How do you know that? Bailey’s voice was back in her head. He might have used all the beds, including the sofa.
“Because the one thing that I can believe that he told me was that he hated to sleep on sofas. It reminded him of his childhood,” Amanda answered out loud as she went out to the deck, picked up her phone, and found a message from Aunt Ellie.
Rather than sending a text, Amanda called and ranted for half an hour about the bed. When she finished her aunt Ellie was laughing so hard she had the hiccups.
“Now there’s the red-haired fireball of a niece that I raised. I wondered when that wimpy woman that had taken over her body would be banished. Welcome back, real Amanda Hilton.” Ellie chuckled. “I will bring you a bed tomorrow. There’s an extra twin-size one in storage in my garage. I’ll be there by six, so be on the lookout for me.”
“Thank you, Aunt Ellie. It will be more comfortable than the sofa, I’m sure. And bring a five-gallon can of gasoline with you.”
Ellie gasped. “You will not set fire to a mattress in town. Those damn things burn forever, and the smoke would be awful. Besides, after all the women he’s had on the thing, the fumes might be toxic. We’ll talk about it when I get there.”
“Thank you, but I intend to burn it or take it to a landfill. I won’t have that thing in my cabin,” Amanda said.
“See you tomorrow. Anything else you want me to bring?”
“A loaded sub sandwich with cold cuts and lots of Italian dressing,” she said.
“You got it,” Aunt Ellie said.
She laid the phone to the side, picked up the remote, and turned on the television, but before she could flip through the channels, the sliding doors out to the deck squeaked open. Gracie didn’t pay a bit of attention to Amanda but headed straight to the bathroom with Jamie right behind her.
Jamie stopped in her tracks and raised an eyebrow.
Amanda narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it. I’m not sleeping in that bed another night. Aunt Ellie is bringing me another bed tomorrow after she closes the shop. Good night.”
Jamie giggled.
“What’s so funny?” Amanda asked.
Jamie stopped and looked back. “It took you long enough to figure it out.”
Kate smiled as she came in the front door. “She’s young and slow.”
Amanda shook a finger at Kate. “Just because you are old doesn’t mean you are so smart. You married him, too.”
“Yes, I did. But I did not spend one night in that bed.”
“Me, either,” Jamie yelled from the hallway.
“And I won’t spend another one,” Amanda declared.
CHAPTER SEVEN
It was one of those days when if something could go wrong, it did. Even if there was no way something could go wrong, it did anyway. Kate started out the morning by burning her breakfast toast, spilling coffee all over her favorite pajamas, and killing a spider on the kitchen counter. She’d just put the ingredients for a smoothie into the blender when someone knocked on the door. On the way to open it, she stumbled over Amanda’s flip-flops and almost fell face-first across the living room floor.
“What in the hell is Waylon doing here this early?” she mumbled as she slung open the door.
“Good mornin’,” Hattie said cheerfully.
Kate frowned.
“I’m here for Gracie. Jamie said I can have her the next three mornings for Bible school down at our church. Is she ready?”
Kate shrugged.
“You haven’t had your morning coffee, have you? I’m an old bear until I get my two cups, too. I’ll just see if they’re out on the deck and you go get a cup poured,” Hattie said.
Kate stepped aside and let her enter the cabin. Hattie stopped in her tracks when she saw Amanda on the sofa. “Why isn’t she in one of the bedrooms? That can’t be good for her back.”
“She wanted the master bedroom but changed her mind last night,” Kate explained.
Jamie slid back the doors out onto the deck and smiled at Hattie. “She’s ready. We were having breakfast burritos while we waited.”
Gracie’s dark ponytail was held up with a bright-red bow that matched her red-checked sundress. Her white sandals showed wear, but Jamie had taken time to polish them. Gracie tiptoed across the floor and put her hand in Hattie’s.
“I’m ready. You will be my teacher, right?” Gracie slipped her hand in Hattie’s.
Oh, to be as trusting as a child, Kate thought.
“Yes, darlin’ girl, I will keep you right beside me all day,” Hattie said. “I’ll have her back by one. We feed them lunch before we turn them loose.”
Jamie bent down and kissed Gracie on the forehead. “Have fun. When you get home, I want to hear all about your new friends.”
“I’ll try to remember all their names.”
Jamie handed Hattie a piece of paper. “Hattie, here’s my phone number in case she wants me to come and get her before the Bible school is done.”