Chapter Eleven
Gia finished notations on her patient’s case file at a computer behind the nurses’ station, its monitor framed with stickers of colorful hot air balloons.
The fluorescent lights cast a pale glow over the keys as her nails clacked across them with the efficiency of years in practice.
The sharp smells of disinfectant and burnt coffee hung in the air.
“You always use the same computer,” Jennie said as she returned from escorting an elderly man into room two.
Gia smiled. “I love the balloons. They’re fun to look at.”
“You should come with me to the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque this October.”
October. She’d be long gone by then. Gia’s smile faltered. “My contract’s up in six weeks. October feels like a long way off.”
“Maybe you can stay.” Jennie passed her the chart for the next patient. “God knows we need the help.”
She glanced around. “Where’s your hottie escort?”
“He had calls to make.” Gia logged out of the computer. “I think he got tired of being the object of curiosity.”
She quirked an eyebrow at her friend. “And for the record, that’s President Blackwater’s grandson you’re drooling over.”
Jennie snorted. “I’m not the one undressing him with my eyes.”
“I’m not—” Gia sputtered. “We’re not—it’s not like that.” Her face burned hotter than a day at the beach without sunscreen .
Sleep had eluded her, the memory of their kiss replaying in her mind—along with a wish she’d had the courage to take it further.
“Uh huh.” Jennie’s knowing look said it all. “You’re blushing. And I’ve seen the way you check him out when he’s not looking. Plus”—she gave a mock shiver—“I’ve seen the way he stares at you. He’s a sexy, still-waters-run-deep kind of guy. A warrior. Zach must hate him.”
Caught off guard, Gia blinked. “Why would Zach care?”
Not that Jennie was wrong. Tension crackled between the two men.
Jennie’s brows arched nearly to her hairline. “Zach has a thing for you. Surely you’ve noticed.” Her gaze darted away. “Everyone else has.”
Gia’s stomach dropped. “Zach’s a friend. Nothing more.” Had she somehow given him the wrong idea?
Vincente had accused her often enough of flirting if she so much as smiled at another man. She’d learned to suppress herself to keep the peace.
“And Caleb?” Jennie pressed.
She thought again of their kiss. The rush of need that had her wanting more. The feeling of safety she wasn’t sure she could trust.
Restless, she shifted her shoulders. Caleb was a good man. One she didn’t deserve.
“He’s leaving soon.”
Even if he wasn’t, nothing could come of it.
If Vincente found out, Caleb wouldn’t live to regret it.
She’d never have the chance at another relationship until Vincente was out of her life for good.
“What about you?” Concern replaced teasing in Jennie’s eyes—another weight added to Gia’s already heavy shoulders. “There’s talk you might leave. Who were those men who attacked you? ”
Guilt pressed on Gia's lungs, making it hard to breathe. She didn’t want to lie to her friend.
Only President Blackwater and the clinic’s medical director knew the truth behind her move to Arizona, and that had been a necessity to explain the name discrepancy on her medical license.
If they hadn’t been so desperate for a doctor who could start immediately, they probably would have tossed her application in the trash.
The words hovered on her tongue. That it was a random attack. A case of mistaken identity. But she was tired of building relationships on lies. If she left, she didn’t want Jennie’s memories of their friendship sullied by deceit.
Shoving trembling hands into the pockets of her doctor’s coat, she forced herself to say, “They work for my ex. I left without telling him, and let’s just say, he didn’t take it well.”
Jennie’s eyes widened. “Does Zach know? ”
“Zach and Caleb both know. They’re helping me figure out what to do.” Gia slid into her doctor persona, offering Jennie a confident smile at odds with her tripping pulse. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”
Judging by Jennie’s pinched features, she wasn’t buying it.
Rosenda Golden, one of the other nurses, approached before Jennie could press further. “Doctor Barone, President Blackwater is here.” Her voice brimmed with curiosity. “He’d like to speak with you.”
Gia exchanged a puzzled glance with Jennie, who waggled her eyebrows. “You’ve become a favorite of the Blackwaters, it seems.”
I don’t want to be anyone’s favorite.
That never worked out well for her.
“Can you bring him to the conference room?” she started to say, then caught herself.
Caleb was in there.
“No—wait. My office, please.”
She wiped sweaty palms on her coat.
Maybe her decision to stay—or leave—was about to be taken out of her hands.
President Blackwater entered her office with his security detail. He motioned for them to wait outside.
The door shut behind them with a soft click that sounded more like the crack of a gunshot to her frayed nerves.
“President Blackwater.” She gestured to one of the metal chairs and took a seat next to him, her throat dry as the dust swirling outside. “To what do I owe the honor of your visit?”
“I need your help.”
She blinked. “My help?” That wasn’t what she’d expected.
“My grandson, Caleb.” Ben’s gaze was steady. “He’s formed a connection with you.”
She leaned back, nonplused. “We hardly know each other.”
“And yet, he’s stays for you.”
Warmth fizzed in her veins—one she immediately tried to drown in cold reality.
“He protects people for a living. He’s just…helping me figure out what to do about my situation.”
Ben nodded, his expression knowing. “I understand the circumstances are not ideal, but without you, Caleb would have been gone the second we buried his mother. Probably for good.”
It wasn’t her place to ask, but… “Why?”
A heavy sigh escaped him. One loaded with so many layers Gia couldn’t even begin to decipher.
“My wife wanted our children to follow the traditional ways. Lillie—Caleb’s mother—rebelled.
She wanted more than the life we could offer.
They fought constantly—but the bond between them never broke until my wife died.
Something in Lillie died that day as well.
She took our grandson. Moved to Phoenix with Caleb’s father. Cut all ties.”
Pain lined the older man’s face. “Caleb believes we abandoned them. The truth is more complicated.”
Gia’s heart twisted.
No wonder Caleb carried such deep wounds. So did the man seated beside her.
“How do you think I can help?” she asked quietly.
A sly smile lit the president’s eyes. “I haven’t had the opportunity to visit your home since you settled in. I have some free time this evening.”
Her brows drew together.
Ben elaborated, his voice mild. “Perhaps I’ll get lucky, and you’ll have a visitor when I arrive?”
Ahhh. Understanding dawned.
Gia made a quick mental inventory of the contents of her cupboards and fridge.
“Dinner? I make a mean lasagna.”
“Seven p.m.?” Ben rose. “What may I bring?”
Gia stood as well. “Just yourself. I’ll make sure I have everything else.”
Including your grandson.
He nodded, looking pleased. As he reached for the door, he paused. Looked back.
“The day before you came to us, a dragonfly visited my yard. A Western Red Damsel. They’re found near water, so the sighting was unusual. I took it as a sign and told it my wishes.”
She had no clue where this was going, so she kept silent.
Ben patted her shoulder. “More tradition. I believe Caleb is ready to hear the truth about why he’s been apart from his people all these years.”
“I hope you’re right,” Gia whispered.
She knew what it felt like to be estranged from family. Even if the reasons were valid, it left a piece of your soul missing. The least she could do was facilitate a meeting that, with any luck, would lead to reconciliation between Caleb and his family.
“We’ll see you tonight,” she added.
After he left, she found Jennie tapping away at a nurse’s station computer. “Has Caleb come out of the conference room yet?”
“Not that I’ve seen.” Jennie glanced up. “Why?”
“Good.”
Jennie’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t want him to know his grandfather was here.”
“It’s complicated.”
If Caleb knew, he’d ask why. He wouldn’t like the answer, and she didn’t want to lie.
Her life was already a series of lies and she was tired of it.
“Here.” Jennie lifted a file folder. “Last patient.”
Gia glanced at the clock. Four-thirty . “I’m heading out after I see—” she took the folder, glanced inside—“Mister Shirley.”
“Hot date?”
“I’ve got lasagna to make.”
“For Caleb?”
Gia leaned in and whispered, “And President Blackwater.”
Jennie’s laugh bubbled up. “Let me guess—Caleb doesn’t know that part?”
“I hope I’m not making a mistake by getting into the middle of this family feud. ”
Jennie squeezed her hand. “For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing the right thing.” She smiled. “Caleb’s Diné. He needs to know his family.”
Caleb drove Gia home in silence.
The winter sun dipped toward the western horizon, the shadows growing longer and the moon showing promise of the radiant glow it would give off once the sun took its final bow for the night.
He kept a sharp eye on the road—wildlife and errant livestock were a constant hazard—but he kept just as close an eye on Gia, sitting stiffly beside him, hands folded tight in her lap.
Something happened earlier that had her skittish, but when he’d asked, he’d gotten a breezy smile and a non-answer that set his teeth on edge.
A glint of light flared in the rearview mirror—too bright, too close.
Gia’s posture snapped even straighter.
Glancing at the speedometer, Caleb noted their pace. The car behind them had to be doing at least seventy—gaining fast. Slowing the Jeep to forty-five, he eyed the glove compartment where he’d stashed his weapon.
With a roar, the other vehicle veered into the opposite lane, surged past them, and vanished over the next hill.
Beside him, Gia’s shoulders sagged with a long exhale.