Over The Fence
A Paranormal Romance Story
Written by:
Valerie Sicknick
Copyright © 2021 Valerie Sicknick. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 1
“Y
our neighbor is insane, Amanda!” Dew and Sallie sat perched up over the back of the living room couch, peeking through the blinds to watch what was going on next door. A group of workers had already delivered several piles of 2 x 4s and sheets of plywood earlier that morning. The commotion was quite the spectacle.
The house on the corner had the biggest lot on the street. Amanda’s house had the second biggest. Both places were modest, neat, nearly identical, cookie-cutter homes familiar to anyone who has spent five minutes in suburbia. Bulky piles of lumber stuck out like a sore thumb, especially when it looked like enough to cover the entire lot. What did her neighbor need with so much wood? What project was he planning on this time?
“So he’s building something. So what?” Amanda leaned over the couch, trying to see through the partially open blinds. She spotted her tall thin neighbor walking around the front yard. He was holding a roll of string, a hammer, and a bag full of wooden stakes. Every few feet, he would hammer a stake into the ground and wind string around it, marking off areas of the yard. “He’s well prepared for a vampire attack.” Amanda giggled as she took the first sip of her morning coffee.
Then she shuffled over to the window next to the couch that offered a more unobstructed view. The blinds had an easy-to-use slider that opened or closed them immediately. Much better for spying on someone. Her neighbor was outside at the same time every day. She timed her morning coffee so she could sit in the living room and watch him. He usually worked on his immaculate flower beds and the one massive tree in the center of his yard. Dunc had a schedule, and he stuck firmly to it.
Yet it was unusual to see her quiet, reserved neighbor out in his front yard like this. Duncan McCormick was in black sweat pants, and that was it. He was barefoot and shirtless. Dunc was walking around his yard with far more enthusiasm than usual. Amanda smiled appreciatively. He was a thin man with wide shoulders, a broad chest, and a pleasant amount of muscular curves in all the right places. This was a rare morning treat.
Amanda stared through the blinds, glad that he couldn’t see them watching him. His wavy, shoulder-length black hair was a mess, and he had a good layer of stubble on his face. It was a good look on him.
Amanda had moved into her house in January. She had come by herself with a small truck of belongings. It had been raining when she arrived, and she didn’t even have a bed in her new house. It was a miserable time. She had waited for the rain to stop, but it didn’t seem like it was going to cooperate.
Then Duncan McCormick and his adorable mother knocked on her door. He had brought her a freshly baked pecan pie. Dunc’s mother had gushed about his skills in the kitchen in a way that sounded like she was trying to sell him to Amanda. Then Dunc and his mother noticed that the moving truck was outside, and she was standing in an empty living room. Dunc got the idea to use trash bags to cover her boxes and helped her carry everything in without getting them too wet. The only big furniture she had at the time was a full-sized mattress and frame. He had helped her set it up without a word spoken the entire time. He was so shy. She didn’t push because she found it all sweet. She was immediately attracted to him and his beautiful blue eyes.
Twice a month, like clockwork, Dunc’s mother invited Amanda to their home for tea. Amanda often had nothing else to do and would accept. It would turn into an hour-long social visit which was nice. Amanda missed her family, and Dunc’s mother was a very caring person. Their conversations did often end up centering on Dunc, but Amanda didn’t mind. The stories were cute. His mother thought he needed a good woman in his life. She would repeat that statement near the end of every visit. Amanda got the hint, but she wasn’t interested in a relationship with anyone, no matter how good he sounded.
Dunc was in the house every time she visited, but he never joined them. If he was interested in a relationship with anyone, he wasn’t working toward it. His mother appeared to want it more than he did. Dunc came across as a severe workaholic to Amanda. Every time she came over, he was in his studio, and his mother continually praised his work ethic.
Amanda had seen it herself on many occasions. His garage was full of woodworking tools. She had watched him build a massive pergola in his backyard with the help of friends in a single afternoon.
When that man had his mindset on something, it was going to get done. Dunc had a single-minded focus that Amanda envied. He had a flourishing garden in the backyard and took care of everything around his house. He was handy with tools.
Dunc wasn’t perfect. On several occasions, Amanda had been kept awake far later into the night than she liked due to insanely loud music coming from one of Dunc’s parties. After
