Today, her thoughts, her hopes, her dreams were centered on Cal, not The Last Roundup.
“I don’t know, Jeff. Something doesn’t feel right,” she finally said.
He frowned and checked the pages on his clipboard. “Everything looks okay to me, Jess, but it’s your decision, of course.”
She rubbed her forehead. “Maybe it’s just a bad day. Let’s stop now. I’ll take the figures home and study them, then call you in the morning.”
“Okay. I’ll go over everything again, too. Maybe I missed something.”
She smiled wearily and led the way back out to their two vehicles, shaking hands and sending him back to Lubbock.
Leaving her to deal with the real problem. Her future. She knew what she wanted, but it was out of her hands. Cal was the key to her happiness.
But if she couldn’t have Cal, she’d need something to keep her busy.
Cal’s baby would give her a reason to go on.
She scrubbed that thought at once. She had promised herself she wasn’t going to trap him. But she wished she had an answer to her problem.
What was she going to do?
“ARE WE PLAYING TONIGHT?” Edith Hauk asked Mabel over the telephone.
“As far as I know. It’s my turn to be hostess. I’ll call the others.” Mabel called her other two friends as soon as Edith hung up. “Bridge tonight?”
The other two agreed, and Mabel hung up the phone. It was hard to concentrate on bridge when she was waiting to hear from Cal or Jessica.
She’d done a terrible thing. She knew it. But the result would be wonderful. Mabel knew if Jessica turned up pregnant, the children would marry at once.
That was what she wanted.
But she felt bad about tricking them. And Ed would kill her if he ever found out.
But she hadn’t done it to win the bet. Oh, sure, that would be fun, but the most important part was that Jessica and Cal find each other. Something about the engagement didn’t seem quite legitimate. She was only trying to make sure they would carry through.
“Mabel? You heard from Cal or Jessica?” Ed asked from the kitchen.
“Um, no, I haven’t.”
“Why don’t you call Jess? Just to be sure they got back.”
“I already did. She didn’t answer. Do you want me to call Cal at the office?” She didn’t really want to call Cal, but it would be good to know they got back all right. And besides, she didn’t think he would’ve noticed what she’d done to the condoms. He’d be irritated with her because she’d included them, of course. Unless he hadn’t thought to bring any.
Ed agreed she should call Cal.
When he answered the phone, she spoke quickly, hoping he wouldn’t notice her nervousness. “Hi, dear. Your father wanted to be sure the two of you got back all right.”
“We’re back. And, Mom, you and I have to have a talk.”
“Oh. I was only suggesting—”
“You were trying to get Jessica pregnant.”
She sucked in a deep breath. Ed was watching her from the kitchen door. “They’re back, Ed. Everything’s fine.”
Thankfully, Ed nodded his head and disappeared.
“I—I—you said you wanted children.”
“If you do anything else as underhanded as you did with the condoms, you won’t be allowed to hold the first child for a year.”
She gasped. “Call You can’t mean it!”
“I mean it. Don’t force Jessica into anything. Okay?”
Sniffing, she nodded. Then, realizing he couldn’t see her, she said, “I promise.”
As he was about to hang up, she remembered to ask one more question. “Does ... does Jessica know what I—”
“Yes. I’m not sure she’ll forgive you.”
And he hung up the phone.
CAL WAS FRUSTRATED. He’d been trying to reach Jessica most of the afternoon. He thought about going to the building she was going to buy, the one she and Jeff had looked at across the square from the sheriff’s office.
Every time he’d called her town house and gotten no answer, he’d walked to the front of the office and look to see if her Lexus was still parked in front of the building.
“It’s still there,” Betty finally said after the fourth time. “Why don’t you walk over and see how she’s doing?”
“I’m too busy,” he growled, and stomped back into his office.
Suddenly the radio emitted static, then an excited voice. “Woowee! We got a movie star or something heading our way. A big black limo is about three miles out of town.”
Cal stepped around Betty’s desk and picked up the microphone. “Calm down, Ricky. Anyone can hire a limo. How do you know it’s coming here?”
“Well, it has to, boss.”
“But it probably won’t stop. Just do your job, okay?”
“Yeah, boss,” a subdued Ricky replied.
Betty glared at him. “You may be in a bad mood, but there’s no need to make Ricky have a bad day.”
Because he felt guilty for exactly that, he ignored Betty and retreated to his office.
A limo? Must be some big-city guy.
Could it be another man Jessica had never told him about? The last time it had been Jeff, a married man. He’d almost forgotten his idea that she loved a specific man. Could she have made love to him while she loved someone else? That thought disturbed him.
He didn’t want to believe she cared about someone else. But she hadn’t told him she didn’t. He worried over the whole situation again. Was there really someone?
He’d thought maybe she’d made the man up because there didn’t seem to be anyone she was interested in from Cactus. Did this limo explain that little problem? Was she in love with someone she’d met from a big city?
Was he going to lose her?
He leaped to his feet and rushed out of his office, heading for the square.
“She’s gone,” Betty announced as he reached the front door.
“How long ago?”
“About two minutes.”
He stood there, undecided, staring out at the square. When he saw a black limo pull to a halt at the one stoplight, he opened the door and stepped outside.
The light turned green and the limo moved forward slowly. He tried to see inside, but the windows were darkly tinted. Then it stopped alongside him, and the front window went down.
“Excuse me, Officer, but where would we find The Old Cantina?”
JESSICA SAT at her kitchen table.
She was too weary to climb the stairs, too worried to cook any food, too discouraged to make any decisions.
The phone rang.
“Jess, it’s Nita. Some high-muck-a-mucks from the company that bought you out are here. They wanted me to call, to see if you could meet them for dinner at seven.”
Jessica frowned, trying to work out the significance of the men’s arrival. She had visited with them a number of times during the negotiations. “Yes, of course I can. Did they say why they’re here?”
“No. That’s all they said, just could you come eat with them. But they seem happy.”
“Okay, thanks, Nita. I’ll be there.”
She hung up the phone, concentrating on the conversation, her hand resting on the receiver, when it rang again.
She picked it up at once.
“Hi, baby. How’d your day go?” It was Cal.
She shivered, stirred just by hearing his voice. “Fine.”
“Will you let me take you to dinner?”
“I can’t.”
Before she could explain about what had happened, he said, “Jess, you can’t shut me out.”
“I’m not trying to, Cal. Some of the officers of the TGM Corporation are in town, at The Old Cantina. They want me to have dinner with them.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. But I promised I’d be there at seven.”
“Would you let me come with you? I promise I won’t interfere, but I don’t like you facing these guys alone.”
Cal to the rescue. But she wouldn’t mind a little support tonight. “Okay.”
He didn’t respond, and she wondered if he’d changed his mind. “Cal? Do you want to come?”
“Yeah. What time do I pick you up?”
“We’re supposed to be there by seven.”
“Right, I’ll pick you up at six forty-five.”
CAL WENT HOME and showered and shaved again. Then he took one of his business suits, seldom worn in Cactus, out of the closet. But he knew big-city executives wouldn’t be dressed in jeans. And he didn’t want Jess ashamed of him.
Besides, he had plans for after dinner that didn’t include anyone from Dallas. Tonight, he was going to be honest with Jessica, tell her he loved her. Ask her to many him. And hope and pray she’d give him a chance.
It occurred to him that he should’ve proposed at the line cabin last night. Then he’d have the right to demand she refuse any offer these men made. And they had come to make an offer, he was sure.
But he couldn’t, wouldn’t, keep Jessica from doing what would make her happy. He just hoped he was what she wanted.
He pulled up in her driveway at the exact time he’d promised. When she opened the door to his knock, he sucked in his breath. She was wearing a tailored forest-green suit, with a silk vee-neck blouse. Gold earrings were her only jewelry except for her emerald and diamond ring.
The sight of his ring on her finger filled him with pride. She was going to meet these men with his brand on her. He liked that.
He helped her into his truck, then joined her. “Have you figured out what’s going on?”
“No, unless they’ve heard about my new restaurant.”
“Think they’ll give you some grief over it?”
“No. I called Alex again, just to be sure, but she told me they have no ground to stand on.”
“Then we’ll relax and enjoy our meal—on them.”
They didn’t talk much on the short drive to the restaurant, but Cal was encouraged when he took her hand in his before they walked into the restaurant and she didn’t pull away.
They approached the table around which sat three men in suits. Everyone else in the restaurant was dressed in jeans and boots.
Cal was proud of Jessica as she calmly greeted the three men who stood. “Gentlemen, welcome back to Cactus. I hope you don’t mind that my fiancé, Cal Baxter, accompanied me.”
Yep, he was proud of her.
“Not at all. Welcome, Mr. Baxter,” the first man said. The other two nodded, and one of them reached for another chair.
As soon as they were seated, Nita appeared. “Jess, what would you and Cal like to drink?”
“Iced tea,” she replied, and Cal nodded.
“I’ll have those nachos right out, sir,” Nita said to one of the gentleman and quickly disappeared. No chitchatting as usual.
Jessica, however, had social chitchat down to an art. Cal listened in amazement as she carried the conversation. discussing weather and travel until both their iced teas and the nachos had been delivered to their table.
During the nachos, the conversation turned to their engagement and questions about Cal’s occupation. He answered calmly, but he was thinking about better ways of spending his evening...with Jess.
When the meals they’d ordered had been delivered and the men seemed to be settling in to an evening with no significant information to be discussed, Jessica cut to the chase.
“Okay, I know you didn’t travel all the way out here to eat at one of your new restaurants. Why are you here?”
All three men put down their silverware and looked at her. Finally, the one next to Jessica—Bill, he thought—nodded.
“You’re right, Jessica. Our manager here reported that you were thinking of opening another restaurant.”
“Yes.”
“Our contract says—”
“It’s not a Mexican restaurant, Bill. It’s a steak house. I checked with my attorney, and our contract doesn’t restrict me in that area.”
“We know, but—well, we have a proposition for you.”
JESSICA HAD A LOT to think about. And some of it didn’t even have anything to do with Cal.
The corporation had an offer for her, but they didn’t want to discuss details until after they tasted her new steak recipe tomorrow. She hadn’t really wanted to cook for them, but she’d felt she owed them consideration.
“Will you come to lunch tomorrow?” she asked Cal.
He hadn’t spoken since they’d left the restaurant.
“Of course I will, if you want me.”
“I do,” she said, her voice husky as she thought how true those words were. Sitting circumspectly on her side of the front seat, she longed for him to slide across and reach for her, to pull her into a kiss like the one they’d shared last night.
Instead, he merely asked, “What do you think they’re going to offer you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will it mean moving to Dallas?”
She stared at him. Was he hoping to get rid of her? Did he actually want her to leave Cactus?
She was within a breath of asking him, of laying it all out on the line. Telling him how she felt about him, how she’d always felt about him. But when she opened her mouth, no words came out. Only a sigh.
“Well, you must have lots to do to get ready for tomorrow, so I won’t come in,” Cal said. He wasn’t even looking at her now. “In case I forget to tell you tomorrow, good luck.”
Jessica felt as if a pail of ice water had suddenly been dumped on her head. How could this be the same man as the one who shared the line shack with her last night? The one who brought her body to a fever pitch with one touch? No, this man was too cold and unemotional. Next thing she knew he’d reach out and shake her hand.
Without even so much as a glance in his direction, she opened the truck door and ran for home.
IT TOOK EVERY OUNCE of willpower he possessed to let her go. He didn’t want to. He’d hoped to explain himself this evening. To tell her he wanted their engagement to be real. To spend this night—and every night of the rest of his life—with Jessica in his arms.
But he didn’t want to discuss what could determine the rest of their lives while she was distracted by business. And he could tell she was distracted.
He didn’t sleep well that night. Without Jessica beside him, curled around him as she’d been last night, he couldn’t settle down. He tossed and turned, and woke up feeling more exhausted than when he went to bed.
After he reached the office, he dialed Jess’s number.
“Hi, baby,” he said softly when she answered. “Are you doing all right?”
She sounded tired, too. “Of course. I’m fine.”
“Anything I can do to help with today’s luncheon?”
“No. Just be here for me.”
“Always. I missed you last night.”
There was silence on her end.
He’d intended to wait until after the luncheon, until after she’d spoken with the corporate execs. He wanted Jessica to be free to make her own decisions about her future. But he was frightened. What if she didn’t love him and want to be with him? He couldn’t face the rest of his life without Jessica.
“Jess, I have to—”
“There’s the timer on the stove. I’ll see you at noon,” she said quickly before hanging up the phone.
Cal sat there, the receiver in his hand. Had he waited too long? Had he already lost her?
JESSICA FOUGHT her nerves all morning.
She hadn’t slept well. But the worry over her and Cal’s relationship had eased any nerves she had over the luncheon.
She’d decided the smart business decision was to listen to whatever offers the corporation made. Right now she had no idea where she stood with Cal, whether she had a future with him and in Cactus. She owed it to herself to hear the execs out.
Suddenly she wanted to wow them with her new idea. It all came down to personal pride. She we
nt into the dining room to recheck every detail.
Ambience was important. She’d used a pale yellow tablecloth with green place mats. In the center of the table were several small cactus plants and a grouping of yellow squash.
When the doorbell rang, she hurried to the door, hoping it was Cal. Instead, her three visitors strolled in. She settled them into her living room and served fried zucchini with drinks while they waited for Cal.
After what seemed like hours of small talk she checked her watch. Cal was twenty minutes late. Did he intend to show up at all? In spite of how they’d parted last night, that wasn’t like Cal. She excused herself and called his office, her heart thumping as she considered his response.
Betty answered the phone.
“Betty, it’s Jess. Where’s Cal?”
“Oh, hon, I’m sorry. He’s settling an argument between Herk Jones and his neighbor. Is anything wrong?”
“He was supposed to be here for lunch at noon. I ... just got worried.”
“Oh, my gosh. I bet he’s forgotten the time. Those two have been going at each other for an hour. I’ll go tell him. I’ll be right back.”
“Thanks, Betty.”
Betty returned to the phone. “Jess, he said he doesn’t know when he’ll be there—to go on without him.”
After hanging up the phone, she covered her disappointment and invited her guests to the table. After all, she still had a business to manage.
Once the food was served, the three executives dispensed with the chitchat and concentrated on the meal. They asked her several questions about her choices and praised the steaks.
Finally, Bill put down his silverware. “Jessica, I won’t beat around the bush. The corporation thinks you’re a genius. We’d like to purchase the entire package—your restaurant concept, your new recipe, everything.”
Jessica remained silent. She simply stared at him.
Bill cleared his throat. “We haven’t mentioned price. That might help convince you.”
Jessica straightened her spine and looked Bill in the eye. Two million dollars for a recipe and an unproved restaurant idea. Why was she hesitating?
One Hot Daddy-To-Be? Page 18