"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Patricia demanded, her voice cutting through the humid air like a serrated blade. "The Whispering Pines noise ordinance strictly prohibits heavy labor after eight o'clock in the evening. You are disturbing the peace of this entire community."
Caleb slowly plunged the shovel into the dirt and leaned against the wooden handle. He looked up at her, his dark eyes entirely devoid of emotion. He wiped a streak of sweat from his forehead with the back of his forearm. "I'm not in Whispering Pines, Patricia," Caleb said, his deep voice calm and resonant. "And I don't care about your noise ordinance. I'm fixing a water line on my own property. Go home."
Patricia’s face flushed a deep, angry crimson. The blatant dismissal infuriated her. She was accustomed to homeowners cowering at the mere sight of her clipboard, begging for extensions on their lawn-height fines. To be spoken to with such quiet, unshakeable authority by a man standing in a ditch was entirely unacceptable to her inflated ego.
"You are a menace to this neighborhood!" Patricia shrieked, taking a perilous step closer to the muddy edge of the trench. She unclipped a thick stack of papers from her board and waved them aggressively in the air. "I have drafted the final annexation documents. You are going to sign these papers, agree to the architectural standards of the board, and stop this ridiculous, primitive behavior right now, or I will ensure you are buried in so much litigation you'll have to sell this dump to cover your legal fees!"
Caleb didn't flinch. He didn't yell back. He simply stared at her, analyzing her the way he would a volatile stock on the market. "You can't litigate a man for digging a hole on land he owns free and clear," Caleb replied coldly. "You have no jurisdiction here. Step away from the trench before you ruin those expensive white pants."
The calm, rational response severed Patricia's last remaining thread of sanity. She reached into the pocket of her navy blouse and pulled out her smartphone. "You want to play games?" she hissed, her eyes wide with a manic, vindictive energy. "Fine. We'll see how tough you are when the police drag you out of that mud pit for trespassing and public disturbance." She dialed 911, pressing the phone to her ear with a triumphant sneer.