by Marta Perry
“In other words, you’re talking about paying people overtime just to get the work done by Saturday night.” She looked troubled, that sense of economy getting the better of her again.
“Look at it this way. If we delay for another week, it gives the kids too much opportunity to fall into other ways of spending their weekends. Right now they’re enthusiastic, feeling good about helping get the place back in order. We want to take advantage of that enthusiasm.”
Her gaze met his with a softness that nearly made him forget his good resolutions. “All right,” she said. “You’ve given me no arguments left to make. We’ll do it your way.”
He touched her hand again, ignoring the food in front of him. “You won’t be sorry.”
* * *
The next morning, Violet hurried out toward the corral behind the barn. She wanted to catch Ty before he headed out on his day’s rounds. To her surprise, she found Maddie already up and outside, leaning against the board fence that surrounded the corral, watching him. Apparently, Maddie had developed an interest in horses. Or possibly cowboys.
Ty was saddling his favorite horse, and it was impossible to tell from his stoic expression whether he was paying attention to Maddie’s banter or not. Maybe it was just as well that she’d come out to interrupt them.
“Enjoying a morning walk?” she asked her twin innocently.
“Something like that,” Maddie said, smiling.
“Mornin’, Violet.” Ty crossed to her, the horse keeping pace with him. “Something you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Good news,” she said. “Jack will be home today. And we’ll soon be moving my mother to a medical facility closer to home, too.”
“That is good news.” Ty looked as if a weight had slipped from his shoulders.
“Will you pass that along to all the boys?” she said, her voice casual. “I think they ought to know.”
“Yep.” His gaze met hers, and she knew he understood her perfectly. “They’ll be glad to hear that, for sure.” He touched his hat. “See you later, Violet.” His gaze slid to Maddie. “Ms. Wallace.” He swung into the saddle.
“Maddie,” she said.
“Right. Maddie.” He shifted his weight slightly. The horse, accustomed to his every move, turned obediently.
Maddie watched him ride away, a bemused expression on her face.
Violet touched her twin’s shoulder. “Lupita has breakfast ready.”
“Okay.” She fell into step with Violet. “Guess I am hungry, at that.”
“Going out for an early walk will do that to you,” Violet said, amused.
Maddie didn’t seem to be paying attention to the teasing. Her forehead wrinkled. “You know, I was thinking maybe I should head back to Fort Worth.”
“What?” The comment hit her in the heart. “Why? Maddie, I thought you were happy here.”
“I am,” Maddie protested. “I’m not talking about going for good. But I left so quickly and there are things I should do. Bills to pay, clothes I should pack…” She shrugged. “Anyway, you’ll be busy with Jack coming home, so maybe this is a good time.”
Violet caught her arm as they went in the back door, stopping her in the hallway. “You’re thinking about leaving because of Jack, aren’t you? Because of the way he reacted to seeing you.”
“Well, he wasn’t exactly thrilled, was he?”
“He was just shocked, that’s all,” Violet said, struggling to find a middle ground in her loyalty to her siblings.
Maddie wrinkled her nose. “He could have done without having a new sister, believe me.”
“I couldn’t,” Violet said, putting her arm around Maddie’s waist. “Now that I know I have a twin, I can’t lose you.”
Maddie gave her a quick, fierce hug. “Me, too,” she said. “Okay. But I will have to go back sometime, you know. There’s the little matter of earning a living. I can’t just stay here.”
“You can stay as long as you want.” Jack stepped out from the kitchen with a beaming Lupita right behind him. “It’s time I got to know my new little sister, isn’t it?”
“Jack.” Tears sprang to Violet’s eyes, and she threw herself into his arms.
He lifted her off her feet in an enormous bear hug. “Vi, sugar, it’s good to see you.”
“You, too.” She blinked back tears. As he set her on her feet she slugged his shoulder. “That’s for staying away so long.”
“Yeah. Sorry.” His gaze slid away from hers in embarrassment. “That wasn’t the most mature thing I ever did, I guess.” He turned to Maddie, looking at her a little uncertainly. “Got a hug for your brother, Maddie?”
Maddie smiled, tension easing out of her face. “Sure thing.” She held out her arms, and the two of them hugged awkwardly.
That was natural for them to feel ill at ease, wasn’t it? It would take time for Maddie and Jack to form a bond. They didn’t have what Maddie called the “twin thing” going for them.
It would take time and patience. She just hoped they had enough of each.
Chapter Thirteen
Lupita smiled with joy as she carried more food than they could possibly eat to the table. Obviously, Violet thought, the prodigal son was being welcomed home. Lupita would never admit to playing favorites, but she’d always had an extra-soft spot for Jack.
Maybe that was because Jack and Belle had so often been at loggerheads. Belle had expected a lot of Jack, so frequently reminding him that he was the man of the family.
Perhaps that was why Jack had developed such a need to know who his father was. While Violet had been content with things as they were, Jack had always wanted to know.
Jack had argued with Belle about that very subject the day of her accident. She’d ridden off, furious with him, and he had seen her fall. Small wonder that he’d had such a struggle with the answer to his question falling into Violet’s lap.
She and Jack had changed places, it seemed. He didn’t want to talk about their parentage, no doubt because he felt so guilty over Belle’s accident. And now that she had Maddie in her life, she felt she had to know the rest. Violet’s gaze caught the wise eyes in the portrait of her Uncle James. If he were here, would he know how to deal with this tangled situation?
“Are you really going to eat all that?” Maddie was eyeing Jack’s heaped-up plate with amazement.
“You bet,” Jack said between forkfuls of burritos filled with Lupita’s special scrambled eggs. “I haven’t had a decent meal since I left.”
An awkward silence fell as all three of them were probably thinking of that night when Maddie had come and Jack had gone. Jack put his fork down and looked at Maddie.
“Listen, Maddie, I’m sorry. I didn’t treat you the way I should. When Mom gets better, she’ll probably smack me one upside the head for being rude.”
“It’s okay.” Maddie’s face relaxed and she grinned at him. “I understand. And if you catch me staring rudely at you, it’s just because you’re a dead ringer for Grayson.”
Violet thought it took an effort, but Jack managed a smile. “So we’re as alike as you two are?” He waved his fork between the two of them.
“Identical,” Maddie said. “Same brown hair, same eyes.” She grinned. “Women are tempted by those golden-brown eyes, you know that?”
Jack shook his head, but Violet laughed.
“He knows,” she teased. “He just doesn’t want to admit it.”
“So when am I going to meet this twin?” Jack wasn’t quite convincing in his effort to sound as if he looked forward to that with any enthusiasm.
“I wish I knew. Grayson’s a cop. He’s doing undercover work right now, and until this case is wrapped up, I can’t contact him. He doesn’t even know about Mom.”
Jack was trying to act as if this were a normal situation, but Violet saw his face tense for a fraction of a second when Maddie referred to Belle that way.
He turned to Violet. “Maybe you’d better tell me more about this business of moving Mom.
You sounded pretty upset about it yesterday.”
“I was. I guess I still am, but we should have been expecting it. The trauma center is only set up to handle the more immediate care after an accident. I should have realized they’d expect us to move her at some point.”
“I don’t see why,” Jack said. “They’re the specialists, aren’t they? Isn’t that the best place for her to be?”
“That was my reaction, too, at first,” she admitted. “But Landon pointed out—”
“Landon? Who’s Landon?” Jack was frowning.
How could so much have happened in such a short period of time? It seemed incredible that Jack didn’t know Landon.
“Landon is a friend of Maddie’s from Fort Worth.” She gazed at Maddie, sending her a silent message to keep quiet about whatever she thought of Landon’s relationship with Violet. “He’s the one who saw me and recognized that we were twins. He’s been staying at the hotel for a few days, kind of…helping us out.”
“Wait a minute.” Jack’s frown deepened. “I don’t get any of this. What were you doing in Fort Worth to begin with? What kind of a friend is he? A boyfriend?” He looked at Maddie for an answer to that.
“Just a friend,” she said easily. “More like a big brother. He’s been Grayson’s pal since high school.”
“I still don’t understand why he’s hanging around,” Jack muttered. “But go on. You were saying something about transferring Mom.”
Violet decided to leave Landon’s name out of the conversation. His presence was just confusing the issue, and if Jack learned he’d been engaged to Maddie and was now interested in Violet, he’d think…well, she didn’t know what he’d think, but it wouldn’t be good. And there was certainly no way she could explain her own confused feelings.
* * *
Landon was installing a shelf bracket in the games room when he felt someone watching him. He turned and the chair he stood on wobbled.
Violet grabbed it and smiled up at him, making his heart turn over. “Don’t you know chairs aren’t safe to stand on? You should be using a ladder.”
“All the ladders are already in use.” He gestured toward the open door to the gym, where Pastor Jeb could be seen putting up new basketball hoops. “Besides, how many times have you stood on a chair to reach something?”
“Too many,” she said, making a face at him. “It sounds as if Joe is still working in the restroom.”
Actually, prolonged mutters were coming from that direction, where Joe and his helper were setting the new vanity in place.
“I’ve discovered that it’s better to stay away until Joe finishes what he’s doing,” he said. “Then he wants you to come and admire it.”
“Can I admire the shelves in the meantime? They look good. I didn’t realize you were working on the project. I mean—” She stopped, maybe thinking that sounded insulting.
He grinned, far from offended. “As opposed to throwing money at the project, you mean? I like to get my hands dirty once in a while.”
He tried to lean back to get a view of the shelf and nearly tipped the chair again, so he jumped down. “What do you think? Is it even? We only seem to have one level around here, and someone keeps borrowing it.”
Violet stood back, hands on her slim hips, surveying the shelves he’d put up. “Great,” she said finally. She swiveled, taking in the whole room—fresh paint on the walls and woodwork, a new Ping-Pong table, the newly painted bookcases. “I can’t believe it,” she said softly. “I wouldn’t have imagined it could look like this after what happened.”
“It’s amazing what a crew of volunteers can do.”
Landon glanced around as well, realizing that he had a more profound sense of satisfaction about this project than about the modern youth center he’d spearheaded in the city. Maybe that was because he’d actually become involved here. He knew the kids who’d enjoy this space. He knew the adults who cared enough to make this happen. And he knew Violet, whose heart was wrapped up in this place.
She looked at him, eyes shining, and in that moment he thought there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.
“I still can’t quite believe it. The place looks almost ready to open tonight.”
“Not until tomorrow,” he said. “Joe promises the restrooms will be ready tomorrow night if he has to work right through supper. And I gather that’s a big sacrifice for him.” He grinned, trying to defuse the emotion that was building in him. “So tell me, did your brother get home all right?”
She nodded, turning away. “He arrived this morning. Everyone is relieved to have him back. Especially Lupita. I thought she’d never stop cooking. That’s her way of expressing love.”
But something was wrong—he could hear it in her voice. “What is it?” he asked gently.
She looked at his face, a little surprised, and then she shrugged. “Maybe I was expecting too much from his return. He’s really making an effort to get to know Maddie, so that’s good. But…” She fell silent.
“But,” he prompted.
“I guess I thought he’d be more supportive about moving Mom.” She picked up a table-tennis ball and rolled it in her palm. “He doesn’t even want to discuss it. He just keeps saying that Maddie and I would know more about that than he would.”
He made an effort to suppress his annoyance at a man he hadn’t met. “Most men feel helpless when someone they love is sick or hurt.” He flashed to a memory of sitting in that hospital corridor for an interminable amount of time, waiting to hear about Jessica. He knew about that helplessness.
“It’s not that,” Violet said. “Or if it is, that’s not the main thing. He was quarreling with Mom right before she had her accident. Demanding to know the truth about our father. That’s ironic, isn’t it?” Her voice trembled a little. “Anyway, I’m sure he’s just feeling so guilty that he hasn’t been able to face it.”
Landon took her hands in his, wanting to make this better and knowing he couldn’t. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Give him a little time. He’ll come through for you.”
She tried to smile. “I hope so. He’s a good person, really he is. It’s just—” She stopped, as if she couldn’t go on.
His fingers moved, caressing her hands. She met his gaze and he saw her eyes darken. Her breath touched him and he leaned closer, ready to feel her lips—
“Hey, Violet, there you are.” Sheriff Cole walked into the room, his rolling gait making him look as if he were on the deck of a ship. “Wait until you see what we found.”
* * *
Violet turned toward the sheriff, hoping she didn’t look as if she’d just been on the verge of being kissed. Or had she? Landon was trying to comfort her—that was in his nature.
She focused on Sheriff Cole. “You found something? Do you know who did it?”
“Knowing’s one thing. Proving is another. But we do know something. Come on.” He beckoned, and they followed him through the gym and out the door.
Once outside, the sheriff led the way along the building to a narrow passage, about eight feet wide, which ran between this section of the church and the sanctuary.
“There.” Sheriff Cole pointed. “Cigarette butts on the ground. Empty beer cans in the basement window well. I’m guessing they gathered in here, drinking and pumpin’ themselves up to trash the place.”
“You think it was Sam and his buddies, don’t you?” She hated to think of the vandals as people she knew. Still, this was Grasslands. Whoever did it, it had to be someone she knew.
“That’d be my guess,” the sheriff concurred. “But like I say, proving it is another story.”
Landon stirred restlessly. “There would be fingerprints on the cans. DNA, too.”
Sheriff Cole stared at him for a moment. “Well, that’s true, I reckon. But we don’t have the facilities for that sort of thing. We can use the state police lab, but if I told them I wanted to track down three kids for vandalism…well, they’d laugh me out of there in no time flat.”
“We don’t want to do that anyway,” Violet said quickly. “We’re trying to show these kids Christian values. We want to give them something to do so they won’t turn to beer parties for their entertainment.”
“It might be too late for these three,” Landon said, looking a little disgruntled. He wanted to fix things, of course. That was what he did.
“It’s never too late,” she said.
“I don’t know.” Sheriff Cole shook his head as he stepped back into the sunlight. “Much as I hate to admit it, that kid Sam is a tough one. His dad took off some time ago, and his momma can’t seem to keep a rein on that boy.”
“Have you asked him about the vandalism?” Landon said.
Violet’s thoughts were headed another direction entirely. Could she have handled that situation with Sam any other way? She had to follow the rules, of course. They’d set them up for just such a situation. Still…
“I talked,” Sheriff Cole said shortly. “Got nothing but a smart answer for my trouble. Reckon I’ll have a word with the other boys’ parents, though. Might discourage them from following every dumb idea that Sam Donner has.”
Violet nodded, but somehow she doubted that would do much good. The other two boys probably felt like big deals when they followed Sam’s lead.
“You know, it might help if we could get someone who’s…well, closer to their age, to talk to the kids.”
The sheriff patted her shoulder. “You do that, Violet. No harm in getting at the problem from all sides, so to speak. Truth is, though, some kids just have to learn the hard way.” Shaking his head, he moved toward his car.
“Pastor Jeb seems to have a good rapport with the kids,” Landon pointed out. “Maybe he could talk to them.”
“He could,” Violet said, wondering how Landon would react to the idea that had popped into her head. “But I was thinking of someone else. Why don’t you talk to them?”
“Me?” Landon stared at her. “I’m no good at things like that. Pastor Jeb’s the one you want.”
She looked at him steadily. “Pastor Jeb hasn’t experienced personal loss that resulted from driving drunk. If you talked to them—”