“Can we go and look at the tree now?” Marty asked.
Miller pinched the bridge of his nose again but said, “I guess? And we can check out the property lines while we’re at it. You’re sure the tree falls on your side of the boundary?”
“Um,” I said, “almost sure?” As far as I remembered the tree had always been in Grandma’s yard, but now Miller had asked if I was sure, I found myself questioning it, you know?
Miller made a noncommittal hum and gave me another one of those judgmental looks before setting his tablet aside and rising. The couch groaned as he stood up.
Marty bounced to his feet as well, pulling a notebook and pen from the pocket of his cargo shorts. I guessed it was casual dress day at their law office. Although if it was, Miller must have missed that memo. Which was a bonus for me. I’d always appreciated a guy in a well-fitted suit, and I got to see it almost never because I lived in Goose Run and the only people wearing suits were normally on their way to the courthouse over in South Hill. And, honestly, most of them still just wore jeans. They might add a button-up shirt and a tie if they were really trying to get on the judge’s good side.
And Miller wasn’t just wearing a suit; he lookedgoodin it. I could tell it wasn’t one of the off-the-rack ones or something he’d borrowed off someone else. This suit fit him just right. The jacket emphasized the width of his straight shoulders and the trimness of his waist. And the pants? They clung to his ass nicely as he headed toward the front door.
Chase caught me looking at Miller’s ass and grinned.
We all went outside into the fading light and stood on the dirt driveway and looked at the remains of the tree.
“Who cleared it?” Miller asked.
“Uh, my uncle,” Wilder said. He scratched his stomach, his tank top riding up and showing his abs. “Steve. Came around earlier with his chainsaw. We got a lot of pictures of it before, though, and Danny filmed Harlan cutting it down.”
Miller didn’t answer.
“Was that wrong?” Wilder asked, a frown pulling at his mouth.
Miller jolted slightly and lifted his gaze from Wilder’s abs. “Ah, no. That’s great. Video evidence and photos are great.”
I exchanged a look with Chase, who grinned again.
“Okay, so where’s the property line?” Miller asked as we walked around the remains of the tree.
I pointed to the spot where Harlan’s immaculate lawn touched our weeds. “Right there.”
“Is there a marker?” Miller asked. “Or is this just where your neighbor thinks it is?”
“Oh. No, there’s not a marker.”
“Marty, you’ll need to do a search of the county records,” Miller said.
“On it,” Marty said, clicking his pen rapidly before writing in his notebook. He looked up from his scribbling and walked over to the line between our properties, crouched down, and peereddown the boundary line. His eyes narrowed and his forehead creased. “Huh.”
“What?” I asked.
Marty didn’t answer, just rubbed at his chin before straightening up. “You sure this tree’s on your property?”
“I mean—yeah?”
It was my turn to crouch down and peer along the property line. Harlan’s lawn was a rich, lush green except for a strip about a foot wide right on the border which was kinda rough looking, but that was probably lawn death by association from hanging out with our weeds. The very edge of the tree trunk was inside the patchy area, and it looked like it might actually be on his property, even though I could have sworn it had always been in Grandma’s yard. Did tree trunks have growth spurts? “Shit. Does that mean he’s allowed to cut it down?”
“What are we looking at?” Miller went and crouched down, and wow, those pants really did fit just right. I couldn’t look away. “Huh,” he echoed.
He turned his head toward me—and caught me blatantly checking out his ass.
Awkward.
I waited for another one of those judgmental looks. Instead his gaze flicked up and down, like he was checking me out right back, and I caught a glimpse of a smile, like he wasn’t mad about it.
So maybe not completely awkward then.
“I swear that tree’s always been in Grandma’s yard,” I said. “I don’t know what the fuck this is.”
