Taking On Twins. Carolyn Zane

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СКАЧАТЬ you spoken with Emily?” Wyatt couldn’t help but worry and wonder about their young sister. Though she was of age, she was still just a kid in his mind.

      “Not yet. But I will. Listen. Austin had a courier drop this by so that we could take a look.”

      Wyatt moved to the end of his bed and dropped on the bench next to Lucy, sandwiching her between himself and Rand. “What does it say?”

      “More evidence that Meredith isn’t Meredith anymore.” Rand’s tone was wry.

      Wyatt’s exhale was long and slow. “What now?”

      Rand tapped the pages he held. “Okay. So far we’ve all suspected that the woman out there we’ve known as ‘Mom’ might not be mom at all, but instead, her twin sister.”

      “Patsy Portman,” Lucy murmured.

      “Right.”

      “That’s just…so hard to believe. I mean, come on. It’s wacky.” Wyatt raked a hand through his hair. ”

      “True. But Emily believes it,” Rand drawled. “And she was traumatized enough to run away last September.”

      “We should have listened to Emily.” To stem his agitation, Wyatt stood and moved to the wet bar. He pulled bottles of sparkling water from the refrigerator and passed them out.

      “Don’t be so hard on yourselves,” Lucy murmured as she popped the top to her bottle. “Sometimes people change after severe trauma to the head. Act completely different. Besides, you had no way of knowing that Meredith had a twin. Obviously, she didn’t want any of you to know about Patsy. And can you blame her?”

      Wyatt took a long pull on his water bottle, hoping to rinse the acid taste from his mouth. “No. Except that now that Em’s run away, it might have been helpful.”

      “Considering what Emily’s been saying about Meredith, she may be better off out of this house.” Rand held up the documents in his hand. “Austin’s report confirms her worst suspicions.” He snapped the pages with his thumb and forefinger.

      As understanding dawned, Wyatt leaned against the wet bar and gave his head a kind of backward nod. “It’s confirmed. Patsy Portman is here.”

      “Right.”

      Lucy twisted her fingers together. “Then it’s true. That wacko is here. In the house. With us. Now.”

      Wyatt arched a brow. “We knew there was that possibility.”

      “Yes, I knew it up here,” Lucy gestured to her head, “but deep down, I couldn’t really believe it. I mean it’s so…so…I mean, how can one woman take another’s place and fool everyone for ten years?”

      Tipping his chin to his shoulder, Rand looked over at Wyatt. “Which also begs the question, if she’s not Mom, then where is Mom?”

      Wyatt chose not to mince words. “You think she may be dead?”

      “Could be. Drake thinks so. Hell, practically the whole family does.”

      “Murdered?”

      “Probably. Patsy’s done it before.”

      Lucy glanced between the two men. “Why would Patsy do that to her own sister?”

      “Jealousy, most likely.” Wyatt was becoming more certain with every bit of information revealed. “Taking Meredith’s identity would also keep her from facing another murder rap.”

      Lucy let her head flop back on her shoulders. “Okay, so my mother-in-law is a murderer.”

      Wyatt held up a finger. “Actually, she’s your aunt-in-law.”

      Lolling her head from Wyatt to Rand, she stared pointedly at her husband. “I don’t ever want to hear you complain about my family again.”

      “So far, Mom’s murder is still conjecture.” Rand tipped back his water bottle and drank, then wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Right now, we don’t have any hard evidence that she is indeed dead. Without a body, we can’t prove anything yet.”

      “But until we do, we have to pretend that Patsy is Meredith, and that her bizarre behavior is normal?” Lucy wondered.

      Wyatt shrugged. “Nothing we haven’t been doing for years now.”

      Lucy looked back and forth between the men and shivered. “The only difference is that now we know for sure.”

      Later that evening, dinner with his family sent memories cascading through Wyatt, making him feel more alive than he’d felt in years. There was nothing like the praise—and good-natured insults—of family. It was too bad that “Meredith” had pleaded headache and missed most of the festivities. When she’d made her excuses and stepped from the room, he’d exchanged meaningful glances with Rand and Lucy and wondered how many others at the table suspected that Meredith wasn’t actually…Meredith.

      If she was missed, it didn’t dampen the festivities for long. There were toasts to the bride and groom, trips down memory lane, and a feeling of something so incredibly right. Again, Wyatt yearned for more than a professionally decorated and cleaned condo to come home to at night.

      After the candles had burned low, some of the crowd retired, some headed for the hot tub, some for the pool tables and others for after-dinner drinks in the courtyard. Lucy and Rand walked with Wyatt to their neighboring suites and stepped inside Wyatt’s room for a moment.

      “What now?” Wyatt asked.

      Rand patted the pocket that held the papers that Austin’s courier had delivered that afternoon. “We need to get this information to Emily.” Rand glanced at Lucy. “I’ll be back in time for the wedding.”

      “You’re leaving?” Wyatt asked.

      “Have to. We can’t leave Emily twisting in the wind. The more we keep her in the loop, the safer she’ll be.”

      Frustrated by feelings of helplessness, Wyatt nodded. “Right. How did you figure out where she went?”

      “Austin’s P.I. found her a few hours ago.” Rand paused and looked into his brother’s eyes before he spoke. “She’s in Keyhole.”

      Tiny hairs stood up on the back of Wyatt’s neck and he froze. Had he misunderstood? “Keyhole? Keyhole, Wyoming? You’re kidding!”

      “I thought that place might ring a bell for you.” Rand narrowed his eyes, searching Wyatt’s face.

      “What rings a bell? Why?” Lucy’s head swiveled back and forth between the two men as they talked over her head. “Why would some town named Keyhole ring a bell?”

      “Emily’s hiding out in Keyhole?” Wyatt asked, ignoring Lucy. “Why Keyhole?”

      “Don’t know. The P.I. didn’t talk to her. Keyhole’s not far from Nettle Creek, where Dad grew up, so I guess Emily maybe feels a little less homesick.” His eyes narrowed. “Isn’t СКАЧАТЬ