“No! Not at all.” He certainly didn’t want anyone thinking he was broke, Cal thought.
“Ah.” Trevor waved to one of the sofas. After Cal sat, he took a seat opposite him. “Then what’s the problem?”
“No problem. I, uh, wondered if you’ve been dating anyone lately.”
Trevor stared at him. “Dating?”
“I don’t remember seeing you around town with a lady, and I—”
“Are you insinuating I’m gay?” Trevor asked, rage trembling in his voice.
“Hell, no! You’re not, are you?”
“No, I am not! I date a very nice lady from Lubbock. One has to be careful with his social life when he’s a banker,” the man explained self-righteously.
Cal wanted to spit out the taste those words left in his mouth. But Jessica had said to go ahead. Even so, he had to force himself to continue.
“Look, I’m not handling this conversation right. What I’m trying to say is, do you have any interest in dating Jessica Hoya?”
Chapter Seven
Trevor stared at him, his mouth open.
Cal waited.
“Why?” A speculative look filled Trevor’s beady eyes.
“What do you mean, why? Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because you’ve always warned people away. Has something changed? Have you got her pregnant and you’re looking for someone else to take the fall?”
Cal couldn’t believe the man’s response. He leaped to his feet, his fists clenched “Stand up, you bastard, so I can knock you down!”
“Hey, you can’t blame a guy for wondering. I heard she’s going to make a lot of money on the sale of her restaurants. Is she looking for some preferential treatment? How much? I might be interested in her if she’s—”
Cal couldn’t take any more. He walked out of the house as the man continued to speculate on Jessica’s financial worth.
After roaring through town, he turned back and went to the house Mac shared with his aunt. He needed help.
Ringing the doorbell, he waited for Florence Gibbons to come to the door.
“Why, Cal, come on in. What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to Mac. Is he in?”
“Sure. He’s stretched out on the couch watching football, like most every other man in town.”
Mac looked up in surprise when he saw his friend. Standing, he shook Cal’s hand and offered him a seat.
“Uh, I need to talk to you, Mac, but I don’t want to interrupt the game.”
“These aren’t teams I care about. Dallas doesn’t play until tomorrow night. How about something to drink?”
“Maybe a soda,” Cal said, his gaze slipping to Florence. He couldn’t talk in front of Mac’s aunt.
“I’ll get you a couple of them,” Florence offered. “Then I’m going upstairs to read. It beats football anyday,” she assured them with a grin.
As soon as Florence left the room, Cal said, “Mac, I’m in trouble.”
“What kind?”
His friend leaned forward, a frown on his face, clearly taking Cal’s words seriously. Which made Cal feel a little better. “It’s that list we made.”
Florence came back into the room with two glasses of soda and a basket of chips from The Old Cantina. “I hope when Jess sells those restaurants they keep making these chips. They’re my favorites. That girl is a real businesswoman, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” both men agreed, but they said nothing else to prolong the conversation.
As soon as Florence disappeared again, Mac asked, “What happened? Did you approach one of them?”
“Yeah. I started with Trevor Heywood.”
Mac grimaced. “Never particularly cared for him. Do you remember in sixth grade when he got in a fight with a girl? And she won!”
Cal laughed. “Yeah. Well, we’re crossing him off the list. I asked him if he wanted to go out with Jessica, and he asked if I’d gotten her pregnant and wanted him to take the fall.” Cal grew angry all over again.
Mac muttered his opinion under his breath, a hurried look over his shoulder to be sure his aunt wasn’t in hearing range.
“Yeah,” Cal agreed. “My thoughts exactly.”
“Okay. So, we still have four candidates, right?”
Cal nodded. “What bothers me, though, is I think I’m going about it the wrong way. I mean, Jessica is bright and beautiful. A success in every sense of the word. Why would a man hesitate?”
“How did you bring up the subject with Trevor?” Mac asked, studying his friend.
“Bring up the subject?” Cal asked, confusion in his voice. “I just asked if he wanted to go out with her.”
“Hmm. I think we need more strategy. Let me call Tuck and Spence. We’re going to have to do some planning before we run out of guys to approach.”
An hour later the four men were gathered at the game table at one end of the den with a sheet of paper in front of them. Various ideas had been discussed, but nothing satisfactory had popped into their heads.
“I got it!” Tuck exclaimed.
“Well, it better be an improvement over your last idea,” Cal muttered. Tuck had decided they should mail out announcements that Jessica was “uninvolved and looking.”
“It is. I’ve cut down a lot of mesquite trees, and I’m going to burn them.”
Spence frowned. “So what? We do that every year.”
“Yeah, but if we call it a celebration of Jessica’s sale of her restaurants, use the fire to cook a lot of steaks, and invite all the candidates, we can encourage them to, uh, hang around with Jess. Then it will seem natural-like.”
Cal looked at all three of his friends, studying their reactions while he thought about Tuck’s idea. Then he smiled. “You know, Tuck, I think you’ve got something there.” He wrote down the idea on the paper. “It’ll be casual, fun and innocent. No one will suspect.”
“And we can invite Alex to the celebration, to make everyone believe that’s the only reason,” Tuck added, his gaze twinkling with excitement.
“We’ll have to invite a lot of other people, too,” Spence said. “Like at your party, Cal. Just so no one will suspect.”
“Of course. Mom will help us,” Cal said. “Especially when I tell her it’s for Jess.”
Tuck grinned. “I suspect all our mothers will pitch in since they’re so anxious for us to marry. It might be best not to tell them we’re trying to marry off Jessica. Let them think we’re getting into the spirit of the competition.”
TUESDAY NIGHT, Florence Gibbons brought up the subject of the cookout.
“Anyone have any idea what’s going on? It’s not like these boys to plan a social event.”
“It’s at Tuck’s place,” Edith Hauk reminded them. “I assumed it was his idea.”
Ruth Langford, Tuck’s mother, looked guardedly at her friends. “I don’t know. He’s not talking to me, other than to ask that I help with the food.”
“I’m helping with the steaks,” Florence said.
“I’m in charge of desserts,” Mabel said with a serene smile.
Florence eyed her friend closely. “I think you know more than you’re saying.”
“The party is to celebrate Jessica’s sale of her restaurants. Didn’t they tell you?”
“Yes,” Ruth admitted. “But Tuck’s all excited-like, as if he has plans. Not like that party at your house, Mabel. Even though he left with two women, I knew he wasn’t interested.”
Florence’s brow lifted. “You mean he’s interested in someone now? Who’s invited?”
“Everyone from the invitation list of my party, plus any other singles in town, and, of course, Jess’s attorney, that pretty blond lady.”
Edith frowned. “Even Spence seems more interested. Lately, he’d been a little quiet. I’ve been worried about him. But with this party in the works, he’s perked up a little.”
They picked up their cards and arranged them, the conversation languishing. Then Mabel asked, after bidding one diamon
d, “How’s your plan coming along, Florence?”
Her friend glared at her. “Not well. I can’t stir up any interest in Mac for remarrying.”
Mabel smiled but kept her gaze on her cards.
“Mabel? Mabel Baxter, what are you thinking?” Florence demanded.
“I’m thinking I’m going to win,” she said demurely. Then she smiled at her three friends. “At bridge, of course.”
The other three groaned.
IT WAS TUCK WHO’D CALLED Jessica to tell her about the celebration they were planning. She’d been reluctant to agree to the party.
Truth to tell, she wasn’t feeling too happy about her decision. The sale had brought her millions, which properly invested, would provide for the rest of her life. She should’ve been over the stars. Instead, she felt useless.
Alex had counseled her to take some time to decide what she wanted to do with her life. She was still young. She could start another business, travel, take classes at university.
Or stay home and be lonesome.
So far she’d opted for the last choice.
She stared at the television, watching another mindless sitcom. The doorbell surprised her.
She opened the front door to Cal.
She hadn’t seen him since Sunday after church when he’d indicated he was going to start working on finding her a husband. Was he here to tell her he’d succeeded?
“Hi, baby. Can I come in for a minute?”
“Of course.” She stood back, allowing room for his big frame to pass, then followed him in to where she’d been watching television. He settled on the sofa and she took the big chair next to it. It was safer than sitting beside him.
“What’s up?”
“I thought I’d better tell you—Are you okay? You seem a little sad.”
She pressed her lips together and looked away. Finally she said, “It’s hard to adjust to the sale. I don’t have anything to do.”
He awkwardly patted her shoulder. “I guess it’s a big change for you. You’ve been running in every direction the last few years.”
She nodded, blinking back tears. Sympathy from Cal unmanned her.
“That’s okay. We’ve got plans for you.”
“Who is ‘we’?”
“Mac, Spence, and Tuck are helping me.”
“Do what?”
“Find you a husband. Don’t you remember? We talked about it on Saturday and—”
“And you told me you were going to visit with Trevor Heywood on Sunday. So, when do I walk down the aisle?”
She watched in surprise as Cal’s cheeks reddened.
“Never with Trevor!” he growled.
“You made a rhyme,” she joked, feeling a little lighter hearted. Maybe no one would be interested in her and she wouldn’t have to make the decision to leave her love for Cal behind and make a new life.
“Yeah, well, that guy’s a joke. Stay away from him.”
“Okay.”
He frowned at her. “That was easy. Aren’t you going to argue or ask questions?”
“Nope. I wasn’t interested in Trevor, anyway. I never liked him in school, either.”
Cal’s sensual lips widened in a broad smile, making her catch her breath. “Me, neither.”
She returned his smile, her spirits rising because Cal was here.
He leaned toward her and she thought he was going to kiss her again. Her heartbeat doubled and her eyes widened. She wanted him to kiss her, to touch her. She wanted him to lose control, to show that at least they had one thing in common.
Even though she knew sex wouldn’t solve her problem.
He sat back abruptly and cleared his throat. “Well, that leaves four men. On our list,” he added, as if he thought she wasn’t following the conversation.
“Yes,” she agreed, licking her dry lips.
He cleared his throat again. “I have to tell you that I didn’t handle Trevor well. So, I’m glad you’re not disappointed.”
“No, I’m not disappointed.” Relieved, actually.
“Anyway, I know Tuck called you about the celebration Friday night.”
“Yes, it’s so sweet of him to want to celebrate the sale.”
Cal looked embarrassed. “Baby, it’s a setup for the other four men.”
She stared at him, her eyes widening as she took in what he was saying. “You mean... we’re not celebrating the sale?”
“Of course we are, but...but it’s a good excuse to let you mingle with these guys. Not so awkward.”
She clenched her jaw. She’d been pleased that her friends cared about her success. It was the only glimmer of good news she’d had since she returned from Dallas. Now, that, too, was gone. It was just a marriage trap—for a marriage she didn’t want. It was Cal trying to make sure he wasn’t forced into marrying her.
“I see,” she finally said with no emotion. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it.”
“What? But you already told Tuck you’d be there!”
“But I don’t want to come. I don’t want to trick anyone into—”
“We’re not tricking anyone!” Cal roared, rising. “We’re giving you an opportunity to spend some time with potential husbands. That’s all.”
She sighed. Why was life so complicated? “Sit down, Cal. There’s no need to get upset.”
“If you’re not coming to the party, there is,” he returned, sinking back onto the sofa.
“Fine. I’ll come. But I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want you to find me a husband.”
“You don’t want to get married?”
“Yes! Yes, I want to get married, but...but I’ll find my own husband.”
“But, baby, it’s dangerous out there. And now that you’ve got all that money, you have to be even more careful. There are men who will wine and dine you just to get their hands on it.”
A thought suddenly struck her. “Is that why you’ve never married? Because you were afraid you’d be married for your money?” Strangely enough, that idea had never occurred to her. Probably because Cal didn’t act like a rich man. But she knew he, and his parents, because of the oil discoveries twenty years ago, were wealthy.
He frowned. “Not really. I just haven’t been ready for marriage.”
“Or fatherhood?” she said quietly.
Grinning, he said, “My mom would kill me if I did the second without the first. You know that.”
Jessica wasn’t so sure after her conversation with Mabel a week ago. Or maybe Mabel knew her son would take responsibility if he ever made a baby. Lost in the deliriously happy picture of her holding Cal’s baby, she didn’t realize what he said.
He touched her arm and repeated himself. “Jess, what are you going to wear?”
“Wear?” she questioned. Until recently he’d never discussed clothing with her. That had been the only area of her life that he ignored, until she’d worn those sexy outfits.
“Yeah. To the cookout.” When she continued to stare at him, he said, “You know, are you going to wear any of those man-chasing clothes?”
“No,” she said abruptly, leaning against the back of her chair, putting as much distance as possible between them. Her daydreaming had weakened her resistance.
“No? Then what are you going to wear?”
“It’s none of your business, but I’m wearing a T-shirt and jeans. That’s what everyone wears to a cookout.”
He nodded his head, looking pleased. “Yeah. That’s good. Loose jeans.”
“Loose jeans? You want me to wear baggy jeans?” She didn’t own any. That’s how city folks wore their jeans.
“That would be best. You know, you want to get to know these guys, let them appreciate your mind.”
He was doing it again. Protecting her.
Sighing, she leaned her head back on the sofa cushion. “It doesn’t matter what I wear. With you there, no one will touch me.”
“Touch you? Of course not, it’s a public party. You wouldn’t—”
“Come on,
Cal! Do you expect me to marry someone without even kissing him? This is almost the twenty-first century, not the eighteenth.”
“I just want you to be careful. Some men don’t listen when you say no.”
“I know.” She’d had a frightening experience with such a guy in college. But she’d fought him off. That wasn’t a memory she was going to share with Cal, however.
But he could read her face even better than she thought.
“Did someone try that with you?” he demanded with a ferocious frown.
“It was a long time ago, Cal, and he didn’t succeed,” she hastily assured him.
“Someone from here? I’ll haul him into jail and—”
“No. He was from Texas Tech, someone you don’t know.”
Before she knew what was happening, Cal had pulled her out of her chair and up into his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered.
“What could you have done, Cal? You would’ve insisted I come back home.”
“Damn straight! Going away to college all alone wasn’t a good idea.”
“You did it. Why not me?”
“Because you’re a girl. And I promised your mother.” His hold on her tightened.
She loved his strength, his warmth. One last time, she promised herself, and snuggled against him, her hands flat against his chest, sliding up to his neck. She let her lips touch his neck. “You’ve kept your promise, Cal, more than anyone could ask.”
He ran his big hands over her back, pressing her even closer, while his cheek rested on her hair. Taking a deep breath, he muttered, “I keep trying, but I worry about you all the time.”
She rested her face against his shoulder. “I guess that’s why you want to marry me off. So I’ll be someone else’s responsibility.”
Rearing back, he stared at her. “I’m not the one wanting you to marry. You said you wanted to, that you wanted to have kids. All this was your idea, remember?”
She remembered. Pushing out of his embrace, she paced the room, crossing her arms over her chest. She’d debated her behavior many a night.
“Jess? Have you really changed your mind?”
“I don’t know!” she wailed, spinning around to stare at the most obtuse man in the world.
“Baby, what’s going on? I’ve never known you to be so...so indecisive.”
One Hot Daddy-To-Be? Page 8
