Page 23 of Wanted By You

But none of that is where my gaze lands, because she’s got a wrench in her hand and there’s water splattered all over her arms and shirt.

I open my mouth to start my spiel.

She points the wrench at me. “Do you know anything about hot water tanks?”

My brow furrows at the same time a fat wiener dog comes hobbling out the door and over to me with a wagging tail and a yip in greeting. “Yeah?”

Cassidy opens the door further. “If you help me, I’ll accept whatever lame apology you’ve come to give me.” Patting her leg, she coos, “Come on, Frankie, get back in here.”

Frankie hobbles back into the house on command and Cassidy waves me in. I kick off my boots at the door as she closes it behind me. The place is clean, and fairly neat, but small. I’m barely clearing the ceiling. It’s easy to tell what’s new and what she’s kept from her father.

I follow her through the kitchen area and down the narrow hall.

“I don’t know what happened,” she starts. “I just bought it not even three months ago. I followed all the instructions to put it in,and it’s been working great. I was able to take a hot shower last night, but then this morning when I went to do the dishes, it’s like ice.”

I crouch down in front of the smallest closet known to man where the forty-gallon hot water tank sits and look it over.How the hell did she get this in here by herself?

“You installed this yourself?” I ask, trying to keep the disbelief out of my voice.

“Yeah,” she says, bending down beside me. “Why? Did I do something wrong?”

Doing a quick run-through, she did everything right as far as I can tell. “Where’s your fuse box?” I ask.

She opens the other side of the double-door closet, exposing the fuse box.

I nod, finding the problem right away. “The fuse to the water heater is blown. You’ll need to get a replacement.”

“Well, I got this at Andy’s, do they have the replacement there?”

I stand. “They should. You’ll need two for the kind you’ve got here.”

“Okay.” She sighs. “Thank you.”

“I can, uh, do it for you if you want,” I say. She glares up at me, crossing her arms under her breasts with a raised brow. I rub the back of my neck. “Listen, about last night…” I trail off, not remembering what I had rehearsed in my head.

Well, there goes that.Nice job, asshole.

Cassidy sighs, heavier this time. “Don’t worry about it. I know it wasn’t your fault. Garrett gets like that sometimes. He’s usually a fun drunk, but he still dives head first into his lows every so often.”

“Still,” I press on. “It was a fucked-up way to end the night, and I’m sorry.” My gaze trails over her stunning features only to land on her busted lip. “How’s your lip?”

“It’s okay. Just split. I iced it last night.”

I nod, not knowing what else to say except, “Have you heard from your brother?”

She scoffs, gesturing back toward the kitchen. “Why do you think I woke up to a sink full of dishes? Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s the reason the fuse blew. Probably passed out in the shower again.”

“Where is he now?”

“Heck if I know. Last night was probably the first night he’s spent here in the last two months. He comes and goes as he pleases. Eats my food, makes a mess, drops off his dirty clothes, gets new ones, and leaves. It’s a loving cycle we have going.”

I scowl. “Sounds like it.”

“Yeah.” She bites her bottom lip for a second, wincing and releasing it quickly. “Anyway, I don’t want to be rude, but I should probably get ready for work if I need to swing by the hardware store before they close.”

“What time do you need to be at the coffee shop?” I ask.

“Eleven.”

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