A/N I'm so sorry that this is taking so long. I got slammed with a virus of some sort last weekend and it knocked me for a loop. I'm just now feeling better though I have a lingering cough that isn't fun. I was afraid to post the story while I was sick for fear that I would not notice typos. So in the meantime, I realized that I didn't like the last chapters of the story so I ended up taking the time to do a complete rewrite. I hope you enjoy the end result.

And now on with our story:

Chapter 17 - Girl Talk

The next day, Amanda was still upset with the argument from the night before so she hurried down the stairs after her shower without Lee. As she arrived outside the kitchen, she happened to overhear Angela talking on the phone.

"I think he needs to disappear. I'm telling you, Dennis saw him talking to our new baker last night in the pumpkin field and I'm sure he was telling her his tales. I doubt there is anything to worry about but he is just too much of a loose cannon."

There was silence and then Angela said "Yeah, I'll keep an eye on her. You make sure you keep an eye on her boyfriend. Maybe they both need to have an accident at the falls."

Amanda gasped and ran back up the stairs and pounded on Lee's door. Lee finally came to the door wearing only a towel around his waist. "Oh, are you talking to me again?"

Amanda shoved Lee into his room, shut the door and locked it behind her.

"Wow Amanda! I didn't think you were that type of woman." Lee said as he broke out into a smile.

"Will you shut up a minute? I need to tell you what I just heard."

She then told him in whispers about what she had just overheard. Lee shook his head and said "Amanda, I'm sorry. It sounds like maybe you are on to something. If they are talking about getting rid of us, it has to mean something. I should have listened to you."

"What are we going to do?"

"Well we are going to go about our day like we are supposed to and then after my ghost walk tonight, we need to go check out the trail and Falls and see if we can find anything. I'm wondering if those areas are where they hide the people they are sneaking in until they can blend them in with a new batch of tourists."

"That would make sense. I was thinking that maybe they have made up all the ghost stories for that area to keep the townspeople too afraid to be around the Falls after dark which allows them to be able to sneak people in under the cover of the night." Amanda added.

"You might be right. Okay, let me go finish getting ready so we can head down to breakfast and not look suspicious."

Lee went out to the bathroom and finished getting dressed and then the two walked down to breakfast. Angela greeted them both with a cheery "Hello, how did you both sleep?"

"Great" They both said at once. "How about you?" Amanda asked.

"Oh, I slept like a log like always. Not too much keeps me awake."

Amanda smiled and said she was happy to hear that.

Soon the regular kitchen staff came out loaded with lots of delicious looking breakfast food. There were plenty of the special pumpkin donuts that Claire had made the day before. Amanda tried to convince Lee to have one along with his coffee but he looked at her and said "Amanda, you know that breakfast makes me feel ill. I just like my coffee in the morning."

Before she could say it, Lee joins in and says "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."

Amanda chuckled and said "I guess I've told you that a few times, haven't I?"

"Yes, just a few dear." Lee said as he winked at her. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized that Angela had been watching them and he was glad that he and Amanda could play off like a couple so easily. He purposely looked at Angela and smiled. She quickly diverted her gaze and seemed to occupy herself with eating the French Toast that was on her plate.

When everyone had eaten their fill, the kitchen staff came out to clear off the tables while the barn crew headed out to begin their day.

Amanda quickly got up and began helping carry the dirty dishes into the kitchen so they could clean up and let the baking staff take over. It took no time with all of them helping to clear off the tables, rinse off the dishes and load up the numerous dishwashers in the kitchen.

Once everything was in tip top shape, the 4 ladies could finally get down to the serious business of baking.

Sara took Amanda under her wing this time. She wanted to show her the special recipe she had for pumpkin cookies and pumpkin eclairs. While they worked, they chatted and Amanda asked her about her late husband.

"Dan was a wonderful man. He already owned the barbershop when I met him. I think I fell in love with him immediately. He was always such a gentleman and was kind to people. There were always so many people in his shop all the time. People would stop by even if they didn't have an appointment so they could talk to him. He built up such a great business that he was able to leave me a nice bank account because he said he never wanted me to worry about money."

"Well that was nice of him."

"What about you Amanda?"

"What about me?" she asked.

"Have you ever been married?"

Amanda hesitated for only a few seconds before replying "No, not me. I've never been married."

"So is Lee the one?"

"Oh, I don't know about that. I mean most of the time he is good to me and we have fun together but I don't know if I'm ready to settle down yet. It's a big step to take."

Sara smiled and said "Well a man as nice looking as Lee won't be single for much longer. I would grab him if I was you and not let him go."

Amanda chuckled at the thought and said "we'll see. We still have a lot of differences to work through. We really have very little in common."

Sara patted Amanda's hand and decided to change the subject.

"Amanda, did you know that on Thursday, all the employees get to go out and enjoy the day on the grounds?

"No, really?"

"Yes, When Mary opened this place, she liked to make sure that her staff got to enjoy time to share in the magic of this place so every year we try to pick a day with either a full moon or close to a full moon to go out and have fun like a regular tourist. We'll just do some extra baking on Wednesday to make sure there is enough product. Since that handsome boyfriend of yours doesn't have to work until later, I'm sure he can join you too. They call it employee day and they try to free up as many of the employees as possible so they can have fun."

"It does sound like fun" Amanda said.

The rest of the day turned out to be uneventful other than Bubba sneaking in and trying to steal some of their pastries. Margaret was making her rounds and caught him red handed with the evidence. He winked at her and said "I couldn't help myself."

She laughed as she slapped his butt and told him to get back to work. Margaret didn't spend much time with the bakers since Angela was there but when Amanda did see her, she was always very serious about her job. Amanda couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be a little chemistry between Margaret and Bubba though. Whenever he would walk into the room, Margaret lit up like a Christmas tree. Bubba did pop up a lot for no reason in areas where Margaret was working. Amanda hoped that they would find happiness together.

The rest of the day flew by and soon Lee was back for his dinner. "Hi Darling" He said as he walked through the kitchen. "I have missed you. Why don't you come upstairs while I get ready for dinner?"

"Sure Sweetheart." She responded. They walked holding hands up to their room to make sure their cover stayed convincing and then Lee let go as they entered his room.

"Amanda, I think something might be happening tonight."

"What makes you say that?"

"Two of the ranch hands didn't know I was outside the barn when they began talking about how they were asked to work tonight. They were apparently asked to do a special assignment and were offered a lot of money to do it."

"Did they say what it was?"

"Unfortunately, no. I definitely have to go to the Falls tonight."

"You mean, We need to go to the Falls tonight."

"No, you should stay here."

"But I want to go. Besides, when we talked this morning, you said that we would go check out the falls."

Amanda, No, I work better alone and now that I really know it is getting dangerous, it just isn't a good idea for you to come with me."

"Lee, I should go. I can be your backup."

"How are you going to back me up Amanda?"

"Well, I can watch and let you know if I see anyone."

"No"

"Yes"

"No, Amanda and that is final"

Amanda glared at his for a moment and then left his room. Lee stared at the slamming door as she left. He shook his head and then finished getting ready for dinner and his job.

Meanwhile, Amanda went to her room and began pacing.

TBC