“Oh. Wait. So you’re not originally from Tarburton?”

“Nope. I’m a newcomer, like you.” He gave her a wink. “We newbies have to stick together, don’t you think?”

Thirty minutes later she heard a rapping at the front door. Ezra handed her a set of keys. “Okay, that’s done.” He pointed to his toolbox. “If you want, I can take a look at that stopped-up sink you mentioned.”

“You do plumbing?”

“Just the simple stuff.”

She stood in the bathroom doorway and watched while he wiggled his upper torso beneath the bathroom vanity. “Can you get me that big monkey wrench? It’s in the bottom of the toolbox.”

Ivy handed him a wrench.

“That’s a socket wrench.”

She handed him the only other wrench-like object in the box.

Ezra grunted his approval. After some prolonged banging, and at least one muffled curse word, he extricated himself from the vanity cabinet with a curved piece of pipe in hand. “Here’s your problem,” he said. “Probably fifty years of built-up gunk.”

“Ick,” Ivy said. “Can it be fixed?”

“Sure. I’ll just rinse it out in the bathtub. Word to the wise, get yourself some drain cleaner and run it through there on the regular.”

“Awesome,” Ivy said, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. “Look, neighbor or no neighbor, I can’t let you do all these repairs for free.”

“You’re right,” Ezra agreed. “You got any coffee?”

“It’s just instant. My coffeemaker is on the moving truck.”

He grimaced. “Better than nothing, I guess. That’s my fee. A cup of hot coffee. I like mine with cream. And sugar. Is that a problem?”

She smiled despite herself. “I think I can handle that.”

“Cool. I’ll be done here in ten minutes.”

Ivy hummed under her breath as she brewed the coffee and set out mugs and a plate. She unwrapped Mrs. Huddleston’s cake and shuddered slightly. It was gooey and chocolatey with what looked like melted marshmallow topping. She placed a huge slice of cake on Ezra’s plate and set it on the table.

“Man, that coffee smells instant,” he announced as he walked into the kitchen.

“Sit.” Ivy pointed at the single chair pulled up to the wooden table.

“But where’ll you sit?” he asked.

“I’ll just lean against the counter and look decorative,” Ivy said.

“This doesn’t feel right,” he groused, easing onto the chair. “My mom would say she raised me better than this.”

“My house, my rules,” Ivy said lightly. She took a sip of coffee. “Thanks again for coming to my rescue. I’m afraid I haven’t been a very gracious hostess.”

Ezra looked down at the cake. “Don’t tell me you baked this in your spare time.” He shoved a forkful of it in his mouth, chewed, and grinned. “Oh my gawd,” he drawled. “This stuff is incredible.”

“Glad you like it,” she said. “It was a gift from Sally Huddleston. Do you know her?”

He took another bite of cake and washed it down with a gulp of coffee. “Never met the lady. Is there a Mr. Huddleston? If not, I might have to propose.”