Summer Moon by Jill Marie Landis Page B

hope, the letters that she had built her dream upon had not been a foundation for the future, as she thought, but a well-designed trap. They were not even the words of a man. They had been written by a woman, solely to appeal to another woman’s heart.
    She had lived locked away, safe and secure at the orphanage for far too long. She had become too trusting, too naive. Over the years she had wanted something so much that she had cast common sense aside and let herself be caught in the snare of a sick old man bent upon controlling his son’s life.
    Reed Junior knew nothing of her past, her hopes, her dreams—and she knew nothing of him except for what Sofia had written. Nothing at all. Who was he? Who was this man she had given herself to last night?
    Anger and shame far worse than any she had ever suffered in her life clung to her now. She clenched her fists and spun away from the window to face them both.
    “How could you?”
she cried to Sofia. “How did you think you could
ever
deceive us both? Old Mr. Benton was ill, possibly confused. But you, Sofia? How could you do this to anyone? How could you play with someone else’s life? Do you know what you have done?”
    “How could I
not
do it, señora?” Sofia suddenly stopped rocking. Her hands lay in her lap, fingers entwined. “If you ever love a man the way I loved the señor, you will do
anything
for him. You will do anything in your power to see him live one more day, even one more hour. To see him draw one more breath. If you have to, you will bargain with the devil to keep him with you for as long as you can.”
    With a tortured look, Sofia sank back, let go a deep sigh. “The señor could not wait to meet you. I only wish he had lived a few more hours. That would have been long enough.” The woman buried her face in her hands and coiled in on herself. Her shoulders heaved with silent tears.
    Kate was no plaster saint. She was not moved enough to be merciful. “But, Sofia, after I arrived and he was already gone, you kept
on
deceiving me,” she said.
    “The moment I saw you, Katherine, I knew you would be good for Reed. I hoped there was still a chance, that somehow the scheme might work. When Reed walked in, when he actually came home, and then when he passed out, I prayed that he might be attracted to you. I hoped you two would get to know one another while you nursed him back to health. I did not think beyond that.”
    Reed had been watching Kate so closely that her shame made her turn away again. His stare was so palpable she knew without looking precisely when he turned his attention back to Sofia.
    “I’d still like to know how you and the old man thought I would ever go along with this.” He sounded tired, as drained as Kate felt.
    She turned to hear what Sofia had to say.
    The housekeeper’s cheeks glistened with tears. “Once Kate arrived, I was going to send word to you that he was gravely ill, that you were needed here. By that time, Katherine would have already arrived, and you two would have met.” She shrugged. “We had not planned beyond that. The señor thought that Katherine, since she believed herself already married to you, would have no choice but to go along with his plan and would perhaps be willing to seduce you. I know how ridiculous it all sounds now, but you know your father. To him, nothing was impossible.”
    “I know how well he enjoyed playing God,” Reed said.
    “When I finally sent for you, it was to see him buried.” Sofia wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, then she smoothed her impeccable hair.
    “I never received word of his death.”
    “Then why did you come home?” Sofia pushed up out of the chair.
    “To bring the boy back.”
    The housekeeper drew a handkerchief from beneath the cuff of her sleeve and wiped her nose. “Ah, yes. Daniel.”
    Reed looked down at his hands. “Yes.”
    His cool, shuttered expression struck a chord in Kate, one that made her cringe. There was no love for the boy in