I glanced at the double doors that led out to the ocean-front deck, but the latch was clearly locked.Itwasn’t the type of door she could have locked behind her on the way out.
“Aurora?”Icalled out. “Youhome?”
No answer.
I poked around, glancing in the adjacent rooms, but she was nowhere to be found.
“Aurora,”Isaid again asIyanked open the last bedroom door.Myfoot hit something as soon asIstepped inside.
A feminine scream scared the shit out of me.
I looked down and foundAurorawrapped up in a sleeping bag on the floor.Hereyes were wide and filled with terror as she let out an ear-piercing shriek.
“Shit—sorry?—”
“What the fuck are you doing in my house?!” she shouted as she tugged the sleeping bag up to her neck.
I glanced at my watch. “It’salmost noon.Whyare you sleeping?”
“I was up late, you breaking-and-entering-buffoon!Sleepingin is not a crime!”
She may have had a point . . .
“Stop breaking into my house!”
I took a wide step back. “Pointtaken.Iwas making good on the promise to work on the steps.”
She sat up and ran a hand through her nest of bedhead.Thesleeping bag pooled at her waist, giving me a peek at freckled shoulders daintily dotted with paper thin tank top straps.Theyheld up the two most perfect breastsI’dever seen.Hersleeve of tattoos was on full display, a badass blend of flowers and wildlife.
“I told youIdon’t need your help,” she growled.
This stubborn little . . .
“So, tell me.Howdoyouplan on fixing the stairs?”
Aurora scoffed. “I’llfigure it out.”
“Yeah.That’swhatI’mafraid of,”Isaid asIturned and headed for the deck.
“What are you doing?”Aurorashrieked as she bolted out of the room and came to a skidding halt in front of me.
“I’m going to fix the stairs so you don’t break your pretty neck doing a gymnastics vault off of the hood of your car to get up and down.”
She planted a splayed hand on my chest, stopping me in my tracks. “Why?”
“BecauseI’myour neighbor?”
Her eyes narrowed. “That’snot a good enough reason.”
“What?Youdidn’t have neighborly kindness inColorado?”
“TedBundywas someone’s neighbor.Neighborlinessdoesn’t mean jack shit.”
She may have had the slightest of points, which led me to question whyIwas so hell-bent on helping her.
Sure,Iwas concerned for her physical well-being, but it didn’t stop there.Icould admit that much.
Something about the way her mouth was constantly set in a frustrated line tugged at me.Shealways stared with an intensity that couldn’t be explained by anything other than that she was at war in her own mind.
