The Very Thought of You Read online

  Right, the sarcastic voice in the back of her mind taunted.

  Miranda closed her eyes momentarily, giving in to the temptation to linger in the memory of their last kiss. But the sound of her brother hobbling down the hallway reminded her that she had a long list of errands and tasks to accomplish that day.

  Pushing thoughts of Caleb from her head, she rose from the bed, strolled over to the window and peeked out. The newspaper had already been delivered. Taking note of the increasingly cloudy sky, Miranda made a mental note to find her gloves as she pulled on her robe. After rummaging through her dresser for a fresh set of underwear and a change of clothing, she tiptoed down the hallway to the bathroom. A few minutes after brushing her teeth and pulling back her hair, she stood underneath the spray of hot water. Her nipples hardened and her belly tightened as she recalled part of a dream where she and Caleb had shared a steamy shower.

  As much as she tried to deny it, she knew she’d never be fully over the man. When it was time for her to return to D.C., she wouldn’t be able to go without leaving a bigger piece of her heart in his hands. Even if she didn’t give in to the old feelings, the new ones would make leaving tough.

  She finished her shower, turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel. Ten minutes to the second, she emerged from the bathroom dressed and ready to go. She was just in time to move away and see a half-asleep Kelly stumble from her room into the hallway.

  “I was going to run to the grocery store. Want me to wait for you?” Miranda asked, although she knew the answer. On the cusp of being a teenager, the grocery store was the last place the girl would want to go on a Saturday morning. Had she but mentioned the possibility of going to the library, electronics store, or a bookstore, Kelly would have broken her neck getting ready to go.

  “Your brother ate my cereal,” she grumbled sleepily.

  Miranda smiled at the statement. Your brother. Whenever Darren did something that Kelly liked, he was Uncle D. When he did something horrible, he was Miranda’s brother.

  “Okay, I’ll get one box for him and another for you.”

  “And orange juice, too, please.”

  Miranda bent down and gave Kelly a quick hug.

  “What was that for?”

  “For being such a wonderful kid,” Miranda answered seriously. “You’ve been through more traumas in your short life than adults twice my age. You are truly amazing.”

  “No.” Kelly shook her head. “Daddy’s amazing. He’s always been there for me, especially after Mom died. Even now I know that he’s pushing hard so that he can come get me.”

  The child’s bright smile dimmed a little.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Is it true that when the trial is over I won’t get to go home?”

  Miranda nodded her head. “You can’t go back, but you get to make new friends and make a new home with your dad.” She tried to put a positive spin on the situation.

  “Does that include you and Uncle D?”

  Her heart sank and for a millisecond Miranda wished Kelly wasn’t so perceptive. Unwilling to give the child more bad news, she lied. “Of course not. One of the perks of working with your dad is that I get to continue contact with the people in the agency. We may not see each other often, but we can keep in touch.”

  “So there’s no chance that you could come with us? Maybe be my mom for real?”

  “Oh, honey.” Miranda bent down and wrapped her arms around Kelly. Her eyes began to tear up.

  “You do like my dad, don’t you?”

  “Of course I like your dad.”

  “But not as much as you like Dr. Blackfox,” Kelly surmised.

  Miranda inhaled and exhaled slowly. Over five months ago, she and Ryan had gone out on something close to being a date. He was kind, handsome, responsible, a loving father and an awesome agent. They got along well and she trusted him implicitly, but there hadn’t been chemistry. No sparks or hot flashes. Her lips didn’t tingle from his kiss nor did her skin ache for his touch as it did with Caleb.

  Not willing to give voice to her feelings, Miranda patted Kelly on the shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t want to run to the grocery store with me?”

  Kelly’s mouth opened in a gigantic yawn. “No way. I’m going back to bed.”

  “Lazy bones. I’ll be right back, in case Darren asks.”

  Feeling slightly more upbeat, she walked back to her bedroom to pick up her coat and purse.

  Five minutes later, Miranda was in her parents’ car heading south on Route 112. Lucky for her, the parking lot was almost completely empty. She pulled into the first vacant space, climbed out of the car and quickly crossed the parking lot. The icy wind made her eyes tear as she pulled out a shopping cart. Once inside, she took her time wandering up and down the aisles, picking out fresh fruit and picking up whatever looked good. Only after she’d gotten halfway through the store and her cart was close to overflowing did Miranda realize that she didn’t have a list.

  She stopped dead in the middle of the store and chuckled to herself. Any of the grocery store employees watching her at the moment would have sworn she was crazy.

  Far from being like her mother and brother, Miranda had never been organized. Where Darren had an almost military precision to making his bed, she’d been happy if the sheets weren’t on the floor. It was only after breaking up with Caleb and moving to Washington, D.C., that things changed. Her therapist had mentioned early on in their sessions that her newly discovered penchant for lists, planning and organization was in response to her feeling powerless. Whatever the case, she honestly could not remember the last time she’d gone grocery shopping without a list.

  Pushing the cart down the frozen-food aisle, she came to a stop. Five minutes later she was still standing in the same spot, agonizing over which ice cream really needed to come home with her. After staring at a few of her favorite half-gallon containers for a while, she reached in and took them all.

  Ice cream could be a substitute for sex, she mused.

  Her waistline might not like it, but her taste buds would be in heaven. The morning air was still cool and crisp, yet her cheeks warmed as she recalled how she had enjoyed her dreams of Caleb. But not near as much as she enjoyed the real thing. In such a short time she had come to realize that there was so much more to the man she’d fallen in love with close to a decade ago. Caleb Blackfox was a handsome, fun-loving, compassionate and dedicated doctor, and any woman would give up her last penny to be with him.

  But he wants you.

  She shook her head and Miranda was still chuckling to herself as she loaded the bags of groceries into the trunk.

  Chapter 10

  The doorbell rang on Friday evening just after Miranda had put away the last dish. Drying off her hands, she moved through the house and glanced through the peephole. At the sight of Caleb staring back at her, Miranda’s heart skipped a beat.

  “Caleb, this is an unexpected surprise.”

  “Have you missed me?” His deep voice passed over her skin like a feather that left a trail of shivers up and down her spine.

  “Of course not.” She tilted her chin upward and smiled.

  “Good, because I’ve missed you, too.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss. “Now go change into some jeans. We’ve got reservations.”

  “Reservations?” she echoed.

  “I’m taking my two favorite girls roller-skating and out to dinner.”

  “Did you just say roller-skating?” Kelly squeaked.

  Miranda turned toward her and opened her mouth to deny it, but the look of pure excitement on the girl’s face stopped her cold.

  “Yep.” Caleb took a few steps into the house. “Want to come?”

  “Yeah,” Kelly said matter-of-factly.

  “Then you’d better grab some socks and shoes.”

  “What about my brother?” Miranda interjected, trying to pump the brakes.

  “He won’t miss us.”

  “And how would you know that?�
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  “I have it on good authority that a certain physical therapist will be stopping by the house in…” He checked his watch. “Approximately twenty minutes to check on your brother.”

  “You mean Grace is actually going to ask him out?”

  “You knew?”

  Miranda smiled smugly. “Of course.”

  “Then you’d better grab your stuff.” He came in and closed the door behind him. “The last thing you want to do is hinder your brother’s recovery.”

  She threw her hands up and turned her back to him. Caleb couldn’t help but grin as he suppressed a chuckle. Looking downward at her shapely hips as she stomped away, he allowed himself a moment of pride. For the first time since she’d come home, he’d left Miranda Tyler speechless.

  A half hour later, after arriving at the local roller-skating rink, Caleb was inwardly congratulating himself.

  He picked up the two pairs of rental skates and ushered them both over to a slightly secluded area away from most of the roller rink’s teenage populace. Kelly had already laced on her skates and was ready to go out.

  “Can I go skate now? Mindy and Chelsea are here.”

  Miranda nodded. “All right, but stay close to your friends.”

  “Will do.”

  “We’ll be watching you, okay?”

  Kelly turned on one leg and rushed out onto the skating floor.

  “She’s pretty fearless,” Caleb commented standing beside her.

  Pride evident in her voice, Miranda replied, “She’s willing to try anything once. She almost gave me a heart attack last Saturday.”

  “What happened?”

  “Kelly decided to experiment by cooking Darren and I breakfast.”

  Darren’s brow furrowed with confusion. “That sounds pretty harmless.”

  “You don’t boil eggs in the microwave,” she added.

  He laughed, and in unison they drew deep breaths as Kelly turned and began to skate backward.

  “Were we ever that fearless?” Miranda asked rhetorically.

  “Worse,” Caleb answered. “You jumped into the ocean without really knowing how to swim.”

  “Well you jumped in to save me without a life jacket.”

  They laughed again and then took a seat. “This isn’t going to be that bad. We’re just going to be roller-skating.”

  “Do you have a cell phone close?” Miranda asked.

  “Always, but the hospital knows not to call unless it’s an emergency.”

  He’d set out to create just the right opportunity for her to not only see that he could be a good father figure to Kelly, but also a good friend to Miranda. Not to mention Caleb relished the opportunity to touch her.

  Called SkatePlex, the facility opened last year. Roller-skating, roller hockey and indoor soccer were available on the bigger-than-normal rink that spanned about 20,000 square feet and could handle more than 200 skaters at one time.

  “Dire emergency,” he added.

  She took off her coat and sat down on the soft bench. “I wasn’t worried about your parents. I just want to make sure you’d be able to dial 911 when I wipe out.”

  “Such confidence.” He grinned. Caleb’s sarcasm came through clear as a bell over the fast-paced music playing over the speaker system.

  Her eyes darted toward the rink and he glimpsed a shadow of fear.

  “Caleb, why don’t you go out and skate with Kelly? I’ll just watch.”

  Ignoring her comment, he bent down to his knees and pulled off her loafers.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Putting on your skates,” he answered.

  “Why don’t you put yours on first?”

  “Because it’s easier to do this for you first.”

  “I’d rather you didn’t. Really, Caleb. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be out soon.”

  “You can’t fool me, Miranda.” Mirth tickled in his throat at the obvious ploy to get out of skating. Instead, he caught her foot, curled his fingers and started to tickle her instep.

  “Caleb! Stop!” she shouted. “You know I’m ticklish down there.”

  His gaze heated and his body warmed with memories. He knew all of her sensitive spots and loved to play with them. Especially the soft spots under her thighs. “Stop fighting me and I’ll quit.”

  “Okay.” She sat back and her shoulders slumped in defeat.

  “Good girl.”

  “You are so bad.”

  “If you don’t behave, I’ll get even worse.”

  He felt like a teenager again, only better. This time he hadn’t come with his boys and stood on the corner playing cool and eyeing the girls as they moved around the rink. This time he would have the most beautiful girl on his arm.

  “Caleb, you know I haven’t been on skates since I was in elementary school.”

  “So that’s how I missed you in high school. My brothers and I would come here almost every weekend and look at the pretty girls. They say skating is just like riding a bike.”

  She gave him an incredulous look and he laughed out loud.

  “Momma, Dr. Caleb. Are you coming?” Kelly shouted from the edge of the rink.

  Caleb grinned broadly and waved her over. “Your mother has some crazy idea that she’s not going to skate with us.”

  Kelly’s brown eyes were superbright with excitement and the glow on her face warmed Miranda’s heart. It was such a blessing to have her this past month. Even her brother had fallen in love with the little girl. And even though Miranda knew that the charade would end once Ryan testified, the sadness brought by the thought of Kelly disappearing from her life was erased by the joy of caring for her.

  Kelly pitched herself down on the bench beside Miranda and took her hand. “Don’t worry, Dr. Caleb and I will be with you every step of the way.”

  Miranda gave her a little squeeze and looked up. Caleb had taken a seat on the bench directly opposite theirs and he’d begun to lace up his own roller skates. Assured for the moment that her life wasn’t in jeopardy, she turned her attention to Caleb. This was the first time she’d seen him dressed down. He had on Nike sneakers, blue jeans and a burgundy turtleneck sweater that clung to his muscles and emphasized a nice set of shoulders.

  As if he’d overheard her thoughts, he looked up and their eyes collided. “That’s right, Miranda. Every step of the way.”

  The double entendre in his tone flew over Kelly’s head, but Miranda caught it and she didn’t resist the urge to let out a rude snort. “Just remember that when we both hit the floor, Blackfox.”

  Moments later, after Miranda had practiced stutter-stepping on the carpet, she decided it was time to hit the hardwood. Kelly had long since rejoined her classmates and Miranda watched in awe as the girl flew over the rink like an Olympic ice-skater.

  “Ready?” Caleb asked.

  She gripped his hand like a lifeline. “If I said no would you take me back to the bench?”

  “Not on your life, sweetheart. I’ve been trying to get you in my arms for weeks now and I’m not giving up this opportunity.”

  “What if I promise you a kiss?”

  “Can I get immediate payment?”

  Miranda shook her head. Rome was a small Georgia town. Their being together at the skating rink was bound to get around in no time. Her kissing the daylights out of one of the scions of the Blackfox family would put them both in the top section of the local gossip column.

  “Not gonna happen.”

  “All right then, I’m going to be right by your side like I’ve been imagining since I woke up this morning.”

  “So you admit that you’ve been dreaming about my death?”

  He grinned wickedly. “Did you know that the French call the act of climax, la petite morte— little death?”

  Heat burned in her cheeks and for the moment Miranda was devoid of speech.

  Caleb took advantage and moved them forward. “Here we go.” He tugged her out onto the floor. Miranda grabbed for his arm and hung on.
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  They went a few yards before she managed to bark out, “Don’t.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Flirt. You’re making me nervous.”

  “I could kiss you. That used to take all your nervousness away when we were dating.”

  “That would be worse.”

  “Which would be worse? Would you prefer the kissing or the flirting? I’m going to do one or the other.”

  “Okay, you can flirt,” she responded quickly.

  “I’ll do whatever it takes to get close to you.”

  It took a few minutes to complete a circle of the rink and Miranda had almost made it when she wiped out and fell on her rear.

  “I thought you were going to be with me every step of the way.” She looked up at his laughing face.

  He held out a hand and she took it. “I was with you every step of the way. And I’m here to pick you up.”

  “You should definitely stick to medicine, Caleb. You’re a horrible skating instructor.”

  “But I’m an excellent physician. I’d be more than happy to check out that nice gluteus maximus of yours for bruises.”

  “Stay away from my behind.” Miranda barely managed to keep a straight face at his mock leer.

  “Don’t fall.”

  “Fine.” She nodded and grabbed a hold of him tightly. “Next time, we’re hitting the ground together.”

  “Ready to start again?”

  “If I fall and break my leg, Darren will never forgive you.”

  “Darren won’t forgive me? Not you?”

  “I don’t believe in holding a grudge.”

  “All right then. From now on, beautiful, we’re going down together,” he promised.

  He smiled at Miranda and her already shaken knees grew even weaker. They began to move again and she managed a small wave as Kelly flew by. His body heat warmed her and when he wrapped his arm around her waist, she fit perfectly into his side. As the music slowed and Caleb kept them at a safe pace, Miranda took stock of her situation. No doubt about it, she was in trouble. Not the house-burning-down-around-you-but-with-the-hope-of-finding-an-escape kind of dilemma. More like the trouble in which you sent out a call for help and ran like crazy. Miranda lifted her eyes and met Caleb’s chocolate-brown ones and swallowed hard.