Free The Pretender by Kathleen Creighton Page B

seems like a woman thatbeautiful ought to have more self-confidence.”
    Sam chuckled. “Listen here, son, you watch yourself, now, you hear? It’s been my sad experience that you shouldn’t ever trust a beautiful woman too far.”
    The shower proved too great a temptation for Abby to resist, even if she didn’t feel right about unpacking her suitcase. She fully expected to be tossed out on her rear the minute SamMalone showed up, but in the meantime it had been a long day of travel and her body clock was still on Eastern time, and she really could use the chance to “freshen up” before dinner.
    The bathroom wasn’t large or fancy, by any means—just a bathtub and shower combined, a toilet, a sink with plenty of counter space, but compared to the one she’d been sharing with Sunny, it was beyond luxurious.And when she turned on the shower and found it not only had an abundance of pressure but a seemingly limitless supply of hot water, she sighed with pure bliss. Still, mindful of her pretender’s status, she did turn off the faucet to conserve water while she undressed and twisted her hair and pinned it high on her head. She’d like to have shampooed it, but knew it would never dry before dinnerand decided she’d rather not appear at her host’s table with wet hair.
    The feel of hot water sluicing over her body made her ache with pleasure, and with longing. It’s all so beautiful here…I can’t let myself get used to this…
    Enveloped in warmth, with her eyes closed she saw it all again like a montage of movie clips played at fast-forward: a brown-skinned man with jet-black hair,standing like a tree in the flowing stream of people, waiting for her; grass-covered hills folding into wild blue mountains, and flowers cascading over looming rock cliffs that whizzed by too fast to really see; black cattle and brown horses grazing in a sea of meadow grass and wildflowers; a dog with long ears and soulful eyes; a woman with salt-and-pepper hair and a welcoming smile; back to theman again, now with questions in his jet-black eyes and his big strong hand warm and steady on her back.
    A shudder passed through her, and she drew a deep breath and willed the sadness away. Remember it’s only make-believe. Like a play I’m privileged to have a role in, for a little while…
    She turned off the water reluctantly, dried herself and dressed quickly, envisioning the familygathered around the dining room table, waiting patiently for her to make her appearance. Not being sure how formal an occasion dinner was in this household, she chose a tunic and calf-length swirly skirt, both made out of some sort of velvety, stretchy, clingy material she didn’t know the name of. She’d found both in a secondhand store. The skirt was coppery brown, the tunic a shade of sea foam-greenthat brought out the green in her eyes.
    The air felt so good on her bare neck and shoulders, she decided to leave her hair pinned up in its usual style, even though she knew she looked less like Sunny that way. What did it matter? They would know soon enough anyway.
    She replaced the bandage on her hand with a much smaller one she found in a box in the medicine cabinet, then left thebathroom and was about to step into a pair of brown sandals when she froze, senses on full alert. Something wasn’t right. She held her breath and looked around the room. Then it hit her: the courtyard door was open a few inches. And Pia was nowhere to be seen.
    Her heart lurched into emergency mode and she crossed the room in two strides. She’d closed the door, she was sure of it. She remembered the cold metal shape of the handle against the palm of her hand. Which left only two possibilities: someone had come into her room while she was in the shower—a scenario that made her skin crawl but was so ridiculous she instantly discarded it—or…Pia had opened the door herself. Which may have sounded far-fetched to anyone else, but Abby remembered how the cat had tried to open