table and tried to still the thundering in his chest that began whenever he thought of his younger sister.
She’d disappeared the week of the sixth anniversary of their parents’ death and for the first two weeks or so Caleb and his brothers Tom, Benjamin and Jacob had just assumed she’d gone off alone to get through the difficult anniversary. But too much time had gone by without any of them hearing from her.
His brother Tom, the sheriff of Black Rock, had been doing what he could to find some answers. He’d issued a BOLO alert on her vehicle and was monitoring her bank account and credit cards. There had been no sign of her car anywhere but what was more troubling was that her accounts hadn’t been touched since the day of her disappearance.
This wasn’t the first time Brittany had disappeared, but before it had always been only for a few days, a week at the most, then she’d turn up with explanations and apologies.
Caleb knew all his brothers felt the same as he did, that they didn’t care about apologies or explanations; they just wanted to know that she was okay.
He got into his car and headed for the office. Caleb lived in a small rental house in the heart of the small town of Black Rock. He’d moved there seven years ago from the family ranch when he’d gotten the job as deputy when he turned twenty-one.
Law enforcement in Black Rock was definitely a family affair. Tom was the sheriff, and Caleb, his brother Benjamin and his sister, Brittany, were deputies. His brother Jacob had been an FBI agent, but had returned home almost two months ago and shut himself up in a small cottage on the ranch property.
He refused to talk about what had brought him home and didn’t want anyone except family to know he was there. It was bad enough when Caleb just had Jacob to worry about, but now he had Brittany, as well.
No wonder he couldn’t get Portia out of his head.
She was the least of his worries. Despite the fact that they shared the same town, he rarely saw her.
Still, there had been a moment yesterday when she’d first stepped into the office when his heart had done a little dance in his chest.
“Indigestion,” he muttered as he pulled up in front of the two-story brick building that was his home away from home. Surely that was all that he’d felt when he’d seen Portia.
It was only a few minutes before seven in the morning but already the sun was warm on his shoulders as he got out of the car.
“Good morning, Sam,” he said as he entered the office.
Deputy Sam McCain gave him a sleepy smile and raised his coffee cup in greeting. “Coffee’s fresh and I brought in some homemade cinnamon rolls that Loretta baked this morning.”
“You’re a lucky man, Sam,” Caleb said. “Not only is your wife gorgeous, but she cooks, as well.”
Sam’s teeth flashed white against his cocoa-colored face as he grinned. “You stay away from my Loretta. You with your legendary charm might turn her head.”
Caleb laughed. “You know I save my charm for the single women in town. Besides, for reasons I can’t understand, Loretta seems to be madly, crazy in love with you.”
Sam chuckled. “Yeah, I can’t explain it, either.”
At that moment the phone rang and Sam answered. Instantly his broad forehead creased in a frown. “Okay, all right. We’ll get somebody right over there.”
He hung up the phone and looked at Caleb. “That was Portia Perez. Somebody broke into her day-care center last night.”
“I’ll go,” Caleb said. “First those flyers and now this. I wonder what’s going on?”
Minutes later he was in his car and headed to Portia’s place. She lived on the north edge of town, not far from the house where she had spent her childhood.
Caleb had spent many nights of his high school years visiting Portia and her mother. In fact, he and Portia had been inseparable all through high school.
On warm summer nights he’d sat on the porch swing with Portia and they’d talked about their future together, made plans for a lifetime of happiness. They’d been best friends, and on the night of their senior prom they had become lovers.
He thought of the dream of her he’d had the night before. It had been hot and wild and when he’d finally awakened he had imagined he could smell the scent of her still lingering in the sheets, on his skin.
Crazy, he thought. Crazy that after all these years she should invade his dreams. And just as crazy that the thought of her could still bring the taste of bitterness to the back of his throat.
Her house was a small ranch, painted the color of cinnamon and with gingerbread trim in beige that gave it a fairy-tale look. Colorful flowers lined the sidewalk leading up to the front door and baskets hanging from the porch ceiling spilled blossoms of red and purple.
He turned in to her driveway and followed it to the detached garage where he knew her day-care facility was housed.
As he pulled up he noticed several things. Melody Markfield, Portia’s assistant, was in a fenced play area next to the building with several toddlers, and Portia stood at the front door, her face unusually pale in the early-morning sunshine.
He parked the car and as he opened his door to get out, she approached him. He couldn’t help but notice the way the sun sparked on her copper-colored hair and that her legs beneath her denim shorts were just as shapely as they’d been when she’d been a cheerleader in high school.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Somebody broke in.” Her voice trembled slightly and her hazel eyes appeared larger than usual. Her chin tilted upward. “And if you tell me this is a civil matter I might just punch you in the stomach.”
“Let’s take a look inside,” Caleb said. As he walked toward the door of the building he was conscious of her just behind him. The floral scent of her perfume eddied in the air and reminded him of his dream of her.
But all thoughts of dreams fled from his head the moment he stepped into the day care. Destruction and vandalism were everywhere.
The mattresses on two of the cribs had been slashed and the stuffing pulled out. Books had been thrown from shelves and toys had been smashed and littered the floor in colorful plastic shards.
“Not civil, definitely criminal,” Caleb murmured as he walked around the room and tried to take it all in.
He checked all the windows looking for a point of entry and finally found it in the small bathroom. The window had been broken inward and pieces of glass glittered on the floor in the sunlight.
He left the bathroom and returned to the main room. A laptop computer sat on the adult-size desk in the corner, along with a stereo system, letting him know that robbery hadn’t been the intent.
It was a malicious crime scene. Whoever had broken in had been hell-bent on causing damage and nothing else. Who would have done this and why?
He turned to look at Portia, who leaned against one wall with her arms wrapped around her waist. Her eyes held the hollow look of someone
