He removed the lids from the paper cups, so they’d cool and carried them to the small table by the back window. Then he made himself comfortable in the nearest chair and waited.
She wasn’t long.
The water turned off, and a minute later, the door opened. Caitlin’s damp hair hung against the back of the towel she’d wrapped around her. He stood when she came out. Not out of some misplaced chivalry, but out of the realization that the hotel’s towel, like most hotel towels, barely covered her crotch.
He didn’t need the temptation. Not now, not until he had a handle on his own thoughts and emotions.
“Good morning, John.” She sniffed the air. “Coffee? Thanks, I could use some.”
She stopped in front of him so close that the top of her towel brushed against his coat.
“Good morning to you too. I brought you a biscuit. I hope it’s all right.”
“You’re a darling,” she said and briefly kissed him on the cheek before he could respond.
She turned, fished one of the biscuits from the bag, and sat across from him. Demurely she crossed her legs, leaving him with the vivid realization that resisting her would be a lot tougher than he had originally thought.
He took out the other biscuit, unwrapped it, and ate while it was still warm. He washed down each bite with a sip of coffee and tried to keep his attention above Caitlin’s neck.
“So, tell me,” she said between bites. “What have you been doing for the last twelve years?”
“This and that. Mostly that,” he said and took another bite.
She frowned. Most faces wrinkle when they frown, but not Caitlin’s. Her’s was more of the pouty expression of a smooth faced baby.
“That’s not an answer,” she said. “I can understand you not wanting to pick up where we left off. That’s not what I’m really asking. I just want to get to know you again. I haven’t heard anything from or about you until I chanced upon your name on the Web last month. You didn’t even come to the wedding.”
The comment surprised him. “How could I have come to the wedding? You know I wouldn’t have been able to watch you marry him.”
“But you disappeared after that. You were already out of the hospital when we finished the trip, and you never returned to Colorado Springs to finish your doctorate.”
He shrugged. “After the Canyon, I couldn’t see the point. Everyone has a turning point in their life, mine was the canyon.”
“Because of me?”
He stared at her for a second. Could she really be so vain that she thought he had changed his entire life because he couldn’t have her? No, it was probably an innocent question. “No, Caitlin, even if you had been willing to dump what’s-his-name for me, I still wouldn’t have returned to college.”
“So what did happen to you? Where did...” Her gaze wandered away.
He recognized the sudden change in her voice. He’d heard it before in women and even in some men. It had a strange fascination that both attracted and repelled and somehow they were all embarrassed by it. “You mean the scar?”
She nodded and turned back toward him. Mentioning the scar removed her timidity and she took a good long look.
The scar started above his left eye, parted his eyebrow, skipped across his eye, and ran to a point inside his mustache. Even after all the years, he’d had it, it still had a tendency to color when his emotions raged. Nothing outlandish, but it would redden as though it was still fresh whenever he grew angry or, for that matter, aroused.
“Haiti.”
“Haiti? How? What were you doing in Haiti? I mean, well, if you don’t mind telling me.”
“Actually, I do. I don’t like to go into my past too much.”
She colored slightly and turned to stare at the window that faced the street. When she looked back, she said, “Excuse me. I ... damn it, John. I want to find out what’s happened to you. We were close once. I know it was for a very short time, but no matter what else, I haven’t forgotten that I owe you my life. I know it’s an impossible debt to repay, but it’s made me care about you. You disappearing for the last twelve years just made me more concerned.”
He looked at her softly. Her face as beautiful to him as the day they’d parted, her body just as luscious, her blue eyes just as deep. “Can’t you just accept that I’ve changed and leave it at that?”
“No, I don’t think I can,” she said with a distinct note of sincerity.
“Then I’m sorry, you’ll have to get used to disappointment.”
For a moment, he thought she would push the issue, but then she abruptly switched subjects. “What are you planning today?”
“I’m heading to the Pacific Rim first to take a look at your room and talk to hotel security. Perhaps I can learn something. Then I’ll check in with the police and make a few calls. You know, the usual stuff you see in the movies. If I don’t develop any leads, I’ll get you a flight back to Albuquerque and escort you home.”
She frowned. “I already told you it wouldn’t do any good for me to go home. You can’t guarantee me they won’t follow me there and if the government is after me, then they’ll be waiting for me.”
“That’s true.”
He didn’t particularly want to argue with her, her chances of winning were too good.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, he out of stubbornness, she ... who knew what went through a woman’s head, certainly not him.
She said, “You were saying what you intended to do today.”
“Yeah, anyway, after I’ve checked out the hotel and the police, I’ll backtrack to the business you’ve conducted since
