Chapter 13

• "Amanda's not here," the distinctly male voice called out as Ernest inspected the crash site the following morning. "Yeah, I know," Ernest said, walking toward the old man. "I was hoping to convince her to spend the day with me." "She's not one of those good-time girls who hops into bed with any fella who offers!" the man said sharply. "I never thought she was," Ernest chuckled. It's one of the things I like about her. She is a special kind of angel. " "That she is, she's like a daughter to me. I'm Bob Nicolls. I was a friend of her father's, and I kept an eye on the place for her, "he held out his hand." "Ernest Kesler, I'm the guy who crashed in the big storm a few days ago," he introduced himself. "Bad business, that,but you seem better off than the greenhouse," Bob observed. "Yeah, it's pretty bad; repairs should begin next week, once the insurance assessment is completed," Ernest agreed."Good. I thought Elena and Alecks would try and hold up the work, so she would run out of time and have no choice but to accept the developer's offer." "She a piece of work that Elena could never understand what John saw in her personally," Bob said conversationally. "I 've offered Amanda help, financially, to get through this quarter, but she won't take it; she just wants the insurance for the repairs." Maybe you can talk some sense into her. " Ernest asked. "She's a stubborn girl, that one," Bob said. He considered Ernest thoughtfully and decided to tell him the story of how Elena had let this place run into the ground before signing it over to Amanda, and how, through sheer force of will, the stubborn young woman had brought the place back to life and eked out a living for herself here. Ernest knew the story, but it was interesting to hear it from Bob's perspective instead of listening to the basic facts he had gotten from Neil and Wade. Kaden had followed him into the greenhouse during the story and had naturally begun helping the man start to clear away some of the debris from the ruined section of the greenhouse as they talked. He learned more about the woman he couldn't stop thinking about after only an hour of talking to this one man.The more he discovered about Amanda, the more he wanted to know. He had never met a woman like her. She was kind, caring, and innately good. He remembered that, even when she was obviously mad at him, she had worried about his injuries and made sure he was looked after last night. She was strong and resourceful, and she was beautiful, though she didn't know it and her low self-esteem wouldn't let her believe it, even when it was pointed out. He smiled, remembering the way she looked as he rose from the bed this morning, her long hair fanned out over the pillow. It took a great deal of self-restraint for him to walk out of the bedroom and let her sleep. She didn't know it and her low self-esteem wouldn't let her believe it, even when it was pointed out. He smiled, remembering the way she looked as he rose from the bed this morning, her long hair fanned out over the pillow. It took a great deal of self-restraint for him to walk out of the bedroom and let her sleep. She didn't know it and her low self-esteem wouldn't let her believe it, even when it was pointed out. He smiled, remembering the way she looked as he rose from the bed this morning, her long hair fanned out over the pillow. It took a great deal of self-restraint for him to walk out of the bedroom and let her sleep.
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• Amanda woke up alone, hugging the teddy bear she had received the night before, and rolled over, expecting to see Ernest asleep and finding nothing. She looked at the clock; she had slept in, and she remembered that she had turned her phone off, so the alarm couldn't have woken her. She decided, feeling a pang of disappointment, and went to have a shower, berating herself for having been taken in by his charm again.