Again, he had to wonder if they were up to something. “I thought she’d think about it, at least consider the implications.”
Melissa gave a light laugh. “I can assure you, she’s fully considered the implications.”
“And?” He was growing more curious by the minute.
“And she called our father. And then she called a lawyer.”
“What did they say?” Caleb asked, braced and ready.
She gave a smirk. “I don’t think I’ll repeat what my father said.”
Caleb could only imagine. “He never did like me.” Caleb took a sip of the iced tea while he digested the information.
“You have a particular gift for understatement.”
“Can you tell me what the lawyer said?”
“In a nutshell. That you have a case. That we also have a case. And that it’ll take a long time and a lot of money to resolve it.”
He rotated his glass, the ice cubes clinking against the sides. “There’s no benefit in that.”
“Not for you,” Melissa said.
“Or for you.”
She took a drink and set her glass carefully back on the wooden tabletop. “That’s where you’re wrong. There’s a benefit to us if we win.”
“You won’t win.”
She looked him square in the eyes. “What do you want, Caleb?”
“To be friends.” He realized he meant that. “I truly don’t want to annihilate the Crab Shack.”
She smiled indulgently but gave an eye roll at the same time. “Forgive me if I have a hard time believing either of those things.”
“I want us to work together. I meant what I said about cross-promotion.”
“My father warned us about you.”
Caleb had no good comeback for that, since Roland Parker had every reason to distrust the Watfords. He bought himself some time by taking another drink.
He set down his glass. “All I can say is that I’m not my father. And I get the feeling you’re not your sister.”
Her gaze narrowed in obvious suspicion.
He kept on talking. “I think you can see the benefits of working together. My guess is that you’re very rational, and you can clearly see the downsides of a fight. It hurts us both. It’ll cost a whole lot of money. And no matter who wins, we’ll both be weaker and poorer for the effort.”
Melissa didn’t answer. She traced her fingertip down the condensation on her glass.
Caleb sat still while Blake Shelton crooned. He didn’t want to make a wrong move.
She finally looked up. “You can’t divide and conquer. It won’t work.”
He wasn’t about to admit that was his strategy. “I don’t want to conquer anyone. But I’m a million dollars into this project.”
She seemed to think about that. “So you have a lot to lose.”
“I have a lot to lose.”
“Yet another reason why we shouldn’t trust you.”
“I understand.” He did. “Tell me what I can do to—”
There was a sharp rap on the door.
Melissa jumped in her chair and her head turned sharply toward the sound.
“Expecting someone?” Caleb asked.
“No.” A flush had come up on her cheeks, and her hand went to her hair. “Maybe.”
The knock came again.
“You want me to get it?” he asked, seeing she was anxious.
“Melissa?” called a voice that Caleb recognized. It was Noah.
“What’s he doing here?” Caleb had learned some worrying things about Noah today. Things he’d planned to share with Jules and Melissa.
Melissa started to rise, but Caleb jumped up.
“There’s something I need to say to him.”
Before she could respond, he rounded the corner to the foyer and opened the door.
Noah was clearly taken aback by the sight of him.
“Yeah,” Caleb responded to the man’s unspoken question. “I’m here. What are you doing here?”
“Business,” Noah said, his tone even.
“I mean what are you doing in Whiskey Bay?”
Noah’s eyes became guarded.
“Been in town long?” Caleb pressed.
“It’s obvious you know I haven’t.”
“It wasn’t hard to find out.”
“I wasn’t hiding it.”
“Caleb?” Melissa called out.
“Give me a second.” Caleb had learned today that Noah was recently released from jail. “What did you do?” he asked Noah.
“About what?” Noah came back without flinching, clearly ignoring the unspoken implication.
“To get thrown in jail.”
Noah paused for less than a heartbeat. “I killed a guy.”
Caleb’s jaw went lax.