Moonwitch

A soft blush crept to her cheeks. There was laughter in his eyes, and tenderness, and something more that looked very much like gratitude. When he reached beside him to curl his hand over hers, her heart did a sudden flip-flop. She could feel the warmth, the strength of his fingers as they smothered hers. Her blush deepened as she returned his gaze, the memory of his hands waking her body that morning rippling through her.

Minutes passed as they looked at each other while the laughter and chatter of the children faded. Kyle couldn’t tear his gaze away. He was too caught up in watching Selena, in surveying her cool beauty, in contemplating her warm lips and unbound hair with remembered pleasure. She never ceased to amaze him. The startling way she had shed her decorous behavior and become a creature of passion, the kind of woman every man dreamed of having in his bed. The way she had welcomed Clay and Danielle. Far from wresting him from his child, Selena actually seemed to understand his need to be a father to his son. More than that, she seemed determined to bring them together. How very grateful he was to her—

“Clay, come back here this instant! You aren’t to play there.” It was Danielle, calling after the toddler, who had wandered away. The inquisitive child was nearing the edge of the dry bayou, where an earth slide had resulted in a sharp drop-off of some forty feet.

The possible danger drew Kyle from his pleasant musings.

“I’ll fetch him,” Kyle offered. With a last brief look at Selena, he climbed to his feet and went after his son. Then he and the youngsters returned to their games, while Thaddeus took Bea back to the house to rest.

Selena and Danielle were left to observe the play. Neither of them spoke for a time.

“I can’t thank you enough for giving us this day,” Danielle said at last, watching Kyle perch his giggling son on his powerful shoulders. “Clay’s had too little joy in his life.”

Conscious that some of the cheer had suddenly gone out of the warm afternoon, Selena met the other woman’s dark eyes, seeing the sadness there. “I’m so sorry about your husband,” she said gently. “I understand he is very ill.”

“Yes. Jeremiah is dying.” Danielle’s voice was low and husky with emotion. Her eyes misting, she looked away toward the giant magnolias and the majestic, moss-draped live oaks of Montrose. “It has been hard…watching him die. Ours wasn’t a love match, but we had a good marriage… before Jeremiah was wounded. He’s a good man.”

She began to cry quietly, silent tears spilling from her eyes. “Do you know what the hardest part was? Living with the knowledge that I betrayed him. He never condemned me, not with words. But the hurt look in his eyes when I told him I was going to have a child… I’ve had to live with that.”

Selena’s own throat tightened. She wished there was something she could say in comfort. Watching Danielle, she could see how Kyle would be driven to console such a beautiful woman; a shaft of sunlight was striking her auburn hair, turning it to fire, while her unhappiness was enough to melt a heart of stone. Yet that consolation had taken the most intimate form possible. Selena flinched at the image of Kyle and Danielle together. It made her heart ache to think of it. Even so, she reached out to touch the other woman’s shoulder in sympathy.

Danielle started then, as if suddenly realizing to whom she was speaking. “Oh, I beg your pardon,” she stammered, choking back her tears. “I had no right… It was unforgivable…Kyle is your husband.”

“Danielle, it’s quite all right.”

“No, I’m sorry.” She looked appalled. “I didn’t mean to bring that up. But you should know what happened. You see, I was so wretchedly miserable, and Kyle was there—”

“I understand. You don’t need to explain.”

Danielle hesitated, wiping her eyes. “I should never, never have let it happen. It was a sin.”

“No,” Selena replied with quiet vehemence. “Such a lovely child couldn’t be a sin.”

Danielle turned to look at her son. “He’s the joy of my life.”

Selena followed her gaze. Kyle was lying back in the grass now, letting a chortling Clay bounce on his chest. “I would like to have a son,” she said softly. “You are very lucky.”

Danielle met her eyes, offering a watery smile. “I think Kyle is the lucky one…to have you. You’re so…serene…and comforting. I imagine you hear a lot of confessions.”

“No,” Selena said with a laugh. “Not really.”

“Well, thank you for listening to mine. I feel rather foolish.”

“Please… don’t.” Selena pressed her hand. “I should like us to be friends.”

“Yes,” Danielle agreed. “I should like that, too.”

It was early evening when the picnic finally ended. While the younger Ramsey girls gathered the quilts, Kyle carried his sleepy son back to the carriage. Selena and Danielle followed more slowly.

“Did you receive the invitation to the ball Bea is giving for us week after next?” Selena asked Danielle. “If you can come, we would be delighted to welcome you.”

“I don’t know… Jeremiah doesn’t like me to remain at home because of him, but the neighbors are so critical…”

“If your husband doesn’t object, I should think that the neighbors have no right to criticize.”

“Well, we shall see,” Danielle said with doubt in her voice.

Clay was already curled up on the seat when they reached the carriage, but when Kyle handed Danielle into the gig, the child opened his eyes and flashed one of his dimpled smiles as he pointed at Selena. “Moon lady.”