he led Amelia out of the kitchen, he told himself that this inexplicable urge to get to know her was simply a result of his innate curiosity. Even as a kid he’d hungered for knowledge, needing to make sense of the world and the people around him. He’d never known his birth parents, and the foster families he’d lived with for the first three years of his life were nothing but a shadowy blur to him. As a result, he’d developed a need to make connections, to truly know the people in his life.
“We’ll take my car,” he said after he and Amelia put on their coats in the front hall.
She raised one dark-blond brow. “This isn’t a walking tour?”
“Trust me, you’ll thank me later. The ranch is too big to wander around on foot.”
Ten minutes later, as they drove through the sprawling compound, Amelia turned to him with a laugh. “Wow. You’re right. This place is huge.”
As he pointed out the various outbuildings and landmarks, Derek discovered that he enjoyed seeing the Double C through Amelia’s eyes. He suddenly realized he’d stopped paying attention to the scenery of the ranch he’d lived on all his life. His practice kept him so busy that he rarely ventured out of his comfortable brick home, which neighbored the big house, and he had no need to oversee the ranching operation, since their foreman, Hank, was more than capable of handling the day-to-day activities.
But as Amelia oohed and ahhed at her surroundings, Derek experienced a burst of pride. The Double C truly was spectacular, the landscape marked by rolling wooded hills, large paddocks and rustic outbuildings. Eden Falls had yet to see a heavy snow, but the layer of silver frost dusting the land hinted that winter would finally be making an appearance soon.
Pointing to the left, he turned to Amelia and said, “There’s a little stream about half a mile that way. It’s probably too cold to walk along the bank right now, but I’ll take you out there in the spring. It’s a really beautiful little spot.”
“That sounds nice,” she said in a noncommittal tone.
A fresh wave of unease swelled in his gut, prompting him to pull to the side of the dirt trail and put the car in Park. As determination hardened his jaw, he shifted in the driver’s seat and faced Amelia.
“Who are you?” he asked.
Shock flooded her eyes. “Wh-what?”
“Who are you, Amelia? We’ve been working together for three weeks, yet I still don’t know a thing about you. Why did you move to Eden Falls? What do you do for fun? Tell me something that nobody else knows about you.”
Her shoulders, which had been stiff a second ago, relaxed slightly. With a tiny shrug, she offered him a gentle smile. “There’s not much to know. If I’m being honest, I’m not a very interesting person.”
“I don’t believe that.” Not one bit. Because whatever she claimed, she did interest him. Far too much for his liking, in fact.
Realizing he wouldn’t drop the subject, Amelia released a sigh. “Well, you know why I moved to Eden Falls—for this job.”
“You ran out of gas, stopped in town for lunch and saw my ad in the paper,” he filled in, repeating the story she’d told him during her job interview.
“Yep.” She shrugged again. “Like I said, I was heading for Philly, hoping to find work at one of the hospitals there, but the moment I stepped into Eden Falls, I knew this was where I belonged. This town is … it’s … home. Know what I mean?”
“Yeah, actually I do,” he admitted.
“As for what I do for fun? Not much,” she said wryly. She pursed those lush lips, tilting her head in thought. “I used to volunteer a lot, mostly with hospital and children’s charities.”
“And what else?” he prompted. “What else do you like to do, Amelia?”
She hesitated and frustration bubbled in his stomach. Drawing details out of this woman was even harder than getting that terror Billy Hanson to sit still for his annual vaccinations.
“I love to bake,” she finally confessed. “I’m a whiz at crossword puzzles. I’m scared of bugs. I like to draw, but I’m not very good at it. I hate television—I only watch the news or DVDs. I’m not very outdoorsy, but I do like to ski.”
Well, that was a start.
Sensing that she was warming up to this sharing thing, Derek decided to do some more digging. “Why did you quit nursing after you left California? You’re a natural at it.”
He noticed the pulse point in her throat jump, as if he’d broached a subject she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. “I had no choice,” she said after a beat. “My father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and someone had to take care of him. My mother was gone and I don’t have any siblings, so my dad had nobody else.”
“So you gave up your career to take care of your father?” When she nodded, he whistled softly. “You must be very close to him, then.”
She slowly shook her head. “We weren’t close, at least not while I was growing up. My mother was … let’s just say controlling. And appearances were the only thing that mattered to her. She expected me to marry a wealthy man and spend my time sitting on committees and hosting dinner parties. When I told her I wanted to be a nurse, she pretty much disowned me. We weren’t even speaking when she died.”
Amelia swallowed. “I rarely saw my dad during those years. My mother made it clear that I wasn’t welcome, at least not until I stopped being so stubborn and lived the kind of life she wanted me to.”
Derek frowned. “And your father just sat by and let all this happen?”
“He let her call the shots,” she said sadly. “He knew I wanted more from my life, but he took my mother’s lead.” She gulped again. “I’d hoped Dad and I would get closer after she died, and we did—for a brief time. But the closeness only lasted a year or so. Then he was diagnosed, and now …” She let out a shaky breath. “Now he doesn’t even know who I am.”
As his heart constricted, Derek reached across the armrest and took her hand. She jerked in surprise, her gaze flying to his, but she didn’t pull her hand away.
Her skin was hot to the touch and so very smooth. Derek’s pulse quickened, a rush of desire flooding his body as Amelia gently rubbed her thumb over the center of his palm. Christ. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d held a woman’s hand. Consoling overwrought patients didn’t count; he frequently offered comfort to the folks he treated. But this was different. This was … terrifying.
Struggling to steady the erratic thudding of his heart, he slowly brought his hand back to the steering wheel, avoiding Amelia’s eyes. “Shall we continue the tour?” he asked thickly.
“Actually, um, maybe we should head back.” From the corner of his eye, he saw her edging closer to the door, as if trying to put distance between them. “I really do need to get started fixing up my apartment.”
He ignored the disappointment that clenched his insides, knowing it was for the best if she left now. This strange attraction to Amelia Phillips unsettled him. He wasn’t looking to get involved with anyone—not now and not in the
