Her Surprise Sister

Maddie waited on the busy sidewalk and gestured down the street. This part of Fort Worth seemed to be a mix of businesses, professional offices and apartment buildings.

“My condo is only a couple of blocks from here, so I walked. But maybe you want to take your car and park it there in the garage, rather than leave it on the street.”

“Yes, thanks.” Violet went quickly to the SUV and opened the door to be greeted by a blast of heat. Texas-in-July heat. She switched on the ignition, turned the air on full blast, and rolled the windows down as Maddie got in. “Sorry it’s so stifling. It should cool off pretty fast.”

“No problem. I was born here, remember? I’m used to it.” Maddie shook her head, her silky hair swaying. She wore it in a shoulder-length cut that had obviously been done by a professional, since the style fell back into place with every movement.

Violet couldn’t help touching her ponytail. Would her hair look that way with the right cut? Maybe so, but she couldn’t afford to find out. Anyway, the ponytail was a lot more practical for the life she led.

She checked the rearview mirror and pulled out into traffic. In the mirror she could also glimpse Landon Derringer, still standing by the coffee-shop door.

“We both were born here,” Violet said, still trying to understand what was happening to her. “Do you think your friend will really be able to find the records?”

“Probably. He has the connections, if anyone does.” Maddie’s nose crinkled. “I wish he’d butt out, but knowing Landon, he won’t.”

Violet hesitated for a moment before asking the question in her mind. “When he first saw me, Landon thought I was you. He said he still wanted to marry me. You, I mean.” She was probably blushing.

Maddie shrugged, a quick, graceful movement. “I ought to tell you about it, I guess. Landon and I were engaged, but it was a mistake. Now we’re not. End of story.”

It couldn’t be all there was. Violet knew there had to be a lot more to the engagement and the breakup than that, but if Maddie didn’t want to tell her, she wouldn’t pry.

“Just past this next corner,” Maddie said. “Turn right into the basement garage.”

Violet followed her directions, turning into an underground parking garage. She parked the car where Maddie indicated and walked beside her, their footsteps echoing on the concrete floor. They stepped into an elevator that lifted them soundlessly to the third floor.

“Right over here.” Maddie pulled out keys as she spoke, going quickly down the carpeted hallway to the second door. She unlocked it and led the way into a condo.

So this fancy place was where her twin lived. It looked like a magazine spread.

“This is lovely.” Violet stepped into the living room, which had a dining area on one end and an open counter, beyond which was a small kitchen. Spacious and trendy, with sleek leather furniture and vibrant paintings on the walls, the living room had a bank of glass doors leading onto a balcony that overlooked the city.

Maddie looked around, as if surprised by her comment. “I guess it is. Dad helped me buy this place when I decided to get out on my own.”

Dad. The casual word echoed in Violet’s mind. Was Maddie’s father her father, too? He must be, for them to be identical twins. She realized she was still trying to wrap her mind around that one fact.

“What’s your father like?”

Maddie crossed the Berber carpet to a glass-topped table that held a series of photos in silver frames. She picked one up, holding it out.

Violet took the photo and stared at three pictured faces. The older man had to be Maddie’s father. Her father. He had a chiseled face and dark brown eyes with a somber expression. Remote—that was how he looked.

The other two were younger. She stared at one of the pictured faces and felt the room spin around.

“Who is that?” She pointed to the face.

Maddie looked at her oddly. “Are you okay? That’s just my older brother, Grayson.”

Violet shook her head, pulling her cell phone out of her bag and flipping through the photos until she found the one she wanted. “This is my older brother. Jack.” She handed it to Maddie, knowing she’d see what Violet meant at once. The faces were identical.

Maddie stared at the photo for a long moment. She sank down onto the nearest sofa, looking shell-shocked. “I feel as if I’ve wandered into a science-fiction movie.”

Violet sat down next to her. “Me, too. Two sets of identical twins? It’s…it’s just crazy.”

“That’s the right word for it,” Maddie agreed, shaking her head in disbelief.

“Who is the other person?” Violet pointed to the third man in the framed photo.

“My younger brother, Carter.” Maddie looked at her. “Please don’t tell me you have an identical younger brother. That would be too much. I’d be ready for the funny farm.”

Violet managed a smile. “I don’t have any younger siblings at all.”

“That’s a relief.” Maddie flushed. “I mean…I didn’t mean that I’m glad you don’t have younger siblings. Or that I’m not glad to have found you. It’s just…”

“Yes. I know.” Violet rubbed her forehead. Maybe if she weren’t so tired, she could think this through better. “So what do we make of this? We must have the same parents in order to be identical, to say nothing of Jack and Grayson being identical. So my mother and your dad were together at one time, and they had two sets of twins. That’s what we’re saying, isn’t it?”

“I guess so.” Maddie was staring at the photo she’d identified as being her younger brother. “But that must mean Carter is my half brother. I remember when he was born. It never occurred to me that Mom wasn’t my mother, too.”

Violet could hear the hurt in Maddie’s voice, and it seemed to echo in her heart. There were too many complications for her to grapple with. “What about your dad? He has to know the answers to this. Can’t we go and see him?” Her heart gave an extra thump at the thought of actually seeing her birth father.

But Maddie was shaking her head. “He’s not within reach, I’m afraid. Dad’s a doctor. Right now he’s on a mission trip, and he said he wouldn’t be in cell-phone range most of the time. Not that we talk all that much, anyway.” Maddie shrugged. “If you’re picturing an old-fashioned, doting, emotionally engaged father, forget it. Dad’s more involved with his patients than with his kids.”

“I’m sorry.” She reached out to touch Maddie’s hand, responding to the pain in her voice. “But there must be some way of reaching him in an emergency. We’ll go nuts if we don’t find some answers.”

“I can send an email. He is able to pick those up occasionally. But before I do that, tell me about your mother. Our mother. You said we look like her.”

Violet flipped through the cell phone photos again, stopping at one she especially liked. Belle was leaning against a corral fence, wearing her usual jeans, plaid shirt and boots, her head tilted back, smiling with that pleasure she always seemed to take in whatever she was doing at the moment. Violet touched the image. She’d give a lot to see her mom looking like that again. She handed the phone to Maddie.

“Oh.” Maddie touched the image, just as Violet had. She wiped away a tear. “We are like her, aren’t we? It’s funny to look at her and know what I’ll look like in twenty years or so. She’s beautiful.”

“Yes. But right now—”

“You said she’d been in an accident.” Maddie rushed her words. “How bad is it?”

“Bad.” Violet swallowed the tears that wanted to spill out. “Her horse stepped in a hole, and she fell. Mom has a head injury. They were able to get help right away, but it was serious.” Her voice thickened. “At first they didn’t think she’d live, but she was tough enough to survive the surgery. Now…well, now they don’t know if she’ll ever wake up.”

Maddie’s hand closed on hers, the grip tight and imperative. “I have to see her. Please, Violet. She’s my mother, and I’ve never seen her, and if she doesn’t make it…” Her voice broke. “Can I go back with you?”

The enormity of the request hit Violet. If she took Maddie home with her, took her to see her mom, how on earth was she going to explain her?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Maddie said softly. “That would bring this craziness out in the open for sure. But if I don’t see her—”

“It’s okay.” She’d figure out the explanations somehow. “Why don’t you pack a bag? You can follow me back to the ranch. You probably want your own car there.”

Maddie jumped to her feet. “It won’t take me a minute. Make yourself at home. Help yourself to the fridge. You must be tired and hungry.”

She was, probably too tired to drive all that way, but she didn’t really have a choice. She couldn’t stay away any longer, relying on other people to run the ranch and look after her mother.

She scouted through the contents of the refrigerator, feeling a little odd to be helping herself. But that was what Maddie had said, and she did need something to keep her going. Maddie’s tastes seemed to run to fresh fruit and cheeses, judging by her fridge.

Maddie was back in minutes, carrying a suitcase.

“That was fast.” Violet was still eating the yogurt she’d found on the top shelf. It was lemon, her favorite, making her wonder if she and Maddie had similar tastes.

“I used to travel for my job, so I got pretty good at packing in a hurry.” Maddie glanced toward the laptop on a corner desk. “I’ll email Dad, just telling him it’s important that he contact me right away. And I guess I’d better email Landon as well. I’ll take my laptop with me so I can stay in touch.”

Violet waited, trying not to look interested in what Maddie was typing. It was obvious that Maddie still cared about Landon, or she wouldn’t be letting him know what was going on. Probably their broken engagement would be mended eventually. Someday she might be taking a part in her sister’s wedding.

Violet was unpleasantly surprised to discover that she felt an odd twinge at the thought of Landon and Maddie getting married.

* * *

Violet and Maddie drove straight through to the ranch, stopping only to eat once. Maddie wanted to go right to the hospital, but once Violet had found there was no change in her mother’s condition, she knew she had to get a decent night’s sleep.

Relief flooded through her when she finally drove through the imposing stone gateway to the Colby Ranch. The three entwined Cs at the top of the gate’s arch seemed to welcome her home.

She pulled up in front of the sprawling brick-and-stone structure that was the main house, aware of Maddie’s car behind her. When she still hadn’t been able to reach Jack, Violet had phoned Lupita, the housekeeper, cook and second mother who kept the house running like a well-oiled machine, telling her to prepare the guest room.

Violet hadn’t said whom she was bringing. The effort to explain over the phone had seemed way too much to her. Thank goodness Lupita, with her usual gentle wisdom probably sensing that questions weren’t welcome, hadn’t asked.

“This is it,” she said as Maddie joined her on the wide front porch.

“It’s huge.” Maddie glanced around. Mature trees and a wrought-iron fence surrounded the ranch house, with grasslands and rolling hills stretching out in the distance. Behind the house, outbuildings dotted the property: barns, greenhouses, storage sheds, the cottages occupied by Lupita and her husband and that of foreman Ty Garland, and the bunkhouses. Colby Ranch was a busy place, so busy that it was sometimes hard to find a moment alone.

“I’ll show you around tomorrow.” She picked up Maddie’s suitcase. “Right now let’s get you settled and see what Lupita’s fixed for supper.”

“I think you’re the one who needs to settle.” Maddie linked her arm with Violet’s. “You’ve been running at full speed since the accident, haven’t you?”

“Pretty much.” Violet pushed open the heavy oak front door and led Maddie into the center hallway. The pale tiled floor gleamed in the fading light, and there were fresh flowers, as always, on the massive oak credenza against the side wall. The staircase swept upward to the second floor in front of them. Through the glass doors at the far back end of the hallway, solar lights cast a glow over the courtyard.

“I’m home,” Violet called as she always did when she entered the house. “Lupita, are you here?”

“Sí, sí, I’m coming.” Lupita emerged from the kitchen at the back of the house, wiping her hands on the apron she’d wrapped around her plump waist. “It’s about time you were getting home.” The tone was gently scolding and filled with love. “You must—”

Another step, and she had seen Maddie. She stopped, black eyes wide and questioning, and Violet thought she murmured a prayer in Spanish.

“Lupita, this is Maddie Wallace.” What else could she say?

Fortunately, there seemed no need. Lupita rushed to them and wrapped her arms around Violet, enfolding her in a loving hug. “So,” she said softly. “I was right. There was a sister.”

Violet pulled back, thoughts tumbling. “You knew I had a sister? Lupita, how could you keep this from me?”

“No, no, I didn’t know.” She patted Violet’s cheek. “Don’t fuss, little one. Once when your mother was sick, she rambled. She spoke of her baby girls, calling for them. So I thought there had been another. But I never thought to see her, not in this life.”

“You thought I had a sister that died,” Violet said, suddenly understanding.

Lupita nodded, turning to Maddie. She walked to her, taking Maddie’s face in her hands and studying her for a long moment. “You are home,” she said. “I am glad.”

She turned, reverting to briskness probably to hide her emotion. “You must be starved, both of you. Wash up and get to the table. The food will be there by the time you are.” She bustled back to the kitchen, wiping her eyes with the tea towel she held.

Maddie looked a little dazed. She put her hand to her cheek. “I didn’t expect that kind of a welcome.”

“Lupita’s been with us since we were kids. As far as she’s concerned, we’re her kids, too.”

“Do you think she knows anything more about us?” Maddie set her bag on the credenza. “Wouldn’t she have tried to find out more from your mother, if it happened as she said?”

Violet shrugged. “Lupita always tells the truth, but sometimes she leaves things out. For our own good, she’d say. If she knows anything else about us, I’ll get it out of her eventually.”

* * *

By the time Lupita had stuffed them full of her special chicken enchiladas with black beans and rice, topped off with a scrumptious peach tart, Violet was feeling vaguely human again. She leaned back in her seat. Lupita always said that trouble and an empty belly were bad companions, and this time she seemed to be right. But even though she felt better, Violet was still too conscious of the empty chairs at the table.

Maddie, who’d demolished her piece of peach tart, was staring at the framed portrait on the dining room wall. “Who is that? Another relative?”

“That’s Uncle James.” Violet smiled at the pictured face, the weathering and wisdom of years showing in skin like crinkled leather. Kind blue eyes seemed to smile back at her. “James Crawford. He wasn’t actually a relative, but that’s what Jack and I always called him.”

“Who was he, then?” Maddie eyed the portrait curiously.

“He owned this place. Mom came here as housekeeper when I was three and Jack was five. He took us in and made us feel as if this was our home, too. He didn’t have any family, and soon he was treating us like kin. I really don’t even remember a time when he wasn’t part of our lives.”

“So he left this place to you?” Maddie sounded faintly disapproving.

“Not just like that,” Violet responded, sensitive to criticism on that subject. Other people had talked about that, she felt sure, but Belle had ignored them. “Over the years, Uncle James needed more and more help. Mom took over the bookkeeping, and as his health failed, she took on increased responsibility for every aspect of the ranch. Eventually Uncle James insisted on making her a partner, and when he died, we found that he’d left the rest to her.”

Violet’s confidence faltered. Had Uncle James known the truth about them? Had he known about their twins? She suspected that even if he’d been privy to her mom’s secret, he never would have told. Honor was everything to a man like Uncle James.

Violet pushed her chair back as one of Lupita’s numerous nieces came in with a tray, the young woman’s gaze wide-eyed and curious when she looked at Maddie. Word of this event would be all over the ranch in minutes and all over the county in a day. Violet was resigned to that happening.

“Let’s take our tea into the living room so we’re out of Lupita’s way.” She stifled a yawn. “I hope…”

Her voice faded as she heard boots coming from the direction of the kitchen. She rose from her chair. If only it was Jack…

But it wasn’t. Ty Garland, the ranch foreman, paused in the hallway, hat in his hands.

“Sorry to bother you, Violet.” He seemed to be making an effort not to look at Maddie, which meant he’d already heard about her arrival. “I was hoping you knew when Jack would be around. There’s a couple of things I need to talk to him about.”

“I wish I knew the answer to that, too, Ty.” She glanced toward Maddie to find her looking at Ty appreciatively. Maybe Maddie was practically engaged, but she certainly noticed the tall, dark and handsome Ty.

Sighing, Violet decided she’d better make introductions.

“Maddie, this is Ty Garland, our foreman. Ty, this is my…this is Maddie Wallace.”

Ty nodded, falling silent as he did so readily, especially with strangers. And Maddie, with her elegant looks and bearing, was definitely different from anyone around here.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ty.” Maddie smiled up at him from where she sat. “It sounds as if you have a lot of responsibility around here.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Ty eyed Maddie warily, making Violet wonder what he was thinking.

Maybe she’d better get this conversation back to business. “What was it you needed to talk to Jack about?”

Ty turned to her with something like relief in his dark eyes. “Well, for starters, we had planned to go to the livestock auction on Saturday, and I was just wondering if that was still on.”

She tried to think what day it was, but her brain seemed to have stopped working. Still, she could trust Ty to know what to do.

“I don’t know that you can count on Jack, with Mom still in the hospital. Why don’t you just use your own judgment, okay?”

“Sure thing. I’ll go and see if they have what we’re looking for.” He let his gaze stray toward Maddie. “Night, ma’am. Violet.” He strode toward the back door, settling his Stetson squarely on his head.

“Nice to have such a good-looking cowboy around,” Maddie said once the door had closed. “Is there anything special between you two?”

“Definitely not.” Violet shook her head. “Ty’s a great guy, but like everyone else around here, he treats me as if I’m about twelve or so. Maybe younger. He seemed to appreciate you, though.”

“Please.” Maddie shuddered. “I’m through with men. One broken engagement was enough for me.” She picked up her cup and started toward the living room.

The front door burst open. Jack came through, as brash as ever. He tossed his hat in the direction of the hook on the credenza, catching it perfectly. He caught sight of Maddie first, as she stood directly under the hall light.

“Hey, Vi, where did you disappear to—” He stopped. Blinked. And looked past Maddie to where Violet stood. And looked again. “What is going on here?”

“Jack, this is Maddie Wallace.” Violet went and stood next to Maddie, letting him compare them one against the other. “My twin.”

Jack stared. With a pang, she noted the lines of strain around his light brown eyes and bracketing his firm mouth. He was taking his mom’s injury hard, blaming himself, and she feared this discovery was going to make things worse.

He shook his head. “It can’t be.”

“It is.” Violet took his arm, feeling the muscles tense under her hand. “Come into the living room and sit down. We’ll talk about it.”

Unwillingly, he nodded and let himself be led to the overstuffed leather couch. He slid down into it, looking almost boneless. But the tension was still there, in the lines on his face and the tightness of his jaw.

“Okay, I’m not going to argue the point of whether or not you’re twins.” He stared at Maddie. “I can’t. This isn’t just a resemblance…you’re identical. How did you find her?”

“Maddie,” Maddie said, her voice tart. “My name is Maddie, and like it or not, I’m your sister.”

Jack looked taken aback for an instant. Then he managed a strained smile. “Sorry, Maddie.” He shook his head, looking as if he’d taken a fall. “What does this mean? Vi, if you have a twin we’ve never even heard of, then maybe nothing we think we know about our past is true. What if I’m not really your brother?”

“You are. I know that.” Violet clasped his hand, her heart hurting for him. “Maddie, show him the photo.”

Maddie got out the framed picture she’d brought along and handed it to Jack. He stared for a long moment at the face that was the image of his own.

He put the picture down carefully, lunged from the couch, and strode across the room, looking as if it weren’t big enough for him. Violet recognized the signs. When he was hurting, Jack had to be alone. Usually he’d take one of the horses and ride until they were both exhausted.

“Jack…” Her voice was filled with sympathy, but she didn’t know how to make him feel any better about this. He’d already been struggling with guilt over the quarrel he’d had with his mom right before her accident.

He held up his hand, obviously not wanting to hear more. “Don’t, Vi. I don’t get it. How could Mom keep this from us all these years? I feel like my whole life is a lie. Is my name even Jack Colby?”

She didn’t have an answer for that. It might be Wallace, she supposed, but they didn’t even know if that was right.

“I don’t know,” she said carefully. “Maddie’s father is away. She’s trying to get in touch with him. When she does, maybe he’ll have some answers.”

Jack spun, facing them, his hands clenched into fists. “So you expect me just to wait while some stranger decides to tell me about my own life? I can’t do that. I’ve got to—” He stopped, shook his head. “I’ve got to get away until I can clear my head.”

“Jack, don’t.” Don’t go away and leave me to face this alone—that was what she wanted to say.

“I have to.” He was already headed for the door. “I’ll take my cell phone. Call me if there’s any change in Mom’s condition.” He yanked open the door and charged out. The door slammed behind him.

Violet fought down a sob. Her family really was breaking apart, and her efforts to smooth the waters had only made things much, much worse.

Chapter Three

Landon’s mind was still on that encounter with Maddie’s unexpected twin when he arrived at his office the next morning. The long arm of coincidence had really extended itself when he’d walked into that coffee shop yesterday.

Or maybe it wasn’t coincidence at all. He stopped in there often, sometimes with Maddie. Maddie was there even more often alone, living as close as she did. Still, he couldn’t quite see why Violet would take such a chancy way of approaching Maddie, even if she had known of her existence.

Despite his caution, he had trouble imagining that Violet was anything other than she seemed. She’d been genuinely shaken at the sight of Maddie. He didn’t think she could have faked that.

Odd, that Violet could be so like Maddie in appearance and yet so different in other ways. Violet gave the impression of a woman with a warm heart combined with a strong will. Sometimes that could be a dangerous mixture.

He pushed open the door to the office, which was discreetly lettered Derringer Investments. The firm had little need of obvious advertising. Their clients came to them by word of mouth—by far the best way, as far as he was concerned.