“You’ve got that right. It is a pretty decent one, isn’t it? It’s why I moved here with Katie,” he said.
She giggled. “It sure is. I don’t know. The house isn’t haunted, and it’s structurally sound.”
“You have heard of the rumor though, right?” Eli asked.
As she turned her gaze back to his, her heart raced. “I’ve heard about it, if we’ve heard the same thing?” she asked.
“The woman that lived in my house before. I’m useless with names, I can’t remember, but she told me the woman of my dreams may be living right next door.”
“The love rumor, that’s the one I was talking about. Yep, totally, love.” She rested her head on her hand, watching him. “What do you think of it?”
“I don’t know what to think of it. I’m a grown-ass man. I don’t believe in fairy tales.” He rubbed his eyes. “I better go. I’ve got a lot of work to do this weekend.”
****
Eli kept glancing over at the door as his mom came out, carrying all the food she’d been making for the day. He’d decided to open his house up to the street. To invite some of Katie’s friends over along with a few parents. The couple of times he’d been around to Ann’s place, she hadn’t been there. He’d shoved a card into her mailbox inviting her to his party.
He had the grill fired up. Burgers and sausages were already sizzling away. His mom took care of all the extra salads and trimmings. He grabbed dessert from the bakery in town.
A couple of the single moms were already circling him like hungry vultures.
“What makes you keep looking at the door, son?” his mom asked.
“It’s nothing.”
“Is this the neighbor Katie keeps talking about?”
“I see Katie can’t seem to keep her thoughts to herself,” he said, glancing over at his daughter who was dancing like a crazy person.
“I don’t know, I’m interested to know what this woman with the pool is like. If she can wow a child, she’s a good woman, Eli. You should know that.”
He didn’t know the first thing about women and kids. Sure, his own mother had been amazing, so had his dad. They were both supportive and when he told them he wouldn’t be marrying the mother of his child, they didn’t push.
Eli had never been the kind of guy to do things he didn’t want to do. He also rarely did anything stupid. Of course, his track record hadn’t been great when it came to Katie’s conception.
“Ann!” Katie squealed excitedly and ran across the garden.
He turned to see Ann standing there, her red hair down in ringlets, wearing a plain white sundress. She’d pushed her sunglasses up into her hair and she nearly fell as Katie barreled into her.
“I missed you too, pumpkin.” Ann laughed.
Damn it, she was beautiful.
“So I see there is more to this neighbor than I originally thought,” his mother said.
“Mom, don’t.”
“You’ve got drool. You forget who your father is. Believe me, I know when a man is … interested in a woman.”
“Mom, please, not now.”
His mother chuckled and he handed her the tongs to keep turning the food on the grill as he walked up to Ann, who was still hugging his daughter. “You made it.”
“Yeah, your note got stuck under the mat. I was about to go out when I saw it this morning.”
“We’re not keeping you from anything important, are we?” he asked.
“No, no, nothing at all.” She waved her hand in front of her. “Nothing I can’t deal with next week.”
“Come on, Ann, let’s dance.”
Just like that, Katie dragged Ann into the circle of kids. He quickly noticed some of the moms giving her the stink eye, clearly assessing her and finding her wanting.
“So that’s Ann,” his mother said.
“Don’t start.”
“I’m not starting. She’s young.”
“Don’t.”
“And I don’t even think she’s your type. The red hair and she looks like she is more down to earth.”
“Mom, seriously, stop it. You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, so just drop it.”
“Consider it dropped. Although…”
He turned to look at his mother, not in the least bit interested in what she had to say.
She held her hands up. “Fine, fine, I’ll go and be nice.”
His mother was already heading in Ann’s direction before he could stop her. Katie made the introductions, and he watched as Ann smiled, shook her hand. They were talking. He didn’t know if this was a good thing or not. Talking equaled bad, didn’t it?
As he returned to the grill, one of the moms came up to talk to him.
“Hi, I’m Jade, Louisa’s mom.” She held out her hand. Deep-brown hair, no wedding ring, and a smile with a promise on her lips.
“Eli,” he said, shaking her hand.
Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Ann and his mother. They were still talking and Ann still smiled. What could they possibly have to say to one another? He didn’t get women, not at all.