LITMIR.BIZ

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medicine had been winning out, and Derek had to admit that he enjoyed having Sawyer around.

      “Sorry, Squirt, our last two patients canceled,” he said, ruffling Sawyer’s hair. “But you could always keep me company while I do some paperwork.”

      “Bo-ring.” Mr. Unobservant that he was, Sawyer suddenly noticed Amelia standing there. “Amelia, hi!”

      The kid launched himself at her, wrapping his gangly arms around her waist.

      Derek didn’t miss the way Amelia flinched when Sawyer hugged her or the way she didn’t return the embrace.

      Again, that flicker of wariness tugged on his gut. Amelia seemed completely ill at ease around his little brother. Around all children, in fact. She handled the younger patients the same way she did the older ones—with extreme warmth and professionalism—but Derek had noticed on numerous occasions that she didn’t seem entirely comfortable with kids.

      Sawyer, however, was more than comfortable with Amelia. For some reason, the kid had taken a real shining to the beautiful blonde. Adored her, actually.

      Trying to ease her evident discomfort, Derek tugged on the collar of Sawyer’s striped T-shirt and pinned the kid with a deadly stare. “What was that I heard about detention?”

      Sawyer raised his hands in a defensive gesture. “Don’t look at me. Danny Harris talked back to Ms. Bentley and we all got punished for it. Totally unfair if you ask me.”

      Derek’s lips twitched. “I guess that was Ms. Bentley’s way of sending the rest of you a message. A warning of what happens when you sass her.”

      “Doesn’t make it any less unfair,” Sawyer grumbled, before turning to Amelia in interest. “So what are you gonna do while Derek does his paperwork?”

      She cast Derek a quizzical look. “Well, boss, what am I going to do?”

      “You get to go home,” he answered. When she looked ready to protest, he held up his hand. “You deserve some time off. Now that you’re a permanent fixture in this practice, I plan on working you to the bone, so enjoy the break while it lasts.”

      She laughed softly. “I guess I can use the time to assemble some furniture. I ordered a bunch of things online after I moved into my place but I haven’t gotten around to any of it yet.”

      “Bo-ring,” Sawyer chimed again. He suddenly clapped a hand on his leg. “You should come to dinner tonight. We are making brownies for dessert.”

      Amelia started to edge away, her hip bumping the desk. “Oh. That’s a nice offer, but I don’t know if I can.”

      “You just said you don’t have anything to do,” Sawyer said in an accusatory tone. “So you can totally come.”

      Derek sighed. “Sawyer—”

      “Please?” his brother pleaded. “I want you to see the ranch and my horse, and did I tell you we’re making brownies?”

      Amelia smiled indulgently. “Yes, I think you mentioned that.”

      “So … please?”

      She shifted awkwardly. “I guess I could.” She glanced at Derek. “If it’s okay with your brother, that is.”

      “You’re welcome to join us,” he said gruffly.

      After a beat, she nodded. “All right. What time?”

      “Seven o’clock,” Sawyer piped up.

      “Okay. Well. I guess I’ll be there.” She took a few steps toward the corridor behind them. “I should change out of these scrubs.”

      As Amelia dashed off, Derek released a heavy breath and turned to his brother with a frown. “What did I tell you about putting people on the spot, Squirt?”

      Sawyer had the decency to blush. “I know. I’m sorry. But I really want Amelia to come to dinner. You want her to come, too, right?”

      “Sure,” he said noncommittally.

      The kid tilted his head. “So I did good, right? It could be like a date.”

      Derek faltered. “No, not like a date. Amelia and I work together, Squirt. That’s all there is to it.”

      “Is it because of Aunt Tess?”

      Now he froze. “What do you mean?”

      “Piper says that you’re still mourning Aunt Tess,” Sawyer said frankly. “I told her that’s silly because Aunt Tess died a long time ago.”

      Two years wasn’t a long time, he wanted to point out, but he supposed that for an eleven-year-old, two years was an eternity.

      He couldn’t believe they were even having this conversation. Nobody in the family dared bring up Tess’s name to him, and truth be told, he preferred it that way. Just thinking about his wife sent a hot rush of agony to his chest. It was funny, how he’d nagged his brother Gunnar to see a counselor in order to deal with his tragic experience in Afghanistan, yet if Derek were being honest with himself, he hadn’t fully dealt with his own tragedy.

      Tess’s death still ate at him. It gnawed at his insides like a hungry scavenger, making it impossible to move on—yes, even two long years later.

      “Because if it is about Aunt Tess,” Sawyer went on, oblivious to Derek’s silence, “I think that’s dumb.”

      His throat clogged. “Why is that dumb?”

      “Because Aunt Tess wasn’t a very good wife.”

      Out of the mouths of babes.

      “Why do you say that?” His voice was so hoarse it felt as if someone had shoved sand into his mouth.

      “Because she made you sad,” Sawyer said simply.

      An arrow of pain pierced Derek’s heart. He knew he shouldn’t be surprised by his little brother’s observation. He and Tess had been having trouble long before her death—and clearly, the rest of his family had noticed.

      Swallowing a lump of regret, Derek clapped a hand on Sawyer’s scrawny shoulder. “Let’s stop all this serious talk. What do you say I forget about my pesky paperwork and take you out for some hot chocolate instead?”

      The kid’s eyes lit up. “Seriously?”

      “Seriously. Go sit in the waiting room while I gather up my things, okay?”

      “Cool beans.”

      Sawyer bounded off just as Amelia reemerged from the corridor. She’d changed out of her green scrubs and now wore a pair of snug blue jeans that hugged her shapely legs, a tight-fitting brown sweater that brought out the amber flecks in her hazel eyes and high-heeled black boots. With her silky blond hair tied back in a ponytail, she looked young and fresh-faced and utterly gorgeous.

      “I’m heading out,” she told him as she shrugged into her black wool coat, then put on a pair of brown leather gloves. “Should I bring anything?”

      He wrinkled his brow.

      “For dinner,” she clarified. “Wine? Dessert?”

      “Nope. Just bring yourself.”

      He realized at the last second how flirty that sounded, and the blush that rose on her cheeks confirmed it.

      Derek gulped, wondering why he was so damn drawn to this woman. For the past two years he hadn’t felt a single inkling to get involved with anyone. Actually, he’d vowed to steadfastly avoid relationships altogether.

      Yet from the moment Amelia Phillips walked into his clinic, he hadn’t been able to fight the spark of desire she evoked inside him.

      “Okay. Well.” Her delicate throat worked as she visibly swallowed. “I’ll see you tonight.”

      Derek bid her goodbye,

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