Page 22 of Calder Strong (The Calder Brand #5)

“Yes, I think so.” Annabeth remembered her mother nursing an injured brother, years ago on her family’s farm. But one thing Joseph had mentioned alarmed her. “You say you went to the doctor? What did you tell her?”

“Only what I had to. Don’t worry, she won’t report him. How is Silas?”

“In a lot of pain, dozing on and off. These medicines you brought could save him. Thank you, Joseph. I owe you. And my children will owe you, too, for saving their father’s life.”

The last words slipped out before Annabeth could think to stop them. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Joseph when he’d done so much for her, but it was too late to take them back. “I’m sorry, Joseph,” she whispered.

He set the jug and the bag on a nearby chair. His arms reached out and drew her close. She came without resistance, fitting against the familiar contours of his body. How natural it seemed, being close to him like this. How safe and protected she felt. But even then, she knew it was wrong.

His lips nibbled a line of kisses along her hairline. “Why didn’t you tell me about Lucas, Annabeth?” he murmured. “You know that I would have married you.”

“You were only nineteen,” she said. “And I knew you didn’t love me. If we’d married, you’d have come to hate me for taking your freedom. That hate would have destroyed us both. It was easier to find a man who was ready to be a father. If only Silas—”

Annabeth broke off. She’d already said too much.

“I know.” His arms tightened, bringing her close again. “I know how he talked about Lucas and what he called him. If ever you need me to—”

“No.” She drew back and laid a finger against his lips.

“Whatever happens, I can’t lose my children—my beautiful boy and my sweet little Ellie.

They’re my life, my everything. You heard Silas threaten to take them away if I saw you again.

He would do that—and he could—just to punish me. You shouldn’t even be here.”

“I understand,” he said. “Believe me, I would never put you or your children at risk. But know this, Annabeth. If things had been different—”

“Don’t.” Annabeth could feel her resistance crumbling. She fought a surge of rising need. “What’s past is past. Don’t talk about what can’t ever be.”

“Let me finish. Then I’ll go,” he said. “I would have cared for you and our son. And that won’t change. I’ll always be there for you and for him.”

“You can’t be there, Joseph.”

“I know. But if you ever need me—”

“Stop it!” Consumed by a reckless yearning, she stretched on tiptoe and blocked his words with her lips.

Joseph’s body stiffened in surprise. Then, with a low moan, he caught her close, holding her as if he could bind her soul to his.

Annabeth could feel his heart pounding against her own.

She wanted him in all the ways a woman could want a man.

But the kiss he returned was not a kiss of possession.

It was a tender, bittersweet kiss of farewell.

Releasing her, he stepped back. “Goodbye, Annabeth,” he said.

Left without words, Annabeth watched him stride out to his car and drive away. As the taillights faded into darkness, she squared her shoulders, turned, and went back into the house. It was time to forget him—and to bury the memory that surfaced every time she looked at their son.

At least Joseph hadn’t said he loved her. That would have shattered her heart.

Francine lay back against the pillows, a corner of the sheet pulled down to expose one perfect breast. She smiled, her body simmering with sexual satisfaction as she stretched slowly, with a little purring sound.

“It’s early yet,” she said. “The sun won’t be up for a couple of hours.

Are you sure you won’t come back to bed? ”

“Greedy little vixen, aren’t you?” By the light of a single lilac-scented candle, Chase Calder hunted for the drawers and trousers he’d dropped on the floor. “It’s been fun, lady, but I’ve got a ranch to run. By the time I get back to the Triple C, the workday will be starting.”

If we were married, you wouldn’t have to drive to town anymore. I’d be right there, in your bed, whenever you wanted me .

Francine knew better than to voice the thought aloud. It was too soon for that. If she wanted to be Mrs. Chase Calder, she would have to play her cards with exquisite timing.

“Just for a few minutes,” she teased. “I want to send you home with something to remember me by.” She pulled back the sheet and beckoned, a sly smile on her face.

“Cuss it, woman, save it for next time.” Chase pulled up his drawers and stepped into his trousers. His shirt was slung over the bedpost. “There’s a time for fun and a time for work. I’ve had my fun. Now I need to get back to work.”

My name is Francine. Not Lady. Not Woman. Francine .

Again, she didn’t say the words aloud.

With a sigh, she sat up, clutching the sheet over her breasts. She remembered what Joseph had told her in the car, when she’d asked if Chase was single. He’d replied that Chase was married to his ranch.

She was beginning to believe it. But she wasn’t ready to give up. Not by a long shot. Chase Calder needed a wife and an heir. She was ready and willing to supply both. And the Calder name would be its own reward.

He left without kissing her goodbye. Francine knew that his car was parked down the block, behind the gas station, and that the vehicle he’d driven was an older Model T, not the shiny new Packard he usually drove to town.

She understood he was protecting her reputation as well as his own.

Still, it hurt that he’d chosen to keep their relationship secret.

Maybe she’d made a fatal mistake, letting him in her bed.

Too restless to sleep, she tossed the covers aside, got out of bed, and slipped on her robe. The telephone was installed in her small sitting room. She sank onto the sofa, curled her feet beneath her, and made a call to her sister. A sleepy voice answered on the second ring.

“He just left,” Francine said.

“How did it go?”

Francine sighed. “About the way you warned me it would. He only wants one thing.”

“Blast it, girl, I told you not to sleep with him. Dangle the bait, drive him crazy, and a man will do anything for it—even marry you. Give him what he wants, and it’s all over. You should have listened to me.”

“Yes, I suppose I should have.” Francine had known better. But resisting Chase had been like holding back a charging bull. She’d given in, and she’d enjoyed every delicious minute of it.

“This isn’t just any man we’re talking about,” her sister said. “This is Chase Calder, the richest rancher in the state of Montana, the man you came here to marry. So what are you going to do now? Maybe try to get pregnant?”

“He wears a rubber.”

There was a hiss of breath on the other end of the phone. “You little fool! You were holding an ace, and you played it for a useless thrill!”

“There’s always Joseph. I know he likes me,” Francine said.

“Joseph is a good man, and he’ll be rich when he takes over from his father.

Any woman he marries will be lucky. But a Dollarhide is not a Calder, with his power and his political connections.

We could use those connections and that influence.

That’s why I had you apply for the teaching job.

If you settle for anything less than the Calder name, we’ll miss our chance. ”

“I’m not planning to settle. I’m thinking that I can use Joseph to make Chase jealous. If he sees that another man wants me, that should bring him to heel.”

“Good luck with that. I rescued you from that St. Joseph brothel and brought you here for a reason. I can always cut you loose and send you back. Remember that the next time you’re tempted to make a fool of yourself.”

The call ended with an angry click.

Francine hung up the phone, rose from the sofa, and began to pace. She had to make this plan work. She couldn’t let her sister put her back on the street.

Tomorrow, Joseph would be bringing the boy around for a reading lesson.

She would prepare herself to charm him. And she wouldn’t cut him loose.

Not yet. Joseph was handsome, decent, and the heir to a fortune of his own.

If she couldn’t manage to become Mrs. Chase Calder, becoming Mrs. Dollarhide would be a nice consolation prize.

And there’d be nothing her sister could do about it.