My Dearest Cal Read Online Free Page B

“The post office doesn’t even know I’m here. If they did, they’d probably fire me.”
    He stared at her. “What are you saying?”
    “I took a vacation to find you.”
    “Well, I’ll be,” Chaney muttered, his expression totally agog.
    Cal paced, shaking his head. Finally he turned. “Lady, are you nuts?” His tone was suddenly more bemused than furious.
    “No, I am not nuts,” she said defensively. “I just happen to care about this.”
    “Why? Is there some sort of reward for meddling in things that are none of your concern? I’ll see that you get it.”
    “Dammit, this has nothing to do with any reward. It’s about family. What’s more important than that?”
    “Money,” he said so promptly it made her blood run cold. He meant it, too. She could tell that. Nothing she was saying about his grandmother seemed to be penetrating that thick skull of his. It was disappointing that a man this gorgeous had to be such an idiot.
    Ignoring him, she sank back down in the rocker to think. What the dickens was she supposed to do now? She had thought it was going to be a simple matterof finding Cal Rivers, explaining about the letter and then walking away. Instead she was faced with a man who wouldn’t even believe that he had a grandmother and, worse, didn’t seem to care one way or the other.
    No, she corrected. That wasn’t quite true. There had been that one brief second when he’d revealed a hint of vulnerability, a moment of confusion. Maybe he was afraid for some reason. She studied the unyielding set of his shoulders, the angry scowl on his face. He didn’t look like the sort to be scared of anything short of a raging stampede of horses. More likely, he was an insensitive, uncaring jerk. Not everyone had good in them, despite what she’d been taught.
    She ought to leave and let him stay here and get snockered on beer every night. Maybe the beer helped him to live with whatever had made him the cold, uncaring man that he was. It certainly wasn’t up to her to reform him. There probably weren’t enough years left in her lifetime to accomplish that.
    Then she thought of the letter in her purse. She owed it to that dear old lady to try harder. Cal Rivers might not be much by her standards, but he was family. And Marilou was the only hope either of them had, the only link. There was an old saying about fools rushing in. Well, she’d already rushed. She might as well stick around for the consequences. If she sat her for a little while, surely something would come to her.
    Besides, as she debated whether to go or stay, the clouds had begun building in the west. Fat drops ofrain were already plopping into the dust. She regarded the sudden downpour with a sense of resignation. There was apparently no escape anywhere from these damn April showers.
    * * *
    “I don’t think she’s planning on leavin’, boss,” Chaney said, his baleful gaze resting on the pretty little redhead who’d plunked herself down in a chair on the porch and was rocking to beat the band.
    Cal didn’t think she was going anywhere either. He noted the stubborn set of her chin and the fire in her green eyes and decided he might have miscalculated just the tiniest bit about the pesky woman with her crazy story about a dying grandmother. It wouldn’t be the first time some reporter or gold-digger had used an outrageous tale to get to him. This one was better than most. He’d give her that. She almost had him believing her.
    She was also the most stubborn female he’d encountered in some time. He’d attempted to brush her off with a chilly reception and a few intimidating words. Obviously, it was going to take more. He just wasn’t quite sure what would work with a woman who was apparently so dead-sure she was on a mission. Maybe he could cajole her into going with a promise or two. It wouldn’t kill him to fib a little, if it meant dislodging her from that chair and his life.
    “Okay,” he said at last, willing himself to look