The Very Thought of You Read online

  After pulling out cutlery and pouring a glass of iced tea, he turned off the gas oven, reached for an oven mitt and carefully removed the meal. The scent of roasted meat almost made him dizzy. Dropping the small pan on a plate, he brought it over to the table and sat down. He said a quick prayer, and picked up his fork and knife. The first bite with the meaty prime rib and thick gravy made everything in the world look good. So good he was still chewing when he went back for a second bite.

  “Don’t they feed you at that hospital?”

  Although still starving, Caleb retained enough of his manners to finish chewing and swallowing before responding to his brother. “Who has time to eat?”

  “Apparently not you, little brother.”

  “There’s a nasty stomach virus going around. A few of the doctors were out today and there was a chain wreck of accidents on the highway this morning.”

  “So who’s the lady?”

  Caleb gave Marius a questioning glance, and then took a long drink of iced tea. “What lady?”

  “The lady who has made you deaf and put you in such a foul mood.”

  “You’re not going go let it drop, are you?”

  “I could ask Mom.”

  Damn. Caleb’s shoulders slumped with defeat. If another sibling had made that threat, he wouldn’t have believed them, but Marius rarely bluffed. “Miranda Elizabeth Tyler.”

  Marius sat down across from him. The walnut breakfast table gleamed under the light. His eyes locked on Caleb’s like a laser beam. “I’ve heard her name before.”

  Caleb took a swig of tea before answering. “We dated in college.”

  “Oh, that Miranda.” Marius tapped his finger against the table. “The same one you took on the skiing trip, went to school at Spellman, grew up about ten miles from our parents’ house and has an older brother who hated your guts? The same one that broke up with you after walking into your apartment and finding the half-naked homecoming queen in your bed? The one who messed you up so bad, that we had to pull you out of the bottom of a dozen Hennessy bottles?”

  Caleb’s shoulders slumped a little more with each item added to the list. By the time Marius finished summing up their relationship history, he looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame. “Yeah, that Miranda. She’s back in town to help her brother recover from a car accident.”

  “Walk away, little brother,” Marius cautioned before coughing.

  “I wish I could.” Caleb sighed putting down his fork and knife. “I wish I could,” he repeated.

  An hour later as they sat ensconced in the den, Caleb leaned back in the sleek black leather recliner and relaxed. The combination of a full stomach, and a half glass of premium scotch had more than taken the edge off his day. “I’m going to get her back, bro.”

  Marius turned his attention from the flat-screen television.

  Caleb raised a hand. “Wait, wait. Don’t give me that look.”

  “What look? The one that says you’re about to make a big mistake or the one that says you should know better?”

  “I do know better this time and I’m going to make this work. I know she has feelings for me, and the chemistry…” Caleb licked his lips as the memory of kissing her in the kitchen flashed through his mind. “More powerful than it was ten years ago.”

  “Yeah, yeah. The question is—how do you think that you can get around her brother this time?”

  “Darren knows that I know that he set me up.”

  “And you think he won’t do it again? You think that after her brother’s recovery is finished that Miranda won’t leave you like she did last time?”

  “The last time I should have followed. The last time was partially my fault. This time there’s more than my precious ego involved. There’s the child.”

  Marius sat up and his eyes narrowed. “Child?”

  “Miranda didn’t come back alone. She has a daughter. Kelly.” Caleb rubbed his head as fury raced up and down his spine. The clinical, reasonable part of his mind understood and could reason out why she wouldn’t tell him that he was a father. The other side couldn’t deal with the fact that someone he loved could be so cruel.

  “Jesus, Caleb. Are you telling me that I have a niece? That Mom and Dad have a granddaughter?”

  “No…Yes…I don’t know. Miranda says that the little girl is adopted and I don’t want to think she would lie to me. But it can’t be a coincidence that Kelly’s eleven years old.”

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “I’ve already sent off a DNA sample to the lab. I should get the results in the morning.”

  “She agreed to let you take a DNA test?”

  “Miranda doesn’t know about it. She had to get a full physical for her daughter before enrolling her in school. I pulled some strings and managed to get a blood sample.”

  Marius’s eyebrows shot upward and his lips curved into a grin. “I’m impressed.”

  “Don’t be,” Caleb responded. “What I did was not only unethical, it could get me fired.”

  “If the girl’s yours?” Marius rasped.

  Caleb’s jaw ticked at the thought and his finger tightened on the glass of scotch single malt. His life would change; it already had. He’d further decrease his schedule at the hospital to spend more time with Miranda and Kelly. Next, he’d start construction on a new house near his parents. He’d already picked out an architect and an interior designer.

  As his firstborn, Kelly would have the biggest bedroom and he’d give her a computer room next to his study. Miranda would have her own set of rooms for any daytime activities, but he would stipulate that they would sleep in the same bed. If the tests came back and he was Kelly’s father, the one missing piece of his life would be filled. And if they came back and he wasn’t her father…?

  Caleb lifted the crystal glass to his lips and swallowed hard. The rich, smoky flavor warmed his throat. No matter the outcome, he wanted Miranda. He wanted to talk to her about his life since she’d left, share with her his good days and his bad days. He wanted to listen to her tell him about her life before and after becoming Kelly’s mother. He wanted to know her hopes, her dreams and desires. He wanted to come home from the hospital to her every night, talk about their days and hear her thoughts. “You might want to stay in town next week, because there’s going to be a wedding.”

  Somehow Marius read his mind. “And if Miranda is telling the truth and the girl is adopted?”

  He set the glass down lightly on the side table and compared the last week—with Miranda and Kelly in his life—to the years he’d been alone.

  He’d been downright arrogant on the last few dates he’d had. The women were beautiful, intelligent and available. Syleena and Diane. They both worked in the medical field, came from good families. Whenever he needed female company for an event, dinner, or physical companionship, he called and vice versa. It had been established early on that none of them were looking for full-time relationships.

  But now things had changed; he’d changed. He didn’t want to be the bachelor doctor anymore.

  Chapter 7

  “Ms. Tyler do you have a minute?”

  “Of course,” Miranda responded as she stopped a few feet from Darren’s hospital room. The nurses had assured her that it would take a few hours for them to complete the full battery of tests. In the meantime, she’d planned to run across the street and get something to eat.

  She turned to see a lighter-skinned black woman in a black pantsuit approaching her from the nurses’ station. Her brow creased. Whoever she was, she didn’t appear to be a doctor. Not that Miranda expected all the doctors to be men or older white women. But the lady’s skin glowed, her clothing was extremely stylish and her appearance didn’t seem in keeping with the eighteen-hour days practiced by many of the hospital doctors. “We haven’t met yet, but my name is Grace Samson and I hope to be your brother’s physical therapist.”

  Miranda stuck out her hand and the other woman shook it. “Please call me Miranda.”
/>
  “Now I just need your help. Caleb predicted your brother wouldn’t be too keen on having physical therapy and he’s even less agreeable that this therapist is female.”

  Miranda closed her eyes and shook her head in embarrassment. If ever she had wondered why her brother had yet to settle down with a woman or even have a steady girlfriend, she had her answer. “I’m sorry. My brother can be…” Her voice trailed off.

  “He’s old school and a little stubborn.”

  Miranda smiled and nodded her head. “Exactly.”

  “Is he this prejudiced against doctors or is it that I’m female?”

  Miranda shook her head. “He’s not fond of doctors, but Darren loves women. It’s just that he’s such a workaholic that he never meets them.”

  “One thing’s for sure, I could use your help getting around that gruff exterior.”

  Very smooth, Miranda thought to herself. She would have used a completely different sentence. Something more along the lines of—“how do I knock some sense into that hardheaded mule?”

  “What have you tried?” Miranda questioned.

  “I introduced myself and told him that Dr. Blackfox had asked me to oversee his outpatient recovery.”

  Miranda winced. After the mere mention of Caleb’s name, Darren had probably made up his mind to dismiss Grace. “Believe me when I say that my brother’s attitude had nothing to do with you.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  Miranda shook her head. “Darren has never liked Caleb. And the fact that Caleb is his doctor is like a thorn in his side.”

  “I should have known.” Grace laughed before continuing. “Male ego.”

  “Exactly.” Miranda joined in the laughter.

  Grace nodded and the two of them glanced toward the empty hospital room at the same time. “So do you have any ideas on how I can get a little cooperation from him?”

  Miranda tapped her finger against her cheek and stared as another patient was wheeled down the hallway. After a few minutes of silence, she smiled. “Next time ask how long he’s willing to wait to get his life back. And if that doesn’t work, threaten him with the idea that he won’t be able to play his video games with his right hand.”

  Grace’s thoughtful expression transformed to a full grin. “So it’s ‘go for his weakness’?”

  “Exactly,” Miranda replied as they both started walking toward the elevator. She looked down at Grace’s left hand and was relieved to find her ring finger bare.

  Grace looked at her watch, and then back at the file in her hand. “Any other things I might need to know before I see him in two hours?”

  Miranda pressed the elevator button and then turned to look at Grace with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “He’s a big Tennessee Titans fan, cooks, folds laundry, takes out the garbage, and although he’ll never admit it, Darren loves kids.”

  Miranda glimpsed the look of shock in Grace’s eyes and laughed. It was way past time her brother had someone in his life, and if he wouldn’t take the initiative and talk to the beautiful physical therapist, then it fell upon her to do so.

  Miranda turned around as she heard the elevator doors slide open and her eyes widened. The man she’d been thinking about all day stood in the elevator.

  “Caleb,” she said, and glanced back toward Grace, only to find the woman waving a hand and walking away. Miranda’s shoulders slumped a little. She was on her own with this one.

  “Miranda,” he said simply.

  Toying with her purse strap, she stepped aside to allow a nurse access to the elevators. “Darren’s not in his room. They took him down for tests.”

  “I know. We discussed it this morning. If the X-rays and scans come out clean, he gets to go home. If not he’ll be here for another night.”

  Her eyes narrowed on his face. “So how did you do it?”

  “Do what?”

  “Convince my brother, president of the anti-Blackfox fan club, to cooperate with you on his recovery, and agree to a physical therapist as well. Sarcastic comments and threats aside, he’s being halfway civil.”

  “It must be my bedside manner.”

  Miranda raised an eyebrow.

  “How about my outstanding reputation in the medical community?”

  “Enough. You don’t want to tell me the real reason. I get that. What I don’t get is why you volunteered to treat him. He once gave you a bloody nose and a black eye.”

  “True, but he was protecting his little sister. I would have done the same for Regan.”

  She shook her head. “It still doesn’t explain it.”

  “Let me help. I messed up one of the greatest things in my life when I let you go. You’re here for a limited time, so I intend to spend as much time as I can getting to know you again, Miranda Tyler.”

  “I’m not the girl I used to be, Caleb.”

  “I saw that the first moment I saw you the first day at the hospital. When we were together in college, you were a pretty girl. Now you’re a stunning woman.”

  “Some things haven’t changed. You still have a silver tongue.”

  “I’m a little rusty. But now that you’re back I can practice.”

  She was unwilling to admit that his flattery was getting him somewhere. Actually his eyes were making her temperature go up. Miranda cleared her throat, and then aimed a pointed glance in the direction of her brother’s empty hospital suite. “Darren should be back soon.”

  “He won’t be back for a few hours. Besides I wasn’t looking for your brother. I was looking for you.”

  “Oh, what can I do for you?”

  That sentence took on a whole new meaning for Caleb as he watched Miranda’s tongue glide across her lower lip. There were so many things that he would love to do to her. The first would be taking her to his office, locking the door and making up for years of lost time.

  Whatever doubts he’d had about Miranda had disappeared in the morning when he’d opened the DNA report. According to the results, Kelly did not share a genetic relationship with either he or Miranda. It not only confirmed that she was telling the truth, it also reconfirmed his conviction that he wanted to have a family. Knowing that Miranda wouldn’t be ready to hear that yet, he settled for something more practical. “You can come to lunch with me. We can talk about your brother and I have a little project I could use your help on. I know of this nice Italian restaurant a few miles from here.”

  Miranda looked at her watch. “Wow, look at how time has flown. I should run out and take care of some errands before bringing Darren home.”

  “You have two hours.”

  “I can drive fast.”

  “This town moves slowly. You’re running again, Miranda.”

  “Look, Caleb, when you’re around me I get confused and although part of me wants to pick up where we left off, I can’t…correction, we can’t.”

  “Can I see your left hand?” he asked.

  Her eyes narrowed. Fighting a wave of panic, she managed to slow her erratically thumping heart. They were standing in the middle of a semi-busy hospital corridor with more than a few eyes on them, but she still felt as nervous as walking through an alley after midnight. Unbidden, her eyes landed on his lips. The same lips that had given her more sexual fulfillment in sixty seconds than she’d had in years. A shiver ran up and down her spine. “Why?”

  “Humor me.”

  She raised her left hand and he held it within his own. Memories flashed through his mind of her fingertips grazing over his skin, her soft palms resting against his chest. Her fingers intertwined with his as she neared her climax. Pushing the thoughts away he concentrated on remembering the point he was trying to make. “You’re not wearing a wedding ring.”

  “No, I’m divorced, but you knew that.”

  “Yes, but the lack of a ring on your finger or mine means I have a chance, Miranda. That is, unless you tell me there’s someone else.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, Caleb gave serious thought to the fa
ct that Miranda did have an ex-husband and, for however long, they shared custody of a child. A child that he wished was his, but the test results proved she was not. No one in his family had yet to divorce or go through the emotional drama of sharing custody, but he’d witnessed the powerful bonds divorced couples shared.

  He gripped her hands. “Is there someone else, Miranda?”

  She shook her head. “There is no one else.”

  “But me,” he added with a smile.

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “But you will. Now let’s go get lunch.”

  Chapter 8

  “I want to go on record that this is a bad idea,” Miranda grumbled.

  “Going to lunch with a beautiful woman when I have a line of consults starting at two o’clock? Very bad idea, but I’m willing to risk it.” Caleb pressed the elevator call button and stood at Miranda’s side. The scent of her perfume wafted to his nose and he was damn glad to have on his doctor’s coat. As they walked down the hallway he noticed that many female and male heads turned to watch and stare as they left the building.

  Caleb reached into his pocket and steered Miranda toward the reserved parking deck.

  “I thought you said it was across the street,” she said.

  “Across the main street and down a few blocks. On a nice day, I would walk it, but since it’s a little cold outside, it’s better if we take a car.”

  He caught her worried look.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll have you back before your brother gets restless. But I can guarantee that there’ll be a pool going with your name as the main contender for the title of Dr. Blackfox’s girl.”

  “You have a very high opinion of yourself, don’t you, Caleb.”

  “Actually, I have the gift of observation,” Caleb explained. “I’ve been trying to get you alone for the past few days, but you’re either arriving or leaving when I come around to check up on Darren. Not to mention that there’s been an increase in the number of nurses requesting to be assigned to the station covering your brother.”