Look-Alike Lawman

by Glynna Kaye

  “When they yell at your mom, how does that make you feel? Mad? Scared?”

  The boy’s eyes flared defiance as he met Gray’s gaze, but his lower lip trembled. “I’m brave like my dad. I protect my mom.”

  “I’m sure you do.”

  His jaw hardened. “I think Mom pretends she’s not afraid. We don’t go out at night. Not after those guys laid on the car. They—”

  When his words broke off, Gray looked toward the street to see what had caught Cory’s attention. Elise’s vehicle had pulled in front of the apartment. As they watched, she got out and headed up the uneven sidewalk to stop in front of them.

  She put a hand on her shapely hip. “My, but don’t you two look serious.”

  Cory and Gray exchanged a glance, the boy’s gaze warning him not to betray his trust. No wonder the kid wanted to punch out someone’s lights. He needed to fight back, even if his anger was directed at those closer to his own age and size.

  That explained a lot.

  Gray rose to his feet. “Guy talk. Saving-the-world stuff.”

  She appeared unconvinced there wasn’t more to the story, but she didn’t make an issue of it in front of her son. Wise woman.

  She turned to the boy. “Ready for supper, Cory?”

  He looked up at Grayson. “It’s tomato-soup-and-grilled-cheese-sandwich night. I have to get cleaned up. Fast.”

  A laughing Elise watched him charge through the fourplex’s open door and take the steps up to the apartment two at a time. Then she turned toward Gray, her gaze sobering. “Everything okay? Neither of you looked real happy when I walked up.”

  “That looked like one hungry boy, so I won’t delay you in getting supper started.” He needed some time to digest what Cory had shared with him. “We can talk about it later.”

  Her flawless forehead creased. “That sounds ominous.”

  “You worry too much.”

  “For good reason.” Her frown deepened, as if debating whether or not to push him for further explanation.

  His cell phone rang and he checked the caller ID. Violet. He glanced apologetically at Elise.

  “Go ahead,” she mouthed as she moved away from him. “I’ll wait.”

  He took the call, picturing his newfound sister. “Hey, Violet. What’s up?”

  “Am I interrupting anything?” A voice so similar to Maddie’s echoed through his phone, but with a pronounced west Texas accent.

  He glanced toward Elise, who’d set her purse and a soft-sided briefcase on the steps, then knelt to break off dead blooms from a potted geranium by the door. “I have a minute.”

  “I won’t keep you long. I know it’s only been a few days since you were here, but we’re antsy for news. Any leads?”

  “I’m afraid Dad isn’t making himself easy to track by going off on his own instead of through a missions organization. I know he likes his independence, likes to follow God’s leading on a day-to-day basis, but we’ll have to talk him into rethinking that habit.”

  He’d do just that if—no, when they found him.

  “With all the human and drug smuggling along the border, I can’t help but worry.”

  “Don’t go there, Violet. We all agreed to think positive about this—that Dad will be home by Thanksgiving like he planned.” Despite his own concerns, he had to be the voice of reassurance. Worry and panic wouldn’t lead them one step closer to finding Brian Wallace. “We’re going to locate him and find out he shook off whatever ailed him. I know exactly what he’ll say. ‘Why’d y’all get so lathered up? You know the good Lord looks out for me.’ ”

  Violet sighed. “I know God looks out for us, but people die or get sick or seriously injured every single day. Good people. Like Mom ending up in a coma.”

  She had a point. He couldn’t argue with her.

  “I can’t pretend to understand all that’s happened, Violet. But in the midst of the turmoil, you have to admit some good’s come of it. We’ve all found each other.”

  “True.”

  “It’s proof a higher power is keeping an eye on things. We can know that regardless of what happens, we have Him and each other. But Dad’s going to be fine. I’ve known him my whole life. He’s tough as nails.”

  “I don’t understand why a father I never knew goes missing when we need him most—when Mom’s bad off.”

  Or why he’d disappeared right when Grayson had determined to get to know him better, man to man. Or why a mother he never knew existed wasn’t discovered until she was unreachable.

  “I don’t have the answer to that, either.” He hadn’t known Violet even a full two weeks and already he was her big brother, just like he’d been Maddie’s all these years. Determined to protect her, reassure her. But he couldn’t lie to her.

  “I guess if there’s no news...”

  He sensed her reluctance to bring their conversation to a close. “I’ll call as soon as I hear anything. In the meantime, you take good care of yourself and the rest of the family. Any signs of improvement in...our mother?”

  Would he ever come to think of Belle Colby that way?

  “The same.” Violet sighed again. “You’re coming this weekend, right?”

  “Right. See you Friday.” He shut off the phone and clipped it to his belt. Stood staring at the ground as the weight of the family situation increased tenfold. Like Cory, he had the urge to send a rock bulleting across the yard.

  “I couldn’t help but overhear.” Elise’s gentle voice penetrated the fog gathering in his head. “Your father is missing?”

  “We’ve lost track of him is all.” Downplaying it reassured himself. Helped him deal with it. “That was one of my sisters, Violet. The new one. Both my sisters tend to worry.”

  Elise, a shadow of concern on her delicate features, moved closer and he found himself sorely tempted to open up about the disturbing turns his life had recently taken. His siblings had the support of each other at the ranch, but he faced it alone, hundreds of miles from the rest of his family.

  “He’s a doctor who does a lot of short-term mission work in remote locations,” he heard himself saying. “We learned he’d left his cell phone behind at one location, but that wasn’t a cause for alarm until a few weeks ago when we found out he’s been ill. My brother Jack went down to Blackstone, Texas, along the Mexican border where he’d last been seen, but couldn’t find him. So naturally, we’re more concerned now.”

  “I’m so terribly sorry.” Elise placed her hand lightly on his arm, but the concerned expression in her eyes was immediately followed by one of puzzlement. “And did I also hear you mention your mother? That would be a stepmother, I assume? Has something happened to her, as well?”

  How was he going to explain it in a way that would make any sense? He hadn’t come to terms with it himself. “As unbelievable as it sounds, Sharla Wallace—the woman who died, the one I grew up thinking was my birth mother—well, wasn’t.”

  She blinked. “You’re kidding.”

  “I wish I was. We just learned that our dad and his first wife—our biological mother, Belle—divorced when we kids were tiny, each taking a boy and a girl with them. Dad took Maddie and me. Belle took Jack and Violet. They split up two sets of twins.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  He met her horrified gaze, relieved to discuss the troubling situation with someone he could trust. “That’s something we don’t have answers to yet. Like I said, Dad’s missing, then Belle Colby—my birth mother—fell from a horse several months ago and has been in a coma ever since. So we can’t fill in the missing pieces.”

  “Oh, my goodness.” Eyes wide, Elise momentarily pressed her hand to her lips, looking almost as overcome as he’d felt when he first heard the news. “I can’t even imagine what a shock this must have been to you. But how did you and your
siblings find each other?”

  “As they say, it was a God thing.” He glanced skyward, marveling at the whole turn of events. “In July Violet was in Fort Worth, hoping to find information about her father—my dad, whom she and our brother Jack knew nothing about. She ‘accidentally’ met Maddie’s ex-fiancé when he thought she was Maddie, and things took off from there.”

  “This is amazing.”

  “It is, isn’t it? I have an identical twin, but no memory of him or of another little sister. No memory of my birth mother.”

  “Quite honestly, Grayson, I’m overwhelmed, as I know you must be. I don’t mean to sound judgmental, but I can’t imagine what would ever persuade parents to do something like that. I could never have given up a twin of Cory’s.”

  He met her distraught gaze. “That’s weighed pretty heavily on my mind, too.”

  “So instead of two of you, there are four.”

  “Five, actually.” He couldn’t help but smile as her eyes widened further. “Maddie and I have a baby brother, Carter, who is in Afghanistan right now. But he’s definitely the child of Dad and the woman I grew up believing was my birth mother.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Grayson.”

  “Not a whole lot anybody can say. But I appreciate your concern. You’re the first person outside the family that I’ve talked to about this.”

  “I understand why you haven’t. This is a lot for you to work through. With your father missing and your—” Her eyes sought his.

  “Belle.”

  She nodded in understanding. “And with Belle being comatose...”

  “Right.”

  “So she remarried and raised your brother and sister on a ranch in the west part of Texas?”

  “She didn’t remarry. That’s another mystery. She, Jack and Violet go by the name Colby. Where did that name come from? We have a lot of gaps to fill in. That’s one reason I’ll be heading back to the family ranch on Friday night.”

  “A ranch? Your family has a ranch?” Cory was back, standing in the apartment building’s open doorway, eyes bright with excitement. “With horses and cows and everything?”

  “That’s right.” Gray shifted from the serious topic to one more suitable for the boy. “A big spread.”

  “Can I go with you to see it, Officer Wallace?”

  “Now, Cory...” Elise moved to her son’s side and ruffled his hair, but her gaze remained on Grayson, still cognizant of the gravity of their unfinished conversation.

  “But I want to see it, Mom.”

  It might be the ticket to get the kid’s mind off policemen. But admitting the boy into his private life wouldn’t be the best move. Besides, he’d have to take Cory’s mother along, and with all the upheaval in the family it wasn’t a good time for outsiders—or explaining to his siblings his connection to this attractive woman and her son.

  “We don’t invite ourselves to other people’s homes.” Elise gave Gray a reassuring glance, communicating that she’d handle turning down her son’s request.

  “But it would be cool, Mom. I could wear my hat.”

  “You can wear the hat here.”

  “Awww, Mom.” Shoulders drooping, he turned back toward the stairs once more.

  When he’d disappeared, Elise resumed where they’d left off. “I’m terribly sorry to hear of your family’s heartbreaking situation, Grayson. I’ll pray for Belle’s recovery and that your father will be found soon.”

  “Thanks. Much appreciated.”

  Cory again appeared in the doorway, his eyes glued to his mother with a pointed look. “Don’t forget, Mom.”

  “Forget what?”

  “You know.” He jerked his head in Grayson’s direction.

  “Oh.” A look of fleeting dismay crossed her features as remembrance dawned. “No, I won’t forget.”

  Cory shot a quick, excited look at Grayson, then dashed up the stairs once more. Gray gave Elise a curious look.

  She picked up her purse and briefcase from the step. “He’s going back to school tomorrow and I promised him that if all goes well for the rest of the week, he can invite a friend for supper Friday evening.”

  “That should motivate him. He has a best buddy in mind?”

  “Ohhh, yes.” She looked none too happy.

  “What’s the catch?”

  “You. You’re the buddy he wants to join him for supper.”

  He chuckled, then thought better of it considering she didn’t look thrilled at the prospect. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope. He has his heart set on it. But it sounds like you already have plans for Friday evening.”

  He should hit the road to Grasslands right after work that night. Despite his relief at having someone to talk to about his situation, it wasn’t a good idea to get further entangled with this little family. He already found himself too often thinking of Cory and his mother. Too often indulging in wishful thinking that could come to no good end.

  Why’d she have to be the widow of a cop, anyway? And have a kid?

  But...coming over that night might give him sufficient time to decide how to broach what Cory had shared with him. Give him a chance to talk to Elise about the likely source of her son’s anger. The insight would give her something concrete to take to a professional counselor. Then he could step back before he got snarled up in another Jenna-and-Michael situation.

  He continued to gaze down at her beautiful upturned face. Her dark, questioning eyes. Lord, who am I trying to fool? In spite of his best efforts, he’d already let himself get tripped up. He didn’t want out of her life. Or Cory’s. Quite the opposite. Maybe if he had more time...maybe if she had an opportunity to get to know him better...

  “Supper Friday night? If that’s what Cory wants, you can count on me to be there.”

  Her delicate brows rose, as if taken aback that he’d accepted. Given her aversion to lawmen, he hadn’t expected she’d indulge her son’s request to invite a cop in the first place.

  But she had.

  And he intended to make the most of it.

  * * *

  “Whooeee, honey.” Billie Jean Danforth leaned her skinny, forty-something self against Elise’s kitchen countertop, her blue, spiky-lashed eyes dancing. “He’s one sweet-lookin’ man, from what I’ve seen. If I wasn’t devoted to my Roy, I’d be lookin’ to see if he has any brothers.”

  “He does. A twin, apparently.” Elise laughed at the astonishment on the freckled, bleached-blonde’s face. What would she think of the rest of the family situation Grayson had found himself in?

  Billie Jean hooted again. “The good Lord put two of them on this planet? I may have to the rethink things with Roy.”

  Elise checked the clock. Six-fifteen. That “sweet-lookin’ man” could be walking through her door within half an hour. Too bad Roy was working late at the mechanic shop a few miles down the road. Maybe he could lure Billie Jean out of here so Elise could have a few private minutes to make herself presentable. It wouldn’t do for her friend to think she was “dollin’ up” for Grayson. After all, she’d been forced to stress more than once since Cory blabbed the news of Gray coming, that the invitation was issued strictly at Cory’s request. A reward for his good behavior in school the past few days.

  Not that Billie Jean was buying any of it.

  But it certainly hadn’t been her idea to invite him. She’d even tried to talk Cory out of it before issuing the invitation, but he’d insisted Officer Wallace was his number one choice. She didn’t want to renege on her promise and had been counting on Grayson not accepting to get her off the hook. Why hadn’t he turned her down? Did he think, as Billie Jean was inclined to, that the invitation was from the mother rather than the son?

  She’d worried for days that might be the case.

  “
He’s a meat-and-potatoes man, I take it.” Her friend sniffed the suppertime aroma appreciatively.

  “I’m hoping so. Cory picked the menu.” Thank goodness for slow cookers, or Gray would be having Cory’s other favorite, grilled cheese sandwiches.

  “Did he, now?” Billie Jean folded her arms and watched as Elise finished setting the table for three. “I do have to say I’m pleased—but surprised—that you’re takin’ up with another officer of the law.”

  Elise sighed with exasperation. “I’m not taking up with him. How many different ways can I say it?”

  Billie Jean pursed her lips. “Let’s see. He was here Friday afternoon. Sunday night. Tuesday and Wednesday. Now Friday. Looks like takin’ up to me.”

  “Well, it’s not.”

  “All I know is what I see with my own two eyes. I haven’t seen that kind of sparkle in your eyes since you walked into this place over eighteen months ago.” She motioned to the festively arranged table. “And this is the first I’ve seen anything like this coming out of you.”

  So what? She seldom had company. Never got to use her stoneware dishes, woven placemats and brass candlesticks. The table settings had been a high school graduation present from her grandmother. Even with money tight, she’d refused to part with them for a fraction of their value at a garage sale.

  “Cory thought candles would be fun.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Elise stared at the table, her spirits plunging. Would Gray think she’d gone overboard? Would it make him uncomfortable? Or worse—would it give him the impression she’d taken an interest in him? Maybe she should strip the table and start again. Bring out the plastic and other everyday durables. The paper napkins.

  She reached toward one of the unlit candles, but Billie Jean materialized at her side and took hold of her arm.

  “Come on, girl. Put that back where you had it. I’m giving you a hard time. Just teasing. I think it’s great that this guy’s helping Cory.” She grinned. “And it’s nice that Cory’s old enough to appreciate it. So lighten up.”

  Lighten up. Easier said than done with the clock ticking away the minutes until Officer Wallace’s arrival. All day she’d debated how to handle her son’s growing affection for the police officer. In retrospect, giving in to inviting him tonight wasn’t the wisest move.