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“Welcome to Sleighville! We’re so happy to have you here. I’m Mindy. You must be Eve. We spoke on the phone.”
She forced herself to put on a smile she didn’t feel and stepped forward, shaking Mindy’s hand. The woman gave her no choice as she kept it in the air waiting for her to move closer.
“Nice to meet you.” She knew that came out strained and berated herself for not sounding more pleasant. “It’s a lovely house.”
It was, only it wasn’t something she would’ve picked if she had a choice. Too close to Christmas cheer in her opinion. Why did it have to be shaped like a gingerbread house?
“Isn’t it though!” Mindy clapped her hands, beaming with pride at the obnoxious building. “You’ll love it.” Her eyes glided to her car. “Do you have a moving truck coming later? I can have my brother Mark come and help you unpack. He’s great about helping me with so much.”
“Oh no. This is it. I don’t like clutter.” That was as good an excuse as any.
“So, Eve.” Mindy headed up the walkway, waving her hand for her to follow. “Is that short for Evelyn? It’s such a pretty name. I went to school with an Evelyn. She moved to California to pursue an acting career. She hasn’t hit it big yet, but she’s still working the grind.”
According to her new license, social security card, and one credit card she applied for, her full name was simply Eve Johnson. In reality, her real name was Evelyn Carrington. She’d changed her last name to something so common it would make it impossible to find her. She worried about messing up a new first name, so decided to stick with her name but shortened. He never liked it when people called her Eve either. Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn was all he ever tolerated, and for that reason alone, she hated her first name. Hopefully, the new ID she purchased from a very sketchy man in a dark alley a week ago held up. Her hands shook the entire time, and she knew the guy saw it when she handed over the money. But whatever. It was done, she had a new identity and there was no going back.
“No, it’s just Eve.”
Mindy tilted her head as if waiting for her to continue, make a comment about the other Evelyn who moved to California. What was she supposed to say to that?
“Wonderful. Eve is such a pretty name too.”
Then they were off. Mindy opened the door and handed her the key, then gave her a quick tour of the house. There wasn’t much to see. A small living room to the left with the dining room and kitchen to the right. If one could call it a dining room. More like a nook. Just off the kitchen down a tiny hallway was the bathroom and one bedroom. It was all absolutely perfect. It fit her so well. She didn’t need much. A place to sleep and feel safe.
She managed to get Mindy to leave thirty minutes later, which was saying something. The woman loved to talk. About anything and everything.
All she wanted to do was lay her head down for a moment and rest. Of course, she couldn’t do that with nothing in the house. She didn’t even have a bed!
But she had a pillow and blankets she purchased and that would have to do until she bought some furniture. While she had money for this adventure, she had to watch how she spent it. At least until she found a job somewhere.
Time to unpack her meager belongings. She opened the door and ran right into a solid wall. Except this wall had hands and grabbed her around the arms. She tensed, waiting for the blow. For the force of the fist or the jolt of the shove that would send her tumbling to the ground. She couldn’t even open her eyes to see how much she was a failure. All that trouble to escape only to land right back into his hands. She knew she wasn’t smart enough to get away. He told her all the time how pathetic she was. She’d proven him right.
Griffin sensed her fear immediately.It wasn’t hard to decipher with the way her eyes slammed shut and her shoulders cowered inward.
He made sure she was steady on her feet before letting her go and stepping off the lone step and to the pathway.
“I am so sorry. I was about to knock when you opened the door. Are you okay?”
The woman’s eyes popped open in surprise as if she had expected someone else. The fear ebbed away.
“Oh, yes. I’m the one who’s sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
He grinned. “I’m glad I didn’t knock you down. Not the best way to welcome you to town.”
“Are you part of some welcoming committee?”
The horror in her eyes at the prospect made him want to laugh. He figured that wouldn’t go over well, and he was already on shaky ground with the near knocking her over incident.
“No,” he said with a short chuckle because he couldn’t resist. “We’re neighbors.” He pointed to the house on the right. It was hard to see the entire thing as her house was set back farther than his. Add in the trees, it hid the house very well. “I saw the car in the driveway and thought I’d say hi. Welcome you to Sleighville. If you need help moving your stuff, I’d be happy to help.”
Her eyes darted to her car which was filled to the brim. Then she bit her bottom lip as if she were unsure if she should accept his friendly invitation. And that’s all he was being—friendly. A neighborly gesture.
“Oh, geez. I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Griffin Stuart. I swear I’m harmless.” He reached forward to shake her hand.
Her eyes bulged when she saw the firearm holstered on his hip, hiding under the loose jacket he had on. Spring had sprung and May was here, but it didn’t mean the weather was totally pleasant yet. When he was off duty, he didn’t like his weapon displayed for all to see either. But he didn’t go anywhere without his service weapon.
He dropped his arm when she didn’t return the handshake.
“I should also add I’m the chief of police of Sleighville. Hence, the weapon.” He widened his smile to hopefully ease the worry in her eyes.
