Please. Maddie shuddered. Im through with men. One broken engagement was enough for me. She picked up her cup and started toward the living room.
The front door burst open. Jack came through, as brash as ever. He tossed his hat in the direction of the hook on the credenza, catching it perfectly. He caught sight of Maddie first, as she stood directly under the hall light.
Hey, Vi, where did you disappear to He stopped. Blinked. And looked past Maddie to where Violet stood. And looked again. What is going on here?
Hey, Vi, where did you disappear to He stopped. Blinked. And looked past Maddie to where Violet stood. And looked again. What is going on here?
Jack, this is Maddie Wallace. Violet went and stood next to Maddie, letting him compare them one against the other. My twin.
Jack stared. With a pang, she noted the lines of strain around his light brown eyes and bracketing his firm mouth. He was taking his moms injury hard, blaming himself, and she feared this discovery was going to make things worse.
He shook his head. It cant be.
It is. Violet took his arm, feeling the muscles tense under her hand. Come into the living room and sit down. Well talk about it.
Unwillingly, he nodded and let himself be led to the overstuffed leather couch. He slid down into it, looking almost boneless. But the tension was still there, in the lines on his face and the tightness of his jaw.
Okay, Im not going to argue the point of whether or not youre twins. He stared at Maddie. I cant. This isnt just a resemblanceyoure identical. How did you find her?
Maddie, Maddie said, her voice tart. My name is Maddie, and like it or not, Im your sister.
Jack looked taken aback for an instant. Then he managed a strained smile. Sorry, Maddie. He shook his head, looking as if hed taken a fall. What does this mean? Vi, if you have a twin weve never even heard of, then maybe nothing we think we know about our past is true. What if Im not really your brother?
You are. I know that. Violet clasped his hand, her heart hurting for him. Maddie, show him the photo.
Maddie got out the framed picture shed brought along and handed it to Jack. He stared for a long moment at the face that was the image of his own.
He put the picture down carefully, lunged from the couch, and strode across the room, looking as if it werent big enough for him. Violet recognized the signs. When he was hurting, Jack had to be alone. Usually hed take one of the horses and ride until they were both exhausted.
Jack Her voice was filled with sympathy, but she didnt know how to make him feel any better about this. Hed already been struggling with guilt over the quarrel hed had with his mom right before her accident.
He held up his hand, obviously not wanting to hear more. Dont, Vi. I dont get it. How could Mom keep this from us all these years? I feel like my whole life is a lie. Is my name even Jack Colby?
She didnt have an answer for that. It might be Wallace, she supposed, but they didnt even know if that was right.
I dont know, she said carefully. Maddies father is away. Shes trying to get in touch with him. When she does, maybe hell have some answers.
Jack spun, facing them, his hands clenched into fists. So you expect me just to wait while some stranger decides to tell me about my own life? I cant do that. Ive got to He stopped, shook his head. Ive got to get away until I can clear my head.
Jack, dont. Dont go away and leave me to face this alonethat was what she wanted to say.
I have to. He was already headed for the door. Ill take my cell phone. Call me if theres any change in Moms condition. He yanked open the door and charged out. The door slammed behind him.
Violet fought down a sob. Her family really was breaking apart, and her efforts to smooth the waters had only made things much, much worse.
Chapter Three
Landons mind was still on that encounter with Maddies unexpected twin when he arrived at his office the next morning. The long arm of coincidence had really extended itself when hed walked into that coffee shop yesterday.
Or maybe it wasnt coincidence at all. He stopped in there often, sometimes with Maddie. Maddie was there even more often alone, living as close as she did. Still, he couldnt quite see why Violet would take such a chancy way of approaching Maddie, even if she had known of her existence.
Despite his caution, he had trouble imagining that Violet was anything other than she seemed. Shed been genuinely shaken at the sight of Maddie. He didnt think she could have faked that.
Odd, that Violet could be so like Maddie in appearance and yet so different in other ways. Violet gave the impression of a woman with a warm heart combined with a strong will. Sometimes that could be a dangerous mixture.
He pushed open the door to the office, which was discreetly lettered Derringer Investments. The firm had little need of obvious advertising. Their clients came to them by word of mouthby far the best way, as far as he was concerned.
Good morning, Landon. Mercy Godwin, his secretary, receptionist, assistant and good right arm, was at her desk ahead of him as always. Mercys row of African violets on the windowsill made an unexpected display of color in a place of business.
Hed agreed she could have one plant in the office, back in the mists of time when they were just starting out. Somehow the number of violets had multiplied along with their clients.
Morning, Mercy. Sometimes he wondered how she timed her arrivals. No matter how early he walked in, she was already there.
Your schedule is fairly clear today. She frowned at her computer screen, as if daring it to come up with an event she didnt remember. Dave Watson called. Hell be here in about fifteen minutes.
Mercy didnt ask why the private investigator was coming in. Never displaying curiosity was one of her admirable traits. In her fifties, plump and graying, she was a childless widow whose life revolved around her work. He wasnt sure what hed do when she decided to retire.
Hed actually contacted the private investigator before hed left the coffee shop yesterday. The sooner his doubts about Violet Colby were put to rest, the better. Dave would start with the whole question of whether or not the twins were born in Fort Worth. Apparently he had results already.
Thatll give me time for a quick look at my email first. I took a break from business yesterday.
Taking a break in this case had meant driving out to the ranch where he boarded his horse and setting off on a long ride, followed by a late swim and an early bed, with all connection to the outside world strictly forbidden. Hed adopted the weekly ritual when hed realized that if he didnt take a breather from the tyranny of constant communication on a regular basis, hed burn out before he was forty.
Nodding to Mercy, Landon went on into his office. Simple and understated, it suited him. His business was almost entirely electronic, and costly decorating was unnecessary, besides not to his taste. Sinking down in his leather desk chair, he scanned quickly through his email, mentally classifying the messages in order of importance as he did so, until one name stopped him cold.
Maddie. According to the time, she must have sent the message about an hour after theyd parted the day before. He clicked on it.
Ive decided to go to Grasslands with Violet for a visit. Thanks for finding her. I can take it from here.
Please forget about proposing. We both know that what we feel for each other isnt enough to build a marriage on. You only proposed out of some notion that you need to take care of me, but you dont. Ill take care of myself.
Ill call you when I get back. In the meantime, I think its better if were not in touch.
Landon sat frowning at the message for a long moment. Maddie had gone off with a woman shed known for all of an hour, and she didnt say when she was coming back. He didnt like this one bit.
Maybe Maddie was right, and his relationship with her wasnt a good basis for marriage. Hed promised her brother Grayson hed look after Maddie when all the Wallace men were away, so hed been trying to do that. The proposal had sprung out of sympathy and caring at a time when shed been distraught, crying on his shoulder over the loss of her promising job and the lack of support she felt from her family. Somehow hed thought proposing would make things better. It hadnt. That was one time when his sense of responsibility had led him astray.
Frustration tightened his nerves. Never mind his reasons. He still cared about Maddies welfare, and she needed someone to watch over her.
Shed probably dismiss that as an old-fashioned ideal, but hed felt that way since hed started hanging around with her brother when they were in their teens.
The Wallace kids had lost their mother, their father was absent more than he was present, and in Landons view, Grayson hadnt done enough to take care of his little sister.
Pain gripped Landons heart at the thought, and he seemed to see his own sister Jessica smiling at him, looking at her big brother with so much love. His guilt, never far away, welled up. He hadnt taken care of his little sister. If he had, shed never have gotten into a car with a drunken teenager, never been in the crash, never ended her life far too soon. Maybe that was why he felt such a need to look after Maddie.
A tap on the door interrupted the memories before they could cut too deeply. He looked up with a wave of relief. Come in.
Dave Watson lounged into the room, deceptively casual in jeans, a T-shirt and a ball cap. He managed to look like a good old boy interested in nothing more than the Cowboys prospects for the upcoming season. In actuality, Dave was as shrewd as they came and in Landons opinion, the best investigator in Fort Worth.
Hey, chief. Hows it going? Dave wandered across the room and slumped into the visitors chair.
You tell me. Landon studied the private investigators face, but Dave didnt give anything away. Do you have results already?
Dave shrugged. It wasnt exactly a challenge. No twin girls were born in any hospital in Fort Worth on the date you gave me.
Youre sure?
The P.I. just looked at him in response. It had been a silly question. Dave wouldnt report unless he was sure.
So that left the question hanging. Had Violet been lying, or just ill-informed? Either way, Landon didnt like it.