and feminine about Amy Ross that he found eminently watchable. On the other hand, there was something about her story that didn’t quite add up.
The child’s presence…Amy’s nervousness…Her insistence on coming now at such an inappropriate time when the wet season was about to break over their heads.
He knew Amy hoped to return to Serenity with him to take publicity shots, but already he was convinced that even agreeing to this meeting had been a huge mistake.
Amy could feel her heart beating in her throat. It had been such a shock to see Seth and Bella together. She’d never dreamed there could be such a strong likeness between a grown man and a baby girl, and she found it hard to believe that he hadn’t seen the resemblance for himself.
How much time did she have before he began to notice and to ask difficult, searching questions?
She was pretty sure he could see huge holes in her claim that she’d come here solely to gather promotional material for Rachel’s book. She was terrified Seth Reardon might change his mind about allowing her to spend a couple of days on his cattle property, and if that happened she would have no choice but to reveal her real reason for coming north.
But she couldn’t tell him yet.
It was too soon.
To surprise this cold and forbidding cattleman with the news that he’d fathered a daughter was a delicate and difficult exercise. The timing was crucial, and there was no way she wanted to tell him such distressing news now in this strange hotel, miles from anywhere.
This exercise couldn’t be rushed. She needed a chance to get to know Seth Reardon first. She wanted to win his confidence and trust—if that were possible, which right now she seriously doubted. She had hoped that together she and Seth could work out the best way to care for her precious Bella.
Amy forced a shaky smile, uncomfortably conscious that Seth Reardon was an exceptionally good-looking man. Rachel had always had good taste in men, and Seth’s lean, rugged physique and arresting blue eyes were enough to make any young woman forget her mother’s warnings.
Last night, when Amy had arrived here, she’d mentioned his name to the publican’s wife, Marie, and the woman’s reaction had puzzled her.
‘Seth Reardon?’ Her eyes had widened with sudden surprise. ‘Oooh…He’s a quiet one. Doesn’t hang around the pub much. He’s…cold. But there’s something about him though. Eyes that make you wonder.’
‘Wonder what?’ Amy had prompted, hoping to hear a positive comment.
The woman had actually blushed, and then she’d shot a quick glance at Bella, who’d been sitting at the dining table, absorbed in drinking a glass of iced milk with a straw.
‘What?’ Amy had asked again.
‘Oh, I’ve always had a soft spot for a man with blue eyes,’ Marie had said lamely and she’d become very busy clearing dishes while she muttered about needing to get back to the kitchen.
Amy had been left with the impression that Seth Reardon was dangerous.
Even Rachel had admitted that Seth had been cool and distant at first, until she’d got to know him. Not that Amy would allow her mind to dwell on thoughts of Rachel and Seth becoming familiar…
Or intimate.
The very idea…of Seth Reardon making love…was like a close encounter with a lightning bolt.
He sent a frowning glance to the window and Amy saw that it had started to rain rather heavily. ‘When you phoned last week you said you planned to take photographs, but this weather’s going to rule that out. I did try to warn you that this is the wet season.’
‘I suppose I could take photos of the rain. Rachel might have written about the wet season.’
‘I doubt it. She was here in the dry season, in the winter.’
‘Oh, yes, of course.’
Seth frowned at her. ‘Haven’t you read her book?’
‘Actually…no.’
Her friend had been uncharacteristically protective about this story and she’d never offered Amy so much as a peek at the manuscript.
After the accident, Amy hadn’t liked to search through the files on Rachel’s computer. It had felt too much like snooping. She had sat down once to read a section of Rachel’s poetry, but she’d been overcome by grief. It was like hearing Rachel’s voice—and the thoughts expressed had been too intensely personal.
Amy had been in tears as she’d shut down the computer.
She hadn’t opened it again.
Seth’s eyes widened. ‘How do you plan to promote this book, then?’
‘These are early days, and I’m just starting my research. I have the publisher’s back-cover copy, and a picture of the front cover. It’s rather beautiful. Would you like to see it?’
She dug a folder out of her bag, and handed it to him. The book’s cover depicted a balmy tropical beach at sunset with palm trees and white sand. Distant islands floated in the background, and the sun melted into a smooth golden sea.
‘I know it’s not very accurate,’ she admitted, sending another glance out of the window. She’d been dismayed by Tamundra’s rather desolate main street and the drab gum trees beyond it, and red earth that stretched for miles. She was pretty sure the whole of Cape York looked just as bad, so the cover was deceptive to say the least.
Seth Reardon shrugged. ‘There are sections on the eastern edge of Serenity that look exactly like that.’
‘Oh.’ Amy looked again at the idyllic palm trees and golden sand and felt her jaw drop with surprise.
Seth’s blue eyes froze her. ‘You haven’t done your homework, Amy Ross.’
‘I—I’ve done my best,’ she spluttered. ‘I—I told you I’ve only just started. It’s only two months since Rachel died and I—I’ve been busy. With Bella.’
They both looked down at Bella, who was sprawled on the carpet, busy with a scrapbook and fat crayons.
‘My drawing Amy,’ the little girl announced proudly as she made a lopsided circle with a purple crayon. ‘An’ here’s Amy’s eyes.’
Happily, Bella drew small purple squiggles inside the circle.
Amy gave her an encouraging smile. ‘That’s lovely, Bella. Now draw my mouth.’
A small sigh escaped Seth and he lifted his gaze from the child and studied Amy.
She resisted an urge to squirm beneath his scrutiny. It was important to appear calm and in control.
‘I’d like to know more about Rachel’s stay up here,’ she said, hoping to convince Seth that she wasn’t wasting his time. ‘What kind of work was she doing? How did she fit into life on a cattle station?’
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