My Dearest Cal Read Online Free

at the Georgia border. Still, she plunged on.
    “Do you have a son?”
    “Nope.”
    The single word, confirming what she’d already been told, left absolutely no room for doubt. She supposed he certainly ought to know, but it took her aback. “Oh,” she murmured, trying to readjust her thinking.
    He grinned at her sudden confusion. “Am I supposed to?”
    “Well, yes,” she said, a little awed by the transformation of his harsh features that went with that slow, lazy grin. The devil in that smile could lure a saint to sin. With her inexperience, she’d be no match for it at all. Still, it would be a challenge to capture those quicksilver changes of mood on film. “At least, I thought you would have a son. Maybe the letter’s meant for you instead.”
    “What letter?”
    There was more wariness than curiosity behind the question, which made her increasingly nervous. She hadn’t expected to feel as if she had to prove something, when she was just out to do a good deed. “The one I found,” she began determinedly. “I work for the post office, you see. The dead letter office in Atlanta, actually. Well, it’s a long story and—”
    Suddenly her voice seemed to dry right up under his intense scrutiny. The full force of all that masculine attention was something new and decidedly disconcerting. She found herself rambling, despite her parched throat. “I’m very thirsty. The drive was longer than I expected and I didn’t want to take the time to stop. Then I got lost. Do you suppose I could have a glass of water or something before I tell you the rest?”
    “Chaney,” Cal said curtly. The little man who’d been hovering in the background stomped off toward the back of the house. He was muttering under his breath again.
    “He doesn’t seem to like visitors,” she observed.
    “Chaney is highly suspicious of women who have personal business with me. He figures it’ll disrupt the routine around here. Judging from the last few minutes, I’d say he’s very astute.”
    Marilou recognized a criticism when she heard it, but if he’d intended to chase her off with his sharp tongue and cool manner it was just too bad. When she didn’t budge, he said grudgingly, “I suppose you might as well sit until Chaney gets back. You look as if you’ve spent too much time in the sun.”
    So much for her tan, she thought ruefully.
    Taking his grudging offer at face value, Marilou chose the rocker that was farthest from the beer bottles. His gaze followed her, but he didn’t say a word. The silence, coupled with the thoroughness of his scrutiny, was definitely unnerving. Men didn’t usually look at her like that, as if she were mysterious and fascinating and dangerous. She supposed it made sense in this instance. After all, she had popped up here out of the blue and she still hadn’t explained why she’d come. No wonder the man was staring. It probably wasn’t a bit personal. That realization didn’t stop the fluttering of her pulse, though. With his gaze steady on her, it felt personal. When Chaney came back with a tall glass of ice-cold lemonade, she clung to it, taking a deep swallow. Maybe she wasn’t cut out for adventure after all, not if it involved blatantly masculine men like Cal Rivers.
    “As I was saying,” she began, rushing now, wanting this over with. “The other day I got this letter. Ithad been sent to the wrong address. Palm Tree Lane instead of Palm Lane. I suppose it was a simple enough mistake to make. I still think the mail carrier should have been able to figure it out, but Priscilla says it must have come through on her day off.”
    “Priscilla?”
    “Your old mail carrier. Anyway, the letter wound up in Atlanta, because there wasn’t any return address, either. That’s what happens when a letter goes astray. It comes to me, or actually to my branch. I guess I should have thrown it out, but I just couldn’t. She sounded so pitiful, you see. I…”
    “Slow down,” Cal advised,