His Twin Baby Surprise Read online

  Amazed, Ben saw that all three of them were classic cars, built in the days when Detroit really knew what it was doing—a 1955 turquoise-and-white Chevrolet Bel Air, a 1959 Chevrolet Impala with sparkling black paint and distinctive tail fins, and a root beer–colored 1966 Ford Mustang convertible that made Ben’s heart pound. All three cars were driven by women who stepped out and walked toward Ben, hands outstretched in greeting.

  They were dressed in tight jeans and snug tops that showed off their figures. Ben had been carefully taught by his mother to never ask a woman’s age, but he guessed these three to be well past fifty.

  “Hello. Ben, isn’t it?” the petite, blonds driver of the Mustang said as she took his hand. “I’m Denise Clark, a friend of Zach’s.” She removed the scarf that had been protecting her hair from the wind and turned to wiggle her fingers at Zach, who was walking over to join them.

  “Um, hello. I’m, uh, happy to meet you, Ms. Clark.” Before Ben could say any more, Denise was elbowed aside by the other two women, who Ben could now see were twins. Denise stumbled back and gave them a dark look.

  “Hi,” one of them said. “I’m Ginger Afton, and this is my sister, Cinnamon Vale.”

  Ben nodded. Ginger and Cinnamon? Really? “Uh, welcome to Riverbend Ranch.”

  Zach joined them right then and introduced himself, giving Ben’s hand a bone-shattering shake that reverberated up his arm and rattled his teeth.

  “Glad to meet you, Ben, and glad to be back in the area where I can work with some Choctaw ponies.”

  “He’s been in Arkansas,” Denise breathed, a wistful tone in her voice. “That’s where we met him. In Fayetteville. At a classic car show.”

  That explained the vehicles, if nothing else, Ben thought. “That’s wonderful, ladies.”

  The three sighed in unison as Cinnamon—or was it Ginger?—said, “Happiest day of our lives.”

  Nodding, Ben recalled that Fayetteville was in the northern part of the state, almost a four-hour drive away. Looking from one to the other of the women, he tried to decipher their expressions and finally decided it could only be described as love struck.

  “Oh, now, you ladies are being too nice. Meeting ol’ Zach couldn’t have been the best day.” His expression said he expected them to dispute that, which they did with declarations of how much they would miss him.

  “We came along to make sure he arrived safely,” the other twin offered. “We would be heartbroken if anything happened to him.”

  All three women sighed and Zach shrugged one shoulder and ducked his head modestly as he removed his cowboy hat, revealing a shock of thick, black hair touched with gray. He held his hat over his heart as he said, “My guardian angels.”

  Who is this guy? Ben wondered, returning his attention to Zach, who was smiling at the three women with a fond expression. The guy was fifty if he was a day, possessed of a hawk-like nose that had been broken at least once and deep-set eyes that were so black and intense it was impossible to distinguish the pupil from the iris. He had a winning smile but was missing a bicuspid on the top right side. Maybe that added to his appeal to these women.

  Obviously looks weren’t everything, Ben decided. Zach had some admirers.

  “It’s wonderful that he’s got, um, friends like you ladies,” Ben said in response, though he knew none was expected. He could have disappeared into thin air and none of his guests would have noticed. He wondered fleetingly why the three of them hadn’t ridden together, but when he saw the snapping, side-eyed looks they were giving each other, he figured there had been danger of one of them pushing the other two out of the vehicle as they followed Zach to Reston.

  The Choctaw charmer turned a smile on the ladies. It was so full of sweetness and gratitude they all seemed to blush in unison. “You girls made my stay in Fayetteville a visit straight to heaven. I hope you come back and visit me again real soon.”

  “I will,” they said, once again passing a challenging glare between them.

  “I’ll hold you to that,” he said, beginning to walk his three admirers to their cars.

  “Now, Zachie, don’t forget to call me. You’ve got my number,” Denise said. “I put it in your phone myself. It’s listed under my name and also under Sexy Lady.”

  Ginger and Cinnamon snorted in disdain, but Zach said, “I sure do have your number, honey. And you other two beautiful women, too.”

  Gallantly, he opened the driver’s doors for each of them in turn, gave them a kiss on the cheek and then watched, his face full of regret, as they made the big turn in Ben’s driveway and started out for Fayetteville. Zach gave them a sad wave as they each pulled out, their arms stuck out the windows, hands flapping in goodbye as they went.

  Ben had to admit it. The old guy had some moves. When the last car in line pulled out of sight, Zach turned to Ben, rubbed his hands together and said, “I’d like to go down and take a look at the horses as soon as I get my trailer hooked up to power and water. I’ve got a hot date tonight.”

  He hurried to his Airstream as Ben gaped after him. Things just got a lot more interesting at Riverbend Ranch.

  * * *

  “YOUR MOTHER? YOU mean Maureen, right?” Carly asked, a slice of pizza suspended in front of her mouth. Slowly she returned it to the plate and sat staring at Lisa. Gemma appeared to be equally astounded.

  In spite of husbands and family responsibilities, Gemma, Carly and Lisa had vowed to continue their Girls Night In at least once a month. Fortunately this one had fallen on the night after Maureen’s arrival, so Lisa had an excuse for delaying her return home. They had gathered around Carly’s dining room table to enjoy their feast of pizza, salad and soft drinks. Carly’s husband and son had gone to play cards with Nathan.

  “That’s right. Showed up yesterday, out of the blue, asked to stay.” Lisa told her friends everything that had happened, including her talk with Ben.

  “Oh, you did have a busy day.” Carly returned to her slice of pizza, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully. “How do you feel about all of that?”

  Lisa took a tiny bite of pizza, although she was afraid even that much wouldn’t stay down. She couldn’t face another bite of saltine crackers or anything else bland. She craved something with flavor. “I was shocked to see Maureen. I didn’t get a chance to talk to her this morning before I left for the office. All I know is that she’s been sick and has no place else to go. And Ben...? I’m disappointed.”

  “Humph,” Carly snorted. “Might be time for another visit from the Stiletto Mafia.”

  Gemma and Lisa exchanged a look. “Maybe,” Gemma said.

  Carly grinned at them. “My husband tells me that he was shaking in his boots last summer when he received that visit from you two at his office in Dallas right before he came up here to work on his oil extraction process.”

  Gemma snickered. “It was only a friendly chat.”

  “Oh, come on. You gave him the distinct impression that if he hurt me, he’d end up at the bottom of Lake Texhoma modeling a pair of cement shoes.” Carly glanced at Gemma. “Only, this time, you and I will be the ones protecting Lisa’s back.”

  Lisa smiled and sipped her lemon-lime soda even as she blinked back tears at the loyalty of her friends. Their support of her was straightforward and unbending. They were the ones she could always depend on. That was good because she doubted she could depend on Ben, except perhaps financially, and she had learned long ago that Maureen would never be a part of her life.

  As if she’d picked up on Lisa’s thoughts, Gemma asked, “Besides needing a place to recover, did your moth—uh...Maureen say why she came to see you?”

  “To make amends, but she seems...I’d say desperate but I don’t know her well enough to know if it’s desperation or something else.”

  Even if she had been sick and was out of resources, there must have
been other options open for her. Lisa didn’t even know if her mother would be at the house when she got there or if the place would be cleaned out of all valuables. But as she’d told Gemma, other than owning more shoes than she needed, Lisa didn’t collect things. Any items lost could be replaced.

  “It just seems so strange,” Carly said. “You haven’t seen her more than a few times in your life, and now she’s moved back in.”

  “It’s only temporary,” Lisa hastened to say. “Although I don’t know how temporary. I long ago gave up any idea of having a relationship with her.” Lisa shook her head. “When I was little, I constantly dreamed she’d show up and sweep me away to the fairy castle where I was sure she lived—with my dad, the magical king.”

  Gemma and Carly exchanged a look. “We remember,” Carly said.

  “It’s strange having her there,” Lisa went on. “Nothing like what I imagined as a little girl. Honestly, I didn’t know what to imagine. When I was small, I tried to picture her in our house, but I couldn’t imagine a fairy queen in full royal regalia sitting on top of the stacks of magazines that covered the sofa, or eating at the dining room table between the car parts and empty egg cartons.”

  “I think by the time we were twelve or so, you’d given up on her ever coming back,” Gemma said.

  “That’s true and, really, she did me a favor. She went away and stayed away and anytime she came, she always made it clear that it was for a very short visit, a few hours at most. I suppose that was better. I only got my heart broken once instead of over and over like some kids do.” She frowned.

  “What?” Gemma asked.

  “Saying that made me think that maybe Ben is right.”

  “That’s a first,” Carly said. “Why?”

  “He never wanted a family because he’s gone so much. He said it wouldn’t be fair to a child.”

  “But now there is a child,” Gemma pointed out. “That changes things.”

  “No. It’s a reality for me, but not for him. My life, my goals of all I want to do in Reston, will probably change. His won’t. Even if I loved him, I couldn’t be with a man who will be gone so much his child would begin referring to him as ‘Uncle Daddy.’”

  Her friends laughed.

  “I’m serious,” Lisa said firmly. “My child will be in the same situation I was in—having an absent parent. I know what to say and do to help my baby deal with it—to learn not to expect anything more than financial support.”

  “That’s sad,” Carly said.

  “But it’s the way things are.”

  All three of them fell silent, deep in thought.

  Lisa’s shoulders slumped. “What if I’m like Maureen? What if I fail my kid? The only thing my baby will have that I didn’t is that he’ll know who his father is.”

  Both of her friends rushed to hug her. “That won’t happen. You won’t fail, and besides, you’ll have us,” Gemma said.

  Lisa blinked back tears. She wanted to believe them, but she was too overwhelmed to think clearly.

  That was one of the most frustrating aspects of this situation. She always had a plan in mind, and Plan B and C as backups. Being indecisive had never been a problem before.

  Returning their hugs, she stood. “I’ve got to go. If Maureen is still at my house, I hope to get some answers.”

  “And I’d better save some pizza for Dustin.”

  Gemma frowned. “But Nathan was cooking dinner for them. He made a huge pan of lasagna.”

  “Believe me, Dustin will still be hungry.” Carly sighed. “And so you know, if he convinced Nathan and Luke to make bets on the outcome of the card game, he may also be in possession of the deed to your house, all your good jewelry and quite possibly your retirement fund.”

  Gemma laughed but Lisa said, “It must be hard having a child who is smarter than all the adults in his life put together.”

  “You have no idea,” Carly said, but Lisa heard a hint of pride in her voice.

  * * *

  MAUREEN SAT AT the small breakfast nook, sipping a cup of tea and watching out the window for Lisa to come home.

  She asked herself, yet again, what she was expecting from this visit. She knew that Lisa would ask her that question at some point, and Maureen hoped to have an answer.

  What she had told her daughter was true. After a lifetime of minimum-wage jobs, living either with Violet or in cheap apartments, she’d worked her way into better and better situations and then lost what she’d saved to illness. She hadn’t inherited anything from Violet and hadn’t expected to. Her grief at her aunt’s death had been overwhelming, especially when she’d seen Lisa at the funeral and been unable to speak much to her.

  She knew she could never make up for the past and she had no idea what kind of future she had, but she’d been at rock bottom when she’d arrived in Oklahoma, her old home, and been taken in by the daughter she had no right to claim.

  She had spent the day walking over the property where she had played as a child, where her own daughter had played. Now it was free of the car parts and rusted, twisted metal that had been such a safety hazard.

  There were no more acres of old tires that looked like ugly black doughnuts that filled with rainwater in the summer, perfect breeding ground for the swarms of mosquitoes that had made summer outdoor life so miserable at the Thomas homestead.

  The entire place had been a hazard, with tetanus, mosquito-borne illnesses, serious cuts and other injuries waiting to happen. It was also where she had abandoned her baby, an action that still weighed her down with guilt.

  Since she’d grown up and learned something about health and safety laws, she had wondered why the county hadn’t forced them to clean the place up. Maybe it had been too much for even career bureaucrats to tackle.

  She had marveled at the landscape revealed by the cleanup. In a few weeks, it would be enhanced by the first shoots of grass and wildflowers. Filled with a mixture of joy and surprise at what Lisa had accomplished, and regret that she’d had to do it alone, Maureen had been worn out from her trek. Still weak from her illness, she had fallen onto the guest room bed, where she had breathed deeply, drawing in scents she’d never before detected in this house—lemon furniture polish and fresh air.

  Lisa pulled into the driveway but didn’t come into the house for a few minutes, so Maureen went to the back door and peeked through the curtain. To her alarm, she saw that Lisa was standing in the V formed by the open car door and was bent over double, one hand to her throat, the other on her stomach.

  She jerked the door open and dashed down the steps. “Lisa, what’s wrong?”

  “I’m okay,” Lisa murmured. “Just need a minute.”

  “You obviously aren’t okay,” Maureen answered, taking her daughter’s hand and urging her to step out so she could get an arm around her and support her into the house.

  Once she had Lisa seated in the kitchen, she ran out, gathered her purse and laptop case from the car, locked the vehicle and rushed back inside.

  “Do you need to go to the emergency room?” Maureen asked, putting a hand on Lisa’s forehead then touching her cheeks. “You don’t have a fever, but sometimes it doesn’t start right away when you get sick.”

  “No,” Lisa answered, her voice distant. She turned her face away as she repeated, “I’m okay.”

  “You’re white as paper,” Maureen declared frantically. “I’m calling an ambulance right now.”

  “No!” Lisa lurched to her feet, but when Maureen tried to push her back into the chair, she was shaken off. “I...I need the bathroom.”

  Lisa stumbled through the house with Maureen following, peppering her with questions that Lisa ignored. The bathroom door was shut firmly in Maureen’s face, but she heard the sound of retching, which only raised her level of alarm.

  When the toilet f
lushed and Lisa emerged, face still pale, her eyes tearing with illness and distress, Maureen grabbed her around the waist and helped her to her bed.

  “How long have you been like this? This could be a serious case of the flu or...or some other virus or bacteria. I should know. One just like this nearly killed me. I’m calling an ambulance. If it’s really bad, they may have to put you in isolation and—”

  “I’m not sick!”

  “You’re not only sick, you’re probably contagious.” Fear and dread set Maureen’s heart pounding. What if she caught it, too? Her immune system was still recovering. Another virus could kill her. But if her daughter needed her... “But...but don’t worry. I’ll take care of you.” She gulped. “No matter what.”

  Lisa perched on the side of the bed. “No, Maureen. I’m not sick.”

  Caught up in the memory of her own illness, the days of fever, the painful shudders that had racked her body, the weakness that had prevented her from so much as turning herself over in bed, Maureen didn’t hear her.

  “I’ll be with you every minute. I’ll take care of you.” She slipped off Lisa’s high heels and set them beside the bed as she talked. “I won’t even leave you alone at the hospital. I’ll make them bring in a cot or something for me. I’ll make sure you get the best care. You’ve got insurance, right? Believe me, you don’t want to be without insurance when you’ve got a major illness like this.” She reached to swing Lisa’s feet onto the bed.

  “No!”

  “I’m glad you agree,” Maureen said. The more the thoughts of illness overcame her, the faster she talked. “I know you have insurance. You’re a successful businesswoman. You’d never be without something that important.” She tried to settle Lisa against the pillows, but Lisa resisted.

  “No! Stop,” Lisa said weakly.

  “Just lie down. I’m making you more comfortable.”

  “Maureen!” Lisa’s voice rose to a shout and Maureen looked up, blinking.