“There’s something wrong with that woman,” Seth Turner grumbled as he stalked back to his car to get his luggage. She’d acted so strangely. Instead of opening the door wide enough to introduce herself, she’d hung back so far he couldn’t even see her face. Maybe having a stranger come to the door had frightened her. But she hadn’t acted frightened, exactly. He’d gotten the feeling it was something else. And she’d kept up the odd behavior even after he’d proven himself a friend of Maxi’s. What was up with that? When Maxi told him there was someone on the property who could let him in, he’d thought it would be a good thing. He’d assumed this person would be a caretaker, someone who would watch over the place while Maxi was gone, allowing Seth to focus exclusively on his work and what he’d come to Silver Springs to accomplish. He hadn’t expected to share the property with one of Maxi’s friends, especially not one as prickly as himself.

How long are you planning on being here?

He’d heard the disappointment in her voice. Neither of them wanted company. That was apparent.

But even with her living only fifty yards away, he didn’t have a better option than to stay here while he could. He didn’t want to be in a hotel for an extended period. He didn’t want to stay with his brothers. Two of them owned homes in the area, but they each had a wife and kids. How could he squeeze in with them? He’d have no place to work. And he certainly didn’t want to go home to his mother’s house, not with everything she did to celebrate the holidays. He’d be faced with the scents of pine and gingerbread, the unrelenting cheer of Christmas carols and the sight of an elaborately decorated tree every time he came into the house. There’d be no way to avoid those things. He’d agreed to help out at New Horizons Boys & Girls Ranch, the boarding school for troubled youth Aiyana had founded, but he refused to get involved with anything else. He especially didn’t want to be available to his mother 24/7: that would come soon enough, when Maxi returned and he had to move home. Aiyana was too worried about him right now, and feeling the weight of that concern only made life more difficult. He’d cope with this Christmas like he had every Christmas since Shiloh’s death, by doing all he could to avoid the festivities that made her loss that much more poignant.

At least he’d have the main house to himself.

Most of the time, anyway.

His phone signaled an incoming call. After unlocking the house, he dropped his luggage in the entryway so he could see who was trying to reach him.

It was his mother.