Page 28 of My Favorite Hero

Casey snorted. “Miller’s welcome anytime. I’d never hurt him. You, on the other hand… Never mind—you’re so sour, you’d be uneatable.”

She was furious, yet my lips quirked.

“And call before you show up. I think the law says I get twenty-four-hours’ notice.”

Then she shut the door in my face.

Well, that went sideways fast.

But at least I put my foot down.

No wind chimes.

I sighed as I went into my house. I wasn’t sure how to ask for my carafe back, though. I was a little worried she’d drop some poison into the container.

Dammit.

Lou mentioned keeping an open mind. She should have led with the patience part first.

I wondered if Sandy had something else I could bribe Casey with.

I’d have to figure that out.

Chapter Seven

CASEY

Infuriating man. I wanted to stomp over there and slap him.

And maybe kiss him.

But probably slap him.

I sat down and let my head fall into my hands.

How could one person be so confusing?

One moment, he was Jesse—relaxed, pleasant, even charming. I found him incredibly attractive. He was manly, yet slightly awkward. When he laughed, he was almost irresistible. That was the Jesse I wanted to kiss.

The next minute, he was Thorne. A drill sergeant, barking out orders. Demanding I obey him.

I snorted. Not likely.

He was the one I wanted to slap.

Maybe knock some sense into him. Or dislodge the stick he had up his ass.

I looked at the wind chimes I had started to make. Unlike the commercial kind, which did tend to be rather loud and annoying and were made with cheap metal tubes and clappers, I made mine with tiny bells, little pieces of stained glass, seashells, and driftwood, along with small versions of the tubes and clappers. The bells sang sweetly in the wind, the glass tinkled, and the clapper sang softly. It was soothing and lovely.

And according to my landlord, a definite no.

Too bad for him, I didn’t like the word no.

I sat down and got to work.

It took me the rest of the day plus the next morning, but as I held up my new set of wind chimes, I was pleased. The light danced off the glass and the brass. I added some crystal beads into it, and those shimmered in the sun. I moved it around, letting the air current work its magic, and the bells rang out, the tiny tubes I added hitting the clapper perfectly, making the chiming sound so appealing.

It wasn’t loud since I only used smaller metal pieces. It was perfect.