by Marta Perry
“Not wrong, exactly. Just wondering why you’re here. What do you want in Grasslands?”
“Did you expect me to let Maddie just wander off with her newly discovered twin and do nothing about it?”
Those green eyes of his could have a dangerous glint in them, she discovered.
“According to Maddie, you two are not engaged any longer. I’m not sure that her actions are any of your concern.”
If he’d seemed relaxed a moment ago, all that was gone now. He frowned at her, and tension seemed to vibrate in the air between them.
“I’ve known Maddie since she was still a kid,” he said. “Even if we aren’t engaged any longer, that doesn’t mean I can turn off caring what happens to her.”
He sounded honest enough, and Violet found herself warming to him. Still, she owed him honesty in return, and she didn’t think he’d want to hear it.
“If you really care about Maddie, I admire that,” she said. “But I’m not going to do anything to upset her, either. She’s had a hard enough day, seeing her mother for the first time in a hospital bed. I won’t do anything to hurt her, like showing up with you in tow if she doesn’t want to see you.”
“You’re feeling a bond already, aren’t you? That twin thing people talk about.”
She couldn’t tell if he approved or disapproved. “We’re still just getting used to the idea,” she said shortly. “The point is that unless there’s some good reason for your being here, I don’t think you should pursue Maddie if she doesn’t want to see you.”
His eyebrows had lifted a bit at her tone. Maybe he was surprised at her quick partisanship, but Maddie was her sister, after all.
“What about if I have results from the hospitals in Fort Worth? Don’t you think she’d want to hear about that?”
“You’ve found something out already?” She could feel the energy bubbling in her, ready to burst out. “How did you do that? I thought those records would be sealed. I wasn’t sure the hospital records office would even let me look.”
“It helps to have a good private investigator on the payroll,” Landon said. “I put him on the job right after we spoke yesterday.”
“Did he…is there…?” She was almost afraid to ask, for fear of being disappointed. She shook her head. “I shouldn’t ask. You want to tell Maddie first, of course.”
Landon must have been able to read her emotions pretty easily. His face gentled with sympathy, and he reached out to touch her hand. “I wouldn’t tease you with information like that, Violet. I don’t play games.”
Her skin seemed to be warming where he touched, and she found it disconcerting. She moved back slightly, putting a bit more space between them. “What did you learn, then?”
“The investigator found out that no identical twin girls were born at any hospital in Fort Worth on your birthday.”
“Oh.” She felt herself sag with the disappointment of it. “I guess there aren’t going to be any easy answers, then.”
“I’m not giving up that quickly.” Determination filled Landon’s voice. “I’ve told him to check Dallas hospitals, too, and extend the search to surrounding communities. It’s possible that your mother mentioned Fort Worth but it’s actually one of the outlying areas. And Maddie—” He stopped as an idea seemed to hit him. “That was dumb. I never thought to ask Maddie if she knows what hospital she was born in. How stupid could I be? I guess I was so bowled over by seeing you that my brain stopped working.”
“I hadn’t thought of that, either.” She rubbed the nape of her neck, trying to ease the tension. “Honestly, if we’re going to figure this out, we’re going to have to think it through. So far I’ve just been reacting.”
“There’s a lot more emotion involved for you than there is for me,” he said. “But you’re right. We ought to talk it over and work out the options to investigate.”
She drew back a little more. “I wasn’t actually including you in that we, Landon.”
“Right.” He sounded rueful. “You were talking about yourself and Maddie. But I’m not going to stop trying to help, so doesn’t it make sense to pool our resources and work together?”
“It makes sense when you put it that way, but I’m not sure Maddie will agree.”
“Well, suppose you take me to her, and we’ll ask her?” There was that smile again. It almost broke through her common sense. Almost, but not quite.
“I’ll take you out to the ranch,” she said slowly. “But only if I have your word that you’ll leave without argument if Maddie says so.”
“Agreed,” he said promptly. “My car is right across the street. I’ll follow you.”
Violet nodded, taking out her car keys. It made sense. She just hoped she was doing the right thing.
* * *
Landon hopped into his car and pulled onto the road behind Violet, not wanting to give her time to change her mind. But she didn’t seem to be having second thoughts, and soon they were out of Grasslands and on their way to the ranch.
Not that it took very long to get through Grasslands. The town was about what he had expected: a small community with shops and businesses catering to the residents of the surrounding farms and ranches.
Acres of grassland stretched out on either side of the two-lane blacktop road, with low hills in the distance under the huge blue bowl of the sky. The few houses were built well back from the road. Pretty country, the sort of place he’d think would bore Maddie stiff in a day or two at most, if not for the novelty of having discovered her twin.
Thanks to him. What would have happened if he hadn’t walked into the coffee shop at just that time? Or if, having seen Violet, he’d gone quietly on his way and never mentioned it to Maddie?
He couldn’t have, naturally. But the results were, in a sense, his responsibility, so he couldn’t just walk away from the situation.
Each minute he spent with Violet went a long way toward dispelling whatever suspicion he’d entertained as to her motives. Too bad it also had such an unsettling effect on her emotions. Still, even if she were being completely honest, somebody hadn’t been. Somebody had split up those children, and finding out who and why might lead to heartache.
What if Maddie ended up devastated by what she learned? It would be his fault for bringing Maddie and Violet together in the first place.
Ahead of him, Violet’s right-turn signal blinked. She slowed down and turned on a gravel road that led through impressive stone gates and under an arched sign with three intertwined Cs. This, obviously, was the Colby place.
The gravel road stretched, straight as a ruler, between barbed-wire fences along pastureland on either side. It ran about half a mile, he’d guess, before ending at a two-story brick house. Good-sized, the house had a porch across the front and what seemed to be wings going back on two sides. Outbuildings scattered behind it like so many Monopoly houses dropped on the land.
Violet pulled up on the gravel sweep in front of the house, and he drew his car in behind her. A fine layer of dust from the lane settled immediately on his hood.
He got out, wondering if Violet had taken the lane at that pace deliberately to mar the glossy finish of his car. But she was waiting for him, and she didn’t seem antagonistic. In fact, she looked at him with a question in her eyes.
“I was wondering—I assume you know Maddie’s father and her brothers?”
He nodded, jingling his keys in his hand for a moment before slipping them into his pocket. “I can’t say I know her father very well, but I do know him. A doctor, busy as most doctors are, I guess. Grayson and I are the same age, and we’ve always been good friends. Carter was just a kid then, tagging along, but he’s grown into quite a guy.”
A question in those chocolate-colored eyes deepened. “Have you talked to either Grayson or Carter about all this?”
He shook his head. “Grayson’s a cop, and he’s on an undercover operation right now, which makes it virtually impossible to contact him. And Carter’s in the military overseas. Hasn
’t Maddie talked about them?”
“Not much.” She went through a wrought-iron gate, started toward the porch and he fell into step with her. “I’m not just being curious. Maddie sent an email to her dad, but he hasn’t answered. She doesn’t seem interested in contacting her brothers, but I thought maybe they should know about all this.”
He frowned, thinking about it. “Maybe she feels she should tell her father first. And since neither Grayson nor Carter can do anything about it right now, maybe she’s right about that.”
“She really is alone, then,” Violet said softly, her eyes shadowed.
“Are you worried about Maddie?” he asked, trying to get a sense of what was behind the comment.
“I can’t help but feel responsible.” She paused, her hand on the handle of the heavy-looking front door. “If I hadn’t started off half-cocked looking for my father, I wouldn’t have found Maddie. So if we end up getting hurt by what we find, I’m responsible.”
He couldn’t quite suppress a smile. “Oddly enough, I was just saying that very thing to myself—that I brought you two together, so if it goes badly, it’s my fault.”
She smiled back, somewhat ruefully. “Guilt trips. Maybe we should stop overanalyzing things. My mother always says if God puts you in a situation, it’s for a reason.”
“It sounds like your mother is a wise woman. Suppose we move ahead and find out what that reason is?”
Violet nodded, opened the door, and led the way into the Colby house.
The front door opened into a wide hallway, floored in a white tile that gave it a spacious look. The center hall led back to glass doors opening onto a patio area, where he could see pots and hanging baskets of flowers. He’d been right about the wings. They formed the sides of the patio, turning it into an enclosed courtyard, open at the back.
“This way.” Violet nodded toward an archway on their left and led the way into a comfortable-looking living room.
Maddie was curled into an overstuffed chair in the corner, seeming relaxed and at ease, a photo album open on her lap. She glanced up, saw him, and all relaxation vanished. She swung her feet to the floor and stood, looking distinctly unwelcoming.
“Didn’t you get my email, Landon?” Her tone was sharp. “I thought I was clear that I didn’t want to see you just now.”
Before he could speak, Violet crossed the room to her sister.
“Don’t be mad that I brought him,” she said softly. “I found him in Grasslands, looking for you.”
“Well, he shouldn’t have been.” Maddie’s eyes snapped, but at him, not her sister. “I told him there’s no point in proposing again, and I’m not going to let him push me into getting married.”
“I don’t think he’d do that.” Violet’s voice was coaxing, but with a note of confidence that had been missing the day before. This was her place, of course, and that made a difference.
“Violet’s right,” he said, giving Maddie a rueful smile. “And you were right, too. We don’t have a good basis for marriage, and I’ll never mention it again, I promise.”
He felt a sense of relief that the words were out in the open. Maddie had always been like a little sister to him, and he loved her that way, but marriage between them would have been a disaster.
Still, he’d made other promises—to Grayson, that he’d look after Maddie. To himself, that he’d never repeat the mistake he’d made with his own sister. He wasn’t released from his need to take care of Maddie, especially when he was the one who’d inadvertently led her to this other family of hers.
“Landon has something to tell you,” Violet said. “Something his private investigator found out. He promised that if you don’t want to hear him, he’ll leave right away.”
Maddie looked at him for a long moment. Finally, she nodded. “All right, Landon. Sorry if I was rude.”
“It’s okay.” He glanced around. “Mind if I sit down?”
“Please.” As if reminded of her responsibility, Violet turned into a hostess, plumping the woven Indian design pillows on the couch and gesturing for him to sit. When he did, she perched on the sofa at the far end, as if careful not to align herself with him against her twin.
“I put my private investigator onto finding out about the hospitals,” Landon said. “He has better access than you or I could hope to have. Unfortunately he came up empty. No Fort Worth hospital has a record of twin girl births on your birthdate.”
Maddie looked a bit shaken at that news. She’d probably been praying for a quick answer to the puzzle. He swept on, telling her of the instructions he’d given Dave to widen the search.
“There are other things he can try,” he concluded. “State birth records and newspaper files, for example. It would help if you know where your parents said you were born.”
Maddie’s forehead puckered. “Dad never spoke of it that I can remember. As for Mom—” She hesitated, maybe reflecting on the fact that the woman she’d called Mom hadn’t actually been that. “Well, you know she died in a car accident when I was still small. I’m sure she told me I was born in Fort Worth, but I don’t think I’ve ever known which hospital.”
“Your birth certificate doesn’t say?” He pursued the question, thinking he should have mentioned checking that first thing, not that she’d given him the opportunity.
Maddie looked stricken. “I can’t believe I didn’t think to get it out yesterday. But I don’t remember that it mentions the hospital. The birth certificate certainly doesn’t say anything about a twin.”
He turned to Violet. “What about yours?”
“I haven’t seen it in years. Not since I was filling out college applications, I don’t think.” Violet pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, tugging on it a bit as if that would help her think.
“Can you get it out now?” It would be interesting to see who Belle Colby had listed as the father of her child.
But Violet was already shaking her head. “It’s in the safe deposit box at the bank, and Mom’s the only one who has access. We’re hitting a lot of dead ends, aren’t we?”
“Your mother didn’t put you or your brother on the access list?” His tone sharpened. That sounded as if Belle Colby had something to hide. Otherwise, she’d probably have changed that access, which was certainly the practical thing to do. How could she know that her daughter wouldn’t need her birth certificate some time when she wasn’t available?
“I guess it would have made sense to give one of us the ability to get in the box. She probably just didn’t think of it.” Violet didn’t look convinced of her own words.
Maddie stirred restlessly. “There must be some way to get around this. With Violet’s mother—our mother—in a coma, the bank ought to be a little flexible.”
“It’s a question of state law, not the bank’s choice,” he replied. The subject had come up a time or two in the course of his business, when a client couldn’t get access to financial documents because his or her partner was incapacitated. “You’d have to go to court and show need, as well as a reasonable expectation that the person holding the box would never be able to—”
He stopped, realizing that his passion for exactitude had led him onto dangerous ground. Violet looked distraught.
“Anyway, it’s time-consuming and not very practical right now,” he concluded hastily.
“I should talk to Grayson, I guess,” Maddie said, with an air of wanting to get off the painful subject quickly. “The trouble is that he told me not to try and contact him until he finished up a job he’s on.” She turned to Violet. “Grayson’s a detective, did I tell you that?”
Violet shook her head. “No, but Landon mentioned it.”
“He did, did he?” Maddie’s expression spoke volumes of what she thought about him talking to her sister about her.
Violet seemed to realize she’d said the wrong thing. She picked up a framed photo from the end table and handed it to him.
“That’s my brother. Jack.”
He studie
d the face and gave a low whistle under his breath. It was Grayson’s face, staring out at him. “You didn’t tell me your brothers were identical as well.”
“We didn’t realize it until I went to Maddie’s condo,” Violet said.
“Is your brother here?” Landon glanced around, half-expecting a replica of Grayson to walk through the arch.
“He’s…he’s away for a few days.” Lines of strain deepened around Violet’s eyes. “Anyway, I guess if you’re going to help us, you need to know what we do.” She glanced at Maddie and then looked quickly away. “I mean, you’ll need to pass the information on to the investigator.”
There were way too many crosscurrents of emotion loose in the room right now: Maddie’s annoyance at him for butting in, which was at war with his need to keep her safe, the efforts of both women to adjust to knowing that everything they thought they knew about their parentage was a lie, whatever was going on between Violet and her brother, even his own feelings about Violet, ping-ponging between suspicion and…
And what? He’d almost said attraction, but that was ridiculous. He hardly knew her.
“I’ll pay the private investigator,” Maddie announced, a challenge in her voice.
“Fine,” he said, avoiding a fight. “I’ll have him send the bill—”
He cut off at a step from the hallway. The woman who paused in the archway was middle-aged, Hispanic, with graying hair and a gaze that went unerringly to Violet.
“You should have told me we have a guest,” she scolded gently. “No matter…there is plenty. I will put on another plate.”
“You don’t need—” he began, and stopped when Violet went to put her arm around the woman.
“Lupita, this is Landon Derringer, a…friend of Maddie’s. Landon, I’d like you to meet Lupita Ramirez. She runs the house. And us.” Violet gave the woman a loving smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ramirez.” He crossed to the hallway. “I’m sure you have your hands full. I can get something to eat in town.”
She looked offended. “It would be a sad day when the Colby Ranch table could not accommodate a guest. Supper in five minutes.”