Twin Temptation: Twin Temptation

“Cell signals are seldom available at the ranch. And the land line seems to be out. I called before I showered. There was a nasty storm predicted last night. But she intends to go into Santa Fe today and visit the hotel where they’re holding the jewelry show tomorrow. Her cell should work there, and she’ll call. It’s our plan to keep in daily contact. And you must know how Jordan is about plans.”

Jase smiled. “A real stickler.”

Maddie set her coffee on the counter. “You haven’t answered my question. Why did you instantly suspect that our mother’s death might not be an accident?”

“Do you ever have gut feelings that something isn’t quite right?”

She met his eyes. “Yes. I get them sometimes when I’m designing a piece of jewelry. Then I know I’m going in the wrong direction.”

Jase leaned against the counter and crossed his legs at the ankles. Maddie Farrell was a good listener, astute too. Maybe it would help him to talk it out. “I got one the minute you told me that Eva had been run down. A few days before I left for South America, your mother’s store was broken into and approximately one hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry was stolen.”

Maddie frowned. “Jordan told me about that. She said that they’d gotten past the security. Considering the kind of pieces I’ve seen on Eva Ware’s Web site, I’m surprised they didn’t steal more. Some of her individual pieces go for two or three times that.”

Smart girl, Jase thought. “The break-in occurred in the main salon. Most of the designs are kept in the safe and only brought out at a specific customer’s request. But there were more expensive pieces on display. The police thought that the thief or thieves purposely took small pieces that could easily be fenced. And they only took pieces with gems.”

“Which could be taken out and sold.”

“That was the thinking. Detective Stanton worked the case, but Eva asked me to look into it also. I would have anyway since I was the one who’d installed the security system. The robbery was a very slick job. Either the thief was a highly sophisticated pro, or he’d had help from the inside. I thought the latter and I told Eva. She hired me to look into it further when I got back from South America. I suggested that she let me turn the investigation over to my partner, Dino Angelis, but she refused.”

“Maybe she wanted a little time to gather information herself. Could be she suspected who the insider was and she wanted to be able to confront him or her.”

Jase studied her. “Yeah. That’s what I thought at the time, but how did you make that leap? You didn’t even know Eva.”

“I guess because if I were in her place, that’s how I’d want to handle it. Jordan tells me that the business meant the world to Eva, that she’d devoted her life to it. On a much smaller scale, I know how I feel about my own fledgling design business. And I can sympathize with Eva wanting to try to handle it herself. Maybe she didn’t even want the thief prosecuted.”

“Why not?”

“Perhaps she didn’t want a scandal. As I understand from Jordan, almost everyone there has been with her a long time.”

“Good point.”

Maddie climbed on a stool and folded her hands in front of her. “So. How are we going to find out who broke into Eva Ware Designs?”

He frowned at her. “We’re not.”

“We have to.”

Jase straightened from the counter. “Maddie, if Eva did figure out who the thief was and threatened exposure, that person might be the one who ran her down. If he or she killed once, they won’t hesitate to do it again.”

Maddie swallowed hard and tried to ignore the sudden chill that radiated through her. Hearing the words spoken aloud in that blunt tone was a lot worse than thinking it. “You believe the thief killed Eva?”

“It’s a strong possibility, and I think that’s why my friend Dave Stanton is keeping an eye on the file.”

His eyes had gone as flat as his tone. He was purposely trying to scare her. “But you’re going to look further into the robbery?”

“Yes.”

If he was right and someone had run Eva down, there was no way she wasn’t going to do her best to find the person. She just had to find the right strategy to convince him. “I can help.”

“No. It’s too dangerous. Do what you came here to do—get to know your mother and her jewelry design business. My office will handle looking into who might have been behind the break-in and robbery.”

A plan was already forming in her mind. Maddie leaned forward. “But I’m going to be on the inside. And my cover is perfect. Jordan has told everyone about me. I’m Eva Ware’s other daughter, the one she left behind. I can play on the sympathy factor. Not from my cousin Adam, but perhaps from the others.”

Jase moved to her then and covered her folded hands with his. “I’m sorry. It’s got to be rough on you.”

“On Jordan too.”

“Yes.”

“That’s exactly what the others are going to think. And I’ll be expected to ask a lot of questions anyway. I already intend to talk to people about Eva—what she was like, how she got started in the business, what her creative process was like. It’s the only way that I have of getting to know her now. I’m going to insist on a tour of her workroom.”

Jase was looking at her, saying nothing. But he was thinking. She could almost hear the wheels turning. Reason and logic. “The break-in could come up as a part of those kinds of conversations. I could find out things that they’ll never tell you if you come into the office in your official capacity.”

“You’re not a trained investigator.”

Her chin lifted. “No. But I already have an idea of where to start.”

Jase slid onto his stool. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”

“I’ll be right back.” Whirling, she raced down the hall to Jordan’s bedroom. Once there, she grabbed the file her twin had prepared for her along with her bag.

When she returned, Jase was waiting. She placed the file on top of the island and dug in her purse for her appointment book. It was an old-fashioned leather-bound volume with a ribbon she used as a bookmark. Right now it was stuffed with business cards, paper clippings and sticky notes. Next she drew out the neatly printed papers Jordan had given her. They contained her hour-by-hour schedule for the next three weeks.

Jase regarded them in silence for a moment. “Explain.”

“They’re appointment calendars. Jordan and I have very different styles. She keeps track of her daily and weekly schedule on some high-tech thing she carries in her purse.” She patted the bursting leather book. “I do it in a less high-tech way. My father used to give me one of these every Christmas. I’m betting Eva would have kept some version of an appointment calendar. If not, her personal assistant must keep one.” She paused to consult her file. “Her name is Michelle Tan. According to Jordan, she started out as an intern and took over the job of Eva’s personal assistant when it opened up. Jordan says she’s been with Eva for nearly a year now.”

“And you’re interested in Eva’s appointment calendar because…?”

“If you’re right and Eva had some idea of who was behind the break-in, it makes sense that she would have confronted him at some point. And I’m betting that she wouldn’t have done it at Eva Ware Designs. But she may have made note of the meeting place in her calendar.”

Jase’s eyes narrowed as he considered. “You may be right. She came to my office when she decided to hire me to investigate further. And she told me not to mention it to Jordan until we had something more concrete to go on.”

“See? She was being discreet.”

Too discreet, Jake thought. It might have gotten her killed.

Jase pointed to the stack of cookies. “You going to finish those?”

“Help yourself.”

He took a cookie and bit into it. He was being manipulated. Living with a mother and a sister, he and D.C. had learned early on what that felt like. The thing was, Maddie made sense. Eva’s appointment calendar was a good place to start looking. And Maddie did have a good cover. Plus, she was going to poke her nose into this whether he wanted her to or not. If Jordan were here, he’d be facing the same problem. The two of them were as curious as Alice when she’d decided to follow that rabbit down his hole.

Maddie leaned forward. “My father was a firm believer in two heads being better than one. Whenever there was a problem at the ranch, he used to talk it over with our neighbor, Jesse Landry. After Jesse died, he’d talk with Cash and me.” She beamed a smile at him. “Admit it. You could use my help.”

For a moment, the smile and the way she was looking at him had his thoughts scattering. Jase firmly anchored them in place. He was going to have to learn to deal with her effect on him if he was going to keep her safe.

“I’ll go along with this, but I’m going to be your constant companion.”

Her brows shot up. “Constant companion?”

“For the next three weeks—or until we get this sorted out—I’m going to be at your side.”

“No way. That will spoil everything. You run a security firm. I’ll never be able to get any of them to talk freely with you hanging around.”

“Jordan has dragged me to Christmas parties and a couple of other events Eva threw at her apartment. So they know me mostly as Jordan’s friend and roommate. When I went to check the security system after the break-in, it was after hours. And as I mentioned, Eva came to my office when she decided to hire me to investigate further.”

“But that’s not going to explain why you’re tagging along after me.”

He smiled slowly at her. “Here’s my cover. Even though we just met, it was love at first sight for you and me. And I’m determined to spend as much time as possible with you during the three weeks you’re here.”

Chapter Six

“WE’RE SORRY that we cannot complete your call at this time. Please try again later.”

Maddie frowned at the handset as she replaced it in its cradle. It was the second time she’d tried the number at the ranch since she and Jase had returned to their separate bedrooms. Both times she’d received the metallic, recorded message. Even if there’d been a storm at the ranch last night, it had to be over. The phone lines should be working.

She needed her sister’s help. Her gaze strayed to the small bookcase the phone was perched on and for the first time she noted the framed photo that sat on the first shelf. Jordan was in her cap and gown, and Eva Ware stood close, her arm around Jordan. Both smiled into the camera.

A little band of pain tightened around Maddie’s heart. It was immature and not fair to Jordan to be jealous of the fact that Eva hadn’t been at her college graduation, nor had she witnessed all of the other milestones in Maddie’s life. Her father had been present, she reminded herself. And Mike Farrell had missed all of Jordan’s big events.

Maddie swallowed hard as she studied Eva’s face and noted the braid that fell over one of her shoulders. She fingered her own. It was hard even now to really get her mind around the fact that Eva Ware was her mother. In her own thoughts and even when talking to Jase about her, she was still referring to her as Eva Ware.

Would she ever get used to the idea? She set the photo carefully back on the shelf. Why? Why had her father and Eva decided to separate? Why had they each cut one daughter out of their lives? She was determined to find an answer to that question before she left New York. Maybe she would discover at least a partial answer as she came to know Eva better.

The second shelf of the small bookcase was filled with paperback books. Curious, she ran her fingers along the spines. Her lips curved when she realized that Jordan lined her paperbacks up alphabetically according to the last name of the author.

Didn’t that just figure?

But what really surprised her was that she had nearly half the same books in the small bookcase in her bedroom at the ranch—starting with the Brontës and Jane Austen. Then there were more modern writers—Linda Howard, Jayne Ann Krentz, Karen Robards, J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts and Robert B. Parker. Maddie’s smile widened as she realized Jordan obviously shared her own weakness for romantic suspense and mysteries.

Then she glanced at the bottom shelf and simply stared. The books there were alphabetized too, but they were all westerns—Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour, Luke Short, Larry McMurtry. She recognized the authors because they were her father’s favorites. There were two copies of Lonesome Dove—one that was falling apart and another that seemed to be brand new. How many times had she teased her father about rereading that novel? It appeared that her sister might have the same addiction.

Could a taste in reading run in a family? And what else might she and Jordan have in common? Certainly not their taste in clothes. Striding toward the full-length mirror on the open closet door, Maddie studied the outfit she’d selected. She’d searched high and low for a plain pair of slacks and a blazer—but Jordan didn’t seem to believe in them. Her twin favored clothes that were either a little too frilly or fashion-forward for Maddie’s taste. Her own wardrobe consisted almost entirely of jeans or slacks and jackets and T-shirts.

Simple, flexible—and you seldom had to worry about color coordination.

She’d finally decided on a suit she’d initially been drawn to because of the color—a pale blue that reminded her of a summer sky in Santa Fe. The skirt had a flouncy, fluted ruffle along its hem. Turning in a half circle, she watched it flare out. The jacket had feminine bell-shaped sleeves. It was certainly not something she could wear at the ranch, but it was growing on her.

She dropped her gaze to her bare feet. What she needed now was shoes. She sent a worried glance at the rows upon rows of them that took up a wall in Jordan’s closet. So many choices, so little time. The shower in the bathroom had stopped running five minutes ago. Since then, she figured Jase had probably shaved and now was dressing.

And she doubted he was stumped by shoe selection. The problem with Jordan’s was they all looked to be ankle-breakers. Still, there was a dark blue pair with a silver buckle that her eye kept returning to. Moving into the closet, she ran her finger over the buckle. But they’d never been worn. She didn’t feel right about wearing a pair of shoes that Jordan never had.

Which was one of the reasons she needed to talk to her sister. Striding back to the phone, she once more punched in the number of the ranch. To her surprise, it rang. Then she listened to her own voice telling her to leave a message.

When the beep sounded, she said, “Jordan, this is Maddie. Pick up if you can. Otherwise call me back ASAP.”

A glance at her watch told her it was nine-thirty. “I’m running a little late, but you should be able to reach me at Eva Ware Designs a little after ten. Jase is coming with me.”

She’d lost some time trying to talk him out of his plan to become her constant companion, but he’d remained firm. Until they had a clearer idea of what was going on, he was going to stick to her like glue. And he hadn’t missed his chance to tell her that two heads were better than one. There was nothing like having your own words come back to bite you.

“You didn’t mention in his file that he was mule-headed. Anyway, it’s a long story, and there’s something else I need to tell you.” There was no way she was going to mention what they’d discovered about the investigation into Eva’s death on an answering machine.

“So call me.” She was about to hang up when she remembered. “One other thing. There’s a pair of shoes in your closet that doesn’t look as if it’s ever been worn. Hope you don’t mind if I break them in. Bye.”

She stared at the handset for a minute after she’d replaced it. She hadn’t exactly asked permission. But those blue shoes were definitely calling her name.

Striding to the closet, she plucked them off the shelf, stepped into them, and winced. Was this what Cinderella’s stepsisters had felt like when they’d tried on the glass slipper?

But they were the right size. She’d checked that out. The tight fit had to be due to the fact that she was used to wearing boots. Very comfortable, worn-in boots. She took an experimental step out of the closet and had to slam a hand into the door frame to keep her balance. Maddie shifted her gaze to the mirror. “This can’t be that hard. You learned to ride a horse, rope a cow and shoot a gun.”

She took one step and teetered. This time she didn’t reach for the wall. “You can learn to walk in these. Millions of other women have. How hard can it be?”

Turning away from her reflection, Maddie started for the foot of the bed, stumbled, and nearly went down.

“About as hard as learning to walk on stilts,” she muttered. Then she focused on her destination. It was less than ten feet away. Concentrating hard, she raised her arms for balance the way a tightrope walker would and put one foot gingerly in front of the other. By the time she reached the bed, she could lower her arms.

And breathe.

So far, so good. She took another breath and started toward the dresser on the other side of Jordan’s bed. She raised her arms again, but by the time she was halfway there, she no longer felt the need to use them for balance. Thank heavens the learning curve for navigating around in the shoes was going to be short.

On the surface of Jordan’s dresser lay a silver-plated brush and comb, a small box of hairpins and a jewelry box. Raising her eyes, Maddie regarded her image in the mirror and frowned. The hair was definitely wrong for the outfit.

In her mind’s eye she pictured Jordan’s sophisticated, layered cut. Much better. There had to be something she could do. Quickly, she unraveled the braid and ran her fingers through it. Then using the hairbrush, she pulled it smoothly back from her face into a ponytail. Finally, she twisted the ponytail into a bun and secured it to the back of her head with pins.

Better. But were the earrings okay? With a critical eye, she studied the tiny silver horseshoes that dangled from each of her ears. The sky-blue of the turquoise was fine in terms of color. But her hand was already reaching to open Jordan’s jewelry box. What she saw inside took her breath away.

Of course, she’d seen Eva’s jewelry in magazines and on the store’s Web site, but nothing had captured the delicacy of the designs. In comparison, her horseshoes looked almost gaudy. She was reaching for a froth of lacy gold in a teardrop shape when she suddenly became aware that she wasn’t alone in the room.

Turning, she saw Jase standing in the open doorway. How long had he been watching her? The way he was looking at her, the heat in his eyes, had her throat going desert-dry. Quickly she dropped her gaze from his. Not that it helped. He’d changed into a dark blue T-shirt and blazer which only emphasized his broad shoulders. And he wore jeans that fit snugly at the hips and hugged his legs like a second skin.

And, in spite of everything she’d said to him, she wanted him again. For a moment, as the silence stretched between them, she became very aware of the fact that they were separated only by Jordan’s bed. If she moved toward it, would he? A wave of longing struck her, so intense that for a second, she nearly lost her balance.

It wasn’t the shoes this time.

It was the man.

And she could have him right now. She could tell by the expression in his eyes. An image filled her mind of the two of them on the bed, naked, their limbs entwined, their bodies moving as one.

No! Maddie fisted her hands at her sides. She had to get a grip on the way he was affecting her. Everything she’d said to him was true. She didn’t have time to indulge in…this…this…craziness. She had to learn to walk around in Jordan’s shoes. Literally as well as figuratively. She had to get to Eva Ware Designs.

Dragging her eyes back to his face, she forced her mind back to the problem that had consumed her before Jase had entered the room—what she was wearing. She raised her hands and dropped them. “What do you think?”

FOR A MOMENT Jase didn’t respond. How could he when he simply wasn’t thinking at all? His thoughts had scattered the moment he’d caught sight of her on the other side of the bed. He’d stopped in the doorway because he hadn’t trusted himself to go farther into the room.

Or perhaps it was because desire had struck him with the force of a Mack truck. When she’d loosened her braid and run her fingers through it, he’d nearly lost it. He’d grabbed the doorjamb with one hand and held on tight as his mind emptied and filled with sensations—of how that long, loose hair would feel between his fingers, on his skin.

He didn’t even know how long he’d been standing there staring at her. Long enough for him to weave a nice little fantasy about getting her out of that suit and touching her. Really touching her. He’d pictured them on that bed—this time in the daylight when they were both awake. And he knew exactly how that skin would feel—soft as rainwater, smooth as the petal of an exotic flower one might come across in the steamy jungle he’d just left.

“Well?”

Jase gathered enough of himself to note that her hands had fisted on her hips and one foot was tapping. And still he couldn’t get a word out. For the first time, something like fear moved through him.

No woman had ever tied his tongue in knots before.

“If this outfit is that bad, you’d better come right out and say it. I’m used to wearing jeans and slacks, so I don’t have much fashion sense when it comes to fancy clothes. I went for the color. But Jordan has lots of other clothes.”

Jase pulled himself together. And finally found his voice. “It’s fine.”

She studied him as she moved toward him, giving the bed a wide berth. He appreciated the strategy and took some satisfaction that he wasn’t the only one thinking about tumbling her into it.

“You’re not just saying that? You’re sure?”

“Yeah,” he lied. The only thing he was really sure of was that she wasn’t going to be wearing the outfit much longer if they didn’t get out of Jordan’s bedroom. And until he found out exactly who might have run down Eva Ware, he needed to be able to think clearly. Still, he couldn’t prevent his gaze from raking her one more time. “Are you going to be able to walk in those shoes?”

She glanced down at them. “Yeah, I’ve got that under control, I think.”

Control. That was the key word, Jase reminded himself. He released his grip on the doorjamb, flexed his fingers to assure himself that they were still there. Last but not least, he dragged his gaze away from the bed and led the way out of the room.

TRUE TO FORM, New York City traffic was crawling along at less than a snail’s pace. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Maddie was staring wide-eyed out the open window of the taxi, craning her neck to take in the buildings, the people, and breathing in the mix of scents—hot pavement, rotting garbage, exhaust fumes—that he took for granted.

He glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly ten. Even though it was only a twenty-block walk to Eva Ware Designs, he’d decided in deference to her shoes to hail a cab. But what should have been a five-minute cab ride was stretching into thirty. Even in the ankle-breakers she was wearing, they could have easily arrived at the jewelry store by now.

Brakes squealed as the car in front of them came to an abrupt stop. Someone stepped out of the passenger door and hurried into a small store that specialized in fresh produce. Their cabbie leaned on his horn and shouted something out the window in a language Jase wasn’t familiar with. Glancing out the rear window, Jase could see that their taxi was neatly boxed in.

He looked at Maddie and saw that she was staring at a policeman astride a horse. They hadn’t said much to each other since they’d left the building. She’d been intent on drinking in the sights, and he’d welcomed the reprieve of just being away from the apartment. They’d have to go back there eventually and good idea or not, he was sure that they were going to end up in bed together again.