“What is it?” Her pulse ticked up a few notches. She hadn’t imagined that shadow over the sun.

Ryder flicked the case open and held it out.

A dull pain throbbed behind her eyes. Despite his unethical behavior and frantic phone calls last night, Julia had a hard time believing Jim had been stalking her. Now the proof swam before her eyes in black and white, or rather, gold and white.

“He must be out of his mind. Why would he risk everything, his career, his reputation?”

“You said it. Out of his mind. I’m calling Ballard right now, and he’ll contact the Durango Sheriff’s Department. I don’t know if this will be enough proof to arrest him, but it’s going to put a serious crimp in his skulking.”

“The phone calls.” Julia pointed to her answering machine. “Jim left several messages last night, desperate, drunken, rambling messages.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

“I-I didn’t want to talk to you last night.” A dark cloud passed over Ryder’s face and his pain sliced her heart. “I wasn’t ready…last night.”

Almost two hours later, after Sheriff Ballard came over and collected the card case and the tape from the answering machine and took Julia’s statement, she collapsed on the sofa. “It’s over. Dr. Brody won’t be able to hide from the Durango Sheriff’s Department.”

“Are you ready to talk now?” Ryder propped his shoulders against the doorjamb and folded his arms. “We have a lot to clear up, a lot to remember.”

“I have a better idea.” Julia curled her legs beneath her. “ Shelby ’s going to a sleepover tonight at the Stokers’ with their granddaughter. I’ll cook dinner for you, and we can figure all this out.”

“You cook?”

“I know I never cooked before, but I learned a few tricks since coming to Silverhill.”

“You remember?”

“Yeah, I do.”

From the wicked smile breaking across Ryder’s face, he was recalling a lot more than her inability to cook. She didn’t have to tell him she remembered their torrid affair. She planned to show him.

And that’s exactly what the old Julia would do.

RYDER SHOWED UP for dinner, clutching a bottle of French wine in one hand and a six-pack of beer in the other. Good thing Rod installed a wine cellar at the house and stocked it with pretentious labels. Julia always loved a good bottle of Bordeaux.

She opened the door a crack before swinging it wide, and he almost dropped the bottle of wine on the ground. A slip of a summer dress skimmed Julia’s curves and her dark hair danced along her shoulders, free of its customary ponytail.

“I come bearing gifts.” He thrust the bottle in front of him.

She snatched the wine from his hand and peered at the label. “Impressive, but the old Julia is not quite up to full speed. I don’t drink much anymore, not enough to do justice to this bottle. I didn’t need alcohol fuzzing up my already fuzzy brain.”

“Keep it for when Julia number one makes her triumphant return. Rod won’t miss the bottle. I take that back. He probably keeps an inventory of the wine cellar, but that’s tough luck for him.”

“Ryder, what if Julia number one never completely returns? I’m not the stylish, madcap, rich girl living among sophisticates in Paris anymore.”

“I know.” He clunked the six-pack on her kitchen counter, and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’re the mother of my child.”

“About that.”

He ran a thumb along her jaw line. “We have time to work it out. If you haven’t noticed I’m crazy about Shelby, but you’re her mother and you know what’s best for her. I’ll follow your lead.”

His confidence in his ability to win Julia back and gain the love and trust of his daughter gave him the luxury of making that concession. Julia would never shut him out of Shelby ’s life, and he had to make sure she’d never shut him out of her life, either.

Julia’s face brightened. “Well, then, follow my lead to the kitchen. You can toss the salad while I put the finishing touches on my teriyaki chicken. It’s better when I grill it outside, but…”

Her eyes shifted to the back door that led to a wooden deck and she shrugged. “No word yet?”

“The Sheriff’s Department will find Brody, if they haven’t already. He must know they’re looking for him. He’s not going to show his face around here again, especially with the cameras watching.”

“You’re right.” She shook her head and her silky hair caught the recessed lights over the counter.

He wanted to run his fingers through her shimmering tresses, but she had to make the first move. He dumped the chopped vegetables into a big bowl of lettuce and inexpertly wielded a long wooden fork and spoon to toss the contents.

Julia snorted. “We went out to eat a lot, didn’t we?”

“No, actually, I was an expert chef in Paris, studied at Le Cordon Bleu and whipped up fancy cuisine for you all the time.”

“Yeah, right. Once all my memories start rolling in, you’re going to have some explaining to do.” She shoveled some rice from a rice cooker into a bowl and then spun around. “What happened to the CD? In all the…er…excitement, I forgot to ask you.”

“I sent it to the Black Cobra offices in Washington.”

“Black Cobra has offices in Washington? I thought it was a top secret agency.”

“It is. The offices are as bland as any other government agency office.”

“Have they gotten back to you yet?”

“I doubt Black Cobra is going to tell me the contents of the CD, but they did verify it’s one of theirs. Jeremy breached security and stole it.”

“Stand-up guy, my ex-husband.”

“Don’t start beating yourself over the head again because you married Jeremy. You already did that. The guy could charm a snake out of a basket, and you were vulnerable. He fooled everyone, not just you, and you’re not even a top secret agency like Black Cobra. Imagine how Jeremy’s employer felt when he turned.”

“As foolish as I do.”

He chucked her under the chin. “More. After all, you had Jeremy’s number before Black Cobra did.”

“I fell for Dr. Brody’s act, too.” She bit her nail and wrinkled her nose. “Seems I don’t have very good judgment when it comes to men.”

He didn’t plan on touching that one even with the long fork he still clutched in his hand. Lifting his shoulders, he continued tossing.

Julia set the table and placed a small vase in the middle containing the wildflowers Shelby picked earlier. Ryder took his place across from her and expelled a long breath. Ever since he walked back into Julia’s life, they’d been on a carousel of emotions thanks to Brody. With the danger behind her, Julia could come to terms with Shelby having a father in the picture.

“Do you want one of those beers you brought? Or the wine?” She half rose from her chair.

“I don’t like to drink alone. Put the beers in the fridge for another time, and we’ll save the wine for when we have something to celebrate-maybe your lack of fuzziness.”

“I’m ready to banish the fuzziness right now.” She took a gulp of water. “I planned to tell you about the pregnancy, Ryder. I was waiting for the right moment. You warned me you didn’t want a family, and I didn’t know how to break it to you.”

“I was an ass. My views on family life made it hard for you to tell me. I get that.”

“Then I got that call from Jeremy.”

“You should’ve told me about that call.”

“You’d just left for your next assignment. I knew any correspondence I sent wouldn’t reach you for a few months and it would be heavily censored when it did.”

He stabbed a piece of chicken with his fork. That’s what he liked about his job. It could take months before he got any news from his family. Knowing this, they rarely contacted him about so-called family emergencies. He could remain blissfully out of the loop, but he didn’t want to be out of Julia’s loop.

He volunteered for another two years in the field when his attempts to reach Julia failed. He should’ve tried harder to find her. His compulsion to step back from entanglements had cost him big time. Had almost cost him his daughter.