he corrected. “You got bionic ears?” he asked after hanging up.
She surprised him with a grin.
He made each of them a cup of tea and settled in a chair after adding logs and rekindling the fire. Now that the sun was going down, the air was cooling rapidly. He realized he loved the warmth of Indian summer days and the coolness of the nights.
“Ah, the good life,” he said. Surprised, he realized he meant it.
Glancing at Amelia, he regretted that he wasn’t the prince of her dreams. He hadn’t been all those years ago when passion had nearly overwhelmed them, and he wasn’t now.
That was an absolute fact.
Chapter Three
The great room of the B and B rang with laughter that evening. Amelia sighed contentedly. This was the best part of the day for her—when everyone was safely inside after a fun day of hiking and enjoying nature.
Her gaze was constantly drawn to Seth, who was checking the buffet over with the care he’d take with a supreme court case. Apparently satisfied that everything was in order, he turned, caught her gaze and waggled his eyebrows playfully. His grin was sudden, brilliant and pleased.
Her heart leaped around like a hungry deer spying a new meadow to graze. She shifted as longing blazed through her, and accidentally put pressure on her ankle. The throb of pain brought her back to the real world with a thud.
Being with him most of the day was interfering with her thinking processes. Seth would probably stay with her tomorrow, but on Monday he was due back in his Boise office.
What would she do then?
Marta could probably handle the breakfast alone. She’d be rushed, but she was competent. Preparing the guest rooms was the problem. Amelia did those, a task she enjoyed, as odd as that sounded to most people.
Each room had a different theme based on the natural trees and vegetation in the area. She often cut branches from the pines, cedars, firs, yews and oaks to add a touch of the outdoors throughout the house. From the garden, there were abundant fall flowers in a rainbow of colors to be arranged in tall vases and displayed in the living room and hallways. Who would handle all that?
“Ready?” Seth asked.
“For what?”
He scooped her up as if she weighed next to nothing. “Dinner,” he replied.
He carried her down the hall to her sitting room. Three different kinds of pizza were there, along with a smaller platter of fresh vegetables and fruits. Before she could question this bounty, the back door opened.
“Hi, did I see boxes of pizza arriving a few minutes ago?” Honey asked. “Zack’s on his way. He said to tell you he was starved.”
“We’re having company,” Seth explained when Amelia raised a questioning gaze to his.
He put her in the rocking chair and moved a stool close so she could prop her foot up. After checking his watch, he decided it was time for another ice pack and headed for the kitchen, leaving the two women alone.
“How’s your ankle?” Honey asked.
When Zack Dalton, on an official trip to Las Vegas as a deputy sheriff earlier that summer, had brought home this mysterious stranger, gossip had sizzled through the local grapevine. It was further fueled by a to-do involving Honey and the cops. Then there’d been a quick marriage—family only—in Los Angeles, where Honey’s brother apparently worked in some unknown but hazardous occupation. Rumor had it he was with the FBI or CIA or something like that.
Since then, the busybodies had watched Honey’s waistline to see if it was increasing. It wasn’t. She now crossed the room and took a seat on the sofa near Amelia, her movements supple and smooth as befitted a trained professional dancer. Honey held classes in the carriage house behind the B and B, an arrangement that benefited both of them.
Amelia grimaced. “Fine…as long as I don’t forget and try to move it.”
From the hall came greetings from a variety of voices. She recognized Seth’s deep baritone and Zack’s. They greeted Beau, the doctor, and Shelby, his nurse and fiancée.
The Dalton men seemed of a marrying mind of late, she mused. The group entered her sitting room, bringing the crispness of the autumn air with them.
“I can’t believe how cold it’s getting, and it was so warm today—sixty-five by the thermometer on the porch at the clinic,” Shelby was saying. She gave Amelia a sympathetic smile and handed her a gift bag.
Amelia removed two novels from the colorful bag and thanked Shelby for her thoughtfulness.
“So how are you doing?” Shelby asked, gesturing toward the injured foot.
“It’s fine, really. Seth hasn’t let me lift a finger all day. I may get used to a life of leisure,” she said, tossing a warning glance his way.
“Beau said you tripped over Seth’s shoes, which he’d left by the bed.” Shelby raised her eyebrows, then grinned.
“What?” Zack interjected. He eyed Seth, Amelia, then Seth again. “Something going on that y’all want to tell us about, cuz?”
“No.” Seth passed out paper plates, then started the pizza boxes moving. “Amelia doesn’t approve of paper plates, but since I’m the one doing the dishes, I decided to use them, anyway.”
“Good thinking,” Beau murmured, struggling with laughter. He and Zack winked at each other while the other two women looked at Amelia with interest.
She could feel the heat rising to her face and hoped she didn’t resemble a ripe cranberry.
“You guys knock it off,” Seth ordered, but in amused tones. He placed a plastic bag filled with crushed ice on her ankle, then told Zack how he happened to be at the B and B and about the accident early that morning.
“I’ve spoken to Marta about help,” he said to Amelia, taking the chair next to the rocker. “She says her cousin can come in next week and take care of the rooms. All you’ll have to do is handle the phone. You can do that from the sofa, can’t you?”
Five pairs of eyes turned to her.
Amelia could only nod. Decisions were being made, she was being consulted, but for some odd reason, she felt as if she were sinking in a quagmire. It scared her. Which was totally insane.
“Thank you,” she said briskly. “That should take care of everything until I’m back on my feet.”
Seth asked about her preferences, then placed slices of warm pizza on her plate. He and Zack went to the kitchen and returned with beer and sodas for everyone. She wondered how he knew she liked ginger ale rather than cola.
A chill ran over her, causing a slight shiver. Goose bumps sprang up on her arms.
“You’re cold,” Seth said. He covered her legs with the blanket and settled into the chair beside her again.
For the next two and a half hours, the three couples chatted about all the projects they were doing. Zack assured Honey he would have time to help her with insulating the carriage house for winter. Seth and Beau agreed the new law office would be completed within six weeks. They would plan for a grand opening next month.
Work was continuing on a lodge the Daltons were building on the shore of the Lost Valley reservoir. Shelby and Beau had plans to remodel a cottage next door to the lodge, while Zack and Honey had bought a piece of property north of them, also on the lake, complete with an old farmhouse that needed restoration.
“You’ve done a wonderful job here,” Honey complimented Amelia, indicating the B and B. “Perhaps you could help us with the plans for our house.”
“If we ever get started,” Zack added wryly. “With so many projects going on and the horse sale coming up, it’ll