amazed him that his stern brother had settled so easily into marriage and parenthood.
Matt had been a confirmed bachelor and a dedicated police officer, whose whole life and identity had been wrapped up in his job. Yet, not only had he accepted the loss of his career with surprising grace, at his insistence, he and Maude Ann had begun proceedings to adopt all five of the kids currently assigned to her care immediately after they were married.
The instant the children disappeared toward the back of the lodge, Maude Ann turned her attention back to their discussion. “Why not stay here? We’re out in the country, but it’s only a two-hour drive to Houston if you did need to go back. We have the woods and the lake and we’re miles from our nearest neighbor. And this lodge has plenty of bedrooms. It’s perfect.”
“No offense, Maudie, but with all these kids, this place is anything but peaceful.”
“There are only five children here at the moment,” she said with a huff. “Matt and I aren’t taking in any more until we learn if the adoptions are going through. Besides, I thought you liked the children?”
“I do. They’re great kids and I love them all, but you have to admit, they’re anything but quiet.”
As though to prove his point, at that moment the front door banged open again. This time seven-year-old Tyrone burst into the foyer with Jennifer and Debbie hot on his heels. The last one inside slammed the door shut on the run, and the trio pounded up the stairs with the girls shrieking dire threats at Tyrone if he didn’t give “it” back and the boy laughing his head off.
J.T. gave his sister-in-law a dry look. “I rest my case.”
“I know they can get a bit rambunctious, but if it’s quiet you need we can—”
“Sweetheart, leave the man alone,” Matt said, speaking up for the first time. “If J.T. wants to get away, that’s his business. This is his decision to make, not ours.”
A wry smile tugged at J.T.’s mouth. He should have known that Matt wouldn’t raise any objections. The prickly animosity between them had mellowed somewhat since they’d discovered their kinship, but they were hardly bosom buddies. J.T. suspected that Matt was probably relieved he was leaving.
“But we’re his family. He belongs here with us.”
“Maudie,” Matt said in a warning voice.
“Oh, all right.” Maude Ann sighed, and her shoulders slumped. “I know. I’m being selfish.” She took both of J.T.’s hands and squeezed them. “But I hate for you to go. I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you, too. All of you.” They gazed at each other in silence, each aware of what neither wanted to voice. If the adoption of the children failed to go through, all five of them would probably be moved to another foster home before he returned and they would never see them again.
“Hey, don’t worry,” J.T. said gently when Maude Ann’s eyes grew suspiciously moist. “I’ll keep in touch. I promise.”
“You’d better,” she warned. “Because if you don’t I’ll come get you and haul you back.”
“So, when are you leaving?” Matt asked.
“Actually, I’m on my way now. I just stopped by to let you know I’m going. And, uh…there is one other thing you should know. I’ve decided to take a stab at looking for our missing sibling.”
Matt frowned, and J.T. waited for him to object. From the beginning Matt had not been gung-ho about locating their other triplet. Though he was more flexible since Maude Ann had come into his life, he still resisted change and detested any sort of upheaval in his personal life. A legacy, J.T. suspected, from their birth mother deserting them when they were toddlers.
“If you want to search, that’s your decision. But I think you’re setting yourself an impossible task. With so few clues and sealed adoption records, where do you even start?”
“Actually…I already have.” J.T. reached inside his shirt and pulled out the jagged piece of a medallion that he wore on a chain around his neck. Matt wore a similar one that fit perfectly with J.T.’s, forming two thirds of a silver disk. The medallion pieces had been given to them by their birth mother. “A few weeks back I posted a notice on an Internet missing-persons bulletin board, asking if anyone knew, or knew of, someone who owned a medallion piece like the ones we have. I also included a drawing of the missing section.
“I’ve already received quite a few responses. Some of them were bogus and most of the rest turned out to be nothing, but one seems promising. Here, take a look at this.” J.T. pulled a square of paper from his wallet and handed it to Matt. “I downloaded this about three weeks ago.”
Matt unfolded the paper and began to read aloud.
“The man you are looking for is Zach Mahoney. Your best chance of locating him will be through his sister, Kate Mahoney, who operates a bed-and-breakfast in Gold Fever, Colorado. Zach is a drifter, but he shows up now and then at the B&B.
“I advise you not to reveal that you’re looking for him. The Mahoneys, particularly Zach, are suspects in a criminal case. Kate is protective of her brother, and if either of them suspects someone is looking for Zach, he will go to ground.”
Frowning, Matt looked up from the paper and shot J.T. a hard look. “This isn’t very encouraging.”
“I know.”
“It appears that at best the man’s a bum. At worst, a crook. Are you sure you want to locate him?”
J.T. sighed. “To tell you the truth, no. But I don’t have a choice. I don’t think either of us has. Until we find him, we’re always going to wonder. Face it, Matt, the three of us share a bond, like it or not.”
Matt’s mouth firmed into a grim line, and J.T. saw his jaw tighten. “I guess you’re right. I just hope we’re not buying ourselves a load of trouble.”
“You two do realize that this could just be someone with a grudge against this Zach Mahoney person, don’t you?” Maude Ann said. “Whoever posted this anonymous reply could just be trying to stir up trouble for him. It could even be that he’s not your brother at all.”
“Yeah, I know. Either way, though, I have to find out.”
“So, what are you going to do now?” Matt asked.
“Now? Now I’m going to do just what I told you. I’m going to go find a nice, peaceful place and write.” His gaze swept back and forth between Matt and Maude Ann. “From what I could learn about it, Gold Fever, Colorado, sounds as though it will suit just fine.”
Chapter Two
Kate Mahoney pushed her shopping cart through the aisles of Hendricks Grocery with single-minded purpose: to get her shopping done as quickly as possible and make her escape.
Luckily, today the only other customers in the store were Gert Krueger and Jonell Abbott; although, that was bad enough.
If Gert had her way, Kate and her brother would be rotting behind bars. Jonell wasn’t quite so obvious, or so vocal,
