Her Surprise Sister

She was already shaking her head. “I know what you’re thinking, that we could have been split up as babies and adopted by different couples. But it can’t be. Everyone says I look just like my mother.” A shadow crossed her face when she spoke of her mother…distress, fear…he wasn’t sure what.

“What is it?” He reached impulsively for her hand. “Is something wrong with your mother?”

Violet took a deep breath, seeming to draw some sort of invisible armor around her. “My mother was in an accident a few days ago. She had a bad fall from a horse. She’s been in a coma in a trauma center in Amarillo ever since.”

“I’m sorry.” The depth of her pain touched him, even though she was trying to hide it. “But…what are you doing here in Fort Worth, then?”

Violet’s lips trembled for an instant before she summoned up control. “I…it was a crazy idea, I guess. But I thought maybe I could find my father.”

“Find your father?” Now it was Maddie’s voice that shook a little. “Is he missing?”

Violet rubbed her temples, and he thought she was fighting tears. “I don’t know. I’ve never known who my father was. I was sitting there in the hospital, praying that Mom would open her eyes, and suddenly I was longing to see my father.” She gave a shaky laugh. “I suppose I wanted someone to walk in and tell me it was going to be all right. Stupid, isn’t it?”

“Maybe not so stupid,” he said. “It brought you here, didn’t it? But why Fort Worth?”

“Because this is where I was born. My mother did tell my brother that when he kept badgering her about it, although then she closed up and wouldn’t say any more. I thought I might find some records.”

“Do you know which hospital?” At least that was something that could be checked. Landon would welcome some positive task that would lead to unraveling this puzzle.

Violet shook her head. “Mom always clammed up whenever we asked her about it. So eventually I stopped asking. My brother, Jack, was more interested in finding out than I was, but she just always said we were better off not knowing.”

“I can run a check on hospital records. What’s your birthday?” He pulled out his cell phone. The firm of private investigators his company sometimes used would know how to access that information.

“January 26th.” They made the reply almost in unison, and then looked at each other, some sort of bond seeming to form in that moment.

“You don’t need to do any checking,” Maddie said. “It’s obvious, as you said. We’re sisters.” She reached across the table, touching Violet’s hand. They looked at each other, faces breaking into identical smiles.

It couldn’t help but warm his heart, but his rational mind sounded a note of caution. All they knew about this woman was what she’d told them.

A couple of college boys came into the coffee shop, discussing baseball loudly as they approached the counter. Maddie gave them an annoyed look.

“We can’t talk here,” she said. “Violet, you just have to come back to my condo. There are a million things I want to ask you. All right? Will you come?”

Violet seemed to hesitate for a moment. Then she nodded. “Okay.”

Landon rose when they did, and Maddie gave him what was obviously a dismissive smile.

“Thank you, Landon. I appreciate what you did to bring us together. I’ll talk with you sometime soon.” She turned away, heading for the door.

Violet was obviously startled by Maddie’s action. She started to follow and then turned back, giving him a shy smile.

“Thank you, Landon. If I hadn’t run into you, I might never have known I have a twin.” She held out her hand, and he took it.

They stood for a moment, hands clasped, and it seemed to him they were making a promise. Confused by the sudden emotion, he smiled and stepped back. He’d been summarily dismissed, and he couldn’t very well barge into Maddie’s condo to see what they did next.

But as he watched them walk out the door together, he knew this couldn’t be the end of his involvement. Even if Violet were as genuine as she seemed, the situation still had the potential to explode, hurting the whole Wallace family. And if Violet were playing some game of her own…

Well, even though their engagement had never been more than a formality, it was his duty to protect Maddie, and that was what he intended to do.

Chapter Two

Violet hurried outside to catch up with Maddie, her palm still tingling from Landon’s touch. That wouldn’t do, she lectured herself. According to the dapper CEO, he wanted to marry Maddie.

Still wanted, he’d said. That implied there’d been an engagement between them, didn’t it? So what had gone wrong for them?

On the face of it, Landon Derringer was quite a guy—obviously handsome and sophisticated, apparently wealthy and successful. Still, Maddie knew him better than she did. There could be very good reasons why she’d changed her mind about marrying him.

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.