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an avenging angel. “But I wonder. Are you ruining the garden on purpose? A way to strike at Beck for...what? What supposed crime did he commit against you? The same crime as the rest of us? Simply existing?”
    Her chin fell and her shoulders drew inward.
I deserve this. I really do.
“He didn’t do anything wrong. He’s wonderful.” And he was. As a boss, or whatever he happened to be to her—debt holder?—he totally rocked. He wasn’t hovering but allowing her to do her own thing, and knowing he wouldn’t be here, he’d taken steps to ensure she had everything she needed.
    But Beck, the guy? Him, she wasn’t so sure about. There was the one-and-done thing, of course, but also the fact that he’d bought Harlow’s ancestral home even though she hadn’t sold it. The bank had forced her off the property, voiding her claim to it, all because her mother had taken out a small loan a few years before, using the house as collateral. When her mother died, Harlow had tried to get a job.
    She’d visited every business in town and asked to paint murals on store windows, or to do portraits of family members. Even to paint houses. When those requests were denied, she’d applied for basically any position available—trash collector, bird-poop cleaner, bunion scraper—but everyone had turned her away. Most had laughed. Moving to the city would have been wise. No one knew the old Harlow, and someone, surely, would hire her
somewhere
to do
something
. But her heart beat for Strawberry Valley. Her mother had grown up here.
She’d
grown up here. She trusted the townsfolk not to hurt her, despite their hatred of her, which was far more than she could say for a city full of strangers.
    Plus, she had a five-step plan. Up first? Proving she wasn’t the incarnation of evil. So far no luck, but as she’d learned, circumstances could change in a blink.
    â€œI don’t know how to garden,” she admitted, “but I’m trying.”
    One of the blonde’s brows winged up, her expression total disbelief. “Well, then, I guess you should try harder.”
    â€œAngel?” A husky male voice drifted across the daylight, followed by squeaking hinges as the back door opened.
    Brook Lynn skipped over to greet her fiancé, Jase. He nodded at Harlow, his green eyes shrewd and curious, before he focused on Brook Lynn.
    â€œI missed you,” he said, uncaring that Harlow could hear. He brushed his fingers through the girl’s pale hair.
    â€œI was only gone a few minutes,” Brook Lynn replied with an adoring smile.
    â€œA second is too long. Maybe it’s time to have that surgery we talked about and finally get you attached to my side.”
    Brook Lynn chuckled. “Adding an extra two hundred and fifty pounds to this body will make it harder for me to kick zombie butt.”
    â€œI’ll protect you.”
    â€œActually, I’m pretty sure you’ll be one of the first to be bitten.”
    He nipped her lips. “Fine. Let me show you what I’ll do to you when I’m turned into a zombie.”
    The two lovebirds reminded Harlow of
Beauty and the Beast
. Romance at its best. Jase was a big man, tall and muscled, his dark hair styled in bad-boy spikes. Rumors claimed Brook Lynn had mentioned liking the style, and boom, the next day he’d changed his. He had tattoos running from the base of his neck to the waist of his pants. Maybe other places, too. Harlow had only glimpsed him shirtless as he worked on the outside of the house; she’d marveled that a man like him actually existed.
    Brook Lynn, on the other hand, appeared fragile and as useless as a doll, though everyone knew she was as far from a child’s toy as possible. Not only had she tamed the town’s new dragon—a feat in and of itself—but she’d started her own flourishing catering business.
    Their love had inspired