Read Online Moonlight Masquerade by Jude Deveraux - Free Book Online

returned to medical school, but he’d rarely gone back to Edilean. At first all he could think about was that he was alone. Truly and deeply alone. But then he began to see some advantages in that. Other women were his first foray into a world-without-Laura. Then there was volunteering for jobs that other people didn’t want, such as rescue missions. He was the one who put on fire fighter’s gear and went into a burning building to search for trapped people.
    It seemed that the more dangerous the mission, the more he liked doing it. After his residency, he went to Africa—and he found that he fit in there perfectly. The small town life of Edilean had prepared him for village life.
    What he didn’t want to see is how good it made him feel to be free of the stigma of not being Tristan. He’d not realized that all his life he’d been compared to his cousin—and found wanting. Reede was an Aldredge and he was a doctor but he wasn’t Tristan. Tris made people laugh; Reede was too serious. Tris cared about everyone; Reede couldn’t abide people who imagined illnesses that weren’t there. Tris was sweet and kind, always in a good mood; Reede wanted his time alone, and he let people know it.
    The list went on and on. In the Middle East, in the Gobi Desert, anywhere on Earth other than Edilean, Reede wasn’t compared to anyone. And maybe it wasvain of him, but he liked being appreciated for what he did, what he risked to help people.
    Reede stared through the windshield of his car. It wasn’t until he’d returned to Edilean to help Tris out after he’d broken his arm, that Reede began to see things more clearly. With the constant comparisons, it’s no wonder he wanted to leave and never return. After the first week in Tristan’s office he’d begun counting the days until he could get out of town again.
    Tris’s staff of two women, one ready to retire, had nearly driven him mad. “Dr. Tris always—” began every sentence. They seemed to expect Reede to walk, talk, eat, breathe exactly as Tristan did.
    And that Reede wasn’t like his cousin made them roll their eyes, give grimaces, and make little comments under their breath. Reede gave up trying to appease them. Besides, when he found out he was going to have to endure all of it for three years while their beloved Tristan was in New York, Reede’s ability to smile left him.
    One of the women decided to retire early, and to replace her she hired a young woman who jumped at Reede’s every word. But then, the truth was that by that time there was so much anger inside him that he probably did snap out an answer to her every question.
    But yesterday had been too much. He’d been indulging himself in whining to Roan and Russell about his life when a pretty young woman poured beer over his head. Reede had been so shocked that all he could do was sit there and stare at her. Since he’d been in Edilean he’d become so used to people asking him about their ailments that that’s how he’d come tosee them. Somewhere along the way his misery had even overridden his ability to appreciate a pretty girl.
    The young woman had stalked out of the restaurant and Reede was shocked that some of the people had applauded her. Had Reede been so bad that a physical attack on him was applauded ?!
    Russell, as befitting a pastor, had gone after the girl, but Roan went to the bar and returned with a couple of towels. He tossed them at Reede. “I don’t know what you did to that girl but it sounds like a lot of people think you deserve what you got.” He waited while Reede sopped up some of the beer, and they left together. Reede didn’t meet anyone’s eyes, but he saw the smiles.
    Tomorrow, he thought as he left the tavern. Tomorrow he would call more people and do anything he could think of to get someone to take over for him in Edilean.
    But that was yesterday. He’d