The Bride's Choice

by Sara Orwig

  That evening at ten past six, Juliana dashed into the house. Rain had stopped falling in the past hour, leaving the earth steaming in the summer heat. With the arrival of Midnight, the few meals the family had where Cal was present were no longer strained because the boys chatted incessantly about the horse. As they sat down to eat, she was aware of Cal the moment he entered the room.

  He was wearing a navy T-shirt and khakis. His skin had darkened more during the summer and she fought to con- trol her emotions. His expression was stormy. His dark eyes were filled with anger and the same longing that she saw each time she looked at him.

  As they ate, the sun came out. Water still dripped from the roof and off the trees. When they finished dinner, Chris looked at Juliana. “The sun’s out. Can we ride Mid- night?”

  “Yes, you may, but stay away from the creek. It’ll be high after the rain.”

  The children turned to run to the door, but Cal’s quiet voice stopped them. “Hey, guys.” He caught up with them, placing his hand on Quin’s shoulder. “I want to talk to each of you,” he said solemnly. “Let’s go outside.”

  Juliana carried dishes to the sink. “You go on, Mrs. Duncan,” Gladys said. “That’s my job.”

  “Thank you, Gladys,” Juliana said.

  “He’s telling the boys goodbye,” Gladys said, wiping her eyes. “Pardon me for saying, but Miz Elnora was so in hopes you would have a good marriage. And for a while, it looked like it was going to be.”

  Juliana felt as if she couldn’t get her breath. He’s leaving us. “You said he’s saying goodbye.”

  “Yes, ma’am. He’s already told Stoddard and me. His pickup is packed with his things.”

  Juliana hurried out of the room. Tears threatened as she went upstairs and closed her door. She didn’t want to talk to him or tell him goodbye because she didn’t think she could control her emotions. And she was going to have to console the boys because they would be completely un- done. She washed her face and went to the door when there was a knock. Taking a deep breath, she opened it, expect- ing to see Cal.

  Instead, Josh stood staring at her. His cheeks were tear- stained and his mouth was turned down. “Cal’s leaving!” he cried, bursting into tears and flinging himself against her to wrap his arms around her waist. “He just told us good- bye and drove off with his things in his pickup. There’s nothing we can do to stop him. He said we’re better off without him and back like we were before we knew him. We’re not! I want him here. He was another daddy to me!”

  Juliana held him while he cried. “Honey, he’s doing what he feels he has to do.”

  “If you asked him to come back, I bet he would.”

  “It isn’t that simple. There are things that we don’t agree on.”

  “What things?”

  “Trusting each other and confiding in each other.”

  Josh began to sob and she took his hand, leading him to the rocker while she sat down and patted her lap. He sat on her lap, his long legs reminding her how fast he was grow- ing. His feet touched the floor, and it seemed not too long ago that she could hold him easily with his little legs dan- gling over hers.

  “I don’t want him to go,” he said, sobbing.

  She stroked curls back from Josh’s forehead. “Honey, he has to do what he thinks is best,” she repeated. “I’m sure you’ll see him again.”

  “He promised to come back Sunday and watch us ride Midnight.”

  “Well, Sunday will come soon.”

  “Juliana!” came a cry from downstairs and she recog- nized Chris’s voice. “Juliana!”

  “Something’s happened,” she said, suddenly terrified. She thought of Midnight and wondered if the horse had hurt Quin. She set Josh on his feet and started toward the door. He raced past her and she began to run at another desper- ate cry from Chris.

  “Juliana, come quick!”

  Chris bounded up the steps, his face white, his hands and clothes covered with mud. He was dripping wet, tracking muddy footprints behind him.

  “Chris, calm down. What happened?”

  “It’s Quin,” he gasped as they both raced down the stairs with Josh coming behind.

  Twelve

  “Quin wants to stop Cal from leaving. He took the boat to get to the bridge to try to stop Cal when he drives past, but the creek—”

  “Oh, my Lord,” she cried, knowing the creek would be a raging torrent after the day’s downpour. “He’s already in the boat?”

  “I tried to catch him, but I couldn’t. That water is going so fast, I couldn’t stand up.”

  “Don’t go in the creek, Chris. Run get Stoddard.”

  “He’s already out there. He said he’d walk down the creek bank and see if he can find Quin.”

  Shaking with fear, she dashed to the phone. “Chris! Don’t let Josh leave your side.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Get all the rope you can find. Saddle Midnight. The horse might be able to go places along the creek bank that we can’t.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Chris answered. “You stay with me,” he said firmly to Josh, who nodded as they raced through the kitchen door.

  She punched the numbers for Cal’s cellular phone. His deep voice washed through her with a comforting sureness. “Hello.”

  “Cal, Quin has taken the boat and is trying to get to the bridge before you do. He wants to talk to you about com- ing back.”

  “He’s out in the boat alone?”

  “Yes. Please watch for him and stop him if you can. If he passes beneath the bridge, we might not be able to catch him before he goes into the river.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  “No! You go to the bridge—” She heard the click and knew he had replaced the receiver. “Stubborn!” she mut- tered. She wanted him to watch from the bridge. No one from here would be able to catch up with Quin.

  She went out just as Chris and Josh disappeared into some bushes. They rode Midnight and moved along the creek bank. Thank goodness Chris had learned how to ride, as well as picked up some fundamentals about taking care of himself when he was outside. Cal had seen to that. She looked down at her cutoffs and T-shirt. She should be in jeans to go through the bushes along the creek, but she didn’t have time to go back and change.

  She hurried after Chris, reaching the creek, feeling her heart drop. Rushing and tumbling, black waters spilled over the banks, sending spray high into the air as the swollen creek raced toward the river. “No!” she whispered, unable to imagine Quin in the flat-bottomed boat in such a torrent.

  “Juliana! Juliana!” Chris shouted.

  She ran, bushes whipping against her as she pushed them out of the way. Her feet slid in the mud, but she maintained her balance, following his cry. “I’m coming!”

  “Juliana, hurry!”

  She pushed through more bushes and spotted Chris ahead. Stoddard was trying to toss a rope across the water while Chris and Josh watched. She looked at the creek, and her heart stood still.

  “Juliana!” Quin cried. Across the creek, the flat- bottomed boat was wedged against a fallen tree. The up- rooted elm was half in water, the flat-bottomed boat caught in its branches and pressed against the trunk. Quin was clinging to the sides of the boat as water battered it and it bobbed wildly. She didn’t see any sign of oars and Quin was crying, sounding desperate.

  She ran to Stoddard. “Can I help?”

  “I don’t know, ma’am. I’m trying to toss this rope to him, to at least get it around his waist. If that boat washes away, we won’t get him.”

  An engine roared and she whirled. The pickup bounced over the ground, smashing bushes and weeds until it slid to a stop. Cal jumped out.

  “Stoddard has ropes, and Chris has Midnight,” Juliana said.

  “I want the rope.” As he looked at the bobbing boat, Cal’s heart pounded with fear. Quin looked tiny and help- less and he was in a precarious position. At any moment, the boat could slip free from where it was jammed.

  Stoddard h
anded him two coils of rope. Cal gave her the ends of both lengths of rope. “Tie these to the bumper of the pickup.” Cal looped and knotted the end of one length of rope around his waist. He stripped off his shirt and shoes and watch. He handed his watch to Josh. “Here, son, put this in your pocket.”

  Cal took a rope from Juliana, looking down into her wide, frightened eyes. “I’ll get him,” he said, praying he could and not knowing whether he could cross the roaring creek.

  “Juliana, if I reach him and get the rope tied to the boat, you start the pickup and back up, and we’ll tow him to this side,” Cal said. He waded into the cold creek and in sec- onds was battling to avoid being swept downstream.

  Cal’s muscles strained as he fought to get to Quin. The current carried him past the boy, and he felt a sense of des- peration to see the distance widen. Trying with all his strength, he battled the tumbling stream.

  His shoulders felt heavy, his muscles aching with strain as he gradually began to move across the turbulent stream. And finally he reached the other side, yards downstream from Quin. Cal scrambled out of the water and raced along, wading into the water above Quin and letting the current carry him down. He plunged toward Quin and his fingers closed on the boat. He heaved himself up into the boat as Quin threw his thin arms around Cal’s neck.

  “I love you! Please don’t leave us.” Quin sobbed. “I want you for my daddy.”

  Drenched, Cal held the thin, wet body in his arms while he shook from reaction and the exertion. His muscles twitched and ached as he held Quin tightly.

  “Please, don’t leave us. Juliana will want you, too. She cries a lot now.”

  Startled, Cal held Quin. He turned to look at the others. They were waving and jumping up and down, but he couldn’t hear them for the roar of the water.

  “I’m going to tie the rope to the boat, Quin,” Cal said, extricating himself and looking into tearful blue eyes. “Then Juliana will start the pickup and pull us back across to safety.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Untying the rope around his waist, he secured it to the boat along with the second rope. Then Cal motioned to Ju- liana. The ropes jerked taut and he pushed against the tree. They broke free from the tangle of limbs and began to head downstream. Ropes tightened and then they changed course as she backed up the pickup. The boat bobbed pre- cariously and Cal held Quin tightly in case they capsized. As Cal rode across the raging water, he decided if Quin could open up his heart, then maybe he needed to do the same with Juliana. He needed this family, and he knew they needed him.

  The boat neared the bank, and Stoddard and the boys reached out to grab them and help. Juliana hugged Quin. As soon as she released him, Stoddard hugged the boy.

  “We’ll see you at the house.” Chris mounted Midnight and pulled Josh up behind him and turned for home. After Stoddard and Cal pulled the boat high on land, Cal piled everyone else into his pickup and drove back to the house.

  When they entered the kitchen, Gladys hugged Quin and motioned toward the stove. “I have hot chocolate ready. You boys sit on the porch where your muddy clothes won’t hurt anything and we’ll all have cups.”

  Shouting with glee, as if there hadn’t been a crisis, the boys rushed to the porch. Stoddard washed his hands to help Gladys.

  Juliana looked at Cal. “Thank you.” She turned to Gladys. “I’m going up to wash.”

  She was covered with splotches of mud, but she looked marvelous to Cal and he longed to wrap her in his arms. In- stead, he just nodded and watched her leave the room.

  He gave her time to get upstairs and then he followed, knocking lightly on her door. When she opened it, he gazed down at her. “Juliana, I want to talk to you.”

  Cal stepped inside and closed the door. She had shed her shoes. She was mud-spattered, with a dark smear on her cheek. Her cutoffs looked slightly wet. Her hair tumbled in a wild cascade over her shoulders.

  Juliana’s heart thudded as she looked into Cal’s dark eyes. He was bare-chested, wet, barefoot. His hair was in disarray, dark locks falling over his forehead. She wanted to fling herself into his arms and tell him he didn’t have to say a word, but the boys’ hearts were at stake as well as her own.

  “Stoddard said he will keep the kids busy, so we’ll have the house and time to ourselves,” Cal began. “I realized back there that if Quin could open his heart and pour out what he wanted, I should be able to, as well.”

  Her heart pounded, and her mouth became dry, hope beginning to blossom.

  Cal swallowed hard and knew what he had to say to her. “I should have told you about Webb. I know with your preschool, you won’t want to have a brother-in-law like Webb, but I’d like to try to work something out because what we had was so fine. I love you. I need you and the boys.”

  Her heart drummed, yet she was puzzled. She wasn’t fol- lowing him as he talked about her preschool. “I don’t care about Webb,” she said, frowning. “I mean, I care…I’m sorry your brother is in trouble. But that doesn’t have any- thing to do with why I was upset.”

  “It didn’t? You gave every indication it did,” Cal said gruffly.

  “I want to be able to trust you and have you trust me. I want you to tell me your secrets and know that I can tell you mine. I was disappointed you didn’t trust me—”

  “I didn’t trust you with the truth,” he said, interrupting her forcefully, “because when I was engaged to Andrea and told her about my brother, she had hysterics about how I had ruined her socially and destroyed her father’s chances for a career in Washington politics.”

  Startled, Juliana stared at him, realizing that he had been afraid of repeating with her what he had gone through with Andrea. “Cal, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Evidently, I keep far too much to myself. And so do you, Juliana,” he added solemnly.

  “It’s an old habit. I never had anyone to really confide in except my sister and I’ve learned to keep things bottled up.”

  “And I’m worse than you,” he said, raking his fingers through his hair. “You can tolerate Webb for a brother-in- law?” Cal said, feeling something loosening and unfolding inside him.

  “Yes,” Juliana answered carefully. “But I can’t tolerate you shutting me out of your life. Particularly with any- thing that affects the boys as well as us.”

  He walked toward her and her pulse jumped. Cal’s strong arms slipped around her waist and pulled her up against him. “I swear I’ll share things with you. There’s nothing in my life that I wouldn’t want you to know. I needed the money for Webb’s defense because I didn’t want our folks to know about his latest crime. I pay their medical bills. Dad lost everything in the oil bust.”

  “Cal, why didn’t you tell me?”

  “In the future, I’ll try to, I swear, but be patient with me. That’s not in my nature.”

  Her blue eyes darkened as she gazed up at him. “Get it in, Buster, or I’ll do something violent.” Relief made tears sting her eyes.

  Joy poured through him as he tightened his arms and yanked her close to lean down and kiss her hard and long.

  Juliana’s heart jumped and she flung her arms around his neck to return his kisses, knowing even if he had lapses and forgot to share parts of his life with her, she would work on getting him to open up.

  His tongue played over hers and her insides did a somer- sault. Heat pooled in her body and her hips arched against him. She leaned back to look up at him. “I need you so badly.”

  “Thank heaven,” he said huskily, his hands going to the button of her cutoffs.

  She trembled as her hands slid over his bare chest. “You’re certain we’re alone?”

  “Absolutely. This whole bunch wants us to get back to- gether and none of them will do one thing to hinder that result”

  She paused to look at him as tears spilled over her cheeks. “I need you so badly,” she repeated.

  “I’ll show you how much I need you,” he said, wrap- ping his arms around her and drawing her tightly again
st his strong chest as he bent his head to kiss her again.

  Juliana clung to him, running her hand over his smooth bare back, down over his hard buttocks and then flinging her arms around his neck again. They ripped away clothing with an urgency that built until they both cried out in re- lease.

  As they were entwined in each other’s arms in bed, Cal raised his head. “I just thought of something. Don’t move.”

  He climbed out of bed and went to his dresser to open a bottom drawer.

  Mystified, she raised herself to look at him. “What are you doing?”

  “I left this behind.” He returned to bed with a white en- velope in his hand. He was nude, and her gaze ran over him boldly.

  “I’m married to a very fine specimen of a man. A gorgeous hunk.”

  He grinned and ripped open the envelope. “Move over.” He sat beside her and pulled her into his arms as they re- clined against the fluffy pillows.

  “Is that the letter Willard Mason gave you from Elnora? You aren’t supposed to open it until the year is up. Cal, you’re so cavalier—”

  “If this contains what I think it does, we might as well open it now.”

  He shook out a folded letter. Puzzled, Juliana read aloud: “Dear Juliana and my darling Caleb, If you are opening this at the end of your first year of marriage, then all my hopes and dreams for you have come true. I was so certain you belonged together that I could not resist a little meddling. Take care of Snookums, Green Oaks and each other. My love to you forever. Elnora.”

  Cal let the letter flutter to the bed as he turned to kiss Ju- liana and pull her over on top of him. After a few minutes, she raised her head. “How did you know what that letter was about?”

  He shrugged his shoulder. “My keen mind,” he said with a twinkle in his dark eyes.

  “I love your keen mind almost as much as your spectac- ular body,” she whispered, leaning down to kiss him again. His arms tightened around her as she stretched out over him. She clung to him, her fingers running across his strong shoulders. Joy and desire filled her and she knew this was the man she would love forever. “Thank you, Elnora,” she whispered as Cal rolled them both over.