Mr. H.O.A. by Carina Taylor (readera ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Another text popped up. It simply said, Bane Fox.

It was really rather sweet of him to be worried about my safety. But maybe he was that concerned with everyone. Maybe he didn’t even like me...then again, he made sure he had my number too. He could have just as easily told me his number without bothering to get mine.

"I know you don't know me, but I'd like you to call if you need anything. Staying in that building isn’t safe. If you change your mind about the Burnside apartment, just call me."

Maya ran up to me and latched onto my leg. "Who are you?" she asked Bane.

"His name's Bartholomew," I answered for him.

Bane narrowed his eyes at me, and I winked. Shaking his head, he squatted down and held out his hand. Maya reached out her hand and shook his. "My name's Maya."

"That's a pretty name. I saw you sliding down that tall slide. You're very brave."

Maya stood up a little straighter. "I'm not scared of anything."

Says the little girl who screamed bloody murder when she found a ladybug in the bathroom. I didn't say that though, because I didn't want to mess up her flirting game, and it was coming on strong. She planted a hand on one hip while she smiled and batted her eyelashes at Bane.

A door slammed, and the couple who had entered the house earlier walked down the path back to Bane's SUV.

"I've got to go, but I’ll see you later," Bane said as he stood up giving one last bright smile to Maya before turning to me. "Call me if you need me."

"Maybe."

He chuckled as he walked back to his car, and I couldn't help thinking what a nice chuckle it was.

"Do we have to go yet?" Maya asked, tugging on my hand.

"Not yet, sweetie. You have time to slide a few more times."

"Yay!" she yelled as she ran back to the slide.

I sat down on the park bench and pulled out my phone, setting an alarm for when we would need to leave to pick up the other kids from their auditions. Once it was set, I opened my messages and read the text from my brother.

Nate: On a scale of one to ten, how extra is a bow tie on a first date?

Me: 9.5

Nate: I thought it would be closer to a 6.

Me: Where are you going for a date?

Nate: Tapas bar.

Me: No tie. Casual. She nice?

Nate: Yeah...nice looking.

Me: Would I like her?

Nate: Nope!

And that summed up my relationship with my pesky little brother, who wasn't so little anymore. We were eleven months apart. I was older, but he'd always been taller. Mom swore he was born bigger than me, even though I was nearly one.

I wasn't overly close with my parents anymore. I wasn’t on speaking terms with my dad, and my mom was on a medical mission trip in parts unknown. Though I wasn’t in close contact with my parents at the moment, Nate and I kept in touch.

He worked in Portland and was only a short drive away when I felt like harassing him. During our growing-up years, we’d been inseparable. Even when we hit high school, we still spent a lot of time together. It was usually my best friend Riley, Nate, and I getting into trouble together. I’d always suspected that Nate had a little crush on Riley. He had been as worried about her as I was ever since she disappeared.

I texted Bane the address of the house. He didn’t reply, but it showed that he had read the text. Was I being pushy? Was that why he didn’t respond?

"Come swing with me!" Maya yelled, distracting me from thinking about Bane.

Swinging made me nauseous, but I couldn’t say no to that adorable little face. So for the next twenty minutes Maya and I had a swinging competition. By the end, I was ready for a seasickness patch.

My alarm went off, telling me it was time to pick up the kids from tryouts. If I wasn't careful, I would end up living in my minivan with all the driving I did.

CHAPTER FIVE

Homeowners Association Rule #49:

Overnight guests may not exceed three persons.

Maybe Nola was right. Maybe I should just stay in the vacant house. It’s not like it would be permanent. Maybe I could even just park my car in the driveway. That way, I’d have a safe place to sleep where Sterling wouldn’t catch me.

Living in a stranger’s house without permission—verbal or written—was a terrible idea. But I would simply park my car in front of the house. Nothing was wrong with that, was there?

Besides, Nola could vouch for me.

Two hours later, after touring a listing with a senior woman looking for a small cottage to buy, I made my way toward the Willow Loop neighborhood.

The neighborhood had the lowest turnover rate in town. The people who moved to Willow Loop stayed there until they died. Or something like that. It was a highly desired area. Was it the most expensive? No, but it was close. It had close proximity to the schools, had a low crime rate, and even had its own security guard. The HOA was rumored to be the reason the property values stayed so high, even with recent construction coming up all around.

I could only hope no one would come nosing around for a day or two. I didn’t want to pour my money into a fixer upper right now. I had enough cash if push came to shove, but I'd really been hoping to hold out for the just-right house to buy.

I didn’t even know the name of the homeowners. I needed to find that out if I was going to sleep in their backyard.

If someone asked what I was up to, I would just have to hand them a business card and tell them I was taking a look at the place. They could go ahead and infer that the owners were thinking of selling.

Pulling