Euphoria Lane (7 page)

Gripping the glass between both hands, she turned away from the past and faced the present. “I’m angry with you for becoming Harry’s yes-man. I expected more from you.”

“Like I said before, I’m just doing my job. Your neighbors understand that. They don’t hate me. Sure, sometimes they get upset over a fine, but they calm down after we talk.” He tossed back the towel.

She caught it midair. “The man I knew would have stopped Harry. If you do that, then you won’t need to keep calming the neighbors down.”

“In college we were idealistic. I’m sure there are circumstances in your job you wish
you
could change, but can’t.” He lifted his hand in a simple gesture. “For example, I hear you became a teacher. When are you going to increase teacher salaries?”

Her jaw tightened. “Point taken.”

To his credit, he didn’t grin over his victory. “Besides,” he continued. “I know Harry’s strict, but he truly believes he’s maintaining the value of this property. You have to admit, one of the reasons you bought here is because the neighborhood is well kept.”

“It doesn’t matter how manicured the lawns are if word gets out that the board is harassing people. No one will want to buy here.”

His brow furrowed. “I wouldn’t let him hear you claim he’s harassing people. He might take you to court for slander.”

“Were we at the same board meeting? Harry harassed every neighbor who voiced a concern.” She threw the soiled towel that Luke had used into the trash can. Her way of saying what she thought of that meeting, Harry, and Euphoria Lane Condominiums.

His gaze followed her throw. “I admit Harry’s behavior has been growing progressively worse. I’ll keep trying to get through to him. Who knows? Maybe the car wreck was a miracle in disguise and Harry will become a kinder, gentler president. Close calls with death have been known to change people.”

“Yeah, right.” Her sarcasm hung in the air. “That won’t happen unless we discover the murderer cut Harry’s brakes today, and he’s scared nice.”

Their gazes met, the implications of that possibility traveled wordlessly between them.

“Can we finish this conversation at the pond?” His voice sounded upbeat, as if he were speaking with a friend instead of an upset former girlfriend. He set the glass on the counter and headed for the door.

She rinsed the glasses and placed them in the dishwasher. “Why the pond?”

“I received a complaint about dead fish. I need to check it out.”

She stared at him, not sure what to say.

He opened the door and hesitated. “You’re not going to make me walk all the way over there by myself, are you? I hear this place is filled with runaway cars and out-of-control geysers.” His impish grin lit up his eyes. “Besides, it will give me a chance to find out what you’ve been up to since college, and you can finish listing off all the reasons why you hate me.”

“How can I turn down such an irresistible offer?”

What is he really up to?

Luke had actually invited Andi to join him on his inspection of the pond in hopes of persuading her to change her mind. He wanted her to give up the idea of antagonizing Harry. That was a no-win situation. She would be better off following the rules and avoiding the man altogether. Luke also wanted to make peace. His gut twisted with guilt whenever their paths met. He felt bad about the warning letter. More than that, he felt horrible about breaking up with her back in college. No matter what she said, he could see the pain that lingered in her eyes. Not that he could have done anything different in either situation. Both had been unavoidable.

Andi kept a more-than-respectable distance between them as they strolled to the pond. Whenever the distance closed by even a foot, uneasiness flickered over her features.

“I won’t take up too much of your time,” he promised.

“I’m warning you now, if the ducks attack because you’ve sent them a violation letter, you’re on your own, pal.”

He chuckled. “I’ll take my chances.”

Walking side by side across the property, he sneaked glances at her. The breeze played with the auburn wisps of hair surrounding her face. Once upon a time, he would wrap the silky strands around his fingers while he kissed her cheek, then her mouth.

Those sweet-tasting lips . . .

“How is your mother doing?” Andi scanned their surroundings as they walked.

“She’s well. I’m trying to get her to retire, but she can’t afford to yet.” His mother had been working in an elementary school cafeteria since Luke started kindergarten. All his life, she set aside every extra penny to put him through college. His father left them when he was young and never kept in touch, other than to send child-support payments.

“I always liked your mother. She was a nice lady.”

“Still is. Once I get this promotion I’ve been promised, I’m going to buy one of those houses with a mother’s cottage. It’s about time she relaxed and enjoyed life instead of working so hard.”

“She’ll probably still find projects to keep her busy.”

“True, but that will be her choice and she can do as little or as much as she likes.” He causally glanced in her direction. She had been cute in college—now she was beautiful. “What grade do you teach?”

“Second.”

“I bet you’re good at it. You always were good with kids.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, as though a compliment from him made her uncomfortable. Their excursion was taking them by the edge of the golf course. “Do you think Bernice’s killer cut Harry’s brakes?”

“It’s a possibility.” He hated to admit the truth. For the most part, the residents of Euphoria were good people. He couldn’t imagine any one of them resorting to murder.

“Who would want to kill them both?” She shook her head. “Let me rephrase that. Who
wouldn’t
want to kill them both? That list would be much smaller.”

“Tell me this,” he said, stopping several yards from the water, “if you hate following rules, why did you buy a condo with a homeowners’ association?”

“I didn’t receive those rules until closing, so I only had time to skim them. They appeared reasonable on paper, and of course no one warned me about Harry. There should be a law requiring sellers to disclose the presence of any annoying nuisances like demonic hauntings or HOA presidents with Napoleon complexes.”

Each step brought them closer to the pond’s edge. A fountain in the center sprinkled water drops across the pond’s surface, sending ripples toward the outer banks. Ducks gathered on the grass on the opposite side.

Luke strolled along the water’s edge, annoyed by the facts and his inability to resolve the chaos born from the board’s decisions. “I admit Harry needs to get a hobby, but now that your garage door is fixed, everything should settle down.”

“Not from what I hear.” She planted both hands on her hips and turned on him. “I can’t believe you chose this career.”

“The other homeowners’ associations I work with are not as bad as Euphoria’s.”

“I don’t care about the other associations right now. I care about
my
community, my sister, my new neighbors, and my new friend. Are you going to do the right thing and toss out the fines I owe? Toss out everyone’s fines?”

How can I make her understand?

“My hands are tied.”

“No one tells you when you sign on to live in a community with an HOA that you are about to be ruled by dictators. I have never seen a small group given so much power over others. How is this allowed in a country based on a system of checks and balances?”

“HOAs do have their good points. They keep the roads and buildings in good repair.”

“Do you live in a community with a homeowners’ association?”

“No. Does that make me a hypocrite?”

“Until someone has spied on you on your own property, turned you in repeatedly for their interpretation of the rules, and sent you violation letters with fines attached, you can’t possibly understand how the people in this community feel. It’s like having a police officer following you around with a radar gun all day long.” Her gaze followed a duckling waddling across the grass to catch up to his mother and siblings. Her voice softened as though the innocence of nature had touched her heart. “Put yourself in my place, Luke—and then stop Harry.”

“Andi, I’ll do what I can, but I can’t make any promises. My job is more of an advisory position. I can’t make the board listen to me. My advice to you is to make sure you follow any interpretation of the rules and run for the board. Make more friends and persuade them to run for the board, too. Nothing will change until Harry is outnumbered.”

“These people are either too busy or afraid of retaliation if their fight against him is unsuccessful. Many would rather pay the fines than fight back. I, on the other hand, am a Stevenson. I’m going to beat that man at his own game.”

He couldn’t blame her for being angry.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Harry parked on a fire hydrant and Valerie drank from crystal glasses at the pool. They broke the rules. So you have to send them violation letters. It’s your job.”

“Are you sure you want to antagonize Harry? Once you start this war there is no going back.”

“Someone has to stop him. At the very least, he needs a taste of his own medicine. Maybe he’ll see the light, but I doubt it. Regardless, by proving the board is breaking the rules, I will be able to prove he is singling people out. Homeowners will be able to sue the board. I will win one way or another—even if it costs me everything I own.”

“Why are you willing to risk so much?”

“He told me he was going to force us to move. He believes my sister is an ‘undesirable’.” Before he could speak, she held up her hand. “I can’t prove anything.”

Harry could be singling out Andi and her sister, Luke realized. He had made a strange comment about people being worthy of living in the community. He would have to find a way to help the sisters. A way that wouldn’t involve losing the account—or his promotion.

Andi turned toward the pond, shielded her eyes with the side of her hand, and then pointed to a dozen dead carp near a clump of reeds. “What’s up with the fish?”

“I’m not sure.” He was hoping the answer would be obvious, like the Exxon Valdez oil spill. He had no clue what might cause fish to turn belly up. “I’ll have the water tested.”

Andi’s gaze traveled from the pond up to the first hint of color peeking up from the horizon. Night was approaching.

Watching her took him back to a sunset of long ago. They had spread out a blanket beside Lake Pleasant and watched the sky burst with waves of pink, orange, and red. He had held her in his arms for hours, wishing the evening would never end. Holding her then came as easy as breathing. The realization of all they had lost physically hurt.

“I never fully understood why you dumped me when you did,” the words blurted out of her. “Why couldn’t you accept that family is important to me? Why didn’t you even try to understand?”

His jaw fell open. “I
did
try to understand. I do believe family is important, but you took it to the extreme, Andi. You repeatedly cancelled dates with me to talk to one of your sisters.”

“They needed me.”

“How would I know that? You never shared why they called you, yet every single time you dropped everything to run home. Whenever I asked questions, you said it was a ‘family matter.’ And in case you’ve forgotten, I was about to become family at that time. We talked about getting married, yet still you treated me like an outsider.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

His jaw tightened. Those words didn’t help back then, and they didn’t help now.

“Their secrets weren’t mine to share,” she said blandly, as if knowing her excuse wouldn’t matter.

“Your sisters have more secrets than most politicians. Besides, couples are supposed to be able to confide in each other and even share family secrets.” Agitated, he ran his hand through his hair. “I couldn’t spend the rest of my life being treated like an outsider.” He angled his head and caught her pained expression. “Andi, all I had back then were my dreams, my pride, and you. Then I found out I didn’t really even have
you
.”

Wednesday afternoon, Andi turned off the oven and then mixed food coloring into white icing until she created the perfect ghastly black. Meanwhile, the aroma of freshly baked sugar cookies cooling on small wire racks wafted through the small kitchen.

She placed several bat-shaped cookies on a spin plate to decorate. Since receiving her first violation letter from the HOA, she had been more angry than at any other time in her life. Thinking of Harry had prompted her to sort through her box of Halloween cookie cutters even though it was only March.

Spreading black icing over a blood-sucking creature seemed appropriate for her mood. She made a mental note to drip red icing near the bat’s mouth.

The doorbell rang, interrupting her work and her thoughts.

“Coming!” She licked icing off her finger on the way to the door and then peered through the peephole. Not that she expected the murderer to come calling like a salesman in disguise, but you could never be too sure. She spotted a head full of bouncing blonde curls.

“Meg!” Andi said, turning the knob.

“Come on, time’s a-wasting.” Meg pulled her out through the open door. “I just e-mailed Luke the pictures of Valerie and Harry breaking the rules. We need to get to work—before the other members of the board hear we’ve declared war.”

“Where are we going?”

“To take more pictures, of course. Helen’s washing her car.” The perky nurse held up a digital camera, then skirted off, gesturing for her to follow.

Andi rushed to keep up. “How do you know these things?”

“I followed the water trail.” Meg took two steps, then stopped in her tracks. “Down!”

She yanked on Andi’s arm, causing them both to fall on their knees behind a bush.

Meg held an index finger to her lips. “Shh.”

Andi lifted her head to peek through an opening in the fuchsia-colored petals of a bougainvillea. Harry and Valerie stood in front of a condo down the street. Those two together meant trouble. Andi hunkered down. The petals that had fallen to the ground felt like silk touching her hand. Carelessly, she pushed aside a branch to get a better look at the diabolical duo. The thorns from the branch bit into her skin.