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“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh at you, but Kozmo is my dog. He got away from me, and I was trying to grab him. I hollered, but neither of you heard me over your wood chopping.”
He grimaces. “That’s your dog?” he asks with such distaste in his mouth, I furrow my brows in defense. “So you’re the new neighbor.”
“Yeah, I just moved in.”
“I know.” He brushes the snow off his jacket. “He’s been wandering in my yard for the past three days.”
“Oh,” I say, shocked. “I hadn’t realized. He’s just exploring the new territory.”
He grunts, grabbing his ax off the tree stump. “Think you can manage to keep your damn animal on your own property? I don’t care for dog shit in my yard, and I definitely don’t like picking it up.” His voice is deep and demanding, and if he wasn’t scolding me, I’d be tempted to say sexy.
“And how do you suggest I do that without a privacy fence?” I cross my arms now, guarded and annoyed he’s being so rude. “I’ll come pick up after him if it’s that big of a deal.”
He grunts again, which isn’t the answer I was hoping for.
“It’s not like we aren’t in the mountains or anything, where wild animals shit everywhere,” I say under my breath.
“I have some chains if you want to leash them up,” he offers but not in that nice neighborly kind of way.
“That’s dangerous with all the surrounding trees in my yard,” I tell him. “But I’ll try harder at keeping an eye on them.” It’s the only thing I can offer at the moment until spring, and at that point, I can put a fence up. “C’mon, Kozmo. Let’s go home.” I grab his collar and drag him with me.
“There’s animal traps on my property,” he calls out, and I look over my shoulder at him. “So it’d be in your best interest to keep them close to home from now on.” His voice is filled with a sugary sweetness I don’t trust.
“Thanks for the heads-up.” I roll my eyes.
“Anytime, neighbor.”
“Asshole,” I mutter to myself, though I’m pretty sure he overheard me when I hear him chuckling behind me.
Well, that’s one thing I hadn’t anticipated on when moving to the mountains—a sexy as fuck neighbor who coincidentally is an arrogant jerk.
Great.
2
LUKE
I carry another armful of logs toward my woodshed and start stacking them up. Winter has already come, especially being this high in the mountains. The air is crisp enough you can feel it as you inhale—that chill that seeps right to your very marrow. But this is the life I’ve chosen to lead, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
All year I prepare for the brutal winters, making sure I have gas for the generators, propane for the heat, and plenty of firewood as a fail-safe. After inheriting this property a decade ago, I built my cabin with the help of a team to design it just how I wanted it, and I’ve spent these years enjoying the peace and quiet. A solitary life. Even the one neighbor within earshot had been an older woman who kept to herself. And that suited me just fine.
But looks like that’s changed with the new resident.
I grit my teeth as I stack the last log and head over to the chopping block to collect more. Just thinking about Kylie and her damn dogs has my blood boiling. I can tell she’s not the type of person used to this kind of living. Or maybe I’m just so out of touch with people. Either way, I don’t like it. I’ve only actually seen her one time, and that was enough to know she had a mouth on her and was stubborn as fuck.
Her dog, on the other hand, is another story. I saw him daily as he came barreling onto my property like he owned the damn place. I growl low at the thought of him invading my space.
And just the thought of her infuriates me…and unwillingly turns me on.
Once I finish stacking the wood, I head inside and down a glass of water. I’m sweating despite the chilly weather outside, but that’s not going to stop me from getting a caffeine kick. I grab a mug and pour myself a cup of scalding hot coffee—my heart racing at the thought of the black gold about to hit my system. The sound of a dog barking has me exhaling in irritation. Coffee in hand, I head outside.
I lean against the deck railing and stare off at my neighbor’s place. Since I’m on higher ground than her, it gives me the perfect view. Since our last interaction, just two short days ago, her dog has been in my yard, using it like it’s his damn toilet. I had to chase the mangy mutt away from my trash cans, knowing he would have no doubt gotten into them and scattered garbage all across my property.
I hadn’t been kidding when I warned her about the animal traps. Being surrounded by trees means we get all kinds of predators coming around at night. Raccoons, foxes, wolves, and even bears are no stranger to these parts. As much as her dog is pissing me the hell off by shitting on my property, I don’t want to see it get trapped and hurt because she didn’t heed my warning.
I consider myself a patient man, but I moved out to the mountains to get away from people and anything that would stress me out. And her nosy dog is stressing me the fuck out.
Bringing my mug up, I take a sip of the coffee. My whole body straightens when I see Kylie come out of her front door. She’s wearing skin tight pants with a crazy ass pattern scattered across them. And her shirt, this neon yellow with bright pink flowers all over it is enough to give me a headache. Hell, even her slippers have this bright white fur lining the edges.
