Haunted Renovation Mystery 1 - Flip That Haunted House by Rose Pressey Page B

event, I skipped Home
Depot—I was too shaken up. As I maneuvered up the driveway, I
noticed my mother pacing up and down the sidewalk. She held her
hand over her head in a feeble attempt at shielding her big
bouffant hairdo from the drizzling rain.
    “Snickers. Snickers. Snickers.” She
attempted to whisper, but her whisper was more of a shout.
    I knew why she was calling for Snickers. Her
dog, of course. But to the average sane person, it probably
appeared a crazy woman had escaped an insane asylum and was
requesting a Snickers candy bar.
    Nosy-neighbor was perched on his front steps
staring over at the circus show.
    “I got a Milky Way bar over here for
her.” He gave a wicked grin.
    I shot him a cross glare as I slammed my car
door shut. He chuckled while continuing to stare.

Chapter Eleven
    “Mama, for heaven’s sake, what are you
doing?” I asked.
    “Snickers ran away.” She frowned.
    “How long has he been out?”
    “Just a couple of minutes.” She fidgeted her
hands.
    “I’ll find the dog. You go in and try to
calm down.”
    She let out a deep sigh, mumbled under her
breath, then turned and dashed inside. The hinges on the door
groaned in protest when she slammed it shut.
    The rain picked up as I searched for
Snickers, trying to whisper his name so my neighbor wouldn’t hear.
My shoes squished in the wet grass. If I didn’t find that dog, Mama
would be impossible to deal with.
    “You lose something?” The male voice came
from over my shoulder. I spun around and came face to face with
sexy neighbor. He wore a faded blue t-shirt and jeans that fit in
all the right places.
    “This is Snickers?” He held out the poodle.
“Nice name.”
    “He’s not my dog.” My hands brushed against
his firm arms as I grabbed Snickers.
    I felt a tickle in the pit of my stomach as
he held my gaze. The dog squirmed in my arms. I moved back, then
turned and ran up the steps to escape the downpour—and Reed
O’Hara.
    “He was under the bushes,” he said.
    Snickers had been watching us from under the
hedge the entire time? If dogs could laugh, he’d be chuckling.
    “Don’t I get a thank you?” he asked.
    “Thank you.” I forced a smile. I wasn’t
exactly being Miss Manners. Maybe I needed to tone down my tough
girl act.
    He climbed up the steps. “I’m good with a
hammer.”
    “Excuse me?” I quirked a brow.
    He stood in front of me and rubbed Snickers’
head. Did he have to stand so close? His musky scent invaded my
space.
    “If you need help…I’m good with a hammer.”
He pointed toward the house.
    “Oh, what makes you think I can’t handle
things?” I gave a lopsided grin. “Just because I’m a woman means I
need help?”
    “I didn’t say that.” One corner of his mouth
lifted in a sexy grin.
    “You didn’t have to,” I smirked. ”My daddy
taught me things. So did my uncle.”
    “I’m just trying to be a nice neighbor.” He
held his hands up in surrender, then blew out a breath and leaned
back against the column. “Heck, I thought about buying this place.
But I figured it’s too much work…and I know what I’m doing.” He
looked me up and down. His words slipped out sexy with his southern
drawl.
    “I think I can handle this place,” I
said.
    “Your pretty pink nails look as if they’ve
never seen a hard days work.”
    “I can hire people to do the hard
stuff.”
    “So you haven’t worked hard?”
    “That’s not what I meant. I have worked very
hard before. Many times, in fact.”
    “What do you do?” He rested his arms in
front of his muscular chest.
    “As in career?”
    He nodded. “Yes.”
    “Currently?”
    He chuckled. “Yes, currently.”
    I cleared my throat. “Interior
decorator.”
    I averted my eyes from his gaze and waited
for the snide remark.
    “Yes, I can see how that’s hard labor,
tossing around fancy pillows and stuff.”
    “It can be tricky.” I frowned.
    “Whatever you say, princess.”
    “I am not a princess,” I called as he