The Brother's Wife. Amanda Stevens

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      CHAPTER TWO

      The morning after Michael Eldridge’s visit dawned warm and sunny, and when Hope came downstairs, she found Iris breakfasting on the terrace. She was alone at the table, reading the paper and sipping her coffee.

      “Where is everyone?” Hope sat down and unfolded her napkin.

      “Jeremy has already left for the office, I believe, and my son and his wife are sleeping in. As usual.”

      Even though Edward and Pamela had been married for over thirty years and had lived in the same house with Iris for most of that time, she never referred to her daughter-in-law as anything other than “my son’s wife.” Iris hadn’t approved of Edward’s second marriage, coming such a short time after his first wife had died of cancer when Andrew and Adam were three years old, and because of her disapproval, Pamela was not and never would be considered a Kingsley, just as her son would never be Iris’s heir.

      A maid appeared, bringing fresh coffee and orange juice. Iris laid the paper aside and glanced out at the gardens. “Gerald is at work early this morning, I see.”

      “He always is,” Hope said, following Iris’s gaze. Her heart thudded against her chest when she saw that Jake was with his father. They were working near the reflecting pool, tearing down an old rock garden that Iris had decided a few days ago was an eyesore.

      “Hope,” she said. “Go out there and stop them.”

      Hope glanced at her. “What? Why? They’re doing exactly what you told them to do.”

      “I’m aware of that. But I’ve changed my mind. The rock garden was Andrew’s favorite place to play when he was a little boy. I don’t know what I was thinking. Please go tell Gerald I wish to see him.”

      Hope rose, knowing that arguing would be futile. When Iris made up her mind, there was no talking her out of it.

      Leaving the terrace, Hope walked down the sloping lawn toward the rock garden. Morning sunlight glinted off the surface of the reflecting pool, temporarily blinding her. She shaded her eyes as she approached Jake and his father.

      What had once been an artful arrangement of rock and plants was now in complete disarray. The two men must have been working for hours already, because the job was almost completed.

      As Hope watched, Jake, his muscles bulging with the weight, picked up one of the last remaining stones and carried it to a wheelbarrow. He’d taken off his shirt, and a sheen of sweat glistened along his backbone. Hope felt something stir inside her, a warning that told her to state her business, then get away from there as fast as she could, before she had time to remember.

      But it was too late, because when Jake turned back around he saw her. Their gazes held for the longest moment, and it flashed through Hope’s mind that here was a man she had once been engaged to. A man she had once hurt very deeply. A man who despised the path she had chosen for her life.

      As if reading her mind, Jake studied her for a moment, taking in the designer dress she wore, the gleam of gold at her wrist and throat, and then wordlessly he turned his back on her and resumed his work.

      Hope felt as if he’d slapped her. A part of her wanted to hate him for it even as another part of her realized she probably deserved it. The last time she and Jake had met face-to-face was when he’d come to question her after Andrew’s death.

      In the throes of guilt for the terrible things she’d said to her husband on the night he died, Hope had lashed out at Jake, accusing him of trying to exact revenge on a dead man. But in the weeks and months that followed, Hope had come to realize that Jake had been right. Her husband had been a man of secrets. Dark and deadly secrets.

      And now another man claiming to be Andrew’s twin brother, a man who seemed to have secrets of his own, had come back into their lives just when Hope thought she might be able to put the past behind her. Now she wondered if she would ever be able to do that.

      “Mr. McClain?”

      Jake’s father glanced up and smiled. “Miss Hope. What brings you down here?”

      Was it Hope’s imagination, or had he cast a furtive glance toward his son?

      Jake didn’t look up from his work, but Hope saw his expression darken at the way his father had addressed her. At one time, Gerald McClain had almost been her father-in-law, and now here he was, addressing her as though she were the mistress of the manor.

      Hope had never felt as uncomfortable with her position in the Kingsley household as she did at that moment. She’d never felt as if she belonged here, amid all this wealth and grandeur, but now she realized she didn’t belong in her old world, either.

      Where, exactly, did she belong?

      Jake stopped what he was doing and glared at her. “Well? Was there something you wanted, Hope?”

      There wasn’t the slightest bit of subservience in his tone. In fact, the way he said her name was almost an insult.

      Hope lifted her chin. “I came to have a word with your father.”

      Gerald removed his gloves and slipped them in his back pocket. “What can I do for you?”

      “Mrs. Kingsley would like to see you. Something about the rock garden. I’m afraid she may have changed her mind,” Hope added apologetically.

      Gerald’s face showed not the slightest bit of anger or resentment over the news. Instead he said to Jake, “Just keep working. We’ll have to remove everything and start over anyway.”

      Hope lingered for a moment, unsure whether or not she should strive for a note of civility before she left. Jake glanced up, looking as if he wanted to say something to her, but changed his mind with a shrug. He nodded in the direction of the terrace. “Looks like you have company.”

      Hope glanced over her shoulder. Michael Eldridge, wearing dark glasses and an Italian-designer suit, stood on the terrace, staring at the gardens. When he saw Hope, he lifted his hand and waved.

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