Orphan Train Sweetheart. Mollie Campbell

she made another foolish mistake. Honestly, she’d almost fallen straight into Simon’s lap. That was the sort of thing that made men think she wasn’t able to handle herself and turn their attention right back to Cat, the graceful, confident one.

      As she hurried around the corner of the building to the house she shared with Aunt Lily and Cat, Cecilia’s steps slowed. What were they doing now? Had Cat started to giggle at Cecilia’s abrupt and clumsy exit? Had Simon sat across from her and rolled his eyes at Cecilia’s blunder? Or had he become transfixed by Cat’s dancing eyes and perfect complexion and forgotten all about Cecilia?

      Leaning against the side of the house, Cecilia let the ache wash over her for a brief second. Part of her quest for independence meant putting aside her previous habit of convincing herself that men shared her romantic notions when they didn’t at all. Time after time, she’d put herself in a position to have her heart broken because she couldn’t keep her feelings realistic. Changing that impulse was far from easy. It hurt every time she confronted the fact that she would never be sought after the way Cat was.

      But that was her reality. Turning her face toward air laced with the hint of fall chill, she let her head fall back against the rough wood boards. Keeping her heart steady and unattached was harder than she imagined. But the scene with Simon and Cat was exactly what she’d needed to remind herself how important it was to her future. Her solitary future.

      Rushing footsteps echoed from the boardwalk in front of the café. Cecilia looked up to see Cat hurry around the corner. A bright grin broke out on Cat’s face when she caught sight of Cecilia. “I don’t know why you had to rush off, but you’ll never guess what Simon wanted.”

      It took all Cecilia’s willpower to keep from snorting. She certainly could guess what Simon wanted. But, with supreme effort, she remained silent while her sister prattled on. “He asked me to come up with a way to help the orphans adjust to our community. I have several ideas, but I need to think about them a bit. Perhaps a sports tournament. Foot races? Or baseball? What sorts of things do the children like to do in school?”

      The last thing Cecilia wanted to do at that moment was to help Cat. She was mortified to realize that Simon asking her to help with his visits had made her feel connected to him. As if he had asked her because he wanted to spend time with her. But now he was asking for Cat’s help, too. He didn’t have any special feelings for Cecilia. He only needed anyone who would step in and help the children.