Three hours later, she began to wonder what was the matter with her. She had never been this way when she’d dated Barry, even in their most intense time. She couldn’t concentrate on work, kept glancing at the phone in her of- fice and wishing Cal would call her. Between glances at the phone, she continually looked at the clock, counting the hours and minutes until she would be with him again.
Three days later, she wondered if she had lost all good sense. As she drove down the driveway, she glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Cal standing there with his hand on Quin’s shoulder. She waved and watched both of them wave back. Quin headed toward the dock and Cal turned to fol- low.
She was wildly in love, so much so she could barely think straight. And the nights—at the thought of the nights with Cal, she felt her body heat and her cheeks grew pink. Even in the solitude of the car, she blushed to think about their nights. He had driven her to abandon all inhibitions. He was a sensual lover, leaving no barriers between them. She turned off the long driveway onto the road and in minutes swung onto the highway toward the new supermarket built on the edge of Colby in the direction of Cal’s house.
In five minutes, she approached the bridge over Rainy Creek. She saw Cal and the boys in the canoe, and as she slowed to cross the bridge, she waved, watching them all wave back.
Pressing the accelerator, she tried to get her thoughts on the errands she needed to run, knowing that by ten o’clock tonight the boys would be in bed and she would be alone with Cal.
Cal turned to help Josh and Quin get bait on their hooks and drop their lines into the water.
Cal watched the bright red cork on Josh’s line, his thoughts on Juliana. As exasperating as it was, he had to admit that Elnora had been right all along and he shouldn’t have resisted her suggestions about dating Juliana. Juliana was warm, giving, passionate. Hot in bed. He inhaled, feeling the sun beating on his shoulders. Yanking off his shirt, he felt even hotter inside as he thought about Ju- liana.
And he thought about Webb. He needed to tell Juliana the truth and the sooner he did, the better. His jaw clenched and he wondered how angry she would be because he hadn’t told her from the first about his brother and why he really needed Elnora’s bequest.
He was taking Juliana out to dinner tonight, and it would be the time to tell her if he could just keep his mind on it. He had no idea falling in love could leave him counting the minutes until he was with her again, losing track of what he was saying at the office in the middle of his conversation. He glanced at his watch; three hours until she would be home.
That night, as he feared, Cal forgot his decision to tell Juliana about his brother. He was dazzled by her, taking her to a hotel suite high above the city where the twinkling lights of Dallas went unnoticed as he gathered her in his arms.
Tuesday, as he marked a date to go to court with Webb, he thought about his brother again. He turned his chair, swiveling to stare out the window, knowing tonight he had to take Juliana to dinner and tell her the truth. If he took her to a hotel, he would never get around to it—it would be like last Saturday night. And if they stayed home, they would be interrupted constantly by the phone or the boys.
Swinging his chair around, he picked up the phone and made reservations at a steak house. As soon as he replaced the receiver, he turned to look out the window again. When he told her, how much would it affect their relationship?
Guilt nagged him; he should have let her know long be- fore now that he had a brother with a prison record. He swung around again, leaning forward and looking at his calendar. He would represent Webb in court in five weeks. If only he could keep his brother from going to prison. That was one more blow their parents shouldn’t have to suffer. This time, his parents hadn’t known Webb had been ar- rested for forgery. If Cal could shelter them from finding out and get Webb off, then it would save them another heart- ache.
Cal ran his fingers through his hair. It was Juliana he worried about the most. He should have told her about Webb before the wedding. She set such stock in frankness and trust—how would she take learning the truth this late?
He glanced at his watch and pushed back his chair as he stood. He had an appointment in Dallas at court. Yanking up his coat, he rushed out of the office, forgetting about Webb for the moment.
“And the wolf huffed and he puffed and he—” Juliana paused and looked at the eager faces sitting on the floor in a semicircle around her. “What did he do?” she asked.
“Blew the house down,” several children cried.
“Right,” she said. “It came tumbling down,” she said, waving her hands.
“Juliana.” Kathy Newton, her assistant, approached. “Excuse me,” she said in a soft voice. “There’s a woman here to see you. It’s your mother-in-law. I showed her to your office.”
Juliana was surprised. She had talked to Sylvia Duncan only a few times on the phone since the wedding. Fear stabbed her as the idea dawned that Cal might have been hurt.
“I’ll be right back, boys and girls,” she said cheerfully, giving Kathy a questioning look.
The diminutive redhead smiled and moved to take Ju- liana’s place on the small red chair. Juliana handed her the children’s book and crossed the large room, smiling at a lit- tle boy who sat on
