Elijah simply accepted the binder, offered a polite nod, and said nothing about his job. He preferred to keep work separate from his home life. The last thing he wanted was for his neighbors to treat him differently because he wore a badge.

The real trouble began during his second week.

Elijah was in the garage buffing the Mustang’s chrome when Logan Hartman strutted up the driveway as though he owned the property. The teenager’s designer sneakers squeaked against the concrete.

“Sweet ride,” Logan said, running one hand along the freshly polished fender.

“V8, 429 Cobra Jet,” Elijah replied, gently moving Logan’s hand away. “I just finished waxing that spot.”

Logan’s eyes lit up with the familiar look of someone who had always been allowed to take whatever interested him.

“You should let me take it for a spin,” he said. “I’m an excellent driver. I got my license last month.”

Elijah nearly laughed. A seventeen-year-old with one month of driving experience was not getting behind the wheel of a four-hundred-horsepower muscle car.

“Not in this lifetime,” he said.

Logan’s face hardened.

“My dad pays a lot in HOA fees. Like, a lot. That means we own part of this street. Technically, that makes me part owner of everything on it.”

The logic was so absurd that Elijah had to pause before answering.

“That isn’t how property ownership works,” he said evenly.

“We’ll see about that,” Logan muttered before stomping away.

Twenty minutes later, Vivien appeared at Elijah’s door dressed for battle. She wore crisp white pants, a navy blazer pinned with the HOA emblem, and heels that clicked like gunfire across the porch.

“Mr. Grant,” she said, skipping any greeting, “my son tells me you were rude to him.”

“I told him he couldn’t drive my car,” Elijah answered.

Vivien’s mouth flattened into a thin line.

“Logan is a very responsible young man. When he shows interest in something, it’s only neighborly to accommodate him. We’re a community here.”

“That is a vintage car worth more than many people earn in a year,” Elijah replied. “No one drives it but me.”