He almost tripped on a sprinkler hidden under the grass and it moved easily under his foot.Ethan examined it.Definitely broken.Snapped off at the base, which would have taken more force than just tripping on it.
The path continued and stopped near the kitchen window of the house.His stomach clenched as he spotted Chelsea working at the table inside.
Whoever had come into the garden would have seen her last night.
Was it Darren, annoyed by Ethan’s demand he pay back the money?Or had it been Johann wanting to keep an eye on what Chelsea was up to?
Either way, Ethan didn’t like it.He’d make sure Chelsea pulled the blinds at night and he would monitor the situation tonight.
Uneasy and with his pelvis really aching now, he took Chelsea’s advice and lay on the hammock.
While he lay there, he considered the garden from a defensive point of view.Where would he situate cameras to keep watch?
It was impossible to narrow down the access points because the garden butted up against bushland and the farmland, and anyone could enter from all along the fence line.
So it was a matter of considering the target.
If they wanted to spy on Chelsea, that narrowed the paths they would take around the buildings.
A camera on the barn, a cabin and the gazebo would give a good view of people coming and going.
Honeybrook didn’t have an electronics store, but Pinjarra wasn’t far away and he might be able to pick up a couple there.
It was too late to head there today and if he wasn’t quick, he’d not make it to the grocery store to get ingredients for dinner.
He gingerly got out of the hammock.
It was time he showed Chelsea how important she was.
When he arrived back, Chelsea was still sitting at the kitchen table in front of her laptop, her fingers racing across the keyboard.She glanced up, with a moment of confusion before she recognised him.She smiled and pushed a stray bit of hair out of her eyes.
“Don’t mind me.I’m going to make dinner, if it won’t disturb you.”
Surprise flitted across her face.“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”He placed the groceries on the kitchen bench and then brushed a kiss against her forehead.“I hope you still like cottage pie.”
Surprise crossed her face.“It’s my favourite.”
“Great.Can I pour you a glass of wine?”He held up two bottles.“Red or white?”
Chelsea shook her head as if she couldn’t quite believe it.“White, please.”
Not good enough.She deserved to be taken care of.She should expect it.He found two wine glasses and poured the drinks.When he placed hers on the table next to her, he glanced at her screen.On it was a Lilydale restoration website showing before and after photos, but in this case, the after photos were what Darren had done to it.He skimmed the text, which told the story.Emotive and heart-felt.“That’s amazing, Chels.”
“It’s not live yet.I need to tweak a few more things.I want to find more before photos.I had some on my phone, but I haven’t gone through Aunt Maggie’s laptop.”
“I might have some.”He grabbed his phone from his pocket and flicked through, finding some he’d taken a couple of years ago when he’d last visited Lilydale.“What’s your number?I’ll text them to you.”
She gave it to him and he sent them.
“Do you want a hand with dinner?”she asked.
“No.I’ve got this.You do what you want.”
She sipped her wine.“All right.I’ll see if I can get this finished before dinner.”By the time he returned to the kitchen, she was back at work, typing fast on her laptop, her focus on the task at hand.
Ethan smiled, loving her concentration, and got to work to provide her sustenance.
