The Rancher's Adopted Family (5 page)

Her longing for fame and glamour had outweighed her sense of responsibility.

Bottom line, she hadn’t loved him enough.

Regretting that he’d started this line of talk, he sent Amy another shrugging smile. ‘I was better off up here with my uncle.’

‘I can’t believe that.’

‘I didn’t believe it at first, but with the benefit of hindsight I know it was best.’

Amy looked as if she couldn’t possibly agree.

‘Think about it,’ Seth told her. ‘What twelve-year-old boy would choose to live in a low-rent flat in a huge metropolis like Los Angeles, when he could be here, learning to ride horses, to raise cattle, to fish and to skin-dive, to explore deserted islands, and to paddle a kayak?’

‘I guess,’ she said uncertainly.

‘I owe my uncle a great deal.’

As if she needed time to think about this, she picked up the coffee pot. ‘Would you like a refill?’

‘Thanks.’ He held out his cup and he admired the unconscious elegance of her slim wrists and hands as she lifted the teapot and poured.

She was dressed for the tropical heat in a soft blue cotton dress, with loose sleeves that left her smooth, lightly tanned arms free. Her hair, which had dried in
natural waves after their swim, was twisted into a loose knot from which wispy curls strayed.

Her citified neatness was beginning to unravel and Seth found the process utterly fascinating. He wasn’t sure which version of Amy he preferred, but one thing was certain—he was finding it close to impossible to remain detached, an aloof observer.

But he had to keep his distance. In a matter of days she was returning to Melbourne. She was a city girl. End of story.

Amy filled her cup and added milk, then settled down to resume their conversation. ‘So did your mother make it big in Hollywood?’

‘She’s had walk-on parts in daytime soap operas, but that’s about it.’

‘Has she made enough money to live on?’

‘I have no idea, but it doesn’t really matter. She remarried,’ Seth said coldly. ‘Found herself a cashed-up Californian.’

‘Has she ever been here?’

‘Once, when she dropped me off,’ he said, unhappily aware that he’d revealed much more than he’d intended. It was time to put a stop to these personal questions. Years ago, he’d learned to live without his mother and he wasn’t going to admit to a tender-hearted woman like Amy Ross that his only contact with her had been letters on his eighteenth and twenty-first birthdays with generous cheques attached.

He drained his coffee cup and stood. ‘I’m afraid I have business to attend to and I’m sure you’d appreciate time to yourself while Bella’s asleep.’

‘I’d like to take photographs of your grounds, if that’s all right.’

‘Be my guest. But keep to the open areas. Don’t go wandering off into the rainforest, or down the track to the beach.’

Amy frowned. ‘Do you think I’ll get lost?’

‘I’m assuming you’d rather not come face to face with an amethystine python, or a salt-water crocodile.’

The colour drained from her face and he winced. In one breath he’d completely ruined her stay.

‘I’m exaggerating the danger,’ he said more gently. ‘People have been living here for decades quite safely. But I’d rather you didn’t go exploring without me.’

‘Yes,’ she acceded, still looking pale. ‘That might be best.’

‘So promise me for now that you won’t go beyond the garden.’

Amy gave him her word.

A
S SHE
watched Seth stride away, Amy almost changed her mind about setting foot outside the house. The spectre of snakes and crocodiles scared her to death and in a panicky rush she ran back to the bedroom to make sure that Bella was still sleeping safely.

The windows and doors to their room were screened, however, and no creepy-crawlies could find their way in, thank God. Bella was fine.

She knew Seth’s claim was true—plenty of people had lived here and avoided being eaten. Rachel had stayed here for six weeks and she’d never mentioned any special dangers. Then again, Rachel had kept quiet about a lot of things in the north.

Including Seth.

But Amy had already tortured herself enough over that man. All morning, she’d driven herself crazy fretting over his relationship with Rachel, his plans for Bella, and her own giddy pulse rate whenever he was near.

Taking several deep breaths, she swore to put him out of her mind, and she set off, camera in hand, to explore his garden.

Which was lovely. Really lovely.

Again she wondered why Rachel had never mentioned how gorgeous this place was. She’d made so few comments, hadn’t shown any pictures. Nothing. Had she saved it all for her book?

Amy didn’t know the names of many of the tropical plants, but as she walked she recognised hibiscus, orchids and bougainvilleas growing lushly amidst ferns and palms. She loved the showiness and variety of the lavishly hued tropical flowers and leaves.

The butterflies and birds were extra bright and beautiful, too. All living things here were wonderfully vivid. Nature at double strength. As she walked down twisting paths, she felt as if her senses were zapped onto high alert.

She was surrounded by fragrances—the scents of frangipani, of ginger and cardamom, mixed with a pervading smell of damp earth and vegetation. There was a constant peep-peep-peeping sound, which, Seth had already explained, came from tiny tree frogs in the nearby forest.

Here in the tropics there was a sense of life teeming and lush, pushing to the max, and she was aware of an indefinable something that stirred her, a constant pulse-raising excitement and restlessness.

Perhaps that was why her thoughts zeroed straight back to Seth.

She couldn’t help it. He was such a fascinating puzzle.

He’d said he was fine about his mother’s defection, but Amy had been watching him closely, and despite his brave words she’d seen dark pain in his eyes and in the tightening set of his mouth.

Her heart ached for him, but his brave stoicism also frightened her. How could they come to an agreement about Bella’s future when his attitude to mothers and motherhood was almost the polar opposite of hers?

Amy adored her mum and she adored caring for Bella, but if Seth had managed so famously in this remote place without any contact with his mother, he might easily assume that Bella would be fine here, too.

And where, Amy wondered, did that leave her?

It was a relief, on rounding a tall clump of pink ginger, to be distracted by an elderly man wearing a wide-brimmed hat of woven cane and happily hacking at palm fronds with a long-handled machete.

‘Hi,’ Amy called, waving to catch his attention.

In no time, she’d introduced herself and learned that he was Hans, who’d grown up in Indonesia, and had worked as a gardener on Serenity for more than twenty years.

‘Can I show you my garden?’ he asked in response to her eager compliments, and when she assured him she’d love that he grinned so widely his face disappeared into a mass of brown wrinkles.

For the next half-hour, Amy was highly entertained
and
educated, and she tried, once again, to put Seth Reardon and his potential threats to her happiness firmly out of her mind.

Seth didn’t return to the homestead until it was close to dusk. By then, the sky had turned smoky aqua and pink and the garden was filled with purple shadows. Amy was about to take Bella inside for her bath when she saw Seth coming across the lawn to the house.

There was something tired about his shoulders that she hadn’t noticed before, but his smile was bright when Bella ran to greet him with her usual bouncing enthusiasm.

He scooped her up in his arms and swung her so high that the little girl squealed, then begged for more.

Seth laughed. ‘That’s enough for now.’ He shot Amy
a bright-eyed glance. ‘Come with me and I’ll show you magic fireflies.’

‘Fireflies?’ Amy and Bella chorused together.

He nodded towards the darkening forest. ‘Over here. Come on, I’ll show you.’

They went down a flight of stone steps to a lower terrace, crossed the lawn to a dark line of trees, and Amy saw a narrow track leading away into the shadowy depths of the forest. Seth, who was holding Bella with one arm, suddenly reached for Amy’s hand.

Heat raced over her skin like a fire out of control.

‘Stay with me,’ he said quietly and for a giddy, heart-stumbling moment, she fancied he was asking her to…stay here…

To live with him at Serenity.

And then, crazily, even though she’d only known him for two days, she felt an astonishing impulse to say yes.

‘We’ll take this track slowly,’ he said.

Oh, good grief.

Embarrassment flooded Amy as she realised her mistake. Seth wanted her to stay close to him on the darkened track. Of course he wasn’t talking about a romantic future.

Of course, of course.

Silently, she cursed her ridiculous reaction. For heaven’s sake. Her job was to protect Bella’s future happiness, and she had to remember that Seth might yet make unreasonable demands and become their enemy.

‘W-what about the s-n-a-k-e-s?’ she whispered, spelling out the word so she didn’t frighten Bella.

‘You’ll be OK with me. I know what to look for.’

‘Are you sure?’

She saw the flash of his teeth as he grinned at her.
‘Tree snakes aren’t really dangerous, unless you’re a bird or a little possum.’

Her heart was thundering like a Mack truck, but the problem wasn’t so much her fear of snakes as the intimate warmth of Seth’s hand enclosing hers. She registered every detail—the slightly rough texture of his palm, the individual pressure of each of his fingers.

Seth took them deeper into the forest, dodging hanging vines and buttressed tree roots. The frogs were silent now and the trees crowded close, but just when Amy wondered if they were mad to continue into the gathering gloom they reached a clearing—and Seth released her hand.

The sudden feeling of loss was alarming, but Amy was soon gasping with amazement as tiny pinpricks of light flitted and danced in the dusky glade. The fireflies flashed in front of them, behind them, and above them, and they looked exactly like tiny glowing fairies.

Seth was right—they were magic. Truly magic and utterly entrancing.

‘They’re so beautiful,’ Amy said softly. ‘Look Bella, see the fireflies. They’re like fairies.’

‘Fairies,’ Bella repeated in hushed awe.

‘Aren’t they pretty?’

The little girl nodded, and for once she was too entranced to speak. She simply wound her arms around Seth’s neck and hugged him more tightly, and he smiled and kissed her cheek.

‘Is that firefly all right? It doesn’t seem able to fly,’ Amy said, pointing to a blinking light that had stayed on the ground the whole time.

Seth laughed softly. ‘That’s a female. She stays down there quietly, waiting till a flashing male appeals to her, and then she flashes back, signalling her interest.’

‘Oh.’ Amy wished she hadn’t asked and she was sure she was still blushing when it was time to head back.

‘I didn’t bring a torch,’ Seth told her. ‘So you need to stay close.’

He took her hand again and she vowed to remain calm and sensible as they made their way back.

Conversation would be a helpful distraction, she decided, so she told Seth that she’d made friends with Hans, the gardener, and that she’d visited the kitchen to talk to Ming. Bella chattered about fairies, then promptly begged for another swim.

‘Not till tomorrow,’ Seth told her gently but firmly, as if he was already completely comfortable with his new role as her father.

Amy half expected Bella to ask again for a swim, pleading and putting on her whiny voice, but the little girl accepted Seth’s ruling without a murmur.

They reached the edge of the trees where they could see the lights from the house spilling across the terraced lawns, and just when Amy expected Seth to release her she felt his thumb stroke the back of her hand. Slowly. Deliberately.

Just once.

A trembling thrill raced from her breastbone to her toes.

She knew it hadn’t been an accident.

She couldn’t breathe, but then Seth released her hand and he set Bella down to run ahead of them over the smooth lawn.

Still trembling from his touch, Amy sent a quick glance in his direction, but his attention was focused entirely on Bella, and he was smiling as he watched her skipping and flapping her arms in the warm night air.

‘She’s trying to be a firefly,’ he said.

‘She’s having a great time here,’ Amy admitted softly.

‘She is, isn’t she?’ He was still smiling.

She wanted to remind him of his intention to let Bella return to Melbourne at the end of their stay, but she was silenced by the shining light in his eyes. For the first time since she’d met him, he looked genuinely happy.

After Seth showered and changed into fresh clothes, he went through to the kitchen, where he found Bella at the kitchen table, glowing pink and clean after her bath, smelling of baby talcum powder and wolfing down a bowl of Ming’s special chicken congee.

‘Hi, Sef,’ Bella called, waving her spoon at him. ‘My eating dinner.’

‘Lucky you.’ He found himself smiling back at her. He’d been smiling so much lately it was a wonder his face hadn’t cracked. ‘Is Amy about?’ he asked Ming.

‘She’s taking a shower.’ Ming turned from the stove, shot a shrewd glance Seth’s way, and grinned. ‘I reckon she’s doing the same as you.’

‘What’s that?’

‘Getting spruced up for your dinner date.’

‘It isn’t a date.’

Ming’s keen gaze took in Seth’s clean moleskin trousers and neatly pressed shirt and Seth felt the back of his neck grow hot.

‘I thought I explained,’ he said tightly. ‘Amy’s a friend of Rachel’s. You remember Rachel? Rachel Tyler?’

‘Of course.’ The cook frowned and turned back to the stove. ‘But Amy Ross is nothing like Rachel.’

‘No,’ Seth agreed as he helped Bella to scrape the last of the chicken and rice porridge from the bottom of her
bowl. ‘Amy’s not remotely like Rachel. They’re chalk and cheese.’

He heard a sound behind him and turned to find Amy in the doorway. Her hair was loose to her shoulders, brushed and shining, and she was wearing a white summery dress with no sleeves and a soft, floaty skirt. She carried an apricot silk wrap, and her skin looked natural and free from make-up. She was…in a word…

Lovely…

Breathtakingly so.

And she looked as if she might, at any moment, burst into tears.

Seth cursed beneath his breath as he realised she’d overheard his conversation with Ming, and the comparison with Rachel.
Damn
. He’d meant it as a compliment, but it could just as easily have sounded like a put-down to her. Problem was, he couldn’t explain exactly what he’d meant by his ‘chalk and cheese’ statement without embarrassing her in front of Ming, and without casting her best friend in a bad light.

Despite the abrupt and awkward silence, Amy came into the room and flashed a bright smile, clearly determined to carry on as if she’d heard nothing. ‘Has Bella finished her dinner?’

‘She’s eaten every drop,’ Seth told her.

‘Ming, you must be a genius.’ Amy admired the empty bowl elaborately. ‘Bella doesn’t normally eat much in the evenings.’

Ming grinned. ‘Everyone likes my cooking.’

‘You should thank Ming, Bella.’

‘Thank you, Ming,’ the little girl parroted obediently, but her smile was genuine enough to melt the shy cook’s heart.

‘Now drink up your milk because it’s time for bed.’

As soon as the milk was down Amy whisked the child away.

Not once did she look at Seth.

Amy took a deep breath as she walked across the subtly lit veranda, past a table set prettily for two, with a candle under a glass dome and a pink ceramic bowl filled with floating flowers. She found Seth sitting on the top veranda step, staring out into the vast, moony black night.

‘Seth?’

His head whipped around and his gaze was fierce.

She swallowed. ‘Would you mind saying goodnight to Bella?’ Smiling awkwardly, she explained, ‘I’m afraid she won’t settle without a kiss from you.’

‘Sure.’ He stood quickly and looked as uncomfortable as Amy felt.

‘I’ll wait here,’ she said steadily, but she was fighting tears as she watched him go. It was so silly. She was upset on all sorts of levels tonight.

Bella’s demand that Seth be the one to tuck her in had hurt. Amy hated to think she was jealous, but the little girl was falling for Seth fast and hard. She seemed to be totally fascinated by him—utterly trusting, excited and enthralled.

Amy told herself it was because Bella had very little experience of men. Rachel had stopped going out with guys once she’d known she was pregnant, and, of course, Dominic had stayed well out of any scene that had involved Bella.

But now, it was almost as if Bella sensed that Seth was special, and connected to her. It was fanciful to think that the child knew he was her father. But very
soon he would want her to know the truth, and, although she was too little to really understand, it would be an important step in cementing their emotional bond.

Leaving her wrap on the veranda railing, Amy leaned against a post and looked out at the inky sky where a silvery half-moon was glowing softly through a gap in the trees. She thought again about the conversation she’d overheard in the kitchen.

It was
really
silly to be upset about that. She knew very well she was different from Rachel. It was very true they were chalk and cheese. Their differences had kept their friendship in balance. But it was only logical that, if Seth had been madly attracted to cheese, he was unlikely to fall for chalk.