Page 76 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Casey***

“Casey!”

“Hey, Jan!” I hop onto one of the stools and survey the bar.

“I see you’re managing without me.”

“Barely. When are you coming back?”

“That’s what I’m here to talk to Rusty about. I think I’m

ready.”

She smiles with an audible sigh of relief. I guess she really

does miss me.

“Good. Rusty’s around back.”

“Thanks.”

I walk down the corridor and knock on Rusty’s office door.

When he gives permission to enter, I turn the doorknob and step inside. He

smiles and rises to his feet, moving around the desk to give me a hug.

“Casey, darlin’!”

“Hey, Rusty.”

“How are you feelin’?”

“Much better. Ready to come back to work.”

“I want to talk to you about that.”

He adopts a business-like tone and posture for the first

time since I’ve known him. Oh, God… Please, don’t fire me. I need

something to keep me busy.

“You’re a hard worker… smart… and I trust you.”

“Thanks.”

“I love what you’ve done with the place,” he continues.

“That being said, I want you to manage it. You’ll have little interference from

me. You can run it the way you see fit.”

“Oh, wow. I’ll have to think about that, Rusty. I mean… that

would be full time.”

“Yes, with a full-time salary.”

The salary is not my problem, the hours are. “Could

you give me a couple days?”

“Sure. You can give me your answer at the end of the week.”

“Thanks, Rusty.”

I say good-bye to the girls and decide to head home because

I need to think. I’ll have to talk to Daddy in the morning, too. In the parking

lot, I get the weird feeling I’m being watched. Out of instinct, I reach into

my purse and wrap my fingers around my pepper spray. In my other hand, I

position my keys between my fingers and make a fist. Hearing footsteps behind

me, I turn to see a man racing toward me. Not one to ask questions first, I

raise my pepper spray the moment he’s close enough. He cries out and covers his

eyes, blindly clutching at me. With all my strength, I raise my foot and

deliver a swift kick to his groin. Holy crap! The dude must have balls of

steel. I grimace in pain and notice two other guys rushing in my direction, hopefully

to help. My attacker runs off, escaping into the woods. One of the men hurries

to help me while the other takes off after my attacker.

“Are you okay, miss?”

“I hurt my ankle,” I answer.

“Do you want me to take you to the hospital?”

“No. Just help me inside, please. I’ll have one of the girls

take me home.”

“No problem.”

He effortlessly swings me up into his arms and heads for the

bar. I glance at him as I curl my arms around his neck. What is it with

Canid and tanned, muscular, demi-gods? Jeez….

“Thank you for your help,” I say.

“You’re welcome. Seems like you were doing pretty well on

your own, though.”

“That’s New York street smarts for ya.”

Jan runs to my side when we enter the bar, and one of the

guys brings me a chair.

“Casey, what happened?” Jan shrieks.

“Some asshole tried to attack me in the parking lot.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just think I sprained my ankle.”

“When she kicked him in the balls,” the demi-god says with a

grin.

I smile at Heracles as he and everyone else laughs.

“What about your friend?” I ask. “He went after the guy.”

“Yeah, I’ll see if I find him.”

Jan kneels by my chair, a worried frown on her lips. “Do you

need anything?”

“Just a ride home.”

“I’m on it. I’ll get some ice for your ankle.”