Free All the Beautiful Brides by Rita Herron Page B

that thought had occurred to him, but once it had taken root, Cal viewed their years with the foster families in a different light. Little things that had seemed inconsequential at the time now took on new meaning.
    The sound of an engine rumbling jerked him from his thoughts, and he glanced in his rearview mirror and saw Mona’s Honda barreling down the drive. He cut the engine and stepped from his SUV, bracing himself to see her.
    She slipped from the car and picked her way through the snow. When she looked up at him, a wariness washed over her face.
    Still, his body hardened with the same intense attraction he’d always felt for her.
    The first time he’d laid eyes on her he’d been drawn to her. But she’d been upset and vulnerable because her parents had just been murdered.
    Brent had declared his interest on the way home that night, and had moved in on her so quickly that Cal’s head had spun.
    “Cal, I’m glad you came,” Mona said as she approached.
    He gave a quick nod. “I can’t stay long, the case . . .” He let the sentence die, hoping she’d buy the excuse.
    But the memory of that cryptic caller made him want to pull her into his arms.
    Disappointment flared in her eyes, but the look quickly faded, and she led the way to the door. Her hand shook as she jammed the key in the lock. Was she upset about the caller? Or . . . had she discovered one of Brent’s lies?
    “Come on in, Cal. I have some lasagna I can heat up for dinner.”
    “You don’t need to do that.”
    “Don’t argue. I know you’re working a case, but you have to eat. And I could use the company.”
    It was so unlike Mona to say she needed anyone that his senses prickled. “What’s wrong?”
    Mona tugged off her shawl and scarf and hung them on the coat rack. “It’s been a long day. I had a really odd call right before I left the station.”
    “I heard it,” Cal said, earning him a surprised look.
    “You listened to my show?”
    He shrugged off his jacket. “It was on the radio on the way over.”
    Her movements were agitated, and he followed her to the kitchen, where she put the food in the oven. Then she poured herself a glass of wine and handed him a beer from the refrigerator.
    He caught her arm, startled when a frisson of electricity shot through him. “Talk to me. Tell me about the caller.”
    Her eyes softened, a yearning in them that tempted him to pull her into his arms. But if he did, he might not be able to resist a kiss. So he released her and gripped the beer bottle just to have something to do with his hands.
    “Do you know who the caller was?”
    She ran her fingers through the tangled strands of her silky hair. “No. Chance, the producer, screens the calls, but some callers want anonymity, and it showed up as an Unknown.”
    He hesitated. “The voice sounded disguised.”
    “I know.”
    “We can put a trace on the phone at the station in case he or she calls again.”
    Mona sipped her wine. “Let’s hold off. Maybe it was just a prank. Some disgruntled client or client’s spouse who wants to antagonize me. Besides, if callers think I’m tracing their calls, they’ll stop phoning in to the show.”
    She sank onto a barstool and faced him. “Cal, you knew Brent better than anyone.” Mona’s eyes held a hint of vulnerability when she looked up at him. “Why would the caller say my marriage was a lie?”
    Cal’s pulse pounded. This was the moment he’d been dreading, the reason he’d avoided her. If he told Mona the truth, he’d hurt her.
    But if he lied, he was no better than Brent.

    Mona hated the questions nagging at her, but she couldn’t shake the caller’s comment. There were times during her short marriage when she’d felt like Brent had secrets, when she’d sensed he hadn’t exactly lied but that he’d embellished the truth to impress her.
    At the time she’d been flattered that he wanted to impress her.
    But when she’d lost the baby, he’d shut down, and she’d