The Mirror (The Lost Bride Trilogy #2)

“I’ve already lost one of those.”

“But this is only a game. Your bond with Hugh, your own brother, is strong, but you and Trey, like Deuce and I, forged that bond by choice. She saw to it I never knew my brother, my twin.”

“Patricia.”

“Yes.” Collin looked toward the fire. “Her, and the other. And still, despite that, we had a bond. I made the choice to leave her, my brother’s daughter, this house and all inside it. I would have done that regardless, but I did it with a lighter heart because of you and Trey.”

“Why her? Why Sonya?”

“She’s my brother’s daughter,” Collin said simply. “A Poole as much as you, me, the rest of us. My father and my true mother’s granddaughter.”

He sat back again, looked toward the fire, and at whatever he saw in the flames.

“I lost my Johanna because I refused to believe. I lost my love and any chance to have children of our own. She’s what I have. Sonya’s what I have, and what the manor has.”

He tapped a finger on his queen. “The white queen faces the black.”

Owen looked down, saw his queen had changed. He saw Dobbs, the hair, the flow of the black dress, the face carved in hard lines. Seven rings glinted on the black queen’s hands.

The chess board became the manor, where shadows moved behind its windows.

“It’s more than a house,” Collin told him. “A man who builds knows that. Defend the white queen and cast out the black.”

“How?”

“Courage,” Collin said.

And Owen woke in bed to the sound of the sea breathing and the dog softly snoring.

“Okay, that was a kick in the ass.”

He checked the time, decided what the hell, and rolled out of bed.

The second he did, Jones stopped snoring with a snort and lifted his head. When he saw Owen heading for the bathroom, he settled again.

He showered, dressed, and when he walked into the hall, Jones came with him. By the time he got to the kitchen, he had three dogs and a cat in tow.

Grateful that animals didn’t insist on talking before coffee, he let them all out. Since he had time—or he’d decided to take it—and a long day ahead, he opted to scramble up some eggs.

But coffee first, always.

He drank the first mug watching a trio of deer come out of the woods, then retreat as the dogs—and damn if the cat didn’t join in—gave chase.

They’d still need the repellant, he figured, but the dogs, and possibly the cat, would help keep the local wildlife from making an all-they-could-eat buffet out of the gardens.

He remembered that Collin had loved the gardens.

He wouldn’t mind having a big yard himself, Owen considered. But when the hell would he carve out the time to deal with it? Same for the various designs he’d drawn up for finishing and expanding his house.

No time, no real motivation.

He finished the coffee, filled the food and water bowls before letting the animals back in.

Then he got down to making his own breakfast.

As he whisked eggs in a bowl, Trey came in.

“I thought you’d be gone by now.”