Two Much Alike

Two Much Alike
Pamela Bauer

They're definitely not two of a kind Have you seen this man?Ten-year-old Alex Harper is putting up posters everywhere. He wants to find his dad, but only so the judge can force the "deadbeat" to pay the support he owes. Maybe then his mother can stop working all the time, and she and Alex, his twin sister and little brother can finally take a real vacation together.To everyone's surprise, Alex actually finds his dad–or does he? The man calling himself Joe Smith certainly looks the part, but he claims there's been a mistake. And Frannie, Alex's mom, is willing to believe him. After all, he doesn't exactly actlike her ex-husband. Besides, it's said that everybody has a double somewhere. Of course, it's also said that twins run in families….

“Did you think we wouldn’t recognize you?”

“I may look like him, but I’m not your father,” Joe said to the two children gazing at him as if he were the villain in a horror movie. “My name is Joe Smith.”

“That sounds like a made-up name,” the boy accused.

“It’s not. If you wait just a minute, I’ll go inside and get my wallet. It has my driver’s license in it.”

“It’s probably fake.”

“If you’re not going to accept my license as proof, what will satisfy you?”

The little girl whispered something to her brother, who then turned and said, “Take off your shirt. Or are you chicken?”

Joe almost chuckled at the absurdity of the request. Two kids were accusing him of being their deadbeat dad—and demanding that he remove his shirt to prove it. He decided to humor the kids rather than argue with them. He’d do pretty much anything to show them he wasn’t their father. He pulled the bottom of his T-shirt from his pants and lifted it over his head, leaving him bare chested and the object of their wide-eyed stares.

“It is you!”

Dear Reader,

What is it about fathers?

Alex, the ten-year-old boy in this story, wants one so badly that he goes to great lengths to find his missing dad. That’s because a father holds a very special place in his child’s heart. I know mine does, and it’s been a while since I was ten. My father was my first hero, chasing away the monsters under my bed at night and carrying me on his shoulders to keep my feet from getting stuck in the snow. He taught me how to ride a bike, to drive a car and above all, how a woman should expect to be treated by a man.

I’m no longer a little girl, but I haven’t stopped looking at my father as a hero. He has no medals of honor or commendations for bravery, but he is kind, gentle, honest and dependable. Most important, he’s given his children a great gift. He’s loved their mother for more than sixty years.

Alex’s search for his father leads him to an important discovery. He finds a hero who holds a special place not only in his heart, but in his mother’s, too. I hope you’ll enjoy their story.

Sincerely,

Pamela Bauer

Two Much Alike

Pamela Bauer

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

For two very special sets of twins:

My dad, Clifford Ronning, and his brother, Clarence and Marilyn and Marlene Muehlbauer, two dear friends who introduced me to my real-life hero, their brother Gerr

Contents

CHAPTER ONE (#u3a84a038-40c1-57ac-a0fe-a035b357ba51)

CHAPTER TWO (#ub91a3569-2d9f-5009-8846-a2a2ac2511b8)

CHAPTER THREE (#u9ba6ab7c-96b9-588f-a9e8-675699ec4113)

CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)

PROLOGUE

“DID YOU GET IT?”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t easy.” Alex Harper unzipped his backpack and pulled out a photograph. “My mom threw out most of his pictures. I found this one in a box in the basement.” He gave the photo to Josh Gallivan, who studied it closely.

“He’s a sailor?”

“He was a sailor. Now he’s a bum.”

Josh glanced at the photograph, then at Alex and then back at the photo again. “He looks normal.”

“He’s not. I’m just glad I don’t look like him. I don’t, do I?” Alex’s tone dared his best friend to disagree.

Again Josh looked from the picture to Alex. “Naw, you don’t look like him at all. He could be a total stranger.”

He was a total stranger as far as Alex was concerned. With each passing birthday, Alex’s memories of his father had dimmed, until now—at the age of ten—his father was simply a face on a piece of paper, a man who smelled like cigars and didn’t like to get his pants wrinkled.

As Josh slipped the photo into the scanner, Alex turned his attention to the monitor, waiting for the image to appear on the screen. He wasn’t nervous, yet his stomach felt funny—the same way it had that time he’d fallen out of the big oak tree in the backyard.

“Here it comes,” Josh said, as the image appeared on the screen in startling clarity. “Okay, we’ve got it. Now all we have to do is cut and paste it to your poster.” Josh moved the mouse with a familiarity Alex envied. Known as the biggest computer geek in the fourth grade, Josh knew more about computers than some adults. Most kids thought it was because his dad was a programmer and Josh had had his very own computer since he was big enough to sit on a chair. Alex, however, knew the real reason. Josh was super smart.

“Done,” he boasted proudly.

Alex gazed at the monitor. At the top of the screen in large letters were the words “Have You Seen This Man?” Occupying the rest of the space was the picture Josh had just scanned. A shiver rippled through Alex.