“But a letter from Isaac Wells?” Brynnie bent over and picked a plump cherry tomato from a scraggly vine.

“Or someone who wants me to think he’s Isaac.” Katie lifted her hair off her neck as the sun warmed her crown. “I just wanted you to know what was going on before the story was printed in the paper. I took a copy of the note for me and one for Jarrod, then I’ll drop off the original at the police station.”

“I don’t like the sound of this.”

“I know, Mom, but this could be my big chance.”

“Just be careful, okay? You’re a mother.” Brynnie slid the sunglasses that held her hair away from her face onto her nose.

“I know, I know, and there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.” Katie’s enthusiasm drained.

Brynnie took a bite from the tiny tomato. “Shoot.”

“Luke Gates knows the Sorensons. He said . . .” Her throat tightened and she looked away. “He said that Dave is dead.”

Brynnie froze. “But he’s only about thirty.”

“I know, I know.” Katie shook her head and blinked back tears. “I didn’t get a chance to ask what happened, but I will.” She sniffed and looked away from her mother. “I can’t believe it. I always thought there would be time to talk to Josh, to tell him about his dad, have them meet.” Her voice cracked. “Oh, Mom, I really blew this one.”

“Are you sure? This could be a mistake.” Brynnie threw an arm around her daughter. “Maybe Luke got his facts wrong.”

Katie sighed and fought tears. “I doubt it, Mom. Luke Gates doesn’t strike me as the kind of man to spread idle gossip. I think . . . Oh, God, I think Dave’s gone.” She took in a long, deep breath. “And someway I’ve got to tell my son.”

“Hold on a second, will ya? Don’t rush into anything. This could all be a mistake.”

“I doubt it,” Katie said. “But I thought I’d ask Jarrod to look into it for me, find out what happened and then . . .” She shuddered inwardly. “And then I’ll talk to Josh.”

* * *

“This won’t be cheap,” Bliss Cawthorne said as she rolled out the blueprints she’d drawn for Luke on a long low table in her small office. “But I think it incorporates everything you wanted in the most cost-efficient manner.”

Luke stared down at the drawings and nodded, but he had trouble concentrating. Ever since being with Katie the night before, he’d thought of little else than the fact that he’d impulsively kissed a woman for the first time in years. He prided himself in always being in control, in taking charge of the situation, in avoiding the pitfalls of getting involved with any woman.

Worse yet, Katie just might be the mother of Dave Sorenson’s kid. If, indeed there was a child at all.