The clock ticked, mocking Lily from its spot above the kitchen fridge. The tail, dangling from the bottom, swished and the eyeballs at the top twitched. The novelty cat, made into a clock, had some nervous tics—and possibly escaped the wall at night to murder people—but she’d paid fifty cents for it at the thrift shop. The deal was almost as good as the coffee pot she’d gotten for three dollars. A little bit of electrical tape from the Dollar Store fixed the cord.

Sitting at the kitchen table Lily had scored from someone’s curb—the wooden surface scratched but clean—Zoe hummed as she colored, her head bent over the page. At least she was occupied and couldn’t see the coiled tension in her mother. Never noticed the way Lily jumped at the slightest noise.

Fridays got harder to handle each week. Most people had a Thank-God-it’s-Friday mentality. She wished Friday would never come.

When the knock came, she almost jumped out of her skin. She didn’t immediately rise. A part of her thought she shouldn’t answer. Maybe he’d go away.

Zoe didn’t lift her head. She wore her little Miss Kitty ear buds and listened to some silly songs on her iPod. The buds had been Lily’s idea, as she didn’t want Zoe hearing anything that might be said by Brock. Her daughter didn’t need to hear the ugliness. Or was Lily just fooling herself?

Zoe has to have heard the fights. And who knew what Brock said when Lily wasn’t around.

He wouldn’t talk much if he was six feet under. Knowing Brock, though, he’d come back as a zombie just to torment her.

The second knock sounded just as Lily left the kitchen. Why did it fill her with such toe-dragging dread? Why couldn’t she have great big brass balls?

Because he broke them.

He had not broken her. Bruised, yes, maybe cracked a little, but Lily was getting better.

Stronger. I can do this. He can’t hurt me anymore.

Tell that to her trembling fingers. They shook as she clicked the bolt open and grasped the knob. Inside her chest, her heart beat a rapid flutter much like a bird panicking, trying to break free of its cage.

I did fly free. He couldn’t do anything now.

Knock. In that firm rap, she heard the warning. The impatience of it meant she couldn’t hide any longer. She pulled open the door. The bright rays of the setting sun momentarily blinded her. Then he stepped forward, the shadowy bulk of him blocking the light and casting a pall over her.

A whole herd of spiders ran up her spine, and it was all she could do not to cringe.

“The house must be bigger than it looks.” A jab at how long it had taken her to answer. While Brock’s lips might be curved into a jovial smile, she knew better. She recognized the glint in his eyes. The one that said he wasn’t done screwing with her.

“I had to wash my hands,” she lied rather than admit her trepidation.

“I’m sure you did.” His tone quite clearly conveyed that he didn’t believe her.

“You’re early.” Damned guy never missed a damned visit. Never arrived late either. He was always a few minutes early. Always showed up with that smirk that said, I’m coming to get you.

“Just a few minutes early because I couldn’t wait to see my ladybug.” He turned a smile full of charm on their daughter, and Lily felt nothing. The cuteness of it couldn’t touch her anymore. Not after all he’d done. She knew it for what it was.

A mask to hide the demon underneath. Didn’t the Bible condone the eradication of evil?

Give me a stake.

“I’ll get Zoe.” Who happened to be sitting in a kitchen with a wooden chair that wouldn’t take much to break into usable kindling.

She turned but didn’t move. Zoe stood at the far end of the hall, not exactly shying from her visits with her father but definitely not approaching them with a healthy enthusiasm either.

That’s our fault. Zoe surely felt the tension in the air.

Pasting on a fake smile, Lily grabbed the knapsack by the door. It had become the annoying reminder that she was ordered by law to hand her daughter off each week to a bastard. According to the judge, being an asshole didn’t take away his rights as a father.

“Come on, Zoe. Daddy is waiting for you.” To Brock, she said, “I’ve packed some clothes and her Woobie.” Woobie being the name of the stuffed animal with its fur worn shiny in some spots and missing an eye.

“You didn’t have to. She’s got things at my place. A whole room. Remember?”

Yeah, she remembered the house he’d bought. However, she’d prefer to forget that prison. These weekly visits didn’t help. But she hoped to change that. Lisa, her lawyer, thought they might be able to get a new custody agreement. They just needed evidence that Brock was unfit, evidence that proved elusive thus far. Brock played a perfect game in public.

But I know some of your secrets. Thing was, did she have the guts to spill them?

“Ready, ladybug?” Brock held out his hand, but Zoe held back.

Lily dropped down and held open her arms. “Hugs.” As little arms stretched to wrap around her neck, she whispered. “You have a good time with Daddy.” She could fake it for her little girl. She’d faked it more often for Brock just to make sure he wouldn’t get in one of his moods.

“I will. Bye, Mommy.” A warm and sloppy kiss, and then her daughter skipped off to her daddy’s car. Brock stayed behind for a moment. “Come with us. We’re going to Mario’s for pasta then a movie.”

Her favorite restaurant, and he knew how she liked corny comedy flicks. He knew exactly how to placate her after he’d done something wrong.

No more. She knew better. “I’ll see you Sunday.”

“Suit yourself. Enjoy being alone.” He spun on his heel and got into his car. He turned and leaned over before taking off, making sure Zoe was securely buckled. Despite all his faults, he did take care of his little girl.

It didn’t make him less of an asshole, though.

She stood staring at the street long after Brock had left with her little angel, waving from the backseat.

Each time she worried.

Each time loneliness swamped her.

Shaking her head, she forced herself to look away, only to get drawn in by the deep purr of an engine next door. Pulling into the driveway from the other end of the street was her neighbor. Her very sexy neighbor.

The jerk.

She still fumed over how he’d treated her when they met. Acted as if she were neglectful. He was negligent—even if his yard was the most nicely tended in the whole neighborhood.

He might keep a nice lawn, but there was surely something wrong with him because what man lived alone in suburbia? And she meant alone. In the past week, she’d not once seen a girlfriend—or boyfriend—visit him.

Not that Lily spied or anything. She just happened to notice that his was the only car she ever saw in the driveway. It was a rather pretty car. No wonder Zoe wanted to stroke it.

I’d prefer to stroke the man.

The dirty thought had her ducking her head, even if he couldn’t see her flaming cheeks from that far. She shut the door.

Locked it.

As if that would keep thoughts of him at bay. With Zoe gone, there was nothing to distract Lily. No supper to make. It didn’t take long to tidy the place. Zoe still had many of her toys in boxes. The lack of furniture made it difficult to unpack. That would change this weekend. With what little money she had left, Lily was going shopping, the early kind that required a wagon and a travel mug of coffee.

What she didn’t expect as she began her trek at the ungodly hour of seven a.m. on Saturday morning was to bump into her neighbor. He pulled into his driveway, forcing her to stop on the sidewalk or risk becoming his new hood ornament.

“Sure, don’t worry about my rights as a pedestrian,” she grumbled under her breath.

She used her indignation to justify shooting him a dark look—that subtly drank him in.

He emerged from his car, looking disheveled in his suit, his tie pulled loose, shirt partially unbuttoned. Obviously crawling in late from somewhere.

I wonder whose bed he slept in.

Not that she cared. “Doing the walk of shame,” she muttered as she passed by his house.

“Excuse me? Did you say something?”

She froze mid-step, and her cheeks heated.

Had he heard her?

Surely not. She kept walking.

“I think your cart is missing something.”

For some reason, that made her stop and turn around to look at her empty plastic wagon. “What are you talking about?” She frowned at him.

He crossed the dewy lawn. “Is it me, or did you lose a child perhaps? Not that I really care, but I don’t need her wandering onto my property because you’ve left her alone.”

The snide remark had her gaping. “She is not wandering,” Lily retorted.

“Did you duct tape her to a wall? Lock her in a closet?”

“Are you serious? You can’t do that to a child. And in answer to your question, Zoe is not alone.” Her back straightened. “She is at her dad’s for the weekend.”

His head canted, and his lips held a ghost of a smile. “Do you always take your wagon for a walk when she’s gone?”

“If you must know, I was going garage sale hunting.”

“Isn’t that when you buy other people’s junk to put in your garage until you either toss it or try to sell it to someone else?”

“It’s not junk. All the time,” she amended.

“True. Some items can be recycled. But most of it is junk.”

“Thanks for your vote of confidence.”

“What exactly do you hope to find?”

Find? She’d like to find the peace she’d been enjoying before her neighbor annoyed her. “If you must know, I’m looking for a bookcase.”

“And you are going to what, transport it back in your wagon?” He eyed it dubiously. “It won’t be very large if you’re planning on using that.”

“It’s all I have, and I can’t exactly carry it. As for my car…” She pointed at the blue, two-door Hyundai. “My car is too small to even try. So, I’m stuck using the wagon. It’ll work.” She eyed the conveyance with a critical eye. “If I lay it on top and am careful balancing it….” She shrugged. “It’s worth a try.”

“Your optimism is misplaced. Your plan is a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Well, that’s my problem, isn’t it?” she snapped, getting annoyed with his stupidly sound logic. She knew her plan would probably fail, but at least she tried.

“You’re right. It is your problem. Good luck. You obviously need it.” With that, the arrogant jerk turned on his heel and took his impeccable ass—which, yes, she stared at—into the house.

His mocking words kept Lily warm as she walked the next few hours, crisscrossing the streets in the neighborhood. She mumbled and grumbled. “Stupid know-it-all bastard. Thinks he’s so fucking perfect with his fancy suits and cars.” He probably shopped in a store, one of those new modern places, for his furniture. He probably didn’t think a tablecloth over a box of books made a perfect nightstand. It worked, and that was all that mattered to Lily.

Everything was working out, and she wouldn’t let that asshat ruin her day. She was going treasure hunting. She spent the next few hours hitting the garage sales. She even found some little things she needed, like extra dishes, some clothes that should fit Zoe, and a few books. But no bookcase. Or a hippopotamus. Lily hadn’t given up hope of finding the book by Sandra Boyton. The one she used to read to Zoe every single day until Brock got rid of it, claiming it was for babies.

She dragged her little wagon back home, purposely shooting a dirty look at her neighbor’s house. Rotten jerk. His disapproval had surely jinxed her endeavor.

Bringing in her meager finds, she stowed them away and had barely sat down to sip a hot lemon tea when a knock occurred. Probably a Jehovah’s Witness trying to win her over. Or maybe some guys claiming they did water testing. Could she be so lucky as to hope for a cute fire inspector who wanted to give her a talk over coffee?

No cute guys. Also, there would be no buying any Girl Scout cookies. She could never just eat one.

Opening the door, surprise opened her eyes wide as she saw her neighbor. “Can I help you?”

“You didn’t find any furniture.” He stated, didn’t ask.

She shrugged. “Not my lucky day, I guess.” And how did he know? Did he spy on her?

“What’s the bookcase for?”

She couldn’t help a sarcastic, “Books.”

“For your main living area?”

Her first impulse was to say, none of your business, but that kind of testy attitude wasn’t Lily. At least not the old Lily before Brock. She sighed. “No, I wanted it for Zoe’s room. I was hoping to find one so I could unpack her things before her dad brought her back on Sunday.”

“He gets her for the whole weekend?”

“Unfortunately.” Lily couldn’t help the bitchy tone. A judge might have ordered it, but she didn’t have to like it.

“Show me her room.”

She wanted to ask why, but he pushed into her house, without invitation, and quickly strode down the hall, ducking into the pink bedroom. She scurried in after and found him regarding the space with his hands on his hips. “She only has a bed.”

It brought out her defensive side. “I’m going to get her a nightstand and dresser. I just haven’t had the money to. It took all my savings to put a deposit on this place. But I start my new job on Monday.”

“Where?” he asked without looking at her.

“How’s none of your business?”

At that tart reply, he turned and cast her a look that held a bit of a wry smile. “I can respect that.” He turned back to look at the bare wall again, enough that it made her fidget.

Had she done the right thing moving her daughter here from the city? Sure, they didn’t have much yet, but in time, she’d give Zoe the things she deserved.

What she deserves is a family, not feuding parents.

“What’s your name?” she asked, because it occurred to her that he must have one, and it surely wasn’t hot guy next door.

“That would invite a familiarity I’m not sure we’re ready for.”

Her mouth snapped shut.

A grin pulled at his lips. He teased her. It flustered for some reason.

“What’s her favorite color?”

His query took her by surprise. “Excuse me?”

“Never mind. She’s a girl. I’m going to assume any pastel color will do.” He turned around and walked past Lily, narrowly missing her. The heat of him left an impression that froze her. By the time she moved and retorted, “That’s pretty sexist,” he was heading out the front door.

He paused only long enough to say, “I know. Deal with it,” before shutting the door behind him.

She stared for a moment. Well, that was strange.

Also very distracting. Instead of wondering about Zoe and Brock the rest of that day, her thoughts turned to the guy next door. Why all the odd questions? And more importantly, was his chest as furry as his face? This inquiring neighbor wanted to know.