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night and day.
    The next big test would be Marni.
    But she was really alone now. As she realized that, the last of the terrible tension she had been afflicted with drained away. This would be a good time to explore the house. Lana had drawn a map for her, but she should inspect each room anyway. However, even knowing that, Kait turned slowly back around. Trevor Coleman had left his study door wide open.
    Kait didn’t hesitate. She dropped her bag on the windowsill and walked into the room.
    And the moment she stepped inside the wood-paneled room, she knew she was entering Trev Coleman’s inner sanctum. The room reeked of his masculinity. Here, the floors were stained the color of cognac and darker antique beams finished the ceiling. A large cherrywood desk covered with files and folders faced a stone fireplace, upon which were many framed photographs. The windows behind it looked out over the first of the six barns and several paddocks where his horses grazed. A beautiful rug covered the floor, mostly beige and blue and green; the sofa was dark, emerald green leather, and the rest of the furniture was upholstered in masculine tweeds. Kait realized she had become immobilized. She could almost feel Trev Coleman’s presence, even though he was gone.
    Kait glanced at the fireplace; a painting hung over the mantel, the portrait of a magnificent, eagle-eyed chestnut horse. There was an open newspaper on the floor by the sofa, an empty scotch glass on the side table. She noticed a stack of horse magazines on the coffee table, two of which were also open. She hugged herself. Had he spent last night in here, alone with his papers and magazines? Did he despise his wife? Did he really want a divorce? Maybe he was only angry with her, but if so, why? What could Lana have possibly done to make him so mad, or was it a terrible misunderstanding?
    Kait prayed the last was true.
    She hurried to the desk. It was a mess. There were so many files, folders, pads, and notes she doubted he knew where anything was. She was reaching for the phone when she saw the photographs of Marni.
    Abruptly she sat down in his chair. Her heart had gone wild. She lifted the portrait of the prettiest little girl she had ever seen. Her hair was dark like Lana’s and her own, but riotously curly, and her eyes were green and her complexion olive, undoubtedly the same as her father’s would be, should he forgo his tan. She was smiling shyly at the camera, and tears filled Kait’s eyes, love swelling within her chest.
    Was this what her own daughter would one day be like?
    She could barely wait to meet her niece and take her into her arms.
    There were other photos of Marni on a snow-white pony that Kait felt certain was far too large for a four-year-old. In one of the photos she was actually going over a tiny jump in a riding habit at a horse show.
    Kait lifted another photo, this one clearly of Trevor’s daughter from his previous marriage. In her letter Lana had mentioned that Sam was now sixteen, but in the two photos on his desk she appeared a bit younger. She was a beautiful blonde with a sunny smile and hazel eyes, but both photos were portraits, and there were no shots of her on horseback. Kait wondered at that.
    And where were the photographs of Lana?
    Kait suddenly turned. A bookcase was catty-corner to the wall of windows behind the desk, and sure enough, there on one shelf was a wedding photo of the bride and groom, both wreathed in smiles and looking like candidates for Mr. and Mrs. America. There were other photos of the once happy couple, including one of Trevor in a tuxedo, looking incredibly elegant and virile, with Lana in a daring evening gown that dripped over her every curve. His arm was around her, he was smiling and content, while she was laughing, undoubtedly at something he had said. What a perfect couple they made—in appearance, anyway.
    Surely they could work things out.
    If they had been that happy once, surely they could find that