Moonwitch

Selena agreed when Danielle emerged from the back room, where she had been helping to lay out her husband’s body. Her white skin seemed so translucent as to resemble fine porcelain, contrasting starkly with her black gown and the deep red of her hair and giving her the kind of unearthly beauty that was usually attributed to saints and martyrs.

But in this case Selena had no difficulty repressing the jealousy that she sometimes felt in Danielle’s presence, for her heart was aching with sorrow and pity.

“I am so very sorry about your husband,” Selena murmured as she pressed Danielle’s hand.

“No, please…” Danielle replied. “No one of compassion could have wished him to linger.”

“Is there anything I can do to help you?” Selena asked. “Would you like me to take Clay for a few days?”

Danielle shook her head. “Thank you, but I think everything is being done. Orrin Chandler is looking after Clay. But I would be grateful if you would—” She broke off, her voice suddenly choking with tears. “If you would attend the funeral.”

“Of course,” Selena replied, realizing her presence would help lay to rest any rumors about Danielle and Kyle. She wished there was more she could do. But Danielle wasn’t friendless; she had neighbors and distant cousins who had gathered around her to lend comfort. And to insist on providing support when it wasn’t needed, Selena knew, would make the situation more awkward.

She and Bea stayed only a short while longer before taking their leave. Selena gave Bea a lift to her home and then drove on alone.

She met Kyle on the road just outside of town. He was riding his big roan gelding, and his expression was grim as he drew up alongside the gig. It was obvious he had received the message she had left for him about Jeremiah’s death.

“How is she?” Kyle said without preamble, the intensity of his tone made harsher by protective concern.

A heaviness centered in Selena’s chest as she met Kyle’s gaze. “Danielle is fine.”

“I intend to call on her.”

“Of course. It would look odd if you stayed away.”

“How is Clay taking it?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see him. Orrin is keeping him, I understand.”

“The devil he is,” Kyle muttered, his jaw hardening.

Selena searched his face, wondering if he meant to challenge Orrin for the right to keep Clay. She thought such an action might only cause more difficulty for Danielle, but this didn’t seem the time to argue with Kyle. Selena nodded mutely when he told her not to hold dinner for him, and she silently watched him ride away.

Orrin must have prevailed, however, for Kyle returned to Montrose without his son. Selena could only guess how Kyle felt about it, for he didn’t share his thoughts with her, and indeed, remained grimly uncommunicative for the two days before the funeral. But she knew it was troubling him and wished there was something she could do to help ease his pain.

The morning the ceremony was to be held, she found Kyle in his study, staring sightlessly out the window at the moss-shrouded oaks of Montrose.

He didn’t acknowledge her entrance or even her presence when she came to stand by his side. When he didn’t speak, she lightly touched his arm. “Kyle, what is it?”

For a moment she didn’t think he would answer. When at last he did, she could hear the quiet anguish in his voice. “Clay is over two years old, Selena. Do you know how many hours I’ve spent in his company? A score. Less than two days. Orrin spends more time with my son in a week than I’ve spent in his entire life.”

Selena hesitated, not knowing how to offer him comfort. “What do you mean to do?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head in despair. “The only option I have is to adopt Clay.”

Selena digested his declaration in silence. “I’m not sure that would work,” she said finally.

“Why not? It’s a reasonable solution. I’m much more capable of providing for Clay than Danielle is. I would continue to give her financial support, of course, so she won’t have to worry on that account.”

“Even so, I don’t think she would accept your offer. I very much doubt she would be willing to give up her son. Clay is all she has now.”

Bowing his head, Kyle shut his eyes. He didn’t want to hear the truth. He didn’t want to be told he could never be a father to his son, even if his reasons for wanting Clay were selfish ones. “And what of my responsibility to Clay? Should I just dismiss that?”

“I think,” Selena said softly, “you must do what’s best for the child.”

Kyle raised his gaze to stare out the window. However much he didn’t want to listen, he knew she was right. He couldn’t take the boy from his mother, even if his claim had the practical aspects of wealth and a stable home to bolster it. Besides, Danielle would never consent to giving up Clay. And to fight her for him would publicly brand them both. He couldn’t do that. But God, it hurt.

Selena felt the grief he was going through. Forcing herself to wait, she watched Kyle trying to come to terms with the situation, a heaviness squeezing her heart.