The Bride's Choice Page 2

  Cal looked at him, his expression tight. “I think we know—”

  “Wait,” Mason cautioned, interrupting him. “You’re to give this thought. Elnora made me promise that I would not take an answer from either of you right away. She wanted both of you to give her bequest thought. This is a sizable estate, and she felt you could both do a great deal of good with the money.”

  Juliana saw Caleb Duncan’s eyebrows arch and a glacial look come to his eyes. When his gaze shifted to her, she felt physically buffeted by his silent smoldering anger.

  “Give it thought,” Mason repeated. “I’ll see you here Wednesday morning.”

  He held open his office door and Juliana went ahead. They crossed the anteroom, passing the receptionist’s desk, and then stepped into a hallway.

  Caleb closed the door behind them and faced her. She stared back at him, feeling as if she were going into battle. She could feel tension spark the air between them. “You tried to talk Elnora out of this, didn’t you?”

  “Of course I did,” he admitted tersely. “We never got down to exact details—like leaving all of it to cats.”

  “At least you’re honest. But I don’t know why you’re so angry with me. I knew nothing about her intentions.”

  His eyes narrowed only the slightest fraction and a mus- cle worked in his jaw, otherwise she wouldn’t have known he had any reaction to her question.

  “I think Elnora used poor judgment,” he snapped, pushing open his coat and resting his hands on his hips.

  The air seemed to crackle around them, and his dark eyes tugged at Juliana’s senses. She wanted to shake him, and realized no man had ever stirred that kind of reaction in her before. “What you think isn’t what’s important,” she re- minded him.

  “No, unfortunately.”

  “I’m a total stranger to you, so don’t take your anger out on me.”

  “First of all, I think she should have left that money to medical research, to children who need help, to the chil- dren’s hospital, to all sorts of worthy causes,” he answered in a clipped tone as if he was fighting to control himself. “There’s enough money in her estate to establish houses for stray animals all over the Southwest. To pour all of that into one home here in Colby for stray cats is absurd.”

  Juliana was inclined to agree with him, but she wasn’t about to tell him.

  “That doesn’t have anything to do with why your fury is directed at me,” she said scathingly. There had to be more, she thought. There had to be something more personal that made him look as if he would like to send her into perma- nent orbit in outer space.

  His dark eyes bored into hers as he spoke. “I wonder when you worked for her if you didn’t play on her vulner- ability just so she would do something like this. She’s been trying to get me to ask you out since—”

  “What!” Juliana interrupted. She took a step closer to him. “Listen, you, I didn’t work on Elnora to try to in- herit. Besides, I’d always assumed she and Lawrence had had their wills drawn up years earlier. I’ve just seen her on brief visits the last few years.”

  “Oh, come on. Any woman who would fight a bank robber at gunpoint for a few dollars at the risk of her life, wants money damned badly,” he remarked tersely. Juliana suspected he was getting down to his real reasons for dislik- ing her.

  “Listen, you legal harpy, I worked hard for the money that jerk wanted to take from me, and he hadn’t done any- thing but point a gun at people and take what he wanted.”

  Caleb Duncan’s lips suddenly pursed and his eyes nar- rowed, but his reaction only dimly registered with her as she shook with fury. She moved a step closer to him. “I earned every dime in the bag I was holding. I wasn’t about to turn it over to that creep and I didn’t stop to think about it. You, sir, may have been raised in affluence and don’t understand having to work hard for a living. You’re a lawyer, so obvi- ously you make more money than I do. If I’d had an easier time of it all my life, perhaps I could have tossed away the money without a care.”

  She was breathing hard, wanting to punch his arrogant jaw.

  He moved a step closer and placed his finger beneath her chin, tilting up her face. “Legal harpy?” he asked in a voice laced with curiosity. He studied her. “Maybe I’ve jumped to conclusions here.”

  Her heart missed some beats, and she tried to ignore it as well as the awareness of his finger beneath her jaw, his brown eyes watching her so intently and the change in his attitude. She yanked her chin away from his finger. “The bequest is absurd. We’ll see each other Wednesday and that should be the last time. Goodbye, Mr. Duncan.” She turned to walk away, feeling her back prickle, wondering if he was watching her.

  The next time—and she figured the last time—she had to deal with him was Wednesday in court. As they finished and said goodbye to Willard Mason, Gladys and Stoddard, Ju- liana nodded curtly to Caleb Duncan. She hurried down the courthouse steps and along the sunny walk toward her car.

  “Miss Aldrich,” Cal said in a deep, quiet voice that car- ried an iron command. She paused and turned around as he closed the distance between them. Wind tumbled locks of his dark hair across his forehead.

  “Is please in your vocabulary?” she asked as coldly as possible, wishing she didn’t feel so breathless. His whole attitude was infuriating and her disquieting reaction to him fueled her rage.

  “Not this morning,” Cal replied. She annoyed the hell out of him. At the same time, he was beginning to wonder about her. “Juliana—”

  “Miss Aldrich,” she stated frostily.

  “Juliana,” he drawled with emphasis. Her name rolled off his tongue, said in his bass voice, sending a tingle through her. Why did it sound far more personal when he said it?

  “Do you have any idea how much is in Elnora’s estate?”

  “Not exactly,” Juliana admitted, watching as he set down his briefcase and reached beneath his jacket to withdraw a small leather date book. “I know she was well-fixed. It’s all in the will, but since it’s a moot point, I didn’t study it. I won’t inherit it.”

  While Juliana watched, he flipped open the date book and handed it to her. His fingers were long, well shaped and blunt. With curiosity she accepted the date book, and looked at neat printing that read, Siever Assets. Below the words was a list of assets and figures. Shock at the size of the estate made her weak in the knees. “Elnora was worth this much?”

  “You’re on the first page,” he answered dryly. “Keep reading.”

  Stunned, Juliana turned the page and gazed at figures that leaped at her. There must be a million dollars in assets, she thought. If she were to marry Caleb Duncan—she looked up to find him steadily watching her and thoughts of marriage made her heart thud. Feeling her cheeks heat, she looked down again at the figures. Marriage to a stranger would be absurd. To a hostile stranger, it would be disaster.

  Numbers danced in her mind, along with knowledge of her small bank balance, and how she scrimped to make ends meet and keep her preschool running and take care of the boys. She ran her hand across her forehead. This fortune would go for one home for the stray cats of Colby.

  Cal watched her, seeing her face pale when she first glanced down the page. A slight frown creased her wide forehead. His gaze raked over her. She was a good-looking woman. There must not be any man in her life or Elnora wouldn’t have been so persistent in wanting him to take Ju- liana Aldrich out. And Willard Mason was a thorough enough lawyer that he would have checked out Juliana’s el- igibility before he let Elnora draw up a will with a clause about marriage.

  Cal rubbed his jaw, his thoughts swirling and visions of bank accounts and money dancing in his mind. He had had forty-eight hours to think about Elnora’s will.

  Idly, he wondered how Juliana Aldrich would look if her hair weren’t pinned up behind her head. There was a smat- tering of freckles across the tip of her straight nose that made her seem less the cool, unruffled blonde. With the patience of a lawyer, he waited in silence until she finish
ed reading. She lowered the date book and stared at him.

  “Elnora was worth all this?” Juliana repeated softly, her gaze going beyond him as if she was lost in thought.

  “Willard Mason went over her assets, that day in his of- fice, so you heard the figures.”

  “I was in shock.”

  “I think we should give some serious discussion to El- nora’s will,” Cal said quietly. “How about dinner tomor- row night?”

  Juliana brought her gaze back to him. Shock took her breath at his suggestion. Caleb Duncan wanted to discuss Elnora’s will. That had to mean he wanted to discuss mar- riage. She stared at him in disbelief. The bequest had nagged at her constantly since Willard Mason had read the will two days ago, but never, not for one tiny second, had she given any thought to the possibility of inheriting. And never, not once, had she thought Caleb Duncan would give a second’s consideration to Elnora’s stipulation.

  Cal watched her, seeing her surprise, feeling mildly amazed by her reaction. He had expected her to contact him, yet surprisingly, she was staring at him as if he had just sprouted fangs. Finally, she nodded, and he felt a mixture of relief and apprehension. How easy it would have been if she had just refused on the spot.

  “Good,” he said. “About seven. We should make some decisions about this will. I know you have to think about your nephews.”

  “Elnora told you about the boys?”

  “No, she didn’t. I ran some checks on you.”

  “And how did I check out, Mr. Duncan?” she snapped.

  He bit back a smile. As angry as he was with her and with Elnora, he had to admit that Juliana Aldrich had spunk. He was beginning to feel he had misjudged Juliana. “You passed. No criminal record. No bad debts. You took your sister’s boys when she died, which is very commendable.”

  “So I can’t be all bad,” she retorted dryly.

  “Look, since we have to give this bequest some thought, we better declare a truce.”

  “I’m not the one with the problem.”

  He shrugged. “I suppose you’re not. I don’t like El- nora’s will, but it was her money to do with as she saw fit. When you attacked the bank robber, did you give any thought to leaving three little boys without anyone to take care of them?”

  “They would have my grandmother,” Juliana replied, feeling a flush creep up her face, because he had struck a nerve. She hadn’t stopped to think about anything except protecting her money.

  She closed the date book and handed it back to him. His fingers brushed hers and small shocks ran through her sys- tem from the slight touch. Why was everything so volatile between them?

  “With three boys to raise, you need to give some consid- eration to Elnora’s will.”

  “I have my own business and my own savings. But I sup- pose you know all that already, down to the penny.” As if slightly embarrassed, he lowered his gaze, and she realized he did. “I don’t know how Elnora could have set this up,” Juliana declared. “She knew us both well, she knew we wouldn’t want this. Why did she go on with it?”

  He raised his head, his dark eyes intent, and Juliana drew a deep breath. When he looked at her that way, her heart- beat became a drumroll drowning out other noises. And she didn’t want to have an intense physical reaction to Caleb Duncan. She didn’t understand how she could react that way to a man she actively disliked.

  “Do you faint often?”

  The question added more kindling to her fiery anger. “Maybe you should run a check on that, too. It wasn’t a performance for your benefit, I can promise you that. I don’t care what you think!”

  “You better start caring,” he remarked quietly, “be- cause there’s a fortune at stake.”

  “Elnora’s will is absurd!”

  “Calm down.” Caleb touched her collar and shifted one inch closer. She felt as if the sun had dropped closer to earth, her temperature rising. It was hot, difficult to breathe, damnable to gaze into dark brown eyes with black pupils that seemed to pull on her senses. “How come there’s no boyfriend in the picture?”

  His fingers touched her collarbone and he stood far too close and he asked personal questions. She felt her pulse race. She wasn’t accustomed to this kind of reaction around men. But then, she wasn’t accustomed to men like Caleb Duncan.

  “There isn’t anyone because I have three boys, and that scares men away. And I lead a busy life. I own Child’s World Preschool. I work with little children all day and the only men I see are mostly married fathers. The ones who aren’t married don’t want to go out with a woman who already has three boys that aren’t her own. They get a funny look when I tell them.” Why was she rattling on and on as if he had dropped a nickel in a slot in her brain?

  “That wouldn’t scare me away.”

  “I’m sure it wouldn’t. I can’t imagine anything that would scare you, Mr. Duncan. Will you step back!”

  He arched his eyebrows and looked amused. “I’m dis- turbing you? Here I was all set to dislike you, Juliana Al- drich,” he remarked, rolling her name across his tongue, again sending little warm currents dancing through her, “and now I’m curious. We’re going to get to know each other well.”

  “But not that well,” she stated, taking his hand and re- moving it from her collar, feeling another mild jolt the mo- ment she made contact with him. His skin was warm, his hand large in hers, and tingles continued in an alarming manner. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” She turned and walked away from him, rushing to climb into her battered ten-year-old van.

  It felt three hundred degrees inside the vehicle, but part of it was her temper. If Caleb Duncan was considering marriage, he wanted money desperately. She knew he was already well-fixed. He had accused her of thinking only of money, yet he had to be incredibly greedy to give Elnora’s bequest a second’s thought.

  Caleb Duncan was no harpy. He couldn’t be—he was the wrong gender. A sexy hunk with no heart was more accu- rate. Hard-hearted bastard would fit better. And she had a dinner date with him tomorrow night. He couldn’t seri- ously be thinking about marriage. But why else would he want to discuss Elnora’s will?

  Two

  On Thursday evening at one minute before seven, Cal parked in front of the Aldrich home. He knew Juliana rented the small, three-bedroom frame house in a modest area of town and lived there with her grandmother and nephews. What a change to go from this to Green Oaks. He glanced over the neat flower beds that held no weeds. Seven boys played ball in the front yard, while another little boy stood and watched.

  Cal climbed the front steps and punched the doorbell, feeling nervous. When the door swung open, Juliana ap- peared and he caught his breath.

  She was wearing a short, simple black dress that revealed what the suit had hidden, full breasts and a tiny waist. The dark material clung to her figure and was striking with her golden hair. Looking at her, Cal felt better about the eve- ning, and the tension that gripped him eased slightly.

  “Want to come in?”

  “Sure,” he answered casually. She stepped back as he entered, and the faint scent of roses made him more aware of her. He followed her from the tiny entryway into a small living area and took his gaze from her hips a moment be- fore she turned around to catch him studying her.

  His feelings seesawed as he surveyed the living room’s clutter and disarray, with books and baseball mitts and model airplanes on the tables. Nondescript chairs and ta- bles lined the walls and filled the corners. His tension level rose again at the disorder, yet at the same time the clutter reassured him that this was not the room of a woman who put money above all else. The ancient shag carpet was threadbare. The stuffed chairs had worn spots on the arms and there was a crack in the glass-topped coffee table. A petite woman with white hair smiled at him from a rocker.

  “Grandmother, this is Elnora’s attorney, Caleb Duncan. Mr. Duncan, this is my grandmother, Mimi Gibson.”

  “Evening, Mrs. Gibson.”

  “Juliana told me about Miz Siever’s will,” Mrs.
Gibson said slyly, smiling at him with a gleam that made him feel like a chocolate morsel about to be consumed.

  “It’s unusual,” he said uneasily.

  “We won’t be late, Grandmother,” Juliana said.

  “Do you like crossword puzzles?” the old woman asked, pushing her glasses higher on her nose and shifting the pa- per spread on her lap.

  “Yes, I like to figure things out,” he replied, looking into Juliana’s cool blue eyes.

  “Maybe you can tell me,” Mrs. Gibson said, poising her pencil over the puzzle, “airplane-wing parts that have eight letters.”

  “Could be ailerons or spoilers,” he answered, mentally counting the letters.

  “The aileron word fits perfectly.” She smiled at him again. “I told Juliana that Miz Siever would never pick a bum to inherit her money.”

  “Thanks,” he answered, rubbing the back of his neck and feeling uncomfortable. It was obvious that Juliana Al- drich’s grandmother felt just the same as Elnora about Ju- liana’s future.

  “Mimi, we better be going. The boys are still outside playing ball,” Juliana said, conscious of Cal Duncan’s scrutiny and Mimi’s blatant approval.

  “Have a nice evening,” Mimi said, smiling at Cal.

  “It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Gibson.”

  “Oh, please, call me Mimi, like the rest of the family does.”

  “Sure, Mimi,” Cal complied, feeling as if a noose were closing around his neck—the rest of the family… The woman already had them married.

  As they stepped outside, one of the kids yelled. The baseball flew toward Juliana. Stretching out a long arm, Cal caught it and tossed it back to the boys.

  “Way to go!” the tall boy yelled, throwing it to a friend.

  “I’m terribly impressed,” she said, too aware of Caleb Duncan’s fitness, of his dark, handsome looks. The char- coal suit and white shirt gave him the same successful, ap- pealing appearance that he’d had in the lawyer’s office three days ago. And a close look still made her feel as if she was gazing at someone who was strong, determined and accus- tomed to getting his way. “Very good catch.”