Mirror Image Bride (Love Inspired)

by Barbara McMahon

  He took off his hat and ran his fingers through his thick hair. Tossing the hat onto a peg on the wall, he looked at her. His dark eyes seemed to delve right into her.

  “Something smells nice,” he said. He looked at Maddie from the yellow top down to the brown boots, then looked at Darcy. His face softened in a smile as he looked at the miniature cowgirl. “You both look real nice. Still wearing that hat?”

  “I’m a cowgirl. I have to wear a hat,” Darcy explained.

  “Mostly, it’s needed to shade your face from the sun,” Ty said gently. “But it’s okay to wear inside. It looks like you’re ready to ride the range.”

  He hadn’t moved from the door and Maddie wondered if he felt out of place in his own home. It couldn’t be easy to go from being a longtime single man to coming home to a house with two females.

  “I don’t know how to ride,” Darcy reminded him.

  “We’ll get you up to speed in no time. It’s easy,” he said, glancing at Maddie.

  “Don’t look at me. I’ve been on a horse only a few times, that’s about as far as I’ve progressed.” She threw up her hands. “You’re looking at two hopeless city girls. Despite having the stockyards and all in Fort Worth, no one I know there actually owns a horse.”

  His expression went hard. Maddie knew he remembered his wife. She wished she could retrieve the words she’d thoughtlessly spoken.

  “But we’re both willing to learn. Violet said you could teach us,” she said, hoping mentioning Violet’s ringing endorsement of his equestrian skills would encourage Ty to spend more time with Darcy.

  “We’ll get started after dinner.”

  Maddie forced a smile. “That’ll be great. My sister wants me to become as acclimated to the ranch as you want Darcy to become. You get two students for the price of one.”

  “Won’t that be fun?” He scowled.

  Turning so he wouldn’t see the amusement on her face, she resumed slicing the tomato. He spoke with Darcy, his voice gentling somewhat as he explained they could pick out some horses after dinner. She herself wouldn’t mind waiting a few more days, or weeks. But sooner or later she had to become more comfortable or she’d lose out on an important part of her sister’s life.

  * * *

  Ty was expecting to say the blessing tonight. It had never been a part of family life when he was growing up. Of course, nothing much but booze and anger had been part of his childhood life. He tried to forget, but with Darcy around, he couldn’t help but contrast the two of them. He vowed he’d do all he could to protect his little girl. And raise her up right. He was not his father and never wanted to be.

  Dinner passed pleasantly enough with Darcy encouraged by Maddie to talk some more, sharing her best part of the day.

  Her fit of giggles one time touched Ty’s heart. He’d like to hear that all the time. He glanced at Maddie, who was smiling indulgently at the child. She still looked more polished and sophisticated than the women he knew around the various ranches in the area, but at least she was making an effort to fit in. The yellow shirt suited her—looking as pretty as the fancy silk shirts she normally wore. The cotton, however, was much more practical. Maybe it wasn’t the clothes so much as how she wore them.

  Once dinner was finished and the dishes were done, the three of them headed out to the barn.

  The hush of the early evening was everywhere. The men were still in the bunkhouse eating. The horses had been fed and were now dozing in the corral. He heard the bleat of the goat, but didn’t see her. Two of the horses ambled over to the rail fence and hung their heads over. When he reached them, Ty idly scratched their heads.

  Ty had no idea how to teach two girls of different ages how to ride. He couldn’t remember when he hadn’t known how to ride. As far as he remembered, his first time he’d got on and held on until he got the hang of it. Yeah, that’d be great with both of them. He didn’t want either to get hurt.

  To the side of the barn, one of the other cowboys was hosing down Stoney, the gelding he’d ridden that day.

  “He likes that,” Ty said, watching the horse move to get more water from the hose.

  “It’s like he’s in a shower,” Darcy said, laughing.

  “So, which is the gentlest, sweetest horse you have?” Maddie asked, looking through the rails at the horses in the corral. One more ambled over and put his head over the top rail.

  Ty scratched around his ears while he decided which horse would be the best for Maddie. He wasn’t too worried about Darcy. Rambo had two speeds—slow and stop. Maddie had been riding a couple of times, so knew enough to stay on. But he didn’t want to risk her falling off.

  “Rambo’s the best for Darcy.”

  “Rambo?” Maddie said with some trepidation, even though Ty had assured her that Rambo was gentle.

  “Hey, no one knows what a horse is going to be like when it’s a foal. His first owners obviously thought he’d be a take-charge champion. He’s slow, hard to get into second gear and perfect for a little girl to start on.”

  “What about a bigger girl?” Maddie asked, tentatively patting the head of one of the horses by the rail.

  “Who did you ride before?”

  “I think Violet said his name was Shadow—the horse was dark gray.”

  “And you stayed on, right?”

  “Well, he didn’t buck. I sat there and held on for dear life.”

  Ty gave a slow smile. Maddie was gutsy on the outside, but he suspected she was as nervous around horses as Darcy. He looked at her and was surprised at the look on her face.

  “You should smile more often,” she said softly.

  Which instantly wiped the smile from his face. He went to the barn to get halters and lead ropes.

  “Tonight we’ll get acquainted. I’ll bring them into the barn and you two can groom them, learn how to walk around them, clean their hooves, that kind of thing.”

  “They’re awfully big,” Darcy said, moving closer to Maddie.

  When Maddie put her arm casually around Darcy’s shoulders, Ty felt a pang of longing. He wished his daughter would step closer to him when she was scared. Wished he felt comfortable enough around her to put his arm across her shoulder. Wished he knew if she even wanted him to.

  Darcy had worn her hat. Now she had to tip her head back to see him from beneath the brim. “Do they kick or bite?”

  “Some do, not the ones we’ll be dealing with. Mostly, Jack and I don’t put up with horses who don’t have good manners. Too distracting.” He nodded briskly. “Come on, let’s get Rambo first.”

  The next hour Ty spent going over things with Darcy, and all the while Maddie was hovering over his shoulder. He cross-tied the horse in the center of the barn and brought out the equipment to properly groom him. Darcy started out checking with Maddie for every task he explained to her. As if to verify with the other city girl that it was something she could do.

  He tried not to become frustrated. She’d recently lost her mother. She hadn’t known about him. She wasn’t used to horses or him. But it was getting to him.

  Finally, he turned to Maddie. “Maybe this would go better if you weren’t here.”

  “No, Maddie, don’t leave,” Darcy protested, moving to stand beside her.

  “I’m not leaving. And it’s going great. Let me have a brush and we’ll brush down this side and then you and your dad can brush down the other side while I comb his mane and tail.”

  Okay, so suggesting Darcy’s touchstone leave hadn’t been so smart. But Maddie’s solution had been. It would unite the two of them in one project. Baby steps, Ty reminded himself.

  It was easier dealing with cowboys.

  * * *

  Once Maddie had Darcy in bed, she walked out onto the front porch where Ty sat contemplating how he didn’t feel one bit closer to his daughter despite spending the major portion of the day with her.

  “She’s excited about grooming the horse and talked about Rambo the entire time she was getting ready for bed,” Mad
die said as she walked out of the house.

  “Didn’t seem like it to me,” he grumbled. He gestured to the bench, hoping she’d stay a little longer. Give him some pointers, maybe.

  She sat on the bench and smiled at him. “I’ve noticed she’s a bit shy around you. The only way past that is for her to get to know you better. Find some common ground.” She paused. “So you need to plan activities that you two can do together—to build that parent-child bond.”

  “Like what?” Ty asked impatiently.

  “Like going inside to tuck her in. She’s still awake.”

  Nodding tersely, he rose and went into the house. He wanted to be the one to tuck her in every night, until she got too old for that. But when he stepped into her room, she had her back to the door.

  “Darcy?”

  “Huh?” She rolled over and looked at him.

  “Good night,” he said, going down on his knees by her bed and brushing her hair off her forehead. Her cowboy hat was at the foot of her bed, the boots right beside it.

  “Thank you for buying me cowboy clothes,” she said softly.

  “Hey, you have to fit in, right?”

  She nodded, her eyes shining. “And when I can ride, I can go all over the ranch with you.”

  “Yes, you can.” He kissed her cheek and smiled. “Sleep well.”

  “Okay.” She rolled over again and he rose to leave. Just before he turned out the light, he looked at his daughter. He was still amazed he’d fathered a child, and she had captured his heart the first time he saw her. He only wanted the best life had to offer for her. She’d had a bad break with her mother dying. Please, Father, keep this child in the hollow of Your hand, he silently prayed.

  When he stepped out onto the porch, he looked out over the ranch. This was his life, the only one he knew or wanted. “How do I ease a child into this life when she’s used to apartment living and being supervised all the time? I have to work. I can’t take off to be with her all the time until she’s grown,” he said as he rejoined Maddie on the bench.

  “She’ll come around. Don’t forget, it’s less than two weeks ago that everything in her life changed. Children are resilient. She’ll gradually get used to things, and in a few months will hardly remember her first days here.”

  Maddie looked at her boots, then looked up at him and grinned. “I feel like a cowgirl today.”

  “You might look the part, but once the novelty wears off, you’ll leave,” he said, but he took a look at her happy expression and wished he’d kept quiet. If she wanted to play dress-up for a while, he didn’t care. It wasn’t as if he was planning on her staying. Once burned, twice shy.

  “Umm, maybe you’re right or maybe you’re wrong. Only time will tell, won’t it?” she asked easily.

  They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, then Ty’s curiosity got the better of him.

  “So how does it feel to suddenly discover the other half of your family?” he asked. Maybe Darcy felt the same and it would help if he knew how to respond.

  “Weird, mostly. And frustrating. I have a thousand questions and no answers. Belle is my mother, if she’s Violet’s, there’s no question about that. Yet all my life I thought Sharla was. It’s her name on my birth certificate.”

  “Maybe she adopted you. Doesn’t the state change birth records in cases of adoption?” he asked.

  “I guess. But why didn’t I ever know that? I thought the current thinking was adopted children should know that all along.”

  “Did you ask your father?”

  “I’ve been trying to reach him for five weeks. Dad takes off on missionary trips for weeks at a time. He’s a doctor and provides medical care in poverty-stricken areas here and abroad. Last I heard he was heading down near the border. He’s never been one to check in often, but this is the longest I can remember him being incommunicado.” She sighed. “Even if I reached him, there’s no telling what he’ll say.”

  “No one else knows?”

  “I asked our longtime housekeeper, the woman who came when our mother died. Rachel was astonished to learn about Violet. She didn’t have a clue. She only knew our mother had died before she came to stay with us. I tried calling my brother Grayson, but he’s a cop and working undercover somewhere so hasn’t called me back yet. And my other brother is deployed. I didn’t want to worry him about all this. Besides, he’ll know less than I do. I just wish my dad would return my call.”

  “Or that Belle would recover consciousness,” he said. He knew his entire family history. No gaps, no mysterious partings. He wondered what it must be like for Maddie to have so many unanswered questions.

  “Does Darcy have grandparents on your side?” Maddie asked suddenly.

  He shook his head. “They’re all dead and gone.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged. “No need. My old man was a mean drunk. My mother left me and my brother with him when I was a kid. Never heard from her again. When he tied one on once he about killed my brother. He ended up in prison and then dead from some prison yard fight.”

  “And your brother?”

  “Died a few years ago from a drug deal gone bad. He was a cop like your brother, worked in Houston.”

  “Oh.” She was silent. Ty wondered what she was thinking.

  “I don’t drink,” he added.

  Her eyes looked soft in the fading light as she looked at him. “I don’t, either. But not because of my dad. I’m sorry you didn’t have the best of childhoods.”

  “I got by.”

  “Grayson and Carter and I were lucky. We had Rachel.”

  “Grayson’s Jack’s twin, right?”

  She nodded. “And won’t he be surprised when he finds out he has a twin. I wish we could have answers by then. On the other hand, maybe he can dig something up.”

  “Big-brother worship,” Ty said, teasing. He watched to make sure she took it right.

  Maddie laughed. “I suppose. He is my hero. He was my mainstay when Mom died. I was about five, younger even than Darcy. I was so lost. Hard to believe now, because I love Rachel, but I was not going to accept her when she came to stay with us. I wanted my mother.”

  “So do you think that’s what Darcy’s feeling? She won’t accept anyone including me because she wants her mother?” he asked.

  “I don’t know enough about children to voice an opinion,” she admitted. “I know with patience and love, Rachel conquered each of us. We had a happy childhood once we got over our mother’s death. There were a few rocky times, but overall it was due to Rachel that we all turned out as well as we have.”

  “And your father,” he said.

  She sat in silence for a while. “Not so much. He had to study constantly to become a doctor. You know what arduous hours interns and residents keep. If it hadn’t been for Rachel I don’t know what we would have done. This situation is so frustrating. I so want to talk to someone who knows something.”

  “You have Violet.”

  “She’s as ignorant of the past as I am. Which reminds me, I think you should do something about getting Darcy’s stuff. Did you call social services about her favorite toys, books, clothes? A picture of her mother?”

  Ty felt himself close up. He didn’t want a picture of Brittany around.

  He felt the soft touch of Maddie’s hand on his arm. He looked at her.

  “For all her faults, she was Darcy’s mother and the little girl loved her. For her sake, see if you can obtain a photograph for her to keep in her room.”

  “Call social services in the morning and see what we’d need to do,” he said.

  “Do you think they’ll talk to me about it?”

  “Tell them you have my permission.” He stood up. “It’s been a long day. I’m turning in.”

  She rose as well and looked at him in the faint light spilling from the window. “I’m going to be a bit presumptuous here, but I think you need to forgive her. For withholding Darcy from you.”

  He looked up at t
he stars for a moment, then sighed. “I know it’s the right thing to do. The Lord has forgiven me for all my faults and sins. But I’m having a hard time with it. I get so frustrated, I want to punch something.”

  Maddie touched him again. He moved his arm until he could clasp her hand. It felt small and soft in his. Sweetly feminine.

  “No one said it would be easy, but it’s needed. For you, most of all. I’ll pray with you if you like,” Maddie offered.

  She wore her faith for all to see and share. He was still new enough to know he had miles to go before he could be an outstanding example of Christ. Yet her simple gestures, like this, like the blessing before the meal, made him want to be as open and faithful as she.

  “Shoot,” he said, closing his eyes, holding her hand.

  “Lord, we thank You for today. We appreciate all the blessings You’ve sent to our lives. Lord, we ask You to bestow forgiveness in our hearts toward Brittany for keeping the knowledge of Darcy from Ty. She’s a precious gift and we are so thankful she’s come to live here. Help Ty forgive the wrong and find a way to his daughter’s heart. In the name of our Savior, we pray.”

  Maddie gave his hand a squeeze, then withdrew hers and bid him good-night.

  Ty watched as she headed for the main house. His gaze was drawn again to the sky overhead. “Lord, what she said. Let me know how to bond with Darcy. I’m not sure I’m the right man for her, but I’ll do my best to become the best dad in this world. Show me the way, please, Father.”

  Ty looked once more toward the main house. Maddie had already gone inside. He hoped she’d stay around until school started. Was he wrong about her? He was beginning to think so. She had been perfect with Darcy. And seemed to like being with him—or was he seeing something that wasn’t there? He liked being with her, which surprised him to no end. Who would have thought it? It was early days yet, but Maddie was growing on him. Maybe— Maybe nothing. He turned to enter his home. She was here for Darcy. He’d do well to remember that.

  * * *

  Sunday morning Maddie dressed with care for church. She chose one of her favorite yellow dresses. Soft and flowing, it was cool enough for the heat, yet the cap sleeves gave a hint of protection against the coolness in the church. She wore high-heeled yellow sandals and let her hair fall free. She’d pulled it back into a short ponytail for the past several days to keep it off her neck while she and Darcy learned more and more about riding, and while they helped Violet in the vegetable garden.