“Stop it. I think it’s cute,” Cloe said as she climbed between the two front seats to get to the front passenger seat. No doubt she feared that he would drive away if she stepped out to switch seats. He probably would, he thought with a smirk.

“I don’t know why, but that little smile is making me nervous,” Cloe mumbled.

“As it should, sweetheart. As it should,” he said with a grin as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed for the hardware store.

*-*-*-*

“What about-” Cloe started to say only to be immediately shot down.

“No, I want white,” Christofer, the most stubborn man on earth, said.

“Don't you even want to look at any other colors?” she asked, gesturing to a plethora of color samples set up on the back wall.

He pursed his lips up thoughtfully as he stepped closer. Instead of stepping around her to look at the samples though, he stepped up right behind her.

Cloe tried to step away only to find herself boxed in by his large body. He put a hand on her hip and leaned over her like it was the most natural thing in the world to do. She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, trying to force herself to remain calm.

“Hmmm, these are okay I guess,” she heard Christofer say, sounding as though he was far away instead of right behind her.

She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she tried to convince herself that she was not locked in place. She could move. She could. She had the entire store to move around. There was no way that she was trapped in this small space. None. If she wanted to move she could.

“Are you okay?” Christofer suddenly asked, breaking through the tension that threatened to bring her to her knees.

“Yes, I'm fine,” she lied, stepping away from him and headed towards the paint accessories. “Why don't you think about it before you decide?” she suggested, trying to sound casual as she tried desperately to calm her frayed nerves. “It's going to take a while before the house is ready to paint anyway.”

“But I want white,” he said in a sulky, somewhat cute, tone that made her smile and somewhat calmed her nerves.

She looked over her shoulder at him to find him looking at her curiously. “What?” she asked self-consciously, fighting back the urge to squirm under his probing gaze.

After a moment he shook his head. “Nothing. Why don't you get what you need and I'll meet you up front?” he offered, walking off before she could respond.

With a sigh, she returned her attention to scrapers, wondering what the hell that was about. For a second there she thought he’d looked hurt, but just as quickly the hurt expression was gone, leaving her to wonder if she'd just imagined it.

She quickly selected several scrapers and a large tarp and headed towards the front of the store, wondering where Christofer had wandered off to. When she spotted him outside leaning against her car and looking bored, she couldn't help but frown and wonder what his problem was. During the entire ride here he told her that he was doing this and that she didn't need to bother and now he’d lost interest?

What a jerk.

“Miss? I can help you over here if you're ready,” a man said, drawing her attention to the counter by the far wall where a man dressed in a shirt and a tie stood, patiently waiting for her.

“Thank you,” she said, pasting a smile on her face as she walked over and placed her items on the counter.

“Did you find everything you needed?” he asked as he scanned her items.

“Yes, thank you,” she said, pulling some money out of her pocket.

“You're new in town, right?” he asked hesitantly, taking his time to add up her purchases.

“I just moved here last week,” she answered politely, wishing he'd hurry up so she could leave. She was still feeling a bit jittery and desperately needed to step outside and get some fresh air.

He smiled. “You know, I think I heard that somewhere. You're staying with the Petersens, right?” he asked her as his gaze darted past her. Unable to help herself, Cloe followed his gaze to find Christofer watching them through the window.

“Just a little friendly advice, but I would stay away from him,” the cashier said and Cloe could have sworn from the angry expression that crossed Christofer's features that he could hear them, which was ridiculous since they were a good thirty feet away with a wall of thick glass between them.

“How much?” she asked, returning her attention back to the cashier.

“Fifteen-fifty,” he said. “Look, I know it sounds like small town drama, but there is something seriously wrong with that man. He's-”

“Keep the change,” she said with a forced smile, cutting him off. The last thing she needed in her life was small town bullshit. She grabbed her small bag and walked outside, relaxing when she took her first breath of fresh air.

She walked towards her car and nearly dropped the bag when Christofer tossed the keys to her.

“Wow, you're going to let little ole' me drive? I'm honored,” she said dryly.

“Tell Marta that I'll be home sometime later tonight,” Christofer said evenly as he pushed away from her car.

“What are you talking about? I thought you wanted to help.”

“Changed my mind,” he said with a shrug, walking away without giving her another glance.

She couldn't help but shake her head in disbelief. “What an ass**le,” she muttered, climbing into her car. He really needed to figure out what he wanted, because these little mood swings were seriously starting to annoy the shit out of her.

Not that she couldn't use the extra money, she definitely could, but it was the middle of September and it was already starting to get chilly. At least with his help she could have cut half the time off the project, but now she'd be lucky to have it finished before the first snowflake fell.

“Fine, whatever,” she said, sighing as she drove the short distance back to the house. If he didn't want to help then that was more than fine with her. She wasn't about to lose any sleep over it.

A few minutes later she pulled into the driveway and was kicking herself for not asking Christofer to grab the ladder out of the small shed in back when she had the chance. Then again, knowing his mood swings he probably would have agreed to do it and then stormed off to glower somewhere, she thought, laughing at the image of him doing just that. Not that she would admit it, but she found his little glares and pouts kind of adorable even if he did occasionally irritate the shit out of her.

Wanting to get this over with so she could relax for at least a few hours, she headed to the backyard, hoping the ladder wasn't too heavy. The last thing she needed was to throw her back out and depend on Christofer to take care of her. She pulled the key that Marta had given her yesterday out of her pocket and unlocked the door. She shoved it open until she made sure that it caught on a few clumps of grass and stayed open.

She stepped inside the small shed and looked around the dimly lit space, wondering if she should go back inside and get a flashlight so that-

The door slammed shut behind her, startling her as everything went pitch black. Forcing herself not to panic, she turned around and blindly searched for the doorknob. When she found it, she tried to turn it, but it wouldn't budge. She yanked on the door several times before she slammed her shoulder into it as she tried desperately to turn the knob.