CHAPTER ONE

Sunlight shimmered across the lake and it glistened as though it had been scattered with diamonds. As she stood there in awe, taking in the beauty from the cottage, the dock invited her into the picture of beauty.  Taking her sketch pad and pencil with her, Katelyn Devereaux walked across the lawn and sandy beach until she reached the pier. Settling into the deck chair, she gazed out across the water.

 It was such a beautiful morning. She was so glad she'd taken the advice of her friends and accompanied Suzie Branch to this secluded Wisconsin lake. She certainly needed a vacation and could think of no place more relaxing than this quaint cottage hidden away in a different world.

In the distance a loon called to it's mate, waited for a few moments for a reply and called again. This was the kind of peaceful exchange she had not taken the time to listen for in months. She knew nature was all around her back home, but there never seemed to be time to sit and listen for it. In Denver she was nothing more than a machine, pumping out sketches for her clients, and on occasion, playing the gracious hostess for Martin.

No, I don't want to think of the daily grind of running the Devereaux Agency, nor Martin Collier's marriage proposal. I need this time to figure out just who Katelyn Devereaux really is.

Katelyn turned away from the peaceful scene before her. Why can't my life be this peaceful?

You know why, Katie. The sound of her father's voice within her head caused a tear to escape from the corner of her eyes. She'd lost both of her parents at Thanksgiving and never really gotten over their deaths. The only thing that kept her from going completely over the edge was work, work and more work.

 I don't think I can do this, Daddy. I don't love Martin. I haven't even given him an answer concerning his proposal. Maybe I'm not cut out for the wife thing. Even if I did marry Martin, I wouldn't be a wife, not in the conventional way. With him gone so much, life as his wife would be no different than life by myself.

Katelyn's thoughts came as a shock. Never before had she admitted her true feeling for Martin.  More than anything else in the world, she wanted to be a little girl again without all the problems of being a responsible adult.

Back home in Denver, her life had become too complicated to allow her to rest. For the past eight months she'd been running the Devereaux Advertising Agency, and then there was Martin Collier's marriage proposal. The fact she had just learned of the fact she was adopted, only added to the crazy quilt her life had become over the past few months. Perhaps if her parents had told her the truth the shock wouldn't have been so profound but they hadn't.  She'd learned of her adoption only days after their funeral.

A Mallard duck swooped down and landed on the lake, leaving ripples in his wake. He made a perfect model for her to sketch. Opening her pad, she began to draw the duck's features.

"Genean? What are you doing here?"

The sound of a man's voice sent the duck away in frightened flight. Silently she cursed the intrusion on her perfect scene. "I beg your pardon," she said, getting to her feet. "I'm afraid you've mistaken me for someone else." Quickly she wiped the last of the tears from her eyes. Did he see me crying? The last thing I want is to have some stranger feeling sorry for me. Besides, he did wreck the perfect setting the duck had created for my sketch.

Although he was less than twenty feet away from her the sun at his back made it hard to distinguish anything about him. As she stood up, she shaded her eyes to get a better look at the face behind the voice. He stood well over six foot tall and could only be described as a blonde Adonis. He reminded her of one of the body builders she sketched while in college.

"I'm sorry. I can't believe the uncanny resemblance between you and my friend, Genean."

She watched him as he stepped onto the pier in order to get a better look at her.

"I'm Seth Miller. I live up around the point. Are you staying with the Branchs', Miss . . ."

"It's Devereaux, Katelyn Devereaux."

"Katelyn Devereaux," he repeated her name. She liked the way it sounded when he spoke it. "You don't look much like a Katelyn to me. Do you mind if I call you Kaye?"

Hearing him call her Kaye made her blood boil. ...