“I know, but these are real promising. Tell you what would help, if I had a little extra cash to grease the wheels, so to speak. You know, people like this are motivated by money.”
Natalie stared at her phone in disbelief for a moment before putting it back to her ear. “You’re asking me for more money?”
“Just a little cash advance,” he assured her quickly. “Against the final payment.”
“I’ve already paid you an advance. And I’ve gotten damn little in return for it,” she snapped.
“Now, Ms. Lofton, I told you when you hired me that it could take a few weeks to get you all the proof you need. You told me it would be worth it, if it meant clearing your name.”
“And it would be. But since I’m no closer to that now than I was when I hired you, I am not at all satisfied with your services.”
“Just let me explain—”
“I don’t want to hear any more explanations. I’ve done what you asked, Mr. Beecham. I’ve cleared out and left you to do your job, but I can’t see that you’ve accomplished anything I couldn’t do from here. I’m not giving you another cent until I see an itemized statement about what you’ve done on my behalf and a report about anything you’ve learned.”
“Hey, we agreed—”
“We agreed that you would do a job. I’m going to require evidence that you’ve done what you advertised.”
“But I—”
“I’ll expect a call from you when you have the report ready,” she said. “And I’ll expect it soon. Good day, Mr. Beecham.”
Her hands weren’t quite steady when she snapped the phone closed. It was a combination of anger, frustration and fear. Fear that she’d made a terrible mistake hiring this man. That she’d have to invest even more in someone else who might not produce any results. That she would never be able to prove that the accusations against her had been both unfounded and unfair.
Someone knocked on the back door, drawing her out of those unhappy thoughts. In the living room, Buddy barked, sounding excited. She knew just how he felt.
As she’d expected, Casey stood on the deck, looking at her through the glass. He gave her a little smile, and she smiled back, relieved that he seemed to be over his chagrin from last night. It was a measure of how besotted she was that she didn’t at first notice Kyle standing beside him.
By the time she opened the door, she had her emotions under control. She hoped. “Good morning, Casey. And Kyle. Nice to see you.”
“Thanks. I understand you had a little excitement last night.”
Her mind went immediately to the wrong place, making her cheeks warm a bit before she said, “The mirror, you mean? Yes, it certainly startled us.”
“I’ve already ordered another,” Casey told her. “It should be here in a couple of days.”
“I told him he didn’t have to pay for the replacement,” Kyle said with a shake of his head. “We’ve all made our share of mistakes, but he insisted on paying.”
“Maybe the mirror was defective,” Natalie suggested. “After all, it stayed in place for several days after Casey mounted it. Then it just fell for no reason.”
“I didn’t use enough glue,” Casey corrected her. “It finally just gave way. But thanks for offering the excuse.”
She shrugged.
“We’re going to be working on the roof today,” Kyle said, changing the subject. “We thought we should warn you before we get started. I hope our pounding doesn’t disturb you too much.”
“Maybe I’ll drive into town and visit my aunt.”
Kyle chuckled. “Good idea.”
Kyle was gone by the time Natalie returned to the cabin that afternoon. She had deliberately stayed away a good portion of the day, having a long visit with her aunt and then spending some time shopping and browsing through some of the quaint shops in town.Seeing Casey’s truck st
ill parked in her driveway, she wondered if he was still working or if he was waiting for her to return. Maybe both.
Her arms full of packages, she walked toward the cabin. Casey appeared from around the corner, having heard her arrive. Buddy followed at his heels, bounding ahead to welcome Natalie home.
“Need some help?” Casey asked.