a strong urge to stop her, Daphne kept still, trying not to frighten Raina Abernathy any further.
Raina sat beside her lawyer, barricaded behind a long maple conference table in the office of Delaney, Brock, Sheffield and Gannon. Her body language screamed, “stay away,” as she moved closer to the dark-haired man whom she clearly considered her protector.
His name was Patrick Gannon, and his glacial expression pierced Daphne as if he expected her to reach across the table and murder Raina in front of him.
So much for a happy reunion. Daphne had arrived at this meeting filled with the crazy hope that she and her sister could finally become a family, that they’d learn to love each other. But Raina obviously didn’t want that, and her rejection hurt.
“I’m sorry. I had no idea you didn’t know about the adoption,” Daphne said. “Still, that doesn’t change why I’m here.”
Patrick turned toward her, his mouth a thin line, his glare raising goose bumps that made her hug herself. He stared at her arms, then looked into her eyes, his own filling with suspicion.
“I don’t have any ulterior motives,” she said. “But I hope you aren’t thinking like Mr. Gannon, Raina.” She met his gaze full on. It took more than a man with the ability to launch an ice age at a glance to scare her these days. “Or are you assuming the worst because my sister does?”
Neither Patrick nor Raina answered.
“I’d hoped you’d welcome the chance to meet your twin sister,” Daphne continued. “I understand you’re reluctant because you don’t know me, but can’t you try?” She studied Raina—a polished, expensive yet timid version of herself.
Raina looked away, but not before Daphne saw her obvious sadness. She reminded herself that she’d had months to get accustomed to the idea that she had a twin sister. And because her family had been anything but stable, the news had been welcome. The same was not true for Raina, who probably was struggling to accept such a radical change to her world. That realization nudged aside Daphne’s disappointment, allowing her to feel Raina’s pain.
Almost against her will, Daphne slid her hand across the table toward Raina. Reaching out to strangers was difficult, but she and Raina shared a bond that Daphne longed to build on. Offering physical support was a monumental step she had to take.
Patrick shifted, positioning his body to protect Raina. The rejection and hostility in the move, along with Raina’s acquiescence made Daphne snatch back her hand.
He glanced at Raina, and the look they exchanged appeared intimate, as if they carried out a silent conversation. Certainly their closeness exceeded the bounds of a typical lawyer-client relationship. He seemed ready to vanquish dragons—or in this case, a pesky, lowbrow twin who didn’t have the sense to stay hidden—at the merest gesture from Raina. Daphne knew a moment of envy. A woman who had Patrick Gannon in her corner would never need a pit bull or an electric fence to keep her safe. Did Raina appreciate having someone so willing to support her? Did she know the value of not having to fight battles alone?
Daphne tucked both hands under the table and twisted her fingers until they hurt. She didn’t need a man like Patrick in her life. She knew how to take care of herself. In fact, she preferred it that way.
“I can’t give you money,” Raina spoke suddenly, startling Daphne. “It’s all tied up. In a trust. I just get an allowance.”
“You think I’m letting you treat me like this because I want your cash?”
Patrick opened the folder in front of him. “It’s a logical conclusion. Raina has inherited the Abernathy pharmaceutical fortune. And from what I’ve been able to discover, you don’t have many assets of your own.”
Her beleaguered finances were no secret. But if that was the biggest obstacle Patrick could throw in her path, then clearly he hadn’t been that thorough in his background check. If he knew her true history, he never would have allowed her within the same state as Raina. Still, those deeds were in her past and bore little relevance to this situation, even though she doubted Patrick and Raina would hold the same view.
“You have nothing compared to the Abernathy fortune,” Raina said.
Her coldness and the way she stressed her adopted family name destroyed Daphne’s dreams of an amicable reunion and a new family. So she reacted the way she usually did in the face of rejection—she went on the offensive.
“You have everything,” Daphne said. “Wealth, poise and standing in this little town. I’ll bet your parents loved you and made sure you had nothing but the best.” In essence, all the things that were in such short supply in Daphne’s life. “Yet despite those advantages, I can’t detect a shred of kindness in you. It’s a disappointment to think we share the same blood.”
“You counted on kindness? You expected to be welcomed with open arms because we resemble each other? Blood doesn’t make us family.”
Daphne brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “This is not how I saw meeting you.”
“Tell us what you want,” Patrick said, halting the deteriorating conversation.
Daphne resisted looking to Raina for help. If their roles had been reversed, Daphne would have told him to stay out of the situation and let her talk to her sister. But after her quick insults, Raina was content to leave the hard work to her lawyer. One more piece of evidence that their physical similarities did not extend to their personalities.
Honesty, Virginia, had sounded like a sanctuary to Daphne from the moment she’d read about it and Raina. A chance to create the kind of family most people took for granted. Finding out that she was a twin had underscored her loneliness and isolation.
Raina hadn’t been alone. She’d had a mother and a father who’d loved her. She’d been a princess in this town. She’d belonged to people and to a place. She’d never needed that mystical twin connection the way Daphne had. Raina hadn’t needed fantasies of real parents swooping in to rescue her from a crazy foster mother who beat her with wooden spoons. Or from a foster mother’s boyfriend who seemed a little too interested in the young female charges. The disparity in their childhoods and their biological connection motivated Daphne. She wanted, no, needed, Raina to acknowledge her.
“I’ve searched for our parents for years.” Ten years to be precise. Since she’d turned eighteen. “I finally learned our mother died in a car accident soon after we were born. Our father gave us up for adoption. I haven’t traced him, but I found out about you in a newspaper clipping. The article talked about our mother’s accident and mentioned her surviving twin daughters.”
“My mother died three months ago,” Raina snapped. “It’s too late to start wondering about this other—woman.”
“You can’t help feeling—” Daphne said.
“Don’t pity me.” Raina’s voice went shrill.
Daphne stared at her, surprised to feel the tightness of tears. Regardless of her treatment of Daphne, Raina was mourning. “I don’t,” she said.
“Who needs your pity? My parents loved me. They didn’t tell me about this other life I barely had because they knew what you don’t understand. That past has no relevance. It’s not me.”
Maybe the Abernathys hadn’t
