Katie: Bride of Virginia (American Mail-Order Brides 10) by Sylvia McDaniel Page A

his chest. He hadn't wanted her to die. They were having problems, but he'd never have wished death on her. But pregnant? That could explain the reason she'd left.
    Silence filled the room and Daniel, stared. “Mother, I think you're mistaken.”
    “I know the changes a woman's body goes through when she's expecting a child. Eloise was expecting.”
    Daniel thought back to the last time he'd made love to his wife. It had been months before she left. If she was pregnant, the child wasn’t his.
    Frank glared at his mother. Finally, he cleared his throat. “It's late. I should be going.”
    Katie walked into the room from the kitchen. She glanced around the room at the three people, obviously sensing the tension. “Are you leaving?”
    Staring at his new wife, he felt a rush of hope for a new chance at a good marriage, with children and love and a successful winery. That's all he wanted out of life. The vineyard was a work in progress and now he had to create a loving relationship with his new wife.
    “Yes, I need to get back to town. I have clients to meet in the morning,” Frank said. “Thank you for such a lovely dinner and a charming evening.”
    “Any time,” Katie said as she walked him towards the door. She took his jacket off the rack and handed it to him. “Please, I know you and Daniel are good friends. Drop in any time.”
    Daniel watched his friend and then he turned and touched the tip of his hat.
    “Good night.”
    “Good night,” Daniel replied.
    Tonight Frank had seemed to irritate him more than he'd actually enjoyed his company. First with his talk of selling the land and then with his questions about Eloise, who he had yet to tell Katie about. For the first time since college, he wondered if Frank really was his good friend or simply a man who liked to make business deals.
    Daniel, watched as Katie shut the door. “It's getting chilly out there.”
    He thought of Eloise. Was it true she'd been pregnant? Could his mother be right? And was that the reason she was leaving him? She'd told him there was someone else, but she'd never said anything about a pregnancy.
    He walked to Katie, glanced down at his new wife and fear spiraled through him, centering in his chest until he thought it would explode. Would Katie also cheat on him? He couldn't take that chance.
    “Do me a favor.”
    “What?” Katie said, glancing up at him, her impish smile brightening her face. She was a ray of sunshine in his home and already he felt possessive of this woman. She'd moved in and was making over his home and he prayed she would change the atmosphere from gloom and doom to happiness. He so desperately wanted to feel joy again.
    And damn, but he wanted to carry her upstairs and slowly erase her memory of their wedding night. This time the night would be so memorable, his wife would never forget.
    “Don't let Frank or any man into the house without me being here,” he said, knowing his reasons were an overreaction, but not caring. Katie was his wife, and yes, they had a few problems, but he wanted to make this marriage work. And he couldn't take a chance on her cheating.
    “Why?” she asked staring up at him in shock. “I didn't do anything wrong. I sat him in the parlor and sent Thomas for you.”
    “I know,” he said. “But something is warning me not to let anyone in the house without me being here. I listen to those premonitions and when I haven't, it's cost me.”
    Behind him, his mother started to cackle like an old witch. He'd forgotten all about her being in the room.
    “He's afraid you're going to cheat on him, just like Eloise. She'll leave you just like Eloise and her fate will be the same.”
    A chill went through Daniel and he stared at his mother. Good God could she have killed Eloise that night? She knew his wife was cheating, she thought she was pregnant, but how could a woman in a wheelchair force Eloise into the cold?
     

Chapter Five
     
    A ll the enjoyment of the evening drained out of