Always Look Twice

by Dawson, Geralyn

  Mark grinned. ‘‘They are pretty impressive. Maddie’s father was happy to help the cause—Blade loves to create a scandal—and Torie’s paparazzi friends are salivating at the notion of racking up big bucks with those money pics.’’ Meeting Annabelle’s gaze, he added, ‘‘Let’s not forget who came up with the idea. Annabelle is impressive and brilliant.’’

  Annabelle accepted the compliment with a graceful nod. Her idea had been inspired, she thought. Once they had decided to bait their trap at Melody Key, they’d faced the problem of how to make sure that Kurtz got the word about where to find them. While his intelligence about the Fixers had been spot-on so far, without knowing how he got his information, they feared leaving it to chance. That’s when Annabelle got the idea to use Mark’s connections and create some tabloid fodder.

  With Maddie Callahan’s father’s blessing, they planned to ‘‘out’’ his recent but still secret marriage to a sixth wife, a bride who would scandalize the celebrity world. News that the aging rock star Blade had married the former Kathy Hudson, owner of the Dairy Princess in Brazos Bend, Texas, would make the front page of the tabloids on every supermarket shelf in America.

  As soon as Mark gave the word, half a dozen hand-picked paparazzo photographers were set to receive a family photo of the event: Blade; his bride, Kathy; Blade’s daughter, the infamous rock princess ‘‘Baby Dagger,’’ aka Maddie Callahan; and her husband, Luke Callahan—Mark’s identical-twin brother.

  One special friend of Torie’s would even get video for the cable-TV folks. Everyone would receive a press release of sorts that included the news that the entire Callahan family planned to prolong the festivities by vacationing on the private island where the wedding had been held, Melody Key, for the next two weeks.

  ‘‘Ron Kurtz will have to be dead to miss the news,’’ Tag observed.

  ‘‘I hope the idea doesn’t prove to be more bust than brilliance.’’ Annabelle moved away from the window and swiped the pencil out of Tag’s hand, then returned it to the pencil cup. The man fiddled with things like a five-year-old. ‘‘We weren’t planning on Torie’s baby coming this early. It’s going to be difficult for your family to hide out with a brand-new baby. If word leaks out that they’re still in Brazos Bend, it will ruin everything.’’

  ‘‘It’ll be fine,’’ Mark assured her. ‘‘Matt and Luke have that problem covered. It helps that Torie wanted to have her baby at the lake house. From what Luke said, Matt has turned the place into a veritable hospital. They wanted time to themselves after the kid is born, anyway, so it all works.’’

  ‘‘You’re not worried about Kurtz sneaking past the perimeter?’’ Tag asked.

  ‘‘No.’’ Mark’s green eyes gleamed with determination. ‘‘We made that mistake once before at Four Brothers Vineyard. It won’t happen again. Matt has put in a security system that the Secret Service could take pointers about.’’

  Annabelle slumped into the chair opposite the desk from Mark. ‘‘What worries me most is the thought that we might be too late already. He’s had time to get to Texas.’’

  ‘‘True, but he’s not in Brazos Bend yet, according to Matt. That’s a good thing about living in a small town where everybody knows everybody. Add in the DEA roadblocks Luke arranged, and no one is getting in or out of the county without the Callahans knowing about it. He might well be on his way, but right now, it’s clear.’’

  They all glanced toward the window when a rousing cheer arose from outside, signaling the end of the game. Tag said, ‘‘Now that Frank is home, I think we’re good to go. The sooner the better, in my opinion.’’

  Mark drummed his fingers against the desk. ‘‘Matt’s baby coming early actually helps our timetable. When Torie realized she was in labor, the family made a big production of leaving town to attend Blade’s wedding. I figure we’ll be in and out of Brazos Bend in a matter of hours—Torie does everything fast. She’ll drop that kid lickety-split and we can be wheels up tomorrow afternoon.’’

  ‘‘Drop the kid?’’ Annabelle repeated. ‘‘Jeez, Callahan, she’s not a goat.’’

  His mouth twisted ruefully. ‘‘You’re right. I should have said ‘drop the kit.’ Our Torie is a lioness.’’

  While Annabelle rolled her eyes at that, he continued. ‘‘I intend to be on Melody Key by sunset tomorrow. We’ll send the photos out the minute we’re on the island, and with any luck we will have Kurtz in custody by the end of the week.’’

  ‘‘With any luck,’’ Tag repeated as the Monroes filed into the house, the winners giving the losers a hard time on the way to the kitchen for their after-ball-game ice cream.

  ‘‘Well, then. We’d better get moving.’’ Annabelle rose and wiped her suddenly damp hands on her shorts. ‘‘I guess it’s time to say good-bye.’’

  Chapter Thirteen

  Meacham Field

  Fort Worth, Texas

  Twenty minutes after the Citation landed at the airfield, Mark walked across the tarmac beside Annabelle and eyed his brother Matt’s sweet Bell 210 helicopter, their transportation for the short final leg of their trip. The prospect of flying in the bird with his ex-wife as pilot didn’t bother him. The idea of flying to Brazos Bend made him want to throw up.

  He hadn’t been back since his discharge from the hospital after tangling with Torie’s stalker, and the intensity of his reaction caught him by surprise. He had thought he had a handle on his feelings for his father. Branch was dead to him. Period. So why was his skin clammy and his stomach sour?

  ‘‘Maybe I’m getting sick.’’ His gait slowed; then he stopped. If he was coming down with something, he shouldn’t go to Brazos Bend and expose Torie and her baby to illness.

  Annabelle noticed he had fallen behind. ‘‘Something wrong, Callahan?’’

  ‘‘Yeah. I don’t feel so good.’’

  She walked back toward him and, in that maternal way women had, tested his temperature by placing the back of her hand against his forehead. ‘‘No fever. What’s the matter?’’

  He looked deep inside himself and came up with the truth. Maybe he was the coward the Monroes claimed him to be. ‘‘Nothing. Not really. I’m just not looking forward to this trip.’’

  She made an offended snort. ‘‘Excuse me, but who was the helo pilot for the Fixers? Who supplemented her income by piloting tourist flights on Oahu?’’

  He laughed at himself as much as at her. ‘‘It’s not the flight that bothers me, Belle. It’s the destination.’’

  ‘‘Why? Are you afraid your sister-in-law will ask you to deliver her baby?’’

  ‘‘Not hardly.’’ He inhaled deeply, then exhaled in a rush. ‘‘I’m afraid my father will be there. I haven’t seen him since he faked a heart attack and almost got me and Torie killed.’’

  ‘‘Well.’’ Her eyebrows shot up. ‘‘I haven’t heard that story.’’

  He waved a dismissive hand. ‘‘It’s not worth wasting my breath over. Suffice to say, when the day was done, none of his sons wanted anything to do with Branch Callahan. He’s still a real sore subject with me, so we don’t talk about him. I don’t know if the others have anything to do with him now or what. I didn’t think to ask Torie when she called.’’

  ‘‘You aren’t exactly rational when it comes to your father, Callahan. You do realize that?’’

  He heard the echo of her mother’s voice in his mind. Forgive your father. Make peace with your past to go on with your future. ‘‘Yeah, I realize it.’’

  ‘‘Just how sick to your stomach are you? Think you’ll throw up in my bird?’’

  ‘‘It’s my brother’s bird.’’

  ‘‘Not when I’m the pilot.’’ She slipped her arm though his and tugged him toward the helicopter. ‘‘How old is your father?’’

  ‘‘Mid-eighties.’’

  ‘‘Is he healthy?’’

  ‘‘I haven’t a clue. I told you we don’t talk about him.’’

  ‘‘He was healthy last time you saw him?’’


  ‘‘Healthier than me, considering my ass was shot up.’’ He shrugged and added, ‘‘He walks with a walker. Was goofy over a new little ankle-biting dog he owns.’’

  ‘‘A walker, hmm?’’ Her lips twitched. ‘‘Tell you what, Callahan. If that big bad bully is there, I promise I’ll protect you.’’

  ‘‘You think this is funny.’’

  ‘‘No, actually, I think this is sad.’’

  Personally, Mark thought it was pathetic. ‘‘Let’s go get this over with. How long does it take to have a baby, anyway?’’

  She slanted him a look and in a tone as dry as West Texas in August said, ‘‘I wouldn’t know.’’

  Mark winced. Way to go, dumb-ass.

  The flight to Brazos Bend took less than half an hour, and as Annabelle brought the bird down with a deft touch on the helipad beside Matt and Torie’s home, Mark spied the Callahan welcoming committee gathered on the lake-house porch. Luke and Maddie, Matt and . . .

  ‘‘Torie? They’re letting her walk around? Outside? Shouldn’t she be in bed if she’s in labor? What the hell is Matt thinking? What if she has the kid standing up?’’

  ‘‘Why are you asking me all these baby questions?’’ Annabelle snapped. ‘‘Which reminds me . . . you’re off the hook, Callahan. I’m not pregnant.’’ She flipped switches with sharp, angry movements as she shut down the bird.

  While the rotors slowed, he hesitated, wondering how to respond to that. Should he tell her that her parents already spilled those particular beans, or should he keep his mouth shut? ‘‘Annabelle . . .’’

  She blew out a sigh as she went through the procedure to shut down the helo. ‘‘I’m sorry. That was unkind of me. It’s your turn for neurosis. Is your father here?’’

  ‘‘Look, we’ll talk about this later, okay?’’

  She closed her eyes, gave her head a little shake. ‘‘Introduce me to your family, Callahan. I’m curious to meet them.’’

  Mark knew for a fact that his brothers and their wives were more than curious to meet Annabelle. When he called to tell them he was on his way, he mentioned he’d be bringing company. He hadn’t expected the welcoming committee. He’d figured they would all be inside pacing the floor while Torie did the baby thing. To find everyone—including Torie— on the front porch waiting left him more than a little uneasy. He didn’t see Branch anywhere, thank God. If he’d spied the old man standing on the porch with the others, he would have taken control of the stick and lifted this bird off the ground the minute Annabelle set her down.

  They exited the helicopter and started toward the house. His brothers and their wives met them halfway with Torie waddling in front of the others. ‘‘Mark!’’ she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him in a hard hug. ‘‘You made it.’’

  ‘‘Apparently in plenty of time.’’

  ‘‘Yeah.’’ She pouted like one of Maddie’s twins. ‘‘My contractions stopped. It’s looking like it was a false alarm.’’

  Before he could comment on that, Maddie stepped up to Mark and gave him a quick kiss. ‘‘I think she was just waiting for you. Mark, introduce us to your guest.’’

  He stepped back, widening their circle to include Annabelle, then gestured toward each person as he introduced them. ‘‘Annabelle Monroe, meet the Callahan clan. The fat one here is Torie—’’ He took her punch to his arm with a grin. ‘‘She’s Matt’s wife.’’

  Torie said, ‘‘Welcome, Annabelle. Did I see you flying that helicopter? That’s so cool! It makes me downright jealous. I’ve been trying to get Matt to teach me how to fly and he totally refuses.’’

  ‘‘That’s because the last time you sat copilot in a chopper, Shutterbug, you shot me.’’ Matt winked at Annabelle and said, ‘‘Hi, Annabelle, I’m Matt. After our adventure in Hawaii, I feel like I know you, but it’s nice to finally meet you.’’

  ‘‘Finally being the applicable word,’’ Maddie interjected, shooting Mark a chastising look.

  ‘‘The sweet-talker is Maddie, my brother Luke’s wife.’’

  Maddie’s smile was warm and her brown eyes gleamed with pleasure as she said, ‘‘We’re so glad you came.’’

  ‘‘Welcome to Brazos Bend, Annabelle,’’ Luke said.

  ‘‘This isn’t Brazos Bend,’’ Mark insisted, the detail being a sore spot with him.

  Maddie and Torie each slipped a hand through Annabelle’s arms and began to usher her toward the house. Mark winced to hear Maddie say, ‘‘Torie and I debated how to play this. Then we decided to lay our cards on the table. We are curious as can be about your marriage to Mark, but we’re not going to pepper you with questions. However, any details you care to send our way we’ll be happy to listen to.’’

  ‘‘Thrilled to listen to,’’ Torie added. ‘‘It’s possible we could be of some help to you. If anyone on earth understands the trials and tribulations of being involved with a Callahan man, it’s Maddie and I.’’

  ‘‘That said, we want you to be relaxed while you’re here. You won’t need to worry we’re going to launch a nosiness sneak attack.’’ Maddie patted Annabelle’s arm and added, ‘‘Though we’ll listen if you want to talk.’’

  ‘‘We’ll definitely listen,’’ Torie agreed.

  ‘‘Don’t you have a baby to deliver or something?’’ Mark called out.

  Torie glanced back over her shoulder. ‘‘My plan is to become distracted from every twitch in my belly so that I relax. I’ve decided I’m too tense. Once I relax, labor will resume.’’

  Maddie sighed and spoke an aside to Annabelle. ‘‘Thus speaks a woman who hasn’t been through labor yet and doesn’t quite get that she has absolutely no control over the timing of it.’’

  ‘‘Hey, what does it hurt for me to think positively?’’

  Annabelle smiled wanly, then glanced back at Mark as if hoping for rescue. He abandoned his brothers and stepped toward the women. He knew his sisters-in-law and he owed Annabelle his support. Had he known he would be bringing her into the lions’ den, he’d have prepared her for it. As it was, dumping her into a coffee klatch with Maddie and Torie was like dropping her into a hot LZ with no backup.

  Moving up beside Maddie, he asked, ‘‘How are the girls? Are they here?’’

  ‘‘They’re fine. They’re wonderful. They’re little demons like their daddy. They’re asleep in the nursery. Breaking in the baby’s bed.’’

  ‘‘I’m second-guessing that decision,’’ Luke said. ‘‘Samantha is liable to chew through the crib slats by morning. We had to switch to a metal bed for her. Maddie gave birth to a chipmunk.’’

  It provided a fine distraction. As they entered the cabin and she led them upstairs, Maddie rattled out a rundown of his nieces’ latest antics. As always when he greeted the little ones, Mark had to brace himself. His first sight of the twins invariably gave the old knife in his heart a twist. It had gotten easier as they grew older and didn’t look so much like the photograph in his wallet. Still, that first glance was always a What-Could-Have-Been kick in the gut.

  Tonight was no different. As he walked into Torie and Matt’s nursery and spied Maddie and Luke’s little girls, that old wave of grief rolled over him. When one of the twins lifted her head from the mattress and aimed a smile their way, he nutted up and smiled back.

  The baby climbed to her feet and said, ‘‘Da Da Da Da.’’

  ‘‘Shush, Kitty-Cat. You’ll wake your sister,’’ Luke said, moving toward the crib. Catherine lifted her arms and her father picked her up. When he turned back toward the doorway, Annabelle gasped.

  Mark looked at his identical twin holding a brown-eyed, redheaded little girl and knew exactly what Annabelle was thinking.

  Well, shit.

  That could be our little girl.

  Emotion rolled through Annabelle, a cold combination of pain and confusion and anger. The need to escape overwhelmed her and she backed away from the door’s threshold, bumping into Mark, brushing against Maddie. She needed out of there
now.

  She turned and rushed downstairs headed for the cabin’s front door. She vaguely noted Matt and Torie sharing a look of concerned surprise as she rushed out into the night and took the first path she came to. She wanted to run, to exercise her body, to exorcise her demons, and she wished she wore sneakers rather than sandals.

  ‘‘Annabelle!’’ Mark called from the porch.

  She picked up her pace, not caring where she was going as long as it was away.

  She followed the twisting stone pathway lined by solar lights that threaded through a stand of trees and sloped gently downward. Emerging from the trees, she saw that the trail ended at an elaborate boathouse. Security lights illuminated an attached swim dock that included a diving platform with a rope swing and a slide. Beyond the boathouse stretched a black empty expanse of water. Perfect.

  The heels of her sandals clacked against the metal walkway as she crossed onto the dock. She halted at the edge, breathing heavily, tension pounding through her blood.

  ‘‘Why did I come here?’’ she muttered. ‘‘I shouldn’t have come to Texas. Why do I keep putting myself in this position? I’ll never get over him. I’m such a fool.’’

  Hearing Mark following behind her, she did the only thing she could. Annabelle kicked off her shoes, tugged off her shirt, and shimmied out of her pants, then executed a racing dive into the lake. The cold shocked her system and when she surfaced, she gasped in a breath.

  ‘‘Dammit, Annabelle!’’

  She struck out in a crawl, kicking hard and digging her strokes deep as she swam parallel to the shore, fleeing the haunting image of Luke Callahan and his Catherine. Fleeing the pressure in her chest. Fleeing Mark. She swam in fifty-stroke laps over and over until the water’s chill seeped into her bones and cooled her temper, and the exercise drained her of tension and despair.