Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 101466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101466 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
It was the worst torture.
The pizza I ate and normally enjoyed tasted like sawdust.
Twice, I almost broke down and returned her damn wind chimes, hoping she would share. But I stuck it out, and now I could hide for a few days at the station, still victorious.
I made coffee, sitting at the table and sipping the hot liquid. I leaned my head back, enjoying the quiet. Casey’s SUV wasn’t in the driveway, so I assumed she was out on errands. She seemed to do a lot of those, but as I recalled, when I’d first moved in, so did I.
As I poured my second cup, I heard her vehicle return, but I didn’t go check. She might still be feeling stabby. That made me chuckle.
I heard her door open and shut, and I wondered if she’d delivered her cookies to Cal. Then I heard her back door open. Miller’s ears perked up and he headed to the door, but the squeaking sound of the garage door opening made me shake my head. “No visit with your buddy today, Miller. Sorry.”
I stood and peered out the window, and I wondered if she was trying to get a tote off the shelf. I hoped she wasn’t so stubborn she’d risk getting hurt to prove a point.
But she came out of the garage carrying a hammer and went inside. I recalled the pictures I had seen. She must be planning on hanging them.
I certainly knew better than to offer to help. I headed upstairs, intent on a long, hot shower, knowing the next few days I would only get short ones.
When I got out, I dried off quickly and pulled on my sweats. I was towel-drying my hair when I heard it.
The distinctive sound of wind chimes.
I tossed my towel on the bed and headed downstairs. I opened the front door, looking around. I didn’t see anything. No twigs or shells, no pieces of glass or bells.
But I heard it.
I jumped off the porch, looking everywhere. There was nothing on the porch. Nothing by her back deck.
But the damn bells kept tinkling.
I circled the house, finally looking up. Dangling from the eavestrough were wind chimes. Right outside her bedroom window. And standing in the window, looking down at me, was Casey. She leaned out. “I didn’t attach anything, and you said no wind chimes on the porch.” She spoke in a triumphant voice, obviously thinking she had beaten me.
“I can hear it in my house,” I snarled.
“It’s breezy today.”
“Take it down.” Then a thought occurred to me. “How the hell did you get it up there?”
“I borrowed Trevor’s ladder. From next door.”
“You climbed up all that way? You could have fallen!” I yelled.
“Trevor spotted me.”
“Trevor is a sixty-year-old man with a heart condition.” I glared at her. “It’s coming down, Katharine Casey.”
“No it’s not, Thorne. And for God’s sake, put on some clothes. There are children on this street. They don’t need to be seeing that!”
I glanced down, realizing I had no shirt on. And for some reason, my cock had decided he liked Casey’s smart mouth and had also decided to make his presence known.
“Why don’t you come down and make me?” I taunted. “Or better yet, I’ll come up there. Help you out with your obvious problem.”
“My problem?”
I crossed my arms. “I heard the buzzing the last couple of nights, Casey. I could help you really relieve your tension since your silicone friend isn’t working.” I winked at her. “I’d consider it a fair trade. No wind chimes, but you get the wind taken out of your sails.”
For a moment, she was silent. Shocked.
Then she blushed. Like a teenager.
She leaned out farther. “That is my electric toothbrush, you idiot. We share a bathroom wall, not a bedroom one,” she hissed.
I frowned. That made sense, but frankly, I liked my idea better—the thought of her alone, working herself into a frenzy. Maybe thinking of me.
My fucking cock liked the idea far too much, pressing on the material of my sweats.
I met her eyes. “Offer is still open.”
“Go home, Thorne. You’ve obviously inhaled too much smoke over the years. You’re delusional.”
She slammed the window, making the wind chimes dance in the air movement.
I gritted my teeth as I raced to my place. It was chilly outside, and I was bare-chested and had no shoes on my feet.
Plus, I was turned on. Dammit, how did arguing with that woman make me so horny?
And now, I needed to figure out how to get those wind chimes down.
Pronto.
I waited until just before I left for the station. I quietly went into the garage and grabbed the extension pole I’d used to put up Christmas lights for Lou over the past few years. I stood by the side of the house and carefully snagged the hook the wind chimes were on that she’d hung from the eavestrough. It was a stretch without using the ladder, but I got them. I eased the pole back down and wrapped the purloined chimes inside my jacket. I slid the pole back into its spot and slipped into my house using the trees that surrounded the property as cover. The same way I had snuck in, in case Casey was watching.