Amanda gave in and opened the door with a glass of iced tea in hand when he was almost done. It was late afternoon, and Dunc was sweating heavily by then. He had turned red in the face the moment he looked up. He was already red from the heat, but the added blush was noticeable. She took the tea to him and stood there holding it out to him.
“That wasn’t me.” Dunc had mumbled. “Doctors said I had been dosed with GHB before I came home. I don’t remember much of that night. Mom told me I broke your railing.”
“You didn’t have to do this.” Amanda wasn’t sure if she believed him or not, but he had gone over and above what he should have.
“I did. We’re neighbors. I didn’t want you to think badly about me.” Dunc took the glass appreciatively. “Thank you.” He didn’t say anything further. He finished his repairs and left.
Then he avoided Amanda for over a month.
***
Life returned to normal. They said hi and exchanged a few words of idle chit-chat about the weather or local news. Only now, Amanda was the one avoiding him. The whole incident soured her on getting to know him any better. She still went over to tea with his mother, but Dunc was off-limits.
That was an awful thing. The man seemed to have a fiery intensity hidden behind his soft eyes. She could watch him working outside for hours. It didn’t matter if his shirt was on or not; he was lovely to watch. His wavy black hair was almost always in a state of disarray. On occasion, she glimpsed those brilliant blue eyes. His slender face seemed more expressive than most men’s. His cheekbones were high and sharply angled, and the guy never seemed to smile. He frowned. He scowled. He could look intensely thoughtful. She had seen him smirk once.
Amanda had spoken with him enough times to have seen that he had some serious dental issues. Dunc had likely had them his entire life. He didn’t smile if it meant showing his teeth. The lingering effects of bullying at a young age, Amanda suspected. He was painfully self-conscious, after all, yet so handsome.
“Okay, you two, you can’t just spend the morning watching the neighbor.” Amanda continued to gaze out the window as she spoke, “You promised me you’d take care of me this year. You need to go shopping so you can make lunch and dinner… and breakfast tomorrow… and lunch and dinner.” She turned and smiled at Dew and Sallie, who were giving her dirty looks.
“Are you going to spend the whole morning salivating over your strange neighbor?” Sallie’s face broke out in a mischievous grin.
“Absolutely not!” Amanda was staring out the window. She glanced back quickly at Sallie and Dew. “I have work to do. I just wanted to see the sun rising.”
“Out the western side of the house?” Dew chuckled.
“Reflection,” Amanda smirked. She pulled herself away from the window. “Let me get my debit card. Remember, food only, no games!” Amanda set her coffee aside and rushed to get her sister and brother-in-law out of the house. The sooner they were gone, the sooner she could spend the morning watching her crazy hot neighbor. Watching was okay. She could watch him all she wanted.
***
Duncan McCormick was completely unaware anyone was watching him. He was fully involved in laying out the structures he intended to build for this year’s Halloween display. All the lumber that would be needed had been delivered. He had spent months going over every detail he wanted to put into this year’s decorations. He designed and attempted to build a bigger and better setup every year. He turned his entire front yard into a play area for the neighborhood kids in October. This year he was creating a western ghost town complete with a scary graveyard.
Dunc had a policy of not putting up decorations for a holiday until they reached the month they were actually in. Halloween did not begin until October 1st. Thanksgiving was November 1st, and Christmas was December 1st. He decorated for each one of them, something that he hoped wouldn’t bother his next-door neighbor. There were going to be kids all over his yard for most of the month. He hoped she would be understanding.
Today was preparation day. He was laying out the materials and making measurements to make work easier tomorrow. He had invited his friends to help. There would be a huge party tomorrow evening with a barbecue going on all day while they worked. Everyone would have a good time, but most importantly, the kids were going to have a blast when it was done. He had all the proper permits and had filed his plans months ago. He even had an inspector scheduled to drop by several times to make sure everything would be safe. By now, he knew how to make a safe display, but he was a stickler for rules and following them without incident. He didn’t want to make any errors that would delay the fun even a day.
“So, what are you doing?” Dunc looked up to see a very bouncy blond-headed girl coming at him. He backpedaled to make sure she wasn’t going to tackle him.
“Huh?” Dunc gave her and the short, stocky guy behind her a blank look. He didn’t know them. Who were these strangers? He was supposed to know everyone in the neighborhood.
“Hi, I’m Sallie!’ Sallie held out her hand. “I’m your neighbor Amanda’s little sister, and this is my husband, Dew. We got married a couple of weeks ago, and we’re living with Amanda to save money for a house.”
Dunc looked from Sallie to Dew, who was also smiling at him. Newlyweds. Lovely. Dunc swallowed and forced a
