Watching Amanda by Janelle Taylor Read Free Book Online

Ivy, Amanda, and Olivia stood talking, their expression serious. Somber.
    He studied Amanda, the one with the long brown hair. It was strange to suddenly see her in person after looking at her photograph for two days. When he’d finally read the rest of William’s letter and then glanced at the photograph of Amanda, he’d been unable to stop gazing at it.
    It was more than just her beauty, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was about her face that affected him so much. Some men might even consider her plain. She wore no make-up, and her hair was the hair of a teenaged girl—long and untouched by glop or dye or hairspray. It was her eyes, Ethan thought. Dark blue and searching, thinking.
    Amanda Sedgwick was smart. He could see that.
    What he knew of Amanda he could write down on the palm of his hand. He knew she was a single mother, but nothing of her relationship with the baby’s father. He knew she lived in a dumpy apartment building in Queens. He knew she worked for a hotel, but in what capacity, he had no idea.
    William’s letter left Ethan wanting to know more. Sure, the letter from the attorney gave detailed instructions, including some pertinent dates and times, such as this morning’s reading of the will, and the tenth, when Amanda would receive her envelope. But something was still missing. Though Ethan knew exactly what he was supposed to do, what he didn’t know was why.
    Ethan reached into his inside coat pocket for the manila envelope from William and pulled out the photograph of Amanda. He was careful not to slide out the other photograph. The baby’s photograph.
    Her hair was a bit longer now. She wore a plain black wool coat, and a plain back wool hat was pulled down over her ears. She was rubbing her hands from the cold.
    Well, Amanda, you might soon be able to afford gloves , he thought.
    Unless you screw up.
    The women went their separate ways, and he watched Amanda head for the subway. He thought about following her, checking her out a little, but he’d had enough of this city and it was barely ten o’clock in the morning.
    Last night, when Ethan had finally arrived in New York, the sight of the Manhattan skyline caused every muscle in his body to tense. He’d had to pull over on the highway.
    â€œWhy did you make me come back, William?” he’d screamed at the top of his lungs in his car, thousands of glittering lights from apartment building windows and car lights decorating the night sky. “You know why I left. You know what happened here.”
    Now, he took a deep breath. How the hell am I going to survive here another day, let alone a full month? he wondered, turning his collar up against the biting wind.
    As Amanda disappeared down the steps of the subway station, Ethan headed the opposite way, keeping his head down, lest anyone recognize him. This neighborhood had been one of his old stomping grounds, and the thought of running into someone he knew—someone he used to know—was unbearable.
    The cards and phone calls and concerned expressions had all been unbearable. I’m so sorry for your loss, Ethan... . Over and over and over. And some I didn’t even know you were married, Ethan. You lived, ate, and breathed the company... .
    He stopped dead in the middle of Sixth Avenue and stared up at the bright blue December sky, willing himself to shake away the thoughts, the memories. And then he continued on toward his hotel, where he could hole up until it was time to officially start the clock on the favor he owed William. His hotel had an Internet café, which meant he could drink a lot of strong, bracing coffee while doing a little digging for information on the mysterious Sedgwick family.

CHAPTER 5
    Amanda couldn’t sleep. Again. She glanced at her bedside table. Five o’clock.
    Five AM on Friday, December tenth.
    Envelope Day.
    Since leaving the lawyer’s office, Amanda had been able to think of nothing