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Chapter 8

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TYLER

Elizabeth’s interest in the garage had piqued Tyler’s. She was out there when he’d returned from work, so he’d listened for when she got in the shower upstairs before making his way to the garage.

Opening the door, Tyler let himself in and flipped on the light. He was astonished at the cleanliness to the place.

A stack of notes sat on the counter where the late Mr. Manning, his father, used to work. Tyler ran his fingers along painted wood and could almost imagine him there sitting and talking about his projects.

On top of the stack of paper, one pad had a pencil sitting at an angle.

In the upper left corner a hand drawn logo of a hammer and a screwdriver forming a cross sat next to block letters spelling The House Doctor. “Hmm.”

His little wife was starting a business. As what? She didn’t have any skills that he was aware of. Not that they knew each other very well. Tyler hadn’t really gone out of his way to get to know her. He’d told her point-blank he wasn’t interested.

Not knowing her was his fault.

But as he caught glimpses of her personality and talents when he made the effort, he couldn’t help being impressed by her.

The House Doctor. He tapped the pad of paper and looked around the empty garage. Interesting.

He didn’t have a lot of time. She wasn’t like most women and didn’t stay in the bathroom for hours on end. Leaving the garage, Tyler made his way to the office slider, ducking inside and closing the door.

Watching the garage, he contemplated what he was uncovering. In only a few minutes, she walked into view, the object of his musings. She escaped into the shop door and didn’t even look to see if anyone watched her, or to see if anyone was out there.

After her shower she was still wearing the same clothes he saw her arrive in.

Maybe she didn’t have any sense of fashion. Tyler hadn’t seen any luggage when she’d arrive so maybe things really were stolen. That thought made him cringe. He had to tamp down his prejudices. He had thought for sure she’d been striving for dramatic effect. He didn’t know her and he had jumped to assumptions.

He didn’t like feeling guilty. Turning from the window, he ignored Elizabeth as she ducked from the garage and ran up the steps to the back door of the house.

If she wanted him to know, she’d tell him.

Far be it for him to force her to tell him something she wasn’t willing to tell.

Plus, he’d lived with his mom long enough to know that a woman would do extraordinary things to protect her heart.

The app continued to buzz on his phone. Her reminder to do the questionnaire felt like another nagging moment from the app. How was Tyler supposed to become interested in his wife when he was being told to?

He was getting locked into a hole of expectation and he couldn’t breathe.

What would he need to do to get free?