Page 1 of Promises & Pumpkins (Haunted in Hazy Cove #1)

Harper

“Where the hell did I put my key?” I pulled out a pen I stole from the bank, then the extra phone cord that never got used but always got wrapped around everything.

“Seriously?” I dropped my bags on the porch, turning my purse upside down and dumping it out.

My wallet, spare coins, and all three tubes of lip balm I was sure I’d lost in the move fell in slow motion.

When the key to my new rental wasn’t among the random assortment of items, I sighed.

Then I pictured it sitting on the counter next to the move-in checklist I hadn’t finished going through yet.

“Shit!” I pressed my hands against the window nestled in the front door, followed quickly by my nose, as if it made the view any clearer.

I didn’t need to get that close to see the keyring sitting on the counter.

My stomach sank. Now what was I supposed to do?

I looked around, gathering my things off the porch and stuffing them back in my purse.

I’d clean it out later. Then I stood up, leaving the bags of groceries behind on the ground while I rattled the doorknob.

False hope didn’t unlock it, and no matter how many times I twisted the handle, the door didn’t open.

I looked around the front porch, taking inventory of both front windows that still didn’t have curtains hanging in them and noting the larger window above the door that I would never be able to reach without the patio furniture I’d ordered but hadn’t received yet.

“Wonderful,” I grumbled under my breath when I tried to slide one of the windows open, resulting in fingerprints on the glass but no movement. “Okay, Harper. Think.”

Then I remembered the back door that I had propped open earlier in hopes of letting in the cool fall breeze and airing out the smell of cardboard boxes.

Had I locked it? I practically tripped over my own feet going down the front steps and sprinting around the house to the back.

When I grabbed the handle and tugged, disappointment filled my stomach. The door didn’t budge.

“Why me?” I whined loudly, looking up at the sky like the clouds were going to tell me how to break into my new house.

Walking back toward the front, I was about ready to admit defeat and call my sister.

Then I saw the line of baseball-sized stones that lined what probably made a great garden in the spring, and above them was the window that I knew was over the kitchen sink.

I picked up one of the rocks. It was heavier than I had expected it to be, and I tossed it up and caught it again before I looked at the window.

“Excuse me.”

I shrieked, jumping when the man’s voice startled me. When I spun around, he was staring at me with an eyebrow raised. I followed his judgmental gaze from me to the window and back.

“Is everything okay over here?”

“Yeah,” I said way too quickly for someone who was holding a large rock outside their own house. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. “Maybe because you’re holding a rock.”

I dropped the rock, brushing my hands together and stuffing them in my pockets. “I, uh… locked myself out.” I pointed over my shoulder with my thumb at the house as if to explain what I was locked out of. Like it wasn’t obvious.

“Gotcha,” he said, and my stomach sank. He furrowed his brow, like maybe he was trying to convince himself to believe me.

“At least I’m not naked, right?” I laughed dryly, picturing how awkward this would’ve been if I had been wearing nothing.

When the man didn’t join me, I coughed like it would cover it up.

If he narrowed his eyes anymore, they’d be closed, but at least he wouldn’t see the embarrassment clouding around me.

The man looked at me like he was debating between calling the cops and just walking away. “Naked?”

“You know, like… locked out here in my robe or something? Like in the movies or something, you know…” Why was I still talking? Shut up, Harper. I cleared my throat. “Sorry, let me start over. I’m Harper. I just moved in here, and I locked myself out.”

“I’m Miles. I live next door.” He pointed to the blue house. “So, neighbor, the rock.”

My new neighbor. Great. Talk about first impressions. “I was trying to figure out how to get back in.”

“And your plan was to break the window?” The judgment on his face gave way to a semi-amused smirk.

I scrunched my nose and shrugged. “Kinda, yeah.”

Miles shook his head and sighed. “I’m going to go get my tools.” He turned around and started to walk toward his house, pausing to look over his shoulder. “Don’t break anything in the meantime.”

“I won’t.” Embarrassment settled in my stomach, weighing it down. I looked at the rock on the ground, bending down to put it back in the garden where I had grabbed it from.

When Miles returned with his tools, he looked amused and moderately less stern—definitely less intimidating.

“Okay, let’s get you back into your house.

” He set the box on the ground, squatting down to reach into it for a screwdriver and probably a wrench.

I stepped aside while he started removing screws on the window screen that I wouldn’t have known were there.

I watched while he collected each in his hand one at a time.

“So,” he said, looking back at me while he pulled the screen down. “What brings you to Hazy Cove?”

“How do you know I’m not from here?” A stubborn smirk tugged at my lips even though he was helping me get back in.

“It’s Hazy Cove.” His laugh echoed off the houses that were built too close together. “I know everyone who’s from here. I grew up down the street, and I work for the local police department.” No wonder he came out to question me. Had he been planning to arrest me? “I’m sure I’d know you.”

I shrugged. “Okay, fine. My sister moved to Hazy Cove recently and convinced me to come out. It’s a really cute town.”

“It is,” he said, pulling the window open and flooding me with relief. “Although there aren’t usually people trying to break into houses around here.” Miles looked at me from the side of his eye, and I covered my face.

“Yeah, about that…”

His laugh was infectious when he did it again. “Come on, let me help you up.” Miles formed a step with his hands. I stepped up onto it, and he hoisted me up to the window.

When I crawled over the window and into the kitchen sink, I looked at the counter.

My keys were sitting exactly where I thought they had been.

“Thank you,” I said, holding my hands up in an appreciative, prayer-like gesture.

“Do you want to come in for something to drink? I have tea. I can put on some water.”

“Do I have to come through the window?” He winked, and I paid close attention to the creases next to his eyes that looked like they held a mixture of joy and years of life experience.

“No, no. Sorry.” I jumped out of the sink, holding up my finger briefly before I hurried to open the front door.

I bent down, grabbing the bags I had dropped on the porch while he walked up the first few steps.

“I almost forgot I had groceries. Tea?” I held up the bag that held the new fall blend I had just bought at the store.

Miles smiled but shook his head. “I would love to, but I need to get to work.”

“Right,” I said, swallowing the disappointment. “Just in case there are more breaking and entering cases for you to help on.”

“Exactly.” He laughed again, winking before he stepped back off the porch.

“Thank you again for saving me from having to break the window.” I looked toward the side of the house as if to remind him.

He nodded. “I was happy to do it. Welcome to the neighborhood, Harper.”