The baby. The babies. Melissa was right. Being this upset couldn’t be good for them.
Jules’s legs were shaking. She sat down.
* * *
It took Caleb less than an hour to figure out his next move.
It took him three more to make it to Portland and Roland Parker’s front door.
When Roland recognized Caleb, he looked fully capable of murder.
“Hear me out,” Caleb called as Roland started to slam the door in his face. “Please, just hear me out. For Jules’s sake, for Melissa’s and for yours.”
“I’m not interested in a thing you have to say.” But Roland didn’t immediately shut the door.
“I’m sorry,” Caleb said, speaking swiftly, knowing he had only one chance at this. “What my father did to you was unforgivable. My grandfather, too, for all I know. But that’s behind us. My grandfather’s dead, and my father is far away. I’m not them, and I want to make things right.”
“There’s no way to make things right.”
“Will you let me try? Will you give me ten minutes of your time? Ten minutes for me to make up for six decades?”
Roland hesitated.
“If you don’t like what I have to say, you can throw me out.”
“I can throw you out anytime I want.”
“That’s true, but I’m asking anyway.”
Roland glared a moment longer.
Caleb waited, edgy as the seconds ticked off. But then, to his relief, Roland’s expression softened the slightest degree and he stepped back.
Caleb took the silent invitation and entered the town house. It was small, modest, with a slightly close musty scent. The furnishings were aged, and the carpets were dated. He couldn’t help thinking that Jules had grown up here. She’d grown up just shy of poverty, while Caleb had grown up with every advantage. A whole new kind of guilt weighed down on him.
Roland didn’t ask him to sit down, so Caleb remained standing in the small foyer. He was relieved enough just to be inside.
“I know there’s no way to make up for the past,” he opened.
Roland grunted his agreement.
“But I have a proposal for you.” Caleb found himself nervous.
He’d negotiated dozens of high-cost business deals, managed countless crises, but this situation had him second-guessing every syllable that came out of his mouth.
“It’s a partnership,” he told Roland. “A business partnership involving the Crab Shack.”
Roland’s gaze narrowed and his lips pursed.
“I know the restaurant belongs to Jules and Melissa. But I’m looking for your blessing.”
“You won’t be getting anything from—”
“Please.” Caleb held up a hand. “Fifty-fifty. Like it was before. Like it should be again. I’ll work hard. I promise you. I’ll work hard, and I’ll be fair to your daughters. I’ll be respectful and honest in everything I do.”
“There’s no way I will ever trust you,” Roland spat out. “There’s no amount of money in the world that will put me back into bed with snakes like the Watfords. Is your father behind this?”
Caleb could feel the plan slipping away from him. “My father has no idea that I’m here. He has nothing to do with my business. And he no longer has anything to do with Whiskey Bay. This is me and only me. May I finish my offer?”
Roland compressed his lips even tighter together.
“I’m not proposing cash. I’m proposing a trade. Fifty percent of the Crab Shack for fifty percent of the Whiskey Bay Neo location. Both restaurants can thrive. Jules doesn’t believe me. She thinks Neo will take customers from the Crab Shack. I disagree, and I’m willing to back my belief.” Caleb stopped talking.
Roland didn’t respond.
Caleb was tempted to keep selling. But he’d made his pitch. More wouldn’t help. More might simply annoy Roland further. Caleb forced himself to let the silence stretch.
Roland finally broke it. “What’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch.”
“You’re a Watford. There’s always a catch.”
The catch was that Caleb was in love with Jules, and he intended to use their business partnership to romance her for as long as it took. But that was the future. That was his business. And he didn’t think Roland was anywhere near ready to hear news like that.
“I brought the building plans for Neo,” he said instead. “If you’ll let me, I’d like to show them to you. And, if you’ll let me, I’d like to write you a check to hire a lawyer, any lawyer you want, to review the deal and make sure it’s fair to you and your family.”
Roland’s expression went from suspicious to perplexed, and he braced a hand against the wall. “Why would you do all that?”