A messy black-haired boy wearing a dark green tunic and a goofy expression on his face stepped in front of your house from around the side. "Oh, hi! Just doing some construction!" The boy shouted towards you.

So . . . Not a crime scene investigation? "How long should that take?" you awkwardly asked.

The boy scratched the back of his head, unsure, then shrugged his shoulders. "You live here? I thought this was one of the unoccupied houses, so I decided to fix it up with Corey." He paused after his explanation. "I haven't seen you around before."

"I'm ____. I only moved in a few days ago."

The boy's green eyes flickered to Garroth, as he made a connection. "Oh! You must be that girl I saw Garroth carrying last night."

Your face flushed as you turned to Garroth. You knew you'd ended up in the guard tower somehow, but this construction worker's statement really put it into perspective.

Garroth shrugged, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah . . ." He trailed off sheepishly. "That was us you saw."

For some reason, Garroth's confirmation only flushed your cheeks a darker color. You cleared your throat and turned back to the worker. "I don't think I've seen you before, either. What's your name?"

"I'm Brendan! I'm a great handy-man, and equally as great with the ladies!" He put on a sly expression, but was too enthusiastic about it to play the role convincingly. You didn't question him any further, hoping that the sooner he got to work, the sooner you could move back in.

Probably combine this with chapter 18