“I’m not always an ogre, you know.”
Her teeth caught the right corner of her bottom lip in a way that made his chest tighten. “I know. And I’m sorry for dragging you into this, but I didn’t know where else to go. The military didn’t want me to take the samples out of São João dos Rios. They only agreed to let me come here because you’ve worked with them before … and even then they made me bring a guard. I honestly didn’t think anyone else would be affected other than us.”
“It’s not your fault, Trace.” He started to reach out to touch her cheek, but checked himself. “The government is probably right to keep this as contained as possible. If I thought there was any chance of contamination, I’d be the first one to say Mandy needs to stay here at the lab with us.”
He smiled. “If I know you, though, not one microbe survived on that bag before you carried it out of that town.”
“I hope not. There are still several ill people waiting on us for answers. I left a colleague behind to make sure the military didn’t do anything rash, but he’s not a doctor, and I don’t want to risk his health either.” She blew out a breath. “Those people need help. But there’s nothing I can do until I know what we’re dealing with.”
And then she’d be on her way to the next available crisis. Just like she always was.
His smile faded. “Let’s get to work, then.”
The guard stuck his head into the room. “They’re sending someone for your friend. They’ll keep her at home until the danger has passed.”
Ben nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”
When he went to the doorway to say goodbye to Mandy, she kissed his cheek, her arms circling his neck and hugging him close. When she finally let go, her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. “I’m so grateful. I can’t imagine not being able to tuck my Jenny into bed tonight, but at least I’ll be closer to her than I would be if I stayed here.”
His heart clenched. Here was a woman whose baby meant the world to her—who didn’t need to jet off to distant places to find fulfillment. Unlike his parents.
Unlike Tracy.
“We’ll work as quickly as we can. Once things are clear, make sure you give her a kiss and a hug from her uncle Ben.”
“I will.” She wiped a spot of lipstick from his cheek with her thumb. “Be careful, okay? I’ve just gotten used to your crazy ways. I don’t want to break someone else in.”
Ben laughed and took off one of his latex gloves, laying his hand on her shoulder. “You’re not getting rid of me any time soon, so go and enjoy your mini-vacation. You’ll be back to the same old grind before you know it.”
Mandy’s escort arrived, and as soon as she exited the building, he turned back to find Tracy observing him with a puzzled frown.
“What?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just surprised you haven’t found a woman who’d be thrilled to stick close to the house and give you all those kids you said you wanted.”
“That would be impossible, given the circumstances.”
“Oh?” Her brows arched. “And why is that?”
He laughed, the sound harsh in the quiet room. “Do you really have to ask?”
“I just did.”
Grabbing her left hand, he held it up, forcing her eyes to the outline of the plain gold band visible beneath her latex glove. “For the same reason you’re wearing this.” He stared into her face. “Have you forgotten, Mrs. Almeida? You may not go by your married name any more, but in the eyes of the law … we’re still husband and wife.”
SHE’D FORGOTTEN NOTHING.
And she’d tried to see about getting a divorce, but being overseas made everything a hundred times more complicated. Both of the Brazilian lawyers she’d contacted had said that as an American citizen, she should return to the States and start the proceedings there, as she and Ben had been married in New York. But asking him to accompany her had been out of the question. Even if he’d been willing, she wasn’t. She hadn’t wanted to be anywhere near him, too raw from everything that had transpired in the month before she’d left Teresina—and him—for ever.
Staying married probably hadn’t been the wisest move on her part but she’d thrown herself into her work afterwards, far too busy with Projeto Vida, her aid organization’s floating clinic, to set the ugly wheels in motion. Besides, a wedding ring tended to scare away any man who ventured too close. Not that there’d been many. Her caution-do-not-touch vibes must be coming through loud and clear. She’d never get married again—to anyone—so keeping her wedding ring and her license made keeping that promise a whole lot easier.
Too bad she hadn’t remembered to take the ring off before asking Ben for help.
She realized he was still waiting for a response so she lifted her chin, praying he wouldn’t notice the slight tremble. “We’re not married any more. Not by any stretch of the imagination. You made sure of that.”
“Right.” Ben turned away and gathered a few more pieces of equipment.
Her thumb instinctively rubbed back and forth across the ring, a gesture she’d found oddly comforting during some of the tougher periods of her life—like now.
Strange how most of those times had found her wearing surgical gloves.
Studying Ben as he worked, Tracy was surprised by the slight dusting of grey in his thick brown hair. She gave herself a mental shake. The man was thirty-eight, and she hadn’t set eyes on him in four years. Change was inevitable. What hadn’t changed, however, were the electric blue eyes, compliments of his American mother, or how they provided the perfect counterpoint for tanned skin, high cheekbones and a straight, autocratic nose—all legacies from his Brazilian father. Neither had he lost any of that intense focus she’d once found so intimidating.
And irresistible.
Snap out of it, Tracy.
She donned the scrubs, booties and surgical gear Ben had left out for her and moved into the glassed-in cubicle where he was busy setting up.
“Close the door, please, so I can seal it off.”
“Seal it off?” Swallowing hard, she hesitated then did as he asked.
“Just with this.” He held up a roll of clear packing tape. “Is your claustrophobia going to be a problem?”
She hoped not, but feeling trapped had always set off a rolling sense of panic that could quickly snowball if she wasn’t careful. It didn’t matter whether the confinement was physical or emotional, the fear was the same. Glancing through the door to the reception area, she noted the exit to the outside world was plainly visible even from where she stood. “As long as I know there’s a door right through there, I should be fine. The room being made of glass helps.”
“Good.”
Ben taped the edges of the door, before removing the insulated bag from the fridge and examining the labels on each tube inside. Selecting two of them, he put the rest back in cold storage.
“What do you want me to do?” Tracy asked.
“Set up some slides. We’re going to work our way from simple to complex.”
He turned one of the tubes to the side and read her label out loud. “Daniel,