Charade by Sandra Brown

Author:Sandra Brown [BROWN, SANDRA]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781455546275
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2013-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

He was more beautiful than she remembered. When she saw him, he took her breath. His curly hair was dark and endearingly unruly. He wore blue jeans and a western shirt. His cowboy boots looked new.

Cat knelt in front of him. His right index finger was hooked in the corner of his mouth. “Hello, Michael. My name’s Cat. I’m so glad you could come today.”

Sherry was holding the boy by the hand. “He’s happy to be here. His foster mother told me so.”

Above him, Sherry was sadly shaking her head, conveying to Cat that Michael wasn’t mixing well with the other children. He seemed overwhelmed by the noisy crowd.

“This is the lady who sent you the new clothes, Michael,” Sherry said to him. “Tell her thank you.”

He stared at the ground.

“Never mind,” Cat said. “You can thank me later. I haven’t had a hotdog yet, have you?”

He raised his head and stared back at her through vacant blue eyes, giving no indication that he understood.

“Let’s go get one together. Okay?” She extended her hand. Michael considered it for a long time before withdrawing his pruny index finger from his mouth and placing his hand in Cat’s.

She smiled at Sherry and held up two crossed fingers. “We’ll catch up with you later.”

Cat matched her stride to Michael’s slow shuffle. “I really like those boots,” she remarked. “They’re red like mine. See?”

She stopped and pointed down at her cowboy boots. She’d bought them at a boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, but Michael wouldn’t know the difference.

He studied the likeness of their boots, then raised his head and squinted at her. It wasn’t quite a smile, but it was a measurable response. Taking that as an encouraging sign, she squeezed his hand. “We’re going to be good friends. I can tell.”

The barbecue picnic was being held on the Webster estate. The band had set up in the Victorian gazebo on the banks of the pond where docile ducks gorged on bread crumbs thrown by the children. The air was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of mesquite-smoked meat. Picnic tables with red and white bandanna-print tablecloths had been set up beneath the trees.

Jugglers, mimes, and clowns strolled among the crowd, dispensing balloons and candy. Three of the Dallas Cowboys were autographing toy footballs. Two members of the San Antonio Spurs basketball team stood head and shoulders above everyone else.

After getting their plates of food, Cat and Michael selected one of the tables. While they ate their hotdogs, she jabbered, hunting for anything to which he would respond. But he didn’t speak a word, not even when she introduced him to Jeff, who was a big hit with the children. Several clung to him as they made their way to the pond.

Michael was invited to come along and feed the ducks, but he shied away. Cat didn’t press him. She did, however, notice that something else had attracted his attention.

She followed the direction of his absorbed stare. “Ah, you’re a horse lover. Want

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