Double Take Read Free Page B

cool and calm, always smiling, always filled with confidence. But she was none of those things now. Now, she was scared.
    And from the sound of things, rightly so.
    Kait drove between the two brick pillars.
    Summoning up her courage, absolutely willing her nerves to be steady—and reminding herself that no one could possibly suspect the switch, at least, not yet—Kait drove slowly up a long gravel driveway lined with more sparkling white paddocks and a succession of stately oak trees.
Could she deceive everyone?
Wouldn’t someone be able to see through her superficial disguise? After all, she and Lana were nothing alike!
    Kait wanted to retch. But she hadn’t been able to eat all day, so she knew it was only her overwrought nerves. She had to be more like her sister now. She had to be charming, extremely confident, naturally sexy.
    But surely Lana’s own child would be able to tell the difference between her aunt and her mother, even if they did look alike. But Lana had felt certain that Marni would not know and she had said so in her letter. She had also written that Coleman had a teenaged daughter from his first marriage, Samantha, and she had left a description of the house, the housekeeper, and the staff. Kait wanted to believe as Lana did that they could pull off this deception; she wanted to turn the car around and drive away.
No matter the trouble Lana was in, everything that they were doing was so terribly wrong.
    But Kait couldn’t take a chance on Corelli hurting either her sister or her niece and it was as simple as that.
    Suddenly a band of long, lanky yearlings raced by on her left. Surprised, Kait started, but then she slowed, and before she even knew it she was watching the beautiful young Thoroughbreds playing gracefully in the adjacent paddock, distracted. The band of yearlings, all chestnuts and one black, turned and galloped away, tails high, manes flying, and Kait felt herself smile. She simply had to watch them until they disappeared from sight. Lana had to be the luckiest woman in the world, to have a man like Trev Coleman fall in love with her, to have a daughter—a family—and a fairy-tale home like Fox Hollow.
    Kait started the Porsche down the drive again. She had her window wide open, and now she sniffed the crisp, fresh country air with a deep appreciation. And as she drove past an outdoor riding ring and six state-of-the-art whitewashed barns, one of which was probably a huge indoor arena, her heart quickened, this time with anticipation. A part of her could not wait to walk through the front door and get settled in.
    Kait quickly had to remind herself of what she was doing and that this was not her home. But on the other hand, a few days from now, she would be a legitimate family member and undoubtedly from that point on a frequent guest. Then she saw the house.
    It was a brick colonial, built in the late eighteenth century, with a high temple pediment and six huge white columns supporting it. The beautiful residence sat above the rest of the estate on a hill. As she drove up the drive toward it, her anxiety returned. A dusty black Land Rover and a big, brand-new cobalt blue pickup truck sat off to the side of the house, in front of a garage that was so beautifully designed that it looked like a residential wing. The hood of the Land Rover was up. Her heart skipped as she braked and turned off the ignition; a man slammed down the hood and looked at her.
    This was it.
    The point of no return.
    She had parked beneath a huge oak tree, out of the sun; now, she lifted her gaze with real trepidation and met an intense blue stare. Kait relaxed, because for one instant she had feared the worst—that Coleman had changed his plans and was at home. But this was not Trevor Coleman. Trev was darkly blond and tanned, and Kait knew he was in his mid-thirties. This man was in his early forties and he had dark, short hair. He wasn’t short, but he wasn’t tall and he had the physique of a boxer or a