Caleb gave a dry chuckle. “Ironic. He and I agree on something.”
“I’m sorry.” She gestured behind herself. “He can be...”
“Pig-headed?”
“Stubborn. He’s always been that way. He loves us, but he can’t see past... Well, you know what he can’t see past.”
Caleb’s gaze unexpectedly softened. “Can you see past it, Jules?”
She’d already seen past it. She’d already seen way past it. But she could never admit that to him. “Not while you’re stomping on my dreams.”
He gave a sharp nod. “That’s what I thought.” He opened the driver’s door. “I’ll see you in court.”
He drove away, and she felt pummeled from all sides. For the first time in years, she wondered if she could do it. Maybe her father had been right all along. Maybe she was a fool to get anywhere near the Crab Shack, never mind the Watfords.
And maybe Caleb was right. Maybe she should cancel the noncompete and at least get out of the court case without wasting all their money. There was also the possibility that Noah was right. Selling out to Caleb would at least cut their losses. She and Melissa could take the money and find something else to do. Somewhere not here. Somewhere where she wouldn’t see Caleb anymore.
And what about her sister?
How could Jules know what was right? How could she choose?
* * *
Noah’s pickup was parked at the end of the Crab Shack access road, and he sat in the driver’s seat. Caleb pulled over, exiting his own vehicle. He walked up to the window.
Noah unrolled it.
“What are you doing?” Caleb asked.
Noah stared straight ahead, jaw tight, lips narrowed. “Feeling like a coward.”
The answer shocked Caleb. “Why? What happened?”
“Her dad showed up.”
Caleb leaned his elbow on the open window, feeling sympathy for Noah. “He just kicked me out of the Crab Shack.”
“I wasn’t waiting around for that to happen to me.”
“At least you would have had company.”
Noah’s jaw tightened even further. “I won’t put Melissa in that position. She’s not going to have to explain me to her father.”
“So, you asked her out?” Caleb guessed.
“I did.”
“She said yes?”
The question brought a ghost of a smile to Noah’s face. “She was pretty excited. I was excited, too.”
“So what’s the plan now? Are you going to break her heart?”
“Her heart’s not involved yet, and I’m going to keep it that way.”
“You can’t really be afraid of her old man.” Caleb would be sorely disappointed if he’d misjudged Noah so badly.
The look Noah gave him told him he hadn’t. “I’d take on a hundred guys like him. It’s Melissa I’m protecting, not myself.”
“Then you’re making a mistake.”
If Noah stood up to Roland, he just might win. He had a good explanation for his criminal record. And at least he wasn’t a Watford. If Caleb had thought fighting Roland would get him anywhere near Jules, he never would have left the restaurant.
Noah sat silent, his hands clenched around the steering wheel.
Caleb stood between the idle heavy equipment costing him a fortune on the Neo site and the half-finished Crab Shack that meant so much to Jules. He wished he was only an ex-con who was self-conscious about his profession.
“You want to fight for her,” he said to Noah. “And you want it pretty bad.”‘
“I want to fight for her,” Noah agreed.
“She’s waiting. It might be ugly at first, but what guy didn’t have some kind of battle with a woman’s father?”
“Not like this,” Noah said.
“Not like this,” Caleb agreed. “But it could be a whole lot worse. Look at me.”
“You’ve got it bad for Jules?”
“I’ve got it bad for Jules.” And it was getting worse. Day by day by day, it was getting worse.
“At least you’re a rich, successful guy.”
“At least your families aren’t mortal enemies. I don’t know what you’ve heard...”
“A little,” Noah said. “I get the gist.”
“Well, Roland Parker just finished meeting me. I have to think you’re going to look pretty good in comparison.”
Noah shook his head in obvious self-deprecation. “I really am being a coward.”
“You’re protecting Melissa. You’re just doing it wrong. Get back out there.”
Noah reached for the ignition key. “I will.”
He started the engine and drove away in a cloud of dust.
Caleb watched the loud, battered truck until it came to a stop in the parking lot. The engine went silent, the waves and the wind taking over. Caleb felt a rush of envy. He’d give a lot to be walking back into that room to fight for Jules.