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It took them more than an hour to complete the cleanup. They actually finished fifteen minutes earlier than that, but Casey obsessed about making sure not the tiniest sliver of glass remained to assault her unexpectedly. Making her cringe, he ran his bare hand over nearly every surface in the now-sparkling bathroom, so that if there had been a shard hidden somewhere it would have lodged in his palm. Despite her repeated assurances that she didn’t blame him for the accident, he seemed to think he would deserve the pain if he did get punctured.
Reassured that the bathroom was glass-free, if still powerfully fragrant, he gathered his things. He paused long enough to pet the dog and praise him for being a good boy while they’d worked, and then he moved toward the door.
“I’ll order a new mirror at my expense first thing in the morning,” he assured Natalie. “And I want to repay you for anything that was broken in the crash. I’m sorry about the inconvenience.”
She was getting tired of arguing with him. She merely nodded and opened the door for him, vowing to herself that she would just keep putting him off about the broken items until he forgot about them. She had no intention of taking his money for a few lost toiletries. She rarely wore perfume, anyway; the bottle had been a gift from Thad. Hardly a treasured memento.
He hesitated on the doorstep, as if he felt as though there was something more he needed to say, or do. And then he gave her a wry smile and murmured, “Good night, Natalie.”
“Good night.”
She closed the door behind him.
Turning to look at the dog sleeping by the fire, she sighed deeply. “Well, Buddy. Looks like it’s just you and me tonight.”
A low snore was his only response.
Shaking her head, she moved wearily toward the bedroom to retrieve a blanket and pillow. She wouldn’t bother pulling out the bed from the sofa. There was plenty of room as it was, considering she would be sleeping alone.
It was almost eleven when Casey walked into his own cabin, his ego still stinging, his body still aching with frustration. He couldn’t even think about sleeping yet. He knew he would lie in bed hearing the sound of that mirror crashing from the wall and picturing Natalie standing in front of it when it did. He shuddered.What kind of hubris had made him think he could be a handyman with no training, no experience? Had he thought it was that easy compared
to being an attorney? Had he really been that arrogant, so oblivious that it hadn’t even occurred to him that a mistake on his part could cause more than simple property damage?
He really needed to tell Natalie the truth about himself. He’d started to do so tonight, but they’d been interrupted by Buddy and then he’d gotten too busy cleaning up the broken glass. Or so he’d told himself.
Maybe he would tell her tomorrow. It wasn’t like it was a big, dark secret. Without much interest, he glanced at the screen of his cell phone, noting that he’d missed calls that evening from his father, one of his aunts, his cousin Jason and his cousin Andrew. He’d silenced the ringer on his phone earlier. He hadn’t wanted his evening with Natalie interrupted by calls.
It wasn’t quite ten o’clock back in Dallas, not too late to return any of the calls. He should at least call his dad, he thought, gazing morosely down at the screen. The thing was, he just wasn’t in the mood to talk. Everyone wanted to know when he’d be home, and he wasn’t yet ready to answer that question.
He knew he needed to go back. The only thing holding him here was indecision.
And Natalie.
He knew he shouldn’t be thinking that way. Knew very well that she wasn’t looking for anything serious. He had tried not to let his emotions get involved with their…flirtation, for want of a better word. But he might as well admit it—he was falling hard for her.
The thought of saying goodbye to her, maybe never seeing her again—well, he just wasn’t ready for that yet. Which meant he should probably start spending less time with her—but he didn’t think he could do that, either. It had been ridiculous how much he had missed her while he’d been at the amusement park with Molly and the kids.
He could be headed for real trouble here, he thought with a frown. As if his life hadn’t been complicated enough already.
Considering everything, Natalie slept fairly well on the couch. She woke a little sore from all the unaccustomed activity the day before, but she figured a hot shower would take care of that. She was relieved to discover that leaving the vent fan running all night had cured the master bath of the perfume overdose.Buddy had spent the night on the hearth rug, ignoring the bed she’d made for him in the laundry room. She let him out while she made her coffee, watching through the window as he ran around the yard, sniffing and scratching. He seemed to enjoy being outside, but just as she was ready to go take her shower, he was back at the glass door, scratching for entrance.
He was certainly taking to the indoor life, she thought with a wry smile, moving to let him in.
“You stay here,” she told him. “I’m going to get dressed. If the phone rings, take a message,” she added, laughing a little as she moved toward the bedroom. She laughed again when Buddy yipped as if in agreement.
She took a hot, leisurely shower, dried her hair, applied a little makeup and then dressed in a soft red sweater and jeans. Ready for the day, she glanced at her watch. It was eight-thirty back in Nashville. That should be late enough on a weekday morning to make a business call, she decided, dialing Beecham’s number. If she got his voice mail again, she intended to leave a very pointed message for him.
But Beecham answered in the same cheery, busy-sounding tone he always used with her. “Good morning, Ms. Lofton.”
She didn’t bother with trivialities this time. “Have you looked into the source of Cathy Linski’s extra money? Have you found out anything new since the last time I talked to you?”
“I’ve been following some rumors about Miss Linski,” he replied with a slightly condescending tone that set her teeth on edge. “She’s been running with a pretty plush crowd lately. Lots of money flowing with that bunch.”
“So I’ve heard. So where is she getting her money?” Natalie demanded impatiently. “She’s not making that much at the firm. And as far as I know she hasn’t come into any inheritances. Have there been any new media leaks about clients during the past couple of weeks? Anything that could account for Cathy’s extra income?”
“I’m following some pretty good leads,” he assured her.
“You’ve told me that before.”
