Ethan shifted back in his seat as she spoke to her mother and glanced around the kitchen.Nothing had changed in here.Perhaps Maggie hadn’t been inclined to modernise, or maybe she hadn’t had the money.Though from what he knew about her, he suspected the real reason was because this was what she’d chosen with her fiancé and she hadn’t wanted to change a thing.
He listened as Chelsea explained her plan to her mother and then asked about the extra land.Her mouth dropped open.“How much?”She nodded.“I had no idea.”A pause.“Oh, I can’t ask you to do that.”Her expression crumpled and tears pricked in her eyes.
Ethan clenched his hands.What had Sabine said to upset Chelsea?He waited, and she sniffed and said, “Thank you, Mum.It means the world to me.”
His fists relaxed.They were happy tears, not sad tears.Still, he impatiently waited until she hung up and took a couple of breaths to calm herself.He raised his eyebrows in question.
“She’s going to transfer the property into my name.”Chelsea swallowed.“She’s giving me Lilydale.”
He reached out and squeezed her hand, knowing what it meant to her.“That’s great.”
“She wants me to have the security she never had.”She shook her head as if she couldn’t believe it.“The property has to be worth a lot.There are sixty-five hectares of land behind Lilydale’s gardens.”
A decent size.“I have a friend who’s considering getting out of the army,” Ethan said.“If you think of selling some of the land, he might be interested.”
“Does he want to become a farmer?”
Ethan chuckled at the thought of Dobby as a farmer.“No.He wants to go into security and needs land to set up a training ground.”
“For security?”
“Hostage extraction, bodyguard work and the like.”
She pursed her lips.“I haven’t thought that far ahead, but he could call me and we can discuss.”
He liked that she wasn’t dismissing the possibility out of hand.“What’s your action plan?”
She hesitated.“Are you really interested?”
“I’ve got a month of leave to fill.I want to know what work I’ll be doing.”
Chelsea stared at him.“Why do you want to spend your free time helping me?”
It was a good question and one he didn’t want to investigate in any detail, but he wasn’t ready to leave Chelsea or Lilydale.“Aunt Maggie was one of the few people who showed me any kindness when I was a kid.I’d like to repay her.”
“She wouldn’t expect any repayment.”
“I know.”He shrugged.“Seeing the mess the garden is in after all the hours I worked on it… I can’t leave it like this.”
Chapter10
Chelsea studied Ethan.While an extra pair of hands would be useful, she hadn’t examined how she felt about him being back in her life.The attraction was still there.He’d grown into a very handsome man and sitting next to him at the table, she had an almost electrified awareness of him.He didn’t seem to feel the same, his glances friendly and open, but nothing more.Though he was the one who had broken up with her.
That in itself should have her shoving him out the door.“What about your injury?”
“It’s fine.”
She hesitated.She could arrange it so they didn’t even see each other in the sixteen- acre garden if she wanted.
The thought gave her peace.Lilydale had a special place in both of their hearts.This was a simple business arrangement.
“All right.I’d appreciate all the help I can get.”She pulled her laptop towards her, waking it out of sleep mode.“I spent last night working out the priorities in my plan to bring people back to town.”She turned the computer so he could view the screen and he shuffled closer, his warm arm brushing hers.Her skin tingled, and she pulled her arm away.
An email notification dinged and her heart jumped.“Let me check this.”Chelsea clicked on the email from the lawnmower man Lauren had suggested.She’d emailed him as soon as she’d arrived home last night with photos of the garden, and a request for a quote.She’d outlined the problem and what equipment she had.
His response was short.I’m up for a challenge.Had a cancellation for Friday so could come then.His number followed the message.
“Yes!”She called him, and within five minutes she’d received his quote and arranged for him to come down Thursday night so he could start early Friday.
