The Doctor's Former Fiancee

That was an easy problem to solve. He couldn’t believe Lana needed instructions. “Tell her to come in early.”

He hung up, then rubbed his forehead, mostly to break eye contact with his mother.

“That was Lana again?” she asked. “Be nice. I told you that girl was crazy about you.”

“That girl is not crazy about me. That girl is only speaking to me because she is the head of research at West Central.”

“Since when?”

“Since this morning, apparently. I pulled a million dollars of funding from her today. A million dollars can make people desperate, Mom, and if she wanted to create problems for me with the FDA, she could.”

“She won’t.”

“I’m glad you have such confidence in my ex-fiancée.”

His mother narrowed her eyes.

He hoped he looked innocent. No, Ma, I wasn’t being a smart aleck. Honest.

Braden tried again. “Even if Lana keeps your involvement a secret to the grave, I still need to know why you were being given a migraine medicine.”

“I don’t get migraines.”

“Exactly. The salient question is, what do you get that Dr. Montgomery was trying to treat?”

“I know you are a doctor, but I’ll tell you what I’ve told your brothers. You are not my doctor.”

Despite the topic, his mother was smiling—or rather, trying not to smile. The corners of her mouth were twitching.

Braden’s bafflement warred with impatience. “What is amusing you? This is serious.”

“If you say so, son. Lana Donnoli is back in town, and you want to bring a guest out here for Valentine’s weekend.”

“Not Lana.” Good God, not Lana. Not that heartbreak. His mother had it all wrong.

“Grab a dish towel.” She started scrubbing the pan she’d used to make his chicken-fried steak. “Better yet, go on back to town and see your Lana.”

“It’s business. She can wait until morning.”

She only smiled. “No son of mine would ever be so rude to a lady over the phone.”

“I wasn’t rude. I was businesslike.”

“I’m sorry to spoil your surprise, but I can put two and two together. Lana calls, and you leave the room. When I follow, you pretend to be angry with her and hang up. Tonight, you can’t stay at the ranch, because you are sleeping at the Four Seasons. Here, give me that dish towel and go on to your hotel.”

“No, that isn’t—”

The mother who was supposedly so frail put her hand on his shoulder and gave him a shove toward the door. “I’m delighted that you and Lana are back together. Valentine’s will be wonderful. You don’t have to tell her I figured it out. I’ll act surprised.”

“You’ll be surprised because Lana Donnoli is not the woman I’m planning on marrying.”

She escorted him all the way to the front door, forcing him out of his own childhood home in the gentlest way possible. “Marriage? You’re going to announce a marriage? Sweetheart, that is so romantic. Now go. Lana’s waiting, and I can’t stand to listen to another of these fake fights on your phone.”

Braden realized his phone was ringing. He checked the screen. It was indeed Lana. He let it ring. She could chat with his assistant this time.

“Mom, don’t get your hopes up like this. You’ll be disappointed.”

“Right. Mum’s the word. I’ll be surprised, I promise. Good night, sweetheart.”

Braden had barely gotten his rental car started when his phone vibrated again. It was laughable that his mother thought he might need to fake a phone fight with Lana. They’d had plenty of real ones, burning up the line from Boston to Austin, back in the day. He waited for the fifth ring that would cue his assistant to answer, then enjoyed the silence while he began the long drive down the ranch road.

The phone rang again within seconds.

For the love of—

His emotions were engaged now. This negotiation was breaking down. Phone calls with Lana always had been disastrous.

He answered without taking his eyes off the long ranch road. “Give it a rest, Lana. I’m not going to argue with you all night. Those days are long over.”

There was a moment of silence, which Braden imagined meant Lana was suitably subdued by his show of temper.

A woman’s voice finally spoke. “Lana? Who is Lana?”

Braden let his eyes flick to the screen, although it was unnecessary. Of course, the name and thumbnail photo of Claudia St. James were displayed in full color.

“I’m sorry, Claudia. It was nothing. A business call.”

“It didn’t sound like a business call. Who is Lana?”

Braden sighed in defeat. The drive into Austin was going to be a long one.

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