His gaze narrowed. "Are you the house-sitter or not?"
I glanced at Lawton, suddenly wishing I'd asked him to come with me. Something was definitely off with this guy.
The guy followed my gaze. He spotted Lawton, who was watching us with an expression I could only describe as hostile.
The man cleared this throat. "Sorry," he said, "it's been a hell of a week."
"You have no idea," I said.
"Anyway," the man said with another quick glance toward Lawton, "the Parkers sent me."
"Why?"
"Because I've got your money, and I'm supposed to deliver it."
"What money?" I said.
The man looked at me like I was a world-class moron. "Bounced checks, bank problems, any of this ringing a bell?"
"Of course it's ringing a bell," I said, "but I wasn't expecting someone to show up here in person."
"Yeah? I wasn't expecting to be running my ass all over town today, but here I am. So I guess we're both surprised now, aren't we?"
"By any chance," I said, "are you the brother-in-law?"
His gaze narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind," I said.
"Yeah? Well, don't believe everything you hear," the guy said. "I did everything I was supposed to. It's not my fault if it got all messed up."
"Of course," I said.
"So like I said, I've got your money." He gave me a deadpan look. "But obviously, I can't just fling it at whoever comes up the driveway claiming to be the house-sitter. I need to see some I.D. Got it?"
Grudgingly, I reached into the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out my slim travel wallet. I retrieved my driver's license and handed it over.
He gave it barely a glance before handing it back. Then, he pulled the envelope from under his arm, undid the clasp, and reached inside to remove a small sheet of paper.
That done, he held out the envelope toward me. "Your money," he said.
I took the envelope and peered inside. I saw a neat stack of bills. I was thrilled to get it, but utterly confused by the method. "Cash?" I said.
"Yeah. The Parkers were pretty ticked. They figured you wouldn’t trust a check. By the way, this covers the next month's expenses too, so don't be trying to cash any of those old checks."
"Should I count it, or—"
"Yeah, and I've got to watch, because if any of it goes missing, I'm not getting the blame this time. Besides, you've gotta sign a receipt." He glanced toward the front door. "Wanna invite me inside?"
"Not particularly," I said.
"Suit yourself," he said, "but that's a big wad of money to be counting out here in the open."
"Yeah, well I'm not exactly alone," I said with a quick glance toward the street, where Lawton still watched with an ever-darkening expression. Obviously, this was taking way too long.
I pulled out the money and started counting, adding as I went. Mentally, I compared the amount of cash to the total of all those bad checks.
When I was done counting, I felt myself smile. It covered everything – the checks, the overdraft fees, and, as Mrs. Parker had promised, a nice bonus. I wouldn't be splurging on a spa treatment, but a new car battery was definitely in my future.
