Read Online Miss Lizzy's Legacy by Peggy Moreland - Free Book Online Page B

wasn’t a man to place much stake in rumors. He had heard enough about himself to know rumors were more often fiction than fact.
    He tipped his head to look up at Callie. “If Mary Elizabeth’s baby lived, how do you explain the grave out at Summit View?”
    â€œI can’t. That’s why I’m staying here until I find out the truth.”
    â€œHow do you plan to do that?”
    â€œI don’t know. I suppose I could hire a lawyer and have some type of legal document drawn to have the grave exhumed.”
    â€œSeems a little drastic, don’t you think?”
    â€œDo you have a better idea?”
    Judd shook his head. “No. Not at the moment.” Slowly, he closed the cover on the album, then laid it aside. Though his curiosity was aroused, this little nightmare wasn’t his to deal with. All he needed was an acceptance of his apology from the woman to appease his mother, then he could go home and forget Callie Benson and her family’s problems.
    He dipped his head and shuffled his feet a moment before lifting his gaze to hers again. “Well, are you going to forgive me for the way I treated you?”
    The eyes that met Callie’s looked sincere enough, but dang it, a simple apology for all she’d suffered at his hand didn’t seem quite fair.
    Judd saw her hesitation and hoped to ease it by offering a teasing grin. “If you don’t, my mother’s going to have my hide.”
    Callie eyed him a moment, trying not to smile at the image of the petite little Molly Barker taking a piece out of her strapping son’s hide. “I might consider accepting your apology,” she replied thoughtfully.
    Judd’s brow puckered. “You might?”
    â€œYeah. I might.” Her arms crossed at her breasts, Callie circled him, her mind ticking away at the possibilities. This man had insulted her at every meeting, treated her like a piece of dirt he’d scraped off his boot, yet for some crazy reason, his kiss haunted her, and Callie didn’t have time for any more ghosts. The life of Mary Elizabeth Sawyer was enough to lose sleep over for the present.
    â€œWords are cheap, Barker,” she finally said. “I think I’d like something with a little more substance by way of an apology.”
    Feeling like a rabbit cornered by a hound, Judd turned also, keeping a watchful eye on her. “And what would that be?”
    Callie stopped, blocking his path to the door as she looked up at him. “I want you to kiss me again.”

Four
    J udd’s eyes widened. “You want me to what?”
    â€œI want you to kiss me like you did last night.”
    His eyes narrowed to slits. “Why?”
    Callie met his gaze squarely. “Let’s just call it an experiment.”
    â€œWhat kind of experiment?”
    She heaved a frustrated breath. “Do you want me to accept your apology or not?”
    â€œWell, yeah, but—”
    â€œNo buts. Either kiss me or go tell your mother I wouldn’t accept your apology.”
    Judd glanced around, half expecting to find a hidden camera or at the least a tape recorder, but saw nothing but a suitcase and a scattering of clothes. “A kiss,” he repeated, returning his gaze to hers. “Just a kiss and that’s all?”
    â€œThat’s it.”
    He tossed his hat to the bed and sighed. “This has to be the craziest thing I’ve ever done.”
    He stepped up to her and placed his hands at her waist. “Are you ready?”
    At his touch, Callie’s breath knotted in her throat. “Yes,” she murmured.
    His face lowered, blocking the bedside lamp’s soft light. Automatically, Callie closed her eyes and lifted her face to his. This is it, she thought. Her chance to prove to herself that Judd Barker’s kiss was no different than any other man’s. The passion she remembered from the night before, the yearning she’d attributed to it,