especially when I see another woman pull a large pet carrier out of the back seat of her beat-up sedan and laugh as she turns to eye my vehicle.
It could be my imagination, but I think she’s just gone even paler than she usually is as that flash of a grin melts off her face.
The girls are clamoring to get out of their car seats. Lily unfastens her buckles and moves to help Pops, who’s struggling and groaning against the restraints keeping her from her beloved aunt.
My sister is standing with hands on hips and chin high, channeling her best Superman pose, when I round the vehicle.
“What is this?”
But before she can answer, her focus shifts lower and she drops into a crouch to gather the girls into her arms. “How are you? I missed you! I haven’t seen you in like three days! Did you grow?”
They chatter back and forth for less than a minute before I lose my patience. “May. What is this? Why is she here?”
Shehas disappeared into the garage apartment with whatever horror was inside the carrier. It’s best she’s out of sight because I don’t need the distraction of her long, dark hair and dark eyes and general… whatever it is about her that niggles me. I’m not in the mood.
May squeezes the girls tight while she explains. “I promised I’d find you a tenant, and I did. In record time, might I add.” She releases them and straightens. “You’re welcome.”
I spent a decent amount of time in my military career being observant, and I’ve honed my observational skills all the more in the last few years with law enforcement. It’s obvious the woman is moving in, and it’s also easy to see she can’t possibly be the tenant.
“No.”
“What do you mean?”
May’s giving me a look like she thinks I’m insane, and that’s great. She can think whatever she wants. It doesn’t matter.
“She can’t live here. I don’t know her. There’s no wayyouknow her. I can’t have a stranger living next door to me.”
“Wait, this ishishouse? I thought you said it was your parents’ property.”
My head snaps to see her standing there, arms wrapped around herself.
It’s at once defensive and defeated and the suspicion in me settles a touch at the sight of her posture. In fact, something lurches in my gut when I realize she won’t meet my gaze.
May’s regretful groan and grimace draw my attention back to her.
“Well, it kind of is. They own the surrounding land and then my brother has this piece of property. Sotechnicallyit’s his house, his garage, and his apartment, but like, you don’t need to worry. He’s a sheriff, he used to be in the Army, he’s a great dad, and he’s?—”
“Shedoesn’t need to worry?” How does May not see the danger here? “I’m not?—”
Wait. Why am I trying to have this argument in front of said stranger? “Excuse us for a moment. Girls, run inside and put up your stuff, okay?”
Lily and Poppy eye the woman, then May, then me, then finally skip and stumble inside. I take a few steps away and wait for May to join me.
“Um, hi. Perfectly nice woman, needs a win, and you’re acting like she’s a wanted criminal because…?”
I remember when May was curlicue pigtails and singing with a ukelele. I remember when she was sick in a hospital bed five times too large so she looked even smaller than she was. I remember this girl like a kid but she’s giving me such a stare of female disappointment, I shrink a touch.
“I don’t know her. You don’t know her. I have small children, and she may seem harmless, but the fact is, we don’t know. I acknowledge your experience has been?—”
“If you’re about to say I’m sheltered because I’ve never left Juniper View, then you can take your altruistic ass and?—”
“Sorry to interrupt, but could I say something?”
Her voice penetrates the cloud of frustration floating over me and May, and we both turn toward her.
“I’m so sorry about this, Sam. I had no idea he’d be such a jerk. He’s got some control issues.” May makes a face, but she must see the woman—Sam, apparently—blanch at her words, because she adds, “Not in a scary way. Just in the sense that he’s not happy I found a tenant even though I told him I would and he agreed that would be good.”
Sam swallows. “I’m sorry this is such a surprise. I’d like to make clear I had no idea this was your house or even that May is your sister.”
