Page 147 of Knot So Social

My arms ache as I stab the spade into the turf and set my foot on top. Mr Monstead sounded panicked about his reticulation leak, so I came out, but it’s not his gardening system that’s a problem. While a plumber is on the way, he asked me to start digging to get to the problem area.

Already in a hole up to my thighs, the sudden storm break turns the yard into a bog.

I shouldn’t have left Willow and come out alone.

My phone rings, but it’s my mammina. I haven’t had a chance to call her since the drugging incident, so she’s probably getting worried. Not that I can answer with the rain soaking everything. Lucky it is raining, because the beautiful diamond-cut lawns carry a sad brown tinge. I bet Mr Monstead never bothered to get the extra water on them like I suggested.

Which will end up being my fault.

A plumber's van idles up the paved driveway and pulls up beside me. The driver seems in no hurry to get out while the rain’s pelting down, so I pull myself up out of the hole, slipping in the mud as I get clear. I’m covered in the mess.

I knock on the car window, and it rolls down an inch. “Hi. I’ve reached the pipe but haven’t quite isolated the spot yet.”

“Okay. Can you keep going?”

A faint irritation flares in my belly. “Not really. I was in the middle of something when the owner called.”

“Geez, and of all days.” The window zips back up again.

I shrug and collect my spade, stowing it in my trailer before trudging through the sleet to the house. I knock on the side door and spend a minute squeezing water out of my sopping plaid shirt.

Mr Monstead comes to the door. “Raining cats out, huh? What did you find?”

“I dug down to the pipe, but the plumber’s here now, so I’ll let him take over.” I shift to the side so he can see over my shoulder. “I need to get going.”

“All right. Let’s hope this clears up fast.” He glares at the sky. “I’m supposed to play golf tomorrow.”

I flash him a polite smile. “Good luck with that. I’ll see—”

“Dad? Where are the—?” His middle-aged daughter comes down the stairs behind him. She catches sight of me and her eyes widen. “Is that the wog fucker who was leeching off the Warkows?”

Her voice rises to a shriek, and she clops down in her heels at double speed. “Dad! I told you not to bring him around here! Don’t you know he harassed Miranda?”

A rock lodges in my chest. So some twisted part of the story has spread.

She shoves past her father and raises a rolled-up magazine. “Get the fuck off our property, you scummy son of a bitch!”

Wham. The roll descends right on my head. Granted, it doesn’t hurt a lot, but the shock rockets through me with laser force. I’ve been a gentleman all my life; both my parents drilled it into me to never touch a lady without her consent. So being labeled as the opposite hurts.

“Jupiter, it was an emergency,” Mr Monstead whines, capitulating to his child. His gaze slides away from mine like something made of grease.

I shoot my hand up, catching the rolled paper. “Ms Monstead, I’m not sure what you heard, but I assure you I’ve never laid a hand on Miranda Warkow.”

“Lies!” the woman hisses, body rigid as she tries to tug her weapon free. “You’re a disgusting mother-fucker, and you’ll never work in this town again. I’ve called all my friends already.”

A bubble of something hot and shivery pops inside me. What did I do to deserve this? All I wanted was peace and quiet, and some lawns to mow.

“I never assaulted her,” I growl. “She the one who drugged me and tried to harass me.”

Jupiter draws her lips into a flat line. “Now you’re slandering her as well? Try saying that in a court of law.”

I step forward, clenching my hands. The magazine crunches in my grip. “Then why hasn’t she taken me to court already? Called the cops on me? Ask yourself that! I welcome the chance to defend myself in court. I’ve got the bottle she spiked to prove my innocence, and even though I was half out of it, I still refused her!”

A growl rips through me and both of them fall back.

“Do you have an answer?” I demand. “Why hasn’t Mrs Warkow had me arrested? Because she knows the truth will come out. Because I’ll have all her other lovers subpoenaed. That’s why!”

“Wait, other lovers?” Mr Monstead asks, face paling.