Chapter 2

The mayor went off to the Henson place to ask, and it was a long while before he came back. He told me, with a helpless shrug, that the Hensons had said it was nothing serious and there was no need for any reinforcing.

I listened to that and gave a small laugh.

The Hensons had never been popular in the village to begin with.

And Murray, on top of it, was the local idler, a known troublemaker nobody wanted anything to do with.

So of course he'd think it was nothing.

"Mayor, if they don't want to, that's their business."

I looked at the mayor and said it plainly.

Then I let the matter drop.

I had no interest in dealing with that family anymore.

Especially since I knew exactly how fierce this hurricane was going to be.

Once it hit, it would be a disaster.

The Hensons wouldn't be able to weather it at all.

After the mayor left, I didn't concern myself with anything else and let the contractor keep working.

I'd assumed that this time around, with the hurricane still days off, I'd have nothing to do with the Hensons at all.

But I never expected that on the very next day, the contractor would call me.

They told me Murray was blocking the work.

Hearing that, I walked out of the house and saw Murray standing right at my gate.

"Amanda, what's your problem?"

The moment he saw me, he jabbed a finger at my wall and shouted, "You reinforce the wall, and then you go and stud the whole top with broken glass. What's that supposed to be?"

I looked at Murray, a flicker of curiosity on my face, and asked, "Murray, I reinforce my own wall, and that concerns you how?"

At that, he pointed at my wall. "Amanda, this village was perfectly fine before you came!"

"You show up and start reinforcing walls and setting glass into them. That means you don't trust us!"

I gave a small laugh. "Murray, me reinforcing my wall and setting glass on it has nothing to do with your family."

"Besides, I'm keeping thieves out. Are you planning on doing some stealing?"

The words landed, and quite a few of the workers turned to look at Murray.

His expression shifted at that.

He said quickly, "Amanda, I just can't stand you acting like this!"

"You make some money out there, and then you're wary of your own neighbors!"

"Treating all of us like thieves!"

I looked at him and said nothing at first, then spoke evenly. "First of all, I'm not treating you like thieves."

"I simply think my wall is too low, and since I've moved back to live here, I'm reinforcing it."

"And since I'm reinforcing it, I'm putting glass on top. That's to keep thieves out."

"I'm a woman living here alone. There's nothing wrong with setting glass up there."

His face was ugly, and he still wanted to say something, but I just looked at him coldly. "Murray, if you have any problem, you can go take it up with the mayor."

"And my household affairs are none of your business to be told about."

He listened, a shadow settling over his face, and then, with a cold snort, he turned and walked off fast.

Watching him go, my eyes already held a trace of worry.

I understood very well that Murray coming to me at a time like this proved he'd had his eye on my home for a while.

Even if the hurricane never came, he'd probably still have found a way to make trouble for me.

I thought it over, then called the private security firm.

"I need a few bodyguards to keep me safe."