The Seductive Impostor Read Online Free Page A

her chore. “I love this house and Puffin Harbor too much. I’d miss the ocean, kayaking, and walking to the town pier for lobster rolls.”
    Willow came and stood beside her. Rachel saw that her sister had the newspaper in her hand again and was staring at the photo of Keenan Oakes.
    â€œHe’s dangerous,” Willow said softly. “And he’s going to cause trouble.”
    Rachel arched a brow. “You’ve decided this from his photo?”
    Willow snapped the paper in front of Rachel’s face. “Look at him, Rae. I mean, really look at him. Keenan Oakes is part heathen, part demigod, and all man.” She shook the paper for emphasis. “There are two types of guys in this world,” she continued. “The safe, sweet guy who asks permission to kiss you good night, and the kind who simply pulls you into his arms and kisses the sense right out of you. And this man,” she said, pushing the paper mere inches from Rachel’s nose, “is not sweet, and he most assuredly is not safe.”
    Rachel batted the newspaper away, refusing to let Willow see how much her assessment of Keenan Oakes unnerved her. “It doesn’t matter what he is,” she said, furiously scrubbing the frying pan. “Because I don’t intend to even talk to him.”
    Willow was staring at his photo again. “He’ll be on our doorstep within two days of arriving here,” she softly speculated. She tossed the paper onto the counter, then stared out the window over the sink. “You have to stay away from him, Rae,” she whispered. “You’ve been so careful, so safe for these last three years.” She touched Rachel’s arm, making Rachel look at her. “If Keenan Oakes decides to involve you in Sub Rosa’s reopening, there’s not enough granite in this state to wall yourself up in.”
    Rachel began scrubbing the already spotless frying pan again. And again Willow stopped her. “How can you watch him reopen it?” she asked quietly.
    Rachel smiled sadly. “It will be easier than having watched it sit silent all these years,” she said truthfully. She shut off the water and turned to Willow. “I know you probably can’t understand that, but Sub Rosa is as much a part of me as you and Dad and Mom. And it hurts seeing it lifeless. Please don’t condemn Sub Rosa for being one of the victims.”
    â€œI grew up playing there, too,” Willow said, her hazel eyes tearing. “But if I see lights in the windows again, I’ll be expecting Daddy to come walking down the path looking for supper.”
    â€œBut when he doesn’t show up, it will still be okay,” Rachel told her gently. “It’s his legacy to the world, Willow. For as long as Sub Rosa lives, so does he. Here,” she said, touching the center of her sister’s chest. “Frank Foster will always live here, in both of us. And so will Mom, and so will Thadd.”
    â€œThaddeus Lakeman is rotting in hell.”
    Rachel grabbed her sister’s shoulders before she could turn away. “No, he’s not. Thadd loved us like daughters.”
    â€œHe seduced our mother,” Willow countered, breaking free and taking a step back. She balled her hands into fists at her sides, her face red and her eyes hard. “He seduced his best friend’s wife.”
    â€œYes. Thadd was wrong. But so was Mom. And so was Dad, for killing them and then killing himself.” Rachel took a step closer to Willow, trying to drive home her point, which had been an ongoing bone of contention between the two of them for the last three years. “They’re all to blame, and not one of them deserved what happened. It was a tragedy, Willow.”
    Willow covered her face with her hands and shook her head. Rachel reached up and tucked a strand of Willow’s rich brown hair behind her ear—but stopped suddenly at the sight of the emerald