He turned. Judith was four feet away.
"Our attorney is reviewing your purchase. He believes there may be grounds to challenge it under the community charter."
"There aren't."
"We'll see." She didn't blink. "In 36 years, this community has never faced a situation like this."
Franklin looked at her, at the woman behind her, at the man across the street holding his dead garden hose. "A situation like what, Mrs. Pennington?"
She pressed her lips tight and walked away without answering, but the answer hung in the summer air like the heat itself: heavy, suffocating, unspoken. Every person on Maple Ridge Court knew exactly what she meant. Not one of them would say it out loud.
Judith's next move came at noon. Franklin and Denise had finished unloading the truck. The living room was stacked with boxes. The kitchen counter was covered in wrapped dishes. Bruno had claimed a spot by the sliding glass door, nose pressed against the glass, watching squirrels on the fence.
For 30 minutes, everything was quiet. Denise let herself believe the worst was over. Then the doorbell rang.
Franklin opened the door. Judith stood on the porch with her phone held out, camera aimed at his face. "I'm recording this interaction for the HOA record."
Behind her, three neighbors stood on the lawn: the man in the polo shirt, the woman in the blue sundress, and an older man with silver hair and a golf visor.
"What do you want, Mrs. Pennington?"
"Your dog." She lowered the phone slightly. "Multiple residents have expressed safety concerns about the animal. He's been barking aggressively. He's unregistered with the HOA, and German Shepherds exceed our community weight restriction of 60 pounds."
"Bruno hasn't barked once since we arrived."
"That's not what I've been told." She turned to the older man. "Ed, didn't you hear barking earlier?"
Ed nodded slowly. "Sounded aggressive to me."
Franklin looked at Ed. The man's eyes darted to the ground. He hadn't heard anything. Everyone standing there knew he hadn't heard anything.
"Bruno is a trained, gentle dog," Denise said from behind Franklin. "He's three years old. He's never bitten anyone in his life."