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Adam Rockford stood on the sidewalk, staring at the place that was his for the next six months. He shook his head at his friend. “You can’t give me a whole house.”

Nick Hardwin laughed. “I can if I want to. It’s just a place to stay while you’re here. And trust me, you’re doing Maxim a favor by filling in, but it’s helping us all out. Also, I’m charging you rent, so don’t get mushy on me.”

Adam rolled his eyes. “I am not getting mushy, and five hundred a month is barely going to cover your utilities.”

“It’s plenty,” Nick insisted. He clapped Adam on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s go take a look inside. You might not even like it.”

Adam grunted. “I’ll like it. I already know it’s bigger than my apartment in Chicago.”

Whatever that was worth. That apartment was no longer his home. Not since Veronika had decided she and Adam’s plans for the future were no longer compatible.

Nick’s request for Adam to help out here in Nocturne Falls could not have come at a better time. And while getting away from Veronika and all her nonsense was great, having space between them hadn’t done anything yet to ease his broken heart.

Not that he’d tell Nick that.

Frowning, he followed Nick up the front walk and onto the porch. Nick unlocked the door, then pushed it open. “It’s only partially furnished, but if you need something, we can probably ask around and?—”

“I see a recliner and a flat-screen.” There was a small couch, too, but he’d be in that recliner. “If there’s a bed, I’m good.”

Nick chuckled. “You haven’t changed much since our Ranger days.”

“Makes one of us,” Adam answered. His friend had changed a lot. Not only was he married, but he’d married a lapidus fae woman by the name of Willa. Lapidus fae. The very people who’d once enslaved their kind. But Willa was great. He could see why Nick had fallen for her.

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Are you referring to my wife again?”

Adam held his hands up. “Hey, Willa is terrific. I mean that. It’s just a lot to take in. You and her being married.”

“Yeah,” Nick said with a nod. “I get that. But times, and people, change.” He walked deeper into the house, toward the kitchen.

“And this town doesn’t put up with conflicts of any kind.

Not for long. Nocturne Falls is all about peace, love, and harmony.

Well, that and keeping the tourists happy, which is where we come in. ”

“I can’t believe you have a job being in your true form on display for all the world to see.” Adam had seen the fountain in the center of town and still had a hard time accepting that gargoyles like himself got paid to sit there in their stone forms, talking to humans, and it was perfectly fine.

“For the next six months, it’s your job, too. You gonna be all right to handle that?”

Adam nodded. “It’s going to take a minute to get used to it, but it’s all good.” It was better than good. It was an easy job that paid tremendously well. The next six months would pay him more than he’d make back in Chicago at his bouncer’s job in a year and a half.

“Cool.” Nick spread his arms. “What do you think? Kitchen’s nice, right?”

Adam took a look around. “The kitchen’s very nice, actually.” He ran his hand along the quartz countertops and then turned his attention to the double ovens and gas range. “I’ll have to have you and Willa over for dinner some night. To say thanks.”

“You still like to cook?”

Adam shrugged. “Yeah, you know. It relaxes me. Especially kneading bread.”

Nick grinned. “You’re going to make some woman a great husband one of these days.”

Adam scowled. “Don’t go there.”

“Sorry, man. I know things are fresh. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I know.” Adam huffed out a breath. “I need a long break from women. Like maybe for the rest of my life.”

“You think that now, but you’ll see. Someday the right woman will come along and change your mind.”

“Yeah, maybe, but she’d have to be something special.” But Adam didn’t believe that for a minute. He’d had the right woman. Or so he’d thought. They’d been happy. In love. Planning for a future and a family and then, boom , it was all over.

Because suddenly she’d decided she wanted something different. For both of them.

“Let me show you the bedroom, and then I’ll get out of your way and let you get settled.” Without waiting, Nick turned and headed down the hall and past the steps.

Adam followed.

Nick gestured at the stairs. “There’s not much upstairs. It’s really just a bonus room with a bathroom.”

“I’ll probably never go up there,” Adam said.

The master bedroom was at the rear of the house and overlooked the yard, which was lush and green and slightly overgrown. A couple of mature trees grew up along the wooden privacy fence that separated the property from its neighbors.

“Like I said, kind of sparse.” Nick glanced at Adam. “At least it’s a brand-new mattress, but you’re going to need sheets.”

“No problem.” Nothing in the room but a king frame and mattress, two nightstands, and a dresser. Adam couldn’t imagine needing more than that anyway. “I’ll take a run down to the Walmart I saw on the way into town. I need groceries anyway.”

“There’s a great grocery store in town, too. Shop-n-Save. You won’t have to go so far that way.”

“Good to know.”

“You’ll get the lay of the land before you know it.” Nick pushed open the doors to his right and left. “Closet, and bathroom, which reminds me: you’ll need some towels. And probably some hangers. If you have anything to hang.”

Adam nodded. “Okay. Guess I better start making a list.” He pulled out his phone and opened his Notes app, then tapped out sheets, towels, hangers, groceries. “This is great. I mean that. If you want me to pay more rent, I have no problem with that.”

Nick shook his head. “Five hundred is fine. Especially with you taking over the yard work. Which reminds me of something else. I need to show you where the mower is. The other bedroom in the front of the house has a desk in it, so you could use it for an office if you wanted.”

Adam laughed. “Bro, what would I need an office for?”

“You never know,” Nick said. “Let me show you the garage.”

They went back toward the kitchen but cut in before that to go through a laundry room. A door took them out to the garage. Nick flipped the light on. The space was empty except for a small workbench, some garden tools, a gas can, and a riding mower.

Nick gave Adam a quick lesson in how to start it and operate it, then stood back. “What do you think?”

“About the mower?”

“About the whole thing. The house.”

“It’s great. More room than I need. But it’ll be nice to have a yard. I’m looking forward to that.”

“There’s a deck in the back as well as a ground-level patio, and there’s a charcoal grill out there.”

“All right. Might have to use that.” Adam snorted. “Have to learn to use it first. Not much grilling on the balcony when you live on the seventeenth floor.”

“No, I bet not. Lots here, though. You can smell people grilling their dinner nearly every night of the week during the summer.”

“Speaking of people, what are the neighbors like?”

“On the left is a teacher and his wife. No kids. Quiet. On the right, the house is empty. Probably won’t be for long.

Stuff sells fast in this town, but it could be a summer rental.

I’m not really sure. I thought it had a For Sale sign on it a while back.

Whatever the case, it won’t be a weekly rental or an Airbnb.

Town ordinances don’t allow those in residential areas. ”

“That seems like a good thing.” Better to have people who cared about the neighborhood than folks who were just passing through, Adam supposed. “This place is a pretty popular destination in the summer, huh?”

“All year round, really, but summers are great here. Weather’s fantastic.

” Nick reached over and hit the button to open the garage door.

He dug into his pocket. “Here, catch.” He tossed Adam the keys.

“Two house keys, but we’ve also got a backup.

Garage remotes are in one of the kitchen drawers. You need anything, just call.”

Adam nodded. “I can’t thank you enough.”

Nick smiled. “See you at work tomorrow. Six thirty so I can run through everything with you before your first shift.”

“I’ll be there.”

Nick headed toward his car, lifting his hand to wave over his shoulder. “Have a good night.”

“You, too.” Adam stood there until Nick drove off. He looked around the garage. Plenty of room to park his car. Kind of weird to think about doing something so … suburban. But at least he was no longer paying a monthly parking fee for a car he hardly ever drove.

Veronika had told him for ages that he should just sell the car, but the old Bronco was the first thing he’d bought when he’d gotten out of the Rangers, and it had sentimental value.

He took a few steps toward the outside to see the truck better. When he got back from shopping, he’d park in the garage. Which meant he needed to get that list made and find the garage remote.

Smiling, he headed inside. The kitchen had the essentials. Cutlery, a standard set of pots and pans. Some cooking utensils, some mixing bowls, a strainer, a pair of baking trays, and a coffee maker. Under the sink there were some cleaning supplies.

He pulled up his app again and added coffee, coffee filters, and paper towels. Then, remembering the grill, he added a bag of charcoal to the list. He opened the fridge. Empty, as he’d expected, but there was an ice maker in the door. That was good.

He closed the fridge and walked out to the living room. It would be interesting to live by himself after so many years with Veronika. It would be good, he told himself. Good to be alone.

Well, maybe not good . But it would be fine. And it would give him a chance to reassess his life and what he wanted from it. To figure out what his path was going to be moving forward.

If things went well, when the six months were up, he’d have some answers. An idea of what he was going to do next.

And hopefully a heart that no longer ached for the woman he’d thought was going to be his wife.