The Man Next Door
by Sheila Roberts
Publisher: MIRA
Release Date: October 14, 2025
Zona never thought her life was headed this way, but here she is, newly divorced and moving back in with her mom, Louise. After her gambling addicted ex-husband lost all of their savings, including their daughter's college fund, she doesn't really have a choice. She's cutting every coupon she can and she's going to help put her daughter through nursing school, even if it kills her.
This wasn't Louise's plan, either, laid up at home with a broken leg after one unfortunate tumble on the senior singles cruise she'd been looking forward to for months. But if she's going to spend all her time at home, at least she's got her daughter there with her. And there's some hot new eye candy next door to distract them both from their troubles. He appears to be single and just around Zona's age. Could his arrival be the universe making amends for everything it's put her through?
Maybe the universe isn't feeling as generous as Louise hoped. There’s something lurking under that mans surface charm, something…dangerous? And who's the woman they can hear him in all-out shouting matches with on the other side of the fence? When the woman seems to disappear without a trace, imaginations run wild. Or at least, Zona hopes it's just her mother's imagination...
Excerpt
The Man Next Door
by Sheila Roberts
The
next morning was a Saturday, but instead of prowling garage sales, Zona was
hanging lost dog poster with Darling’s black furry face on them.
She’d
hung posters far and wide and was duct-taping the last one to a streetlight
pole on Louise’s street when Alec James’s truck pulled up next to her. “Your
dog’s missing,” he guessed.
This
was the last man on the planet she wanted to talk to about their missing dog.
Or anything. They were going to ignore Alec James and keep their distance.
“Yes,”
she replied curtly, and turned to leave.
“Get
in. I’ll help you look for him.”
Yes,
grab ahold of that buzzing power line. “I can look for him on my own.”
“You
can look for him better if someone else is driving,” he pointed out.
“Come
on, get in. Let me help you.” His tone of voice was polite. Civilized. Kind?
No, that was going too far.
No
way was she riding around in such tight quarters with this man.
“I won’t bite,” he said.
“Come on, get in.”
It
was broad daylight. What could he do to her?
Her
mother would suggest all kinds of grisly possibilities.
He
leaned across the seat and opened the cab door.
Polite
woman syndrome won out and she got in.
Politeness
kills, cried her nerves.
Broad
daylight. We’re fine, she told them.
“Fireworks
scared him?” Alec James guessed as they drove away from the curb.
“Yes.”
“You
should have sedated him.”
Unrequested
advice a day late. “My mom didn’t want to.”
“It
doesn’t really hurt them.”
“Oh,
so you’re a vet in your spare time?” She sounded snotty. What was she doing
talking snotty to Alec James? The last thing she wanted to do was antagonize a
man with a temper like his.
He
frowned and shut up. The silence in the small, enclosed space made her feel
like fire ants were crawling under her skin. What was she doing riding around
with him?
He
was the first to break it. “Okay, was that what’s called mansplaining?”
Don’t
make him mad. “Maybe a little Man starting to ‘splain.”
“Don’t
mean to,” he said as they slowly turned a corner. “You’re probably not going to
believe this, but I’m not a dog hater. And I wouldn’t ever kick your dog. I’ve
never kicked a dog in my life. And I’ve had two of my own. You really need to
train him though.”
“You
did notice my mother’s cast, right?” The response escaped before her common
sense could catch it.
He
frowned. “Of course I did. But you’re there.”
“Barely.
Right now, I’m working two jobs.”
“Yeah?
Where?”
“I
work at the Department of Licensing.”
“Where
you stand until you die,” he cracked.
They
were understaffed and overworked. She didn’t laugh.
“Doesn’t
sound like a very fun job. What’s your other one?”
“Garage
sales.” Okay, that sounded ridiculous. And why did she have to justify her lack
of time to train Darling to this man? More to the point, why was she in this
truck with him?
His
lips lifted in a smile. “Garage sales are a job, huh?”
“They
are when you’re looking for things to sell.”
“How
come you’re got to work two jobs?”
No way was she sharing
her personal problems. “Why does anyone work two jobs?”
They
rounded another corner. “To pay for stuff they shouldn’t have bought in the
first place,” he said, his voice hardening.
She
felt the shift away from friendly, but she couldn’t let that go. “You know,
there’s usually more to people’s lives than you see on the surface.”
“Might
be a good thing for you and your mom to remember.”
Was
that a scold or a threat? The fire ants were scrambling, and the truck was
closing in on Zona.
“Just
drop me off here,” she said. “I’ll have better luck finding Darling if I’m on
foot.” And feel safer.
“Yeah,
right,” he scoffed.
Her
imagination shot into overdrive, and she suddenly wondered if he was going to
let her out.
“You
might want to call the animal shelter. Maybe someone’s found him and turned him
in. Is he chipped?”
Now
he was all kindness and concern again. How many personalities did this guy
have? “Yes,” she said, her hand on the door handle.
“Good.”
He pulled to the curb and stopped the truck. “Good luck,” he said as she opened
the door.
“Thanks.”
She slid out, shut it and stepped away. Then started walking fast down the
street.
She
was still feeling jittery as he drove off. And a little concerned for her own
mental state. Alec James gave her the creeps, and yet she was attracted to him.
Only a fool would be attracted to someone who gave her the creeps.
Well,
she’d already proved twice that she was a fool, so no surprise.
~~~~~~~~~
Have you ever had suspicions about a neighbor? Did they pan out or were you way off base?
Have you read Sheila Roberts yet?
How do you feel about multi-generation stories?
One randomly chosen person who posts a comment before 11:00 PM, October 12, 2025 will receive a print copy of The Man Next Door.
*U.S. only
*Must be 18
USA Today
and Publishers Weekly best-selling author and fan favorite, Sheila
Roberts has almost fifty books to her credit. Under different names she’s
written Regency romance novels, as well as devotionals and personal development
books. She did lots of things before settling in to her writing career,
including owning a singing telegram company and playing in a band. Her band
days are over, but she still enjoys writing songs. Her novel, On
Strike for Christmas, was a Lifetime Network movie, and her novel, The
Nine Lives of Christmas, was made into a movie for the Hallmark
channel. When she’s not speaking to women’s groups or hanging out with her
husband or her girlfriends she can be found writing about those things near and
dear to women’s hearts: family, friends, and chocolate. Sheila divides her time
between Washington State and California.
Facebook author
page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044180452595
Website: www.sheilasplace.com
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sheilarobertswriter
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