My Fiance Kissed My Best Friend on Our Fourth Anniversary novel · Chapter 11 of 24

Chapter 11: The Whole Town Shows Up

I did not sleep that night.

Brett had sat in the slush until a state trooper came and took the keys from his pocket.

Eli had watched him go with his arms folded.

Then he had driven me back to the cabin, wrapped me in the blanket, and stayed on the floor by the stove until I closed my eyes.

At six in the morning my phone rang.

"June." Dad's voice was low and fast. "A truck is parked in front of the shop. Two men with a toolbox."

"What toolbox?"

"The kind a locksmith carries. They say Tolland Properties sent them to change the locks."

"Don't let them in."

"I'm standing in the doorway."

"I'm coming."

I had my boots on before the line went dead.

Eli was already holding his keys.

"I heard," he said. "Get in."

We were in Klamath Falls in just under two hours, and Eli drove the whole way faster than the signs allowed.

Main Street was just waking.

Sundquist Hardware sat in the middle of the block, a narrow brick building with a green awning and a hand-painted sign my father had touched up every spring.

A white van stood at the curb.

A thin man in a polo shirt held a clipboard and a lanyard that read PROPERTY MANAGER, and a locksmith knelt at the door with a drill.

My father stood on the sill in his canvas apron, with both hands on the frame.

"Mr. Sundquist, I'm asking you to step aside," the man with the clipboard said.

"This is my shop."

"It's Mrs. Tolland's building. Section nine of your lease allows her to change the locks on thirty days' notice."

"Thirty days isn't up."

"Section nine."

"That's one more section than I ever read," Dad said. "I'm not moving."

I jumped out of the truck and ran down the sidewalk with my ankle screaming at me.

I put myself on the step next to my father.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hi, kiddo."

"Hello," said the man with the clipboard. "I'm going to have to ask you both to leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," I said.

← Chapter 10 · All chapters · Chapter 12 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend