She missed the Jag. She missed Gabriel more. She wondered why he’d come back. Probably to sell the house, she decided, to cut his last tie with Comanche Wells. If he was working for an international concern, it wasn’t likely that he’d plan to come back here. He’d see the Jag in the driveway, she thought, and understand why she’d given it back. At least, she hoped he would.

That thought, that he might leave Comanche Wells forever, was really depressing. She watered Fred, put down the can, and went back into the house. It didn’t occur to her to wonder what he’d been doing at her church.

When she went into the kitchen to take her dinner out of the microwave, a dark-haired man was sitting at the table sipping coffee. There were two cups, one for him and one for her. The dinner was sitting on a plate with a napkin and silverware beside it.

He glanced up as she came into the room. “It’s getting cold,” he said simply.

She stood behind her chair, just staring at him, frowning.

He raised an eyebrow as he studied her shirt. “You know, most people who wore red shirts on the original Star Trek ended up dead.”

She cocked her head. “And you came all this way to give me fashion advice?”

He managed a faint smile. “Not really.” He sipped coffee. He let out a long breath. “It’s been a long time, Michelle.”

She nodded. Slowly, she pulled out the chair and sat down. The TV dinner had the appeal of mothballs. She pushed it aside and sipped the black coffee he’d put at her place. He still remembered how she took it, after all this time.

She ran her finger around the rim. “I learned a hard lesson,” she said after a minute. “Reporting isn’t just about presenting the majority point of view.”

He lifted his eyes to hers. “Life teaches very hard lessons.”

“Yes, it does.” She drew in a breath. “I guess you’re selling the house.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Excuse me?”

“I saw a truck go out there yesterday. And I read that you’re working with some international police force now. So since Sara’s living in Wyoming, I assumed you’d probably be moving up there near her. For when you’re home in the States, I mean.”

“I’d considered it,” he said after a minute. He sipped more coffee.

She wondered if her heart could fall any deeper into her chest. She wondered how in the world he’d gotten into the house so silently. She wondered why he was there in the first place. Was he saying goodbye?

“Did you find the keys to the Jag?” she asked.

“Yes. You didn’t want to keep it?”

She swallowed hard. “Too many bad memories, of what I did to you and Sara,” she confessed heavily.

He shook his head. After a minute, he stared at her bent head. “I don’t think you’ve really looked at me once,” he said finally.