The Very Thought of You Page 8

  “You don’t have to.”

  “I’ve missed you, Caleb,” she confessed. “I’ve had so many sleepless nights and regrets and dreams. I so wanted for you to be the one. The one my grandmother told me would come into my life and everything would be all right. And for those short years, it happened. But like a fairy tale, it ended. And I can’t go through that again. I don’t think I can handle it.”

  He leaned toward her and trailed his fingertips over the soft curve of her cheek. “Maybe you can’t,” he said softly, “but I can. I’ll handle it for both of us.”

  Her eyes dropped down and she nibbled on her bottom lip. If he didn’t have to sign Darren’s discharge papers and afternoon patients to see, Caleb could have taken advantage of the enticing view and kissed all of her doubts away. Inhaling deeply, he fought down the urge to take her mouth and instead took her hand and squeezed.

  “We could be making a mistake, Caleb,” Miranda warned as a last-ditch effort to get him to change his mind.

  “Warning duly noted. Now how about you grab your brother while I see some sick patients?” He impulsively leaned close to unfasten her seat belt and Miranda almost fell out of the SUV trying to avoid him.

  “Relax, Miranda. I’m not going to kiss you…unless you want me to?”

  “In your dreams.”

  “Actually…” he started.

  She put a hand over his lips. “Never mind, I don’t want to know.”

  Miranda tried to move away, but couldn’t as he grabbed hold of the safety belt. This was exactly the kind of close physical contact she didn’t need while being with him. It reminded her of the reasons she’d had to put hundreds of miles between them and why she’d given her mirror image a pep talk beforehand.

  “Look, Caleb. If we’re going to be seeing each other on a regular basis, I want to set a few ground rules.”

  “Ground rules? I distinctly remember you, Miranda Tyler, being the best rule breaker in the entire women’s dorm.”

  Refusing to blush at the accuracy of his statement, she drew in a deep breath. “The new rules are as follows—no flirting, no kissing, no teasing, no brushing your fingertips across my cheek, no holding hands, no whispering in my ear, or telling me I’m beautiful.”

  “So I can’t tell the truth, either.” He looked her over from head to toe and Miranda had a hot flash.

  “None of that, either,” she whispered.

  “What did I do?”

  “Don’t give me that innocent look, Caleb,” Miranda said, irritation evident in her voice. “It only worked once. I don’t want you looking at me like you’ve seen me naked.”

  “I have seen you naked, and I am trying to see heaven every day for the rest of my life.”

  “If you don’t stop, this deal is over. You can find another patient.”

  “What about your brother?”

  “I can’t see Darren getting all broken up if you decided to remove yourself from his case. Now do we have a deal?”

  He let out what she could only describe as a growl. “This is going to be hell.”

  “That’s all up to you,” Miranda pointed out, giving him a serious look.

  “Because you’re afraid to get involved with me again?”

  “Correction, I’m wise enough not to get mixed up with you again.”

  “Wisdom has nothing to do with fear. I promise that I will never hurt you, if you give me a chance.”

  “I don’t need your promise because I can’t give you a chance, Caleb. Now can you stick to the agreement?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “You always have a choice.”

  “And if I choose to follow my heart?”

  “More like your libido. And if you make that choice, you’re going to have to find yourself another patient,” she warned.

  “All right, you win.” He paused. “For now…”

  Miranda let loose a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She’d needed him to agree to her terms more than she would have ever admitted. His comments had hit far too close to home. It hadn’t taken her long to recall all the things she loved about Caleb, nor had it taken her body long to recall all the wonderful sensations he could coax from her body. In asking him to agree to her rules, she’d bluffed Caleb and won.

  “Don’t want to be late for your brother’s discharge, do we?”

  An hour later, after getting home from the hospital and helping her brother settle into his old room in their parents’ house, Miranda was still distracted by Caleb’s behavior. It was only Kelly’s arrival back from school that shocked her back to the present.

  Yet, later on that night after everyone was settled into bed, Miranda allowed herself to hope.

  Maybe this time things would go her way.

  Her cell phone rang and her heart gave a little thump as Caleb’s name flashed up on the caller ID.

  “Hello?”

  “Did I catch you before you went to sleep?”

  Miranda sat up in bed and switched the phone to the other ear. “I was awake.”

  “I enjoyed having lunch with you today. So much so that I forgot to tell you about that project I’d like your help with.”

  “You’ve told me before that I’ve rendered you speechless. Are you telling me that I’m taking your memory as well?”

  “You could be, little one. I know that when you’re near me I can’t seem to think of anything else.”

  “Okay, enough of the flattery, Blackfox.”

  “Do you know that you only call me by my last name when you’re blushing? Are you blushing now, Miranda?”

  Heat warmed her cheeks, but she’d be damned if he’d know it. “No,” she said quickly.

  “Liar.”

  “Was there a reason you called me in the middle of the night?” she questioned, needing to turn the topic of conversation to safer waters. “I’m sure you called for a better reason than to call me a liar, Caleb.”

  “True. Before I ask for your help, can I tell you a story?”

  “Does this story have a happy ending?” she asked, settling down in the bed.

  “Maybe. That depends on you.”

  “I’m intrigued.”

  “Good. Close your eyes.”

  Miranda did as he asked and her body went hot at the intimacy of hearing his deep voice in her ear.

  “My great-grandfather Abraham Blackfox was an ex-slave and a mechanical genius. A very simple man, all he ever needed existed in a converted barn on the former plantation where he’d lived most of his young life as a companion to the owner’s son, Collin Archer. The only time Collin ever left town was when he went to Philadelphia to collect a wife who had been chosen by his relatives. When Collin went to Philadelphia he took Abraham with him.

  “No one knew the real reason why Collin took my great-grandfather with him. Some say to make sure he returned, others said he came as a friend and with the express purpose of keeping Abraham from being arrested by the sheriff who wanted to keep the former slaves from leaving Georgia. One thing that we do know is that something had changed. My great-grandfather received a clear deed to the land my parents’ house sits on today, and moved off the plantation. Nine months after he married, his wife, Rebecca, bore Lucas Blackfox, a boy child who had distinct Archer facial features and green eyes. My great-grandfather continued to work in the converted barn and went on to invent many of the precursors to carpet mill machines still used today. And he did it all for the man who’d betrayed him and for the family which had once owned him.

  “In my great-grandfather’s generation, Collin Archer was one of, if not the wealthiest man in the southeast. His carpet products were shipped around the world. When he died, Collin left fifty percent of the company to Abraham Blackfox. The inheritance didn’t appease my grandfather. He blamed Collin Archer for his older brother Lucas’s disappearance and hated that the man’s actions had unrightfully made him to be second in a time when the firstborn son inherited. So he negotiated with the Archers and struck a de
al that led to the creation of Blackfox Trucking. My grandfather traded most of his stock in Archer Carpet for the money to buy a fleet of trucks and exclusive shipping rights to Archer Industries.”

  At the pause in his voice, Miranda spoke up. “This is a sad story, Caleb.”

  “It’s not over yet. To this day Blackfox and Archer work together, attending meetings, and sit on the same community board, but never speak. My cousin Savannah is engaged and pregnant by Jack Archer and my grandfather would like nothing better than to throw him in jail while the other half of the family wants to brainwash her into leaving him.”

  “I met your cousin at Kelly’s school. She’s sweet.”

  “We all think that, which is why I’m trying to help her.”

  “I feel bad for your family troubles.” Miranda squelched a yawn. “But what does this have to do with me?”

  “My hope is that by reuniting my grandfather with his older brother, Lucas, we can start the healing process between our families. And you, Miranda, are the only one that can find him.”

  Chapter 9

  Caleb finished writing out a prescription, tore it from the pad and held it out to his patient’s wife. “Give him plenty of fluids, rest and this prescription to lower his blood pressure and he should be fine in a couple of days. If not, make sure to call me or bring him back to the clinic.”

  “Everybody at the lodge didn’t have no problem with the little blue pill, doc. Why me? Just spice things up in the bedroom, you know?”

  “If you want to spice things up in the bedroom, how about burning a candle or two, maybe picking up your socks?” his wife responded. “Just turning off the television would definitely get me in the mood. How can a wife feel sexy when you’re shouting at those overgrown boys on the basketball court?”

  Caleb shook his head and struggled with the urge to grin. This had to have been his third case this week. The little blue pills floating around in the marketplace these days had men thinking they were either supermen or having a heart attack.

  “You might want to listen to your wife on this one, Mr. Baker. Viagra is a prescription medication and as you felt this morning, it can have some nasty side effects.”

  “Thank you so much for taking care of him, Dr. Blackfox.”

  He nodded. “The hospital pharmacy down the hall can fill your prescription. Remember to give me a call if you have any questions.”

  As the husband dressed, Caleb departed and made his way back to his office in the main building. Once there, he took a seat behind his desk and put his feet up. It had been a busy morning filled with chest pains, stitches, high fevers and other ailments. It was the time of the season. Any day now the second wave of influenza and bronchitis cases would come into the emergency room, and until then he would spend the bulk of his day assisting at the hospital’s free clinic.

  Deciding to take a few minutes to himself, he twirled around in his chair and logged on to his computer. While he waited for all of his patient files for the afternoon to load, he leaned back in his chair thinking about Miranda.

  Last night he’d told her about one of the most sensitive parts of his family history. Although everyone in town knew about the Blackfox family, not many knew the origin for the tension with the Archers. Switching over to his e-mail account, he clicked through the messages until he came to one from Gill.

  Per your brother’s request, I have attached all of the information the private investigators could find related to Lucas Evans Blackfox.

  Moving his keyboard closer, he quickly typed in a forwarding e-mail address. By the time he had sent the message, another idea popped into his head.

  Ten minutes later he hung up the phone, then leaned back in this chair and folded his arms behind his head with a grin.

  Hearing a light tap on the door, he glanced up to see his friend and fellow colleague standing in the doorway. Grace Samson had been appropriately named, Caleb thought, as she gracefully handled her patients’ recovery and rehabilitation.

  “Got a minute to talk?” she asked.

  He glanced at his watch and nodded. According to his schedule, he had a little under half an hour before his next appointment. “Yes, come on in.”

  Grace took a seat in the chair and let out a big yawn. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  Leaning forward, Caleb rested his elbows on the desk and smiled. “Missing our cantankerous patient already?”

  “Funny, Blackfox. I accidentally volunteered to be on call for the high school football championship. Little did I know that the game would go into like triple overtime and on the ride back the bus got a flat tire. I didn’t see my pillow until about four o’clock this morning.”

  “I know how you feel.”

  “Speaking about our mutual patient, how did his discharge go yesterday?”

  “Contrary to his sister’s belief, I think Darren wasn’t all that eager to leave. I took Miranda to a two-hour lunch, and Darren had somehow managed to stall his exit for another hour. I honestly think he was waiting for you to walk through the door.”

  “I told him that I wouldn’t be here to kick him out of the hospital.”

  “Guess he didn’t believe you.”

  She looked genuinely happy at Caleb’s response. He shook his head. “I don’t believe it. How does a domineering, stubborn, chauvinistic guy like Darren Tyler get a woman like you to fall for him?”

  Grace paused and a frown graced her lips for a moment before she sighed. “The same way you convinced him to take you on as his doctor and got his little sister to go out with you.”

  “He’s definitely not as good looking.” Caleb laughed.

  “But he’s just as manipulative,” she countered.

  Caleb drew in a sigh and rubbed his chin. She was right. He wanted to find his great-uncle just as much as his older brother. But the main reason he’d asked for Miranda’s help was not because he knew she could succeed, but it would be an excuse for him to spend more time with her and Kelly.

  “So what has he gotten you to do?”

  Her eyes widened with surprise and then she shook her head. “In-home rehabilitative therapy.”

  Caleb laughed until his eyes watered. The irony of the situation couldn’t have been more apparent. While he was trying his best to carve out a place in the Tyler family, Grace had been given an all-season pass.

  “Do you even offer that service?”

  Grace sighed again. “Technically? No. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  Caleb’s eyes filled with laughter. “And that’s why you’re in my office.”

  Grace crossed her legs, sat forward and cradled her chin in her hand. “He’s a patient, Caleb. You know the rules—we shouldn’t get involved with our patients.”

  “Grace, he’s really not your patient—he’s mine. And I think that having you around is the best therapy the man can get. He’s practically chomping at the bit to endure weeks of pain.”

  “Be serious.”

  “I am. I’m going to let you in on a little secret about Darren Tyler. He’s tough on the outside, but a marshmallow on the inside.”

  “So you’re saying that he’s all bark and no bite?”

  “He’ll bite you, but he won’t be biting me. It doesn’t take a medical degree to see the chemistry between the two of you. Just see where it goes.”

  He hit the print key and reached over to grab the documents from the printer.

  They both stood at the same time and Grace smiled at him. “I might just do that.”

  Caleb reached for his stethoscope and draped it around his neck, then walked beside Grace down the hospital corridor. “And if you should decide to stop by at around five o’ clock this evening, you should find your new patient conveniently home alone.”

  She aimed a suspicious glance his way. “How are you going to get Miranda and Kelly out of the house without her protective older brother following you?”

  “Oh, I plan to take the girls out to the one place I know Darren
will not want to go.”

  “And where on earth would that be?”

  “106 Ashberry Avenue,” he declared smugly.

  She came to a dead stop and Caleb did the same. “You aren’t.”

  “Oh, yes. The Tyler women and I are going skating tonight.”

  Grace laughed and Caleb joined in. His heart lighter than it had been in years. His girl was back and he was going to show her a good time.

  Miranda was awakened by the booming sound of a neighborhood teenager’s amplified stereo driving past the front of the house. The sun had already risen, and it had been a chilly night but her sheets were damp with moisture.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned in frustration. It was Saturday morning, the only time that she was allowed to sleep in and the vehicle had managed to ruin the best part of her dream. For most of her adult life, Miranda had never been able to recall her dreams, but somehow since coming home, she could remember them with almost high-definition clarity. In fact, she vividly remembered most if not all of her dreams for the past two weeks. Last night, she’d covered half the positions in the Kama Sutra while making love to Caleb.

  Rolling onto her side, she stared at the closed curtains while waiting for her heart rate to slow and the sexual tension in her body to dissipate. After managing to remain celibate for three years, why all of a sudden did her hormones kick into overdrive?

  Who are you kidding? A sigh escaped her lips. The dreams and the X-rated fantasies could only be attributed to Caleb. He was the only man who’d ever made her pass out from the sheer ecstasy of his lovemaking. Just the thought made her shiver. His late-night phone call hadn’t helped her keep her emotional distance, either. Long after she’d agreed to help locate his missing uncle, she’d stared at the ceiling. Could she find him?

  It made her more than a little uncomfortable looking for someone who so obviously didn’t want to be found. It was her job to help people start over. Could she just as easily do the opposite? She had the resources and she’d had to do it before to triple check that the high-profile witness protection members could not be tracked down. It would take a few days and she would have to call in a few favors, but she would do it. She would find his great-uncle and return the favor. Nothing personal; Miranda Tyler repaid her debts.