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“Years of practice.”
I was about to remind her of our deal and show her the way to the coffee vending machine, when Neil, theactualguy responsible for resurfacing the ice, yelled from the side. “Morning, Cassidy!”
I waved. “Morning, Neil!”
I looked over at Evie. Her brows were pinched together. “I thought you said your name was Fox.”
“It is. Cassidy is my last name.”
“Fox…Cassidy? Like the hockey player?”
I grinned. “Exactlylike him.”
CHAPTER 9
Great Views
Josie
I could get used to this…
Shades of orange and purple reflected off the lake as the sun dipped toward the trees. As I watched from a lounge chair on the back deck, the serenity of the setting seemed to seep into my pores, helping my breaths grow slower and deeper.
Today had been one long day. But I’d gotten more done in the last twelve hours than in the last three months. The dumpster was full. The kitchen was finally free of newspapers. The living room had sheetrock and spackle, and three quarters of the magazines were gone from the second floor. Much of the work had been done compliments of my confusing neighbor, at least until he’d found a card from his dead fiancée’s family and hightailed it out of here as fast as he could. It was a strange coincidence—a handful of cards fall from a box, and he happened to pick upthatone? Then again, I suppose it would be a much stranger coincidence in a city like New York with eight-million people. In a town as small as Laurel Lake, the odds weren’t all that astronomical.
More importantly, I’d just talked to Nilda, who was back home after a fall when her back spasmed. Thankfully, she was okay. I finished the last of the spiked lemonade in my glass, took in the beauty of the sky once more, and closed my eyes. After a few minutes I started to drift off, but footsteps in the distance snapped me alert. My eyes opened to find Fox standing on the end of his dock. He stared out at the lake, and I couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about his dead fiancée. A few minutes passed, and I started to feel like an intruder, like these moments were supposed to be private, between him and the lake. So I got up quietly, attempting to slink into the house without him knowing I saw him. But three steps toward the door, the plank of wood underneath my foot gave way.
“Shit!” I screamed as I went down.
“Josie?” Fox’s deep voice yelled. “Are you okay?”
So much for my slinking ability. I clutched my aching ankle and tried not to sound injured. “I’m fine! Just lost my footing!”
But a few seconds later, Fox appeared on my deck. “What happened?”
I waved him off. “I fell. It’s no big deal.”
He crouched down next to me and touched my ankle. I winced.
“Hurts to the touch?”
“A little.”
“You have ice in the freezer?”
I shook my head. “I used it all to make my drink.”
His lip twitched. “Hang on. I’ll be right back.”
Fox disappeared into his house, returning a minute later with an ice pack and a towel. He set it on the lounge chair I’d been sitting in, then leaned over and pulled one of my arms over his shoulder. His other arm wrapped around my waist and hoisted me up.
“Don’t put any weight on it.”
“Okay.”
We hobbled over to the chair together. Fox guided me to sit, then crouched down and examined my foot.
“Does this hurt?” He pressed on the top.
