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his brow deepened and for a split second, she wanted to reach over and soothe them away as she’d done years ago.
    â€œI didn’t want to believe that you could do something like that, but…” His voice trailed off.
    â€œBut?” she prompted.
    â€œYou were so adamant that I forget the past that I thought you wanted to hide her from me.”
    â€œCaleb,” she gently chided. “I work for the logistics and planning department of the Witness Protection Agency, so I help hide people for a living. Even if I didn’t, do you honestly think I would have been dumb enough to show up in this town with a Blackfox child and not have anyone realize her? All it would take is a trip to the grocery store and I would have every member in your family banging on the front door.”
    He at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “Look, Miranda, I didn’t think. I was angry.”
    â€œWell get over it, Caleb. I have a sick brother and a little girl to think about. I don’t have enough bandwidth to add you to my list right now.”
    â€œYou’re right.”
    She didn’t know if it was her tone or her words that had reached him, but something did. Cautiously, she let go of the breath she’d been holding and pushed her chair back. The wooden legs squeaked on the linoleum floor. “You’ll continue as my brother’s doctor?” she asked after standing.
    â€œYou still want that?”
    She nodded. “Sure. I’m going to check in on Darren before I leave. Goodbye, Caleb.”
    â€œOne last question, Miranda. Did you love him?”
    Her breath caught in her throat as she exhaled. He meant Ryan, her fictional ex-husband. She was a good liar, but she wasn’t that good. Instead she softly replied, “I trusted him.”
    And then without another word she left the room.
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    â€œMy ex-husband.”
    Caleb inhaled deeply as Miranda turned on her heel and strode out of the cafeteria. All the while his eyes never left the curvaceous backside.
    Damn it, she’d walked out on him again. He closed his eyes as anger and disbelief stabbed his gut.
    His first love had become some other man’s wife. And it was all his fault.
    Burying his face in his hands, his mind went back to that day. Their graduation ceremony was less than two weeks away and he’d just gotten the letter in the mail. After months on the waiting list, he’d been lucky enough to have been accepted into his first-choice medical school. Feeling ready to celebrate, he’d thrown a small party at his place and invited all of his buddies. He’d left messages on Miranda’s voice mail and expected her to attend. It hadn’t taken much to spread the word. And a few phone calls, along with his American Express card, had secured a number of tables at the local club, top-shelf alcohol and food for the night. After his friends had arrived and the party had started, everything became a messy blur of memories lost in a mix of alcohol.
    The next morning, the alarm clock had startled Caleb out of his blissful alcoholic slumber and thrust him into a nightmarish world of pain and regret. When he’d slowly opened his eyes, with relief he’d found himself in his own bed. But the relief quickly disappeared. On the hangover scale of one to ten, his was a fifty. His head felt like a dangerously overinflated basketball being drib-bled by a sadistic toddler, and his stomach felt like an octopus getting electrocuted. He sniffed and the smell of smoke and liquor seeped from every pore.
    An hour later, after a long shower, he’d finally dragged himself to the kitchen in hopes of getting an aspirin. Just as he crossed the living area, something caught his eye. A bag from his favorite Chinese restaurant, a bottle of wine and a wrapped gift sat on the dining room table. And the fog of the remaining alcohol in his bloodstream cleared as he remembered how he’d gotten home the