“He’s a great guy. And he’s got a heart as big as they make them.”
“Apparently so.” John peered out the passenger window at the passing scenery, the cattle in the fields, the pale green water tower with the name
She’d studied the same sights when she’d first come to town, and she wondered if he liked what he saw, if he felt as though he’d come home, too.
“It’s peaceful out here,” he finally said.
“I think so.” It was one reason she liked living outside of town and didn’t mind the extra time it took to drive to work.
“How far is the ranch from here?” he asked.
“About twenty minutes.”
“Is it a bad commute?”
There it went again-another hunch based upon something as simple as a word choice. Did John live in a large city? One in which people talked about their commutes to work?
Rather than continue to make those kinds of leaps, she answered his question. “No, it’s not bad. Although I do wish I lived a little closer to town. My parents live at the Shady Glen Retirement Home, so it would mean a lot less driving time.”
“Are your parents elderly?” he asked.
She nodded. “My mom and dad were married for twenty years before they adopted me.”
“Are you an only child?”
“Yes.”
John stared out the windshield, watching the road ahead. He seemed to ponder her statement for a while, then he turned to her and added, “They must be very proud of you.”
“They are.” She thought about her mom and dad, about how they’d cheered each of her successes, how they’d shared all they had with her. A warm smile stretched across her face. “I’m proud of them, too.”
“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”
“Because they fell in love and made a lifetime commitment to each other. A lot of people aren’t that lucky-or that dedicated to each other. I certainly wasn’t.”
“So you’re divorced?”
She hadn’t meant to share any personal details with him, especially about Doug and their split, but it was a little late to backpedal now. John had already picked up on it. “Yes, I was married right after I got out of med school. But it didn’t work out.”
“Why? Because you weren’t lucky or dedicated?”
“
He let it go for a moment, as if trying to make sense of what she’d said-and what she hadn’t. Then he asked, “So how did luck play into it?”
“I think people who meet the perfect partner and fall in love are incredibly fortunate.” She shrugged. “And I wasn’t.”
“I take it your ex wasn’t in it for the long haul,” John said, filling in the blanks.
He might have been an attorney or a police detective in his real life. Or else he was good at probing for answers.
If anyone else had been quizzing her, she might have considered them rude. But for some reason, she didn’t think John was overstepping his bounds. He knew so little about himself that a conversation like this might trigger his own memories.
“All the time I spent at the hospital took a toll on our relationship,” she said, still holding back.
She could have told him that Doug had cheated, but there was a part of her that didn’t want to admit that her love hadn’t been enough for him.
“Does he-your ex-husband-live around here?”
“He’s from Houston. When we split, I wanted to put some distance between us. That’s when I bought Doc’s practice and moved to Brighton Valley.”
“And your parents came with you?”
“I couldn’t imagine my life without them or not being able to visit them at a moment’s notice. On top of that, my mom’s having a few health issues, and I can monitor them easier if she’s nearby.”
“I’m sorry. Are those ‘issues’ serious?”
“They could be, but medication is helping. And she’s got a great outlook on life.”
“Even living in a rest home?”
“Shady Glen isn’t a convalescent hospital. The residents are all free to come and go as they please. And my parents are pretty active. In fact, they left yesterday on a trip to Galveston with some of the other residents.” Betsy let the subject ride for a couple of minutes, then glanced across the seat at her passenger, a handsome stranger who now knew a lot more information about her than he did about himself.
Before he could comment or quiz her any further, she added, “And for what it’s worth, I’d planned to buy a house in town and have them live with me, but they insisted upon moving into Shady Glen. It’s worked out well, though. And it was the right decision for them to make. They’ve been able to maintain their independence while living in a safe environment, which is important. And they’ve made friends with their neighbors.”
“That’s great.”
She let his words and the subject trail off, as she focused on the road ahead. She wasn’t going to share any more intimate details with John, even if there seemed to be a friendship brewing between them.
But they couldn’t possibly become friends-or anything else. Not until she learned more about him.
As the car neared the county road that would take them to Doc’s ranch, she tossed another casual glance John’s way, only to find him looking at her, too.
Their gazes locked, holding her with some kind of invisible grip, and she realized her resolve to keep an emotional distance wasn’t holding up.
And even if his identity and his past were still a mystery, she’d certainly settle for knowing what was going on in his mind.
Was she the only one feeling a sexual charge whenever their eyes met?
John tore his gaze away from Betsy’s and tried to get his thoughts on an even keel.
He had no business getting involved with anyone until his memory returned. Trouble was, there was something about the beautiful E.R. doctor that made it impossible for him to keep his distance.
Sure, there’d been an instant attraction, which wasn’t surprising. She was a beautiful woman-bright, successful and caring. And she was the only person in this world who seemed to have his back.
But damn. His attraction was growing by leaps and bounds. And he couldn’t believe that he was the only one feeling it.
After all, she must have set up the deal between him and Doc Graham, a man who’d never even met him.
As they neared the ranch, John found himself studying the grassy pastures, the grazing cattle and an occasional windmill. None of it looked familiar, yet it brought on a strange sense of comfort, as if he was really going home and not just to a temporary job and place to sleep while he was stuck in Brighton Valley.
Either way, he had a feeling that this might be just what the doctor ordered.
And speaking of doctors…
He stole another peek at Betsy, who was wearing a pair of black jeans and a cream-colored sweater today. Her hair was still held back in a clip in her usual businesslike manner. But she was prettier than she’d been in the hospital, more approachable and down-to-earth. She’d put on some lipstick and mascara, and he wondered if she’d done it for him.
“Here it is,” she said as she drove down a narrow but paved road to a pale blue clapboard house with a veranda-style front porch, an old barn and several outbuildings.
“Which one is the guesthouse?” he asked.
She pointed toward a grassy knoll, where a white stucco building sat off by itself. It had a pale green door and was adorned with matching window boxes. “Doc built it for his wife’s sister about ten years ago. She’d just lost her husband and had a heart condition. But she died before she was able to move in.”
