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.
The other two were younger. She stared at one of the pictured faces and felt the room spin around.
“Who is that?” She pointed to the face.
Maddie looked at her oddly. “Are you okay? That’s just my older brother, Grayson.”
Violet shook her head, pulling her cell phone out of her bag and flipping through the photos until she found the one she wanted. “This is my older brother. Jack.” She handed it to Maddie, knowing she’d see what Violet meant at once. The faces were identical.
Maddie stared at the photo for a long moment. She sank down onto the nearest sofa, looking shell-shocked. “I feel as if I’ve wandered into a science-fiction movie.”
Violet sat down next to her. “Me, too. Two sets of identical twins? It’s…it’s just crazy.”
“That’s the right word for it,” Maddie agreed, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Who is the other person?” Violet pointed to the third man in the framed photo.
“My younger brother, Carter.” Maddie looked at her. “Please don’t tell me you have an identical younger brother. That would be too much. I’d be ready for the funny farm.”
Violet managed a smile. “I don’t have any younger siblings at all.”
“That’s a relief.” Maddie flushed. “I mean…I didn’t mean that I’m glad you don’t have younger siblings. Or that I’m not glad to have found you. It’s just…”
“Yes. I know.” Violet rubbed her forehead. Maybe if she weren’t so tired, she could think this through better. “So what do we make of this? We must have the same parents in order to be identical, to say nothing of Jack and Grayson being identical. So my mother and your dad were together at one time, and they had two sets of twins. That’s what we’re saying, isn’t it?”
“I guess so.” Maddie was staring at the photo she’d identified as being her younger brother. “But that must mean Carter is my half brother. I remember when he was born. It never occurred to me that Mom wasn’t my mother, too.”
Violet could hear the hurt in Maddie’s voice, and it seemed to echo in her heart. There were too many complications for her to grapple with. “What about your dad? He has to know the answers to this. Can’t we go and see him?” Her heart gave an extra thump at the thought of actually seeing her birth father.
But Maddie was shaking her head. “He’s not within reach, I’m afraid. Dad’s a doctor. Right now he’s on a mission trip, and he said he wouldn’t be in cell-phone range most of the time. Not that we talk all that much, anyway.” Maddie shrugged. “If you’re picturing an old-fashioned, doting, emotionally engaged father, forget it. Dad’s more involved with his patients than with his kids.”
“I’m sorry.” She reached out to touch Maddie’s hand, responding to the pain in her voice. “But there must be some way of reaching him in an emergency. We’ll go nuts if we don’t find some answers.”
“I can send an email. He is able to pick those up occasionally. But before I do that, tell me about your mother. Our mother. You said we look like her.”
Violet flipped through the cell phone photos again, stopping at one she especially liked. Belle was leaning against a corral fence, wearing her usual jeans, plaid shirt and boots, her head tilted back, smiling with that pleasure she always seemed to take in whatever she was doing at the moment. Violet touched the image. She’d give a lot to see her mom looking like that again. She handed the phone to Maddie.
“Oh.” Maddie touched the image, just as Violet had. She wiped away a tear. “We are like her, aren’t we? It’s funny to look at her and know what I’ll look like in twenty years or so. She’s beautiful.”
“Yes. But right now—”
“You said she’d been in an accident.” Maddie rushed her words. “How bad is it?”
“Bad.” Violet swallowed the tears that wanted to spill out. “Her horse stepped in a hole, and she fell. Mom has a head injury. They were able to get help right away, but it was serious.” Her voice thickened. “At first they didn’t think she’d live, but she was tough enough to survive the surgery. Now…well, now they don’t know if she’ll ever wake up.”
Maddie’s hand closed on hers, the grip tight and imperative. “I have to see her. Please, Violet. She’s my mother, and I’ve never seen her, and if she doesn’t make it…” Her voice broke. “Can I go back with you?”
The enormity of the request hit Violet. If she took Maddie home with her, took her to see her mom, how on earth was she going to explain her?
“I know what you’re thinking,” Maddie said softly. “That would bring this craziness out in the open for sure. But if I don’t see her—”
“It’s okay.” She’d figure out the explanations somehow. “Why don’t you pack a bag? You can follow me back to the ranch.
