From Temptation to Twins

by Barbara Dunlop

  Roland’s aged hand reached out to smooth the plans. “This has to be worth ten times the Crab Shack.”

  “Like I said,” Caleb answered, meaning every word. “This is long overdue.”

  Eleven

  Jules’s heart was breaking. Melissa looked just as miserable, while Noah looked grimly determined. He was packing his tools, loading everything into his truck in preparation to shut down the construction job.

  Jules couldn’t help but wonder what Caleb would do with the place. Would he bulldoze it right away? Unfinished, she guessed it would turn into an eyesore and impact the views from Neo.

  Yes, she decided. That was exactly what he’d do. It made sense.

  It was also emblematic of the entire history of the Parkers and the Watfords. The Parkers lost. The Watfords won, and their empire grew larger and larger.

  She ran her fingertips over the smooth surface of the bar, recalling the hours of sanding and polishing. It had all been a waste of time. Everything they’d done here had been a waste of time. She wanted to be angry, but she knew she had no one to blame but herself.

  Melissa should be angry. Melissa deserved to be very angry with Jules.

  Jules gazed across the room to where Noah and Melissa were talking softly, standing close together. Her sister looked sad as Noah smoothed his fingers over her cheek. Jules knew their romance had bloomed. This moment aside, she’d never seen Melissa so happy.

  She didn’t know what was next for them. But she hoped it was something. She’d bet it was something. Noah didn’t strike her as the type to go quietly into the night.

  Neither was Caleb. But Caleb had what he needed from her. There was no reason for him to fight for anything anymore, not a single reason in the world for him to even seek her out. Their lawyers would take care of the paperwork.

  At least the Parkers would get something out of this deal. Her father would be pleased. Her father would be thrilled. She hadn’t called him yet. She didn’t have it in her to deal with his happiness.

  “Jules?” The sound of Caleb’s voice sent a trill along her spine.

  At first she thought she’d imagined it. But she turned to the door, and there he was, big as life, looking just as he had that first day he’d walked in. He’d been scowling then. He looked joyful now. She supposed he was, since he’d won.

  “We’re almost finished here,” she told him, imagining he was already warming up the bulldozers.

  The truth was, they were completely finished. There were no more excuses to linger. Moments from now, she’d walk away from the Crab Shack forever. She’d failed her grandfather. She’d failed everyone. She fought the urge to touch her stomach.

  Caleb strode inside. “I’m here to offer you a new deal.”

  Her heart sank another notch. “Less money?”

  He had her over a barrel, and he knew it. It would be just like a Watford to turn the screws.

  “No.” His tone was unexpectedly gentle as he moved toward her.

  “What kind of a deal?” Melissa asked, joining the conversation.

  Both she and Noah moved in, as well.

  “A partnership,” Caleb said, his attention focused squarely on Jules. “Half the Crab Shack for half of the Whiskey Bay Neo.”

  Jules parsed his words inside her head, certain she was misunderstanding.

  “Why would you do that?” Melissa asked.

  “Because I think they’re both going to succeed. I wasn’t snowing you earlier. We should coordinate efforts. I’m putting my money where my mouth is. We thrive together or we sink together.”

  Melissa found her voice first, and spoke haltingly. “That’s ridiculously generous.”

  “No,” Jules said.

  Melissa shot her a look of disbelief.

  Jules answered her sister with a hard look. They couldn’t stay here. She was pregnant, and Caleb was the father. There was no way she could stay in Whiskey Bay and let him find out.

  Caleb gaped at Jules in clear astonishment. “What do you mean no? It’s everything you wanted. You can finish rebuilding. You can run the place. I’m not going to interfere.”

  “We can’t,” Jules said.

  “Jules,” Melissa pleaded.

  “It’s perfect,” Caleb said with what looked like mounting confusion. “You get your dream. We all make money. Noah doesn’t have to follow Melissa to Portland.”

  Melissa looked up at Noah. “What? What does he mean by that?”

  Noah gave her a sheepish smile. “I can’t be without you, Melissa. You’re amazing.”

  She gave her head a swift little shake. “You’re coming to Portland?”

  He put an arm around her. “You don’t think I can get work in Portland?”

  In return, she leaned into him and smiled. Jules was forced to quell a surge of jealousy. Caleb standing just a few feet away made it all the worse. She wanted to go to him. She wanted to lean into him. She wanted to wake up from what had become a nightmare of errors and secrets.

  “So you see,” she managed to say without her voice cracking with emotion. “We’re all good. We’re looking forward to Portland.”

  “What are you talking about?” Caleb demanded.

  Her stomach was churning with guilt and nervousness. “I’m saying thanks, but no thanks. Our minds are made up.”

  “You should at least hear what he has to say,” Noah put in.

  Jules looked to Melissa for support.

  “It’s almost too good to be true,” Melissa said.

  “It is too good to be true.” Jules couldn’t believe she was losing her sister’s backing. Melissa knew the stakes. She knew why Jules couldn’t accept Caleb’s offer.

  “It’s not too good to be true. It’s just flat-out true.” Caleb directed his attention to Melissa, too. “We’ll draw up a contract. You get half of Neo. I get half of the Crab Shack. It’s as simple as that.”

  “It’s not as simple as that.” Jules’s hand did go to her stomach. There was nothing remotely simple about the situation.

  “What is wrong with you?” Caleb moved even closer to her.

  “With me? There’s nothing wrong with me.”

  He reached for her. “Jules, you know—”

  “No, I don’t know. I don’t know why you’re doing this.” She looked at Melissa, trying hard not to feel abandoned. “And you, you know this won’t work.”

  “Jules, just listen. Let’s consider—”

  “I can’t.” Jules was mortified. Tears threatened and she swiped them away. She’d made a mess of her life. Melissa’s, too. And now...now, she... “I’m sorry,” she mumbled, rushing from the restaurant.

  “Jules!” Caleb called as she passed through the doorway.

  She started running. She reached the mini pickup truck, wrenched open the door, turned the key and peeled down the driveway. In the rearview mirror, Caleb was standing in the middle of the driveway watching her roll away.

  * * *

  “What was that?” Caleb asked to no one in particular as Melissa and Noah arrived behind him on the driveway. Jules was disappearing in a cloud of dust.

  What had gotten into her?

  “She’s afraid,” Melissa said, coming up beside him.

  That didn’t make sense. Jules wasn’t fearful. She was tough and she was brave.

  “Of what?” he asked, trying to wrap his head around the strange turn of events. Jules should be thanking him, not running away.

  “Of you,” Melissa said.

  “Jules isn’t afraid of me. She’s anything but afraid of me.”

  Melissa sent him a look of disbelief.

  “What?” Caleb repeated. “What am I missing? I gave her exactly what she wanted. I made an impossible situation work. It was a solid plan. It was
a brilliant plan.”

  “She’s afraid of her feelings for you,” Melissa said.

  His brain instantly switched gears. Jules had feelings? Scary feelings? For him?

  “What feelings?” he asked Melissa.

  Melissa gave her head a shake of disbelief. “Well, it’s not that she doesn’t like you.”

  He worked his way through the oblique sentence.

  Jules liked him. That was good. She was behaving strangely. But at least she liked him. Maybe there was hope.

  “What should I do?” he asked Melissa.

  She took a beat. “Be honest with her.”

  The advice made no sense to him. “I have been honest. I am honest. What do you mean be honest?”

  “How do you feel about her?” Noah asked.

  Caleb hesitated. “Oh, that kind of honest.”

  Noah gave him a sympathetic smile. “That kind of honest.”

  “Get her to be honest with you,” Melissa said thoughtfully.

  Caleb knew they were right.

  They were more right than they realized. Jules couldn’t read his mind. She still thought they were adversaries. He’d turned the tables too quickly, and she needed a chance to catch up.

  “She’s headed up to the house,” he said out loud. “She’s going to pack up and leave.”

  “That would be my guess,” Melissa said.

  Caleb realized he was wasting time standing there talking. He started to walk. Then he broke into a run.

  His pace increased as he made the end of the driveway. The path angled up, and he ran harder. It would take Jules ten minutes to drive around on the road. He could make it up the pathway in seven if he pushed. And he was pushing. He was pushing very, very hard.

  He took the stairs to her deck two at a time. Then he vaulted over the rail at the side of the house, scrambling up the steep grade to the side porch and the staircase that led up to her driveway.

  The parking spot was empty. He dragged in huge gulps of air. He’d won the race. At least, he hoped he’d won the race. She’d better be on her way here. If she’d gone somewhere else, he didn’t know what he’d do.

  Other than track her down, he acknowledged. He’d track her to Portland. He’d track her to the ends of the earth if that was what it took.

  He thought he heard the little pickup.

  He cocked his head, holding his breath until the sound grew louder and the blue truck appeared.

  She parked, set the brake, opened the door and stepped out.

  At the top of the stairs, she spotted him. She froze, staring down in disbelief, her hair lifting in the wind, her dark T-shirt snug against her body, those faded blue jeans clinging to her hips. She was so intensely beautiful.

  It looked like she was going to turn and leave. If she did, he’d have to run up the stairs to catch her. He hoped he’d make it. He was in pretty good shape, but he was winded from running the trail.

  To his relief, she started down.

  “This has to be the end of it,” she said as she came to the step above him, seeming more in control. She stared at him in defiance.

  “This will be the end of it.” At the end of this conversation, she’d have no doubt about how he felt.

  “Fine.” She gave a jerk of a nod as she passed him to open the door.

  He followed her inside, part of him wondering what to say, another part of him itching to get it said.

  The house had seemed tattered the first time he’d seen it. But now it looked cozy. He associated it with Jules. And he loved everything about Jules.

  “You’re afraid,” he said, following her into the living area.

  “I’m not afraid of you,” she denied, opening a closet door and retrieving a suitcase.

  “You’re afraid of us.” He was a little bit afraid of them, as well.

  He wanted her so badly it scared him. He wanted her as his business partner and his lover. He wanted her today and tomorrow. He wanted to wake up with her every morning and go to sleep with her every night.

  She dumped the suitcase on the aging sofa and opened it up. “There is no us.” She marched back to the closet and pulled clothes off the hangers.

  “There’s definitely an us,” he said to her back.

  She returned and stuffed the clothes into the suitcase. “Well, there won’t be after today.”

  She was wrong about that. She couldn’t be more wrong about that.

  “Jules?”

  She didn’t look up. Her voice was full of snark. “What?”

  “I’m in love with you.”

  “Well, that’s just—” She looked up sharply. “What did you say?”

  “I said, I love you.”

  She looked completely baffled, more frightened than ever, and ready to bolt.

  “No,” she said, her face going pale. She shook her head in denial and took a few steps backward. “You don’t. You can’t.”

  “I can, and I do.”

  She reached behind herself and gripped the windowsill. Her voice was little more than a rasp. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “I know exactly what I’m saying. What I don’t know is why you’re fighting it.”

  “I’m not fighting anything.”

  “Jules, what we have together... It’s exciting. It’s energizing. It’s amazing. And I want it forever. I want to marry you.” He couldn’t believe that had popped out. Then he was glad it had.

  He wished he had a ring. He’d rather do this properly. But he wasn’t taking it back. He wanted to marry her. He desperately wanted to marry her.

  Her jaw worked, but nothing happened.

  He gave her an encouraging smile. He was through fighting. It was a complicated situation, but it was as clear as day to him that the next step was a wedding.

  “I can’t,” she finally croaked out.

  He wasn’t accepting that answer. “Why not?”

  “I just can’t.”

  He moved closer, keeping his voice gentle. Whatever had her spooked, they were going to work through it. “Do you love me?”

  “I... I...”

  “Jules, honey, what is going on?”

  “Nothing.”

  It was the biggest lie he’d ever heard. “You can tell me anything.”

  She shrank away. “No, I can’t. Not this.”

  “So, there is a this.” He’d known it had to be something. “What’s the this?”

  Her gaze darted around the room, as if she was looking for an escape.

  “Jules, get it over with.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You can.”

  She finally met his eyes. “I’ve done something terrible.”

  He didn’t care. Nothing she’d done would change his mind.

  “Most people have,” he said easily.

  “Caleb,” she pleaded.

  “Do you love me?”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It matters a lot.”

  Her hand went to her forehead. “All this time.” She stopped for a moment. “All these years. I’ve accused your family of lying, cheating and betrayal.”

  He reached out and took her hands. “Most of it was true.”

  She stared down at their joined hands.

  “Did you steal something?” he asked, impatient. “Kill somebody? Because Noah did that, and it doesn’t make him a bad person.”

  “This isn’t funny, Caleb.”

  “I know. No, I don’t know. Maybe it’s funny. Maybe it’s not. But I don’t know because you won’t tell me.” He stopped talking. He had to shut up. She couldn’t tell him anything if he didn’t let her speak because—

  “I’m pregnant.”

  Th
e breath whooshed out of him. “You’re what?” he choked out.

  Did she have a boyfriend? What had he missed?

  She kept talking, her voice going faster. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I was going to keep it a secret. I know that wasn’t fair, and I knew all along it wasn’t right. And, I don’t know, maybe I would have cracked and told you eventually. I mean you deserve to know. It wouldn’t be fair to keep it from you. I’d like to think I would have told you before...you know...you were a father.”

  Everything inside him went completely still. “Wait a minute? The baby is mine?”

  She drew back. “What kind of a question is that?”

  “I don’t know. The way you were talking... I mean... It was only a few weeks ago.”

  There was defiance in her tone. “Well, I’m only a few weeks pregnant.”

  Caleb’s brain was racing. Jules was pregnant with his child. She was pregnant. They were having a baby. Joy obliterated everything else in his brain.

  “How is this a bad thing?” he asked, his hands tightening on hers. “I love you. You love me. You need to admit it. Now more than ever, you need to admit that.”

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, her eyes starting to shimmer.

  He drew her into his arms. “I’m not sorry. I’m thrilled.”

  “Thrilled?” she asked.

  “Over-the-moon thrilled.”

  “But I was going to keep it from you. I lied by not telling you. I’m a terrible person.”

  “You didn’t not tell me. You just told me now.”

  “Only because you said you loved me.” She looked down at the suitcase. “I was leaving.”

  He cradled her face in his palms. “Are you still leaving?”

  “I guess not.”

  “Say it,” he told her.

  Her entire body seemed to relax. “I love you, Caleb.”

  “It’s about time.” He leaned in to kiss her.

  “It’s only been five minutes since you told me.”

  “That’s five minutes too long.”

  He leaned in to kiss her, but she put her hand to his lips and stopped him.

  “What?” There couldn’t be anything else. He wasn’t going to let there be anything else.