Page 60 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

“Who would be?”

Travis chuckled.“No one, but Amelia made the most of the situation and used it as an excuse to get a nose job.Had the cosmetic surgeon fix the scar on her neck at the same time.”

“She told me she planned to do that.I still don’t know how she ended up working with you guys, though.”

“I don’t either, you’d have to ask Cash.He offered to fly her to any surgeon she wanted and to cover the cost.By the time she’d recovered, he’d hired her.She’s not exactly an employee; she still takes on jobs of her own.I think she contracts with a couple of the agencies.I know she helped the guys in Summer Lake a while back when the Russian mob came after one of their women.”

Trip raised his eyebrows.“The Russian mob in Summer Lake?”

Travis laughed.“Yep, although they followed her there from Chicago.But yeah, Callahan lives down there now, and Dalton.I think Dalton was in the middle of that whole deal, and he—or maybe Cal—had worked with Amelia before.”

“Well, that explains a lot about Amelia.But it still doesn’t tell me anything about her and Ford.”

“They took a shine to each other when she was here visiting Sierra—before the ex showed up.I don’t know much more than that myself.Well, I do know that Cash is still taking his role as the family fixer seriously, and now that the rest of them are all married or engaged, he’s got his sights set on Ford.”

Trip nodded slowly.“That sounds about right for him.There’s been bad blood between them for years—but if Cash thinks there’s a chance Ford could finally have the life he deserves...nothing’s going to stop him from helping him get there.”

“Have you talked to him lately?Told him about you and Shelley?I reckon he feels the same way about you, you know.”

Trip smiled.“I haven’t checked in with him or Mav in a while.What do you hear?Are they planning to visit anytime soon?Have they said anything about moving their operation here to the valley?I know Cash would love to, and even though Mav plays it close to his chest, I think he’d consider coming back.”

Travis blew out a sigh.“I talked to Cash a couple days ago.He’s itching to come visit, but he didn’t know when he could make it happen.Mav’s away on a job, so …”

“He is?I thought he stuck at home base these days—he gives Cash a hard time for still liking to play superhero and going himself instead of sending the team.”

“Yeah, but I think Mav’s getting so damn frustrated—he needs to just admit it and come home.”

“Is he giving you a hard time about Libby moving her horses to your place?”

“Not about the horses, no.But with Eli arriving, Mav’s not happy that Libby’s going to be working with more vets.”

Trip shook his head.“If she moves on with someone else, he’ll have no one but himself to blame.”

“And he knows it.But he’s so damn stubborn...”Travis took his hat off and ran his hand through his hair before putting it back on.“There’s nothing we can do for them, but we can quit standing around gossiping like a pair of old ladies and get on with enjoying the day.”

He jerked his chin to where Shelley and Retta were sitting.Retta’s daughter, Callie, had joined them, and Retta was holding baby Levi.

Trip watched Shelley with interest.She seemed to be eyeing the little guy warily rather than cooing over him the way Retta and Janey were.

Travis laughed.“Looks like Shelley’s in the same camp as Laney—not big on kids, is she?”

Trip shrugged.It didn’t feel great that he didn’t even know the answer to that question.Of course, he knew that she didn’t have kids, but beyond that… he didn’t know her as well as he wanted to, and he had no idea how much time he had left to change that.

~ ~ ~

Laney met Shelley’s gaze as the others oohed and awed over Levi.He was cute—Shelley could see that—but she just wasn’t one of those women who went gaga over a baby.She never had been.From the way Laney smirked at her, she’d guess that Laney was the same way.

Laney confirmed that when she said quietly, “Don’t get me wrong, he’s sweet and I love him to pieces, but I’ll be more comfortable when I can have a conversation with him and teach him to rope.”

Shelley laughed.“I know what you mean—I’m the same way.Not that I’d be able to teach him to rope or do much of anything that’d be useful around here.”

“Maybe not anything that’d be useful on a ranch, but I bet you could teach him lots of useful stuff.You’re a lawyer, aren’t you?What kind of law?”

“I used to be a private wealth lawyer.”

Laney made a face.“You mean helping rich folks avoid taxes?”

Shelley had to laugh.“No.I worked mostly on estates and trusts, but I did a lot of succession planning and fiduciary litigation.”

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