The Right Twin. GINA WILKINS

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СКАЧАТЬ were headed out of town for a few days, but she thought you’d wait until after the party to leave. Dad’s ticked at you for just taking off without telling anyone where you were going.”

      “I told them I wasn’t in the mood for a party. I specifically said I wouldn’t be there.”

      “They thought you’d change your mind. Mom seemed really surprised when you didn’t show up.”

      “I’m sure there were plenty of people there to celebrate the occasion,” Aaron muttered, pushing down a ripple of defensive guilt. “I sent Miles a graduation gift.”

      There was always some sort of family gathering in the extended Walker clan. A birthday, an anniversary, a wedding, a housewarming, a birth. He and Andrew had thirteen first cousins just on their dad’s side, and another generation was well underway. The family had gathered last night at their cousin Brynn Walker D’Alessandro’s house to commemorate the high school graduation of Brynn and Joe’s son, Miles. So not only would many of the Walkers have been in attendance, but a good number of D’Alessandros had also been invited.

      Even knowing he risked general disapproval with his absence, Aaron just couldn’t make himself attend. It had been about the time he should have been leaving for the party when he’d impulsively decided to escape to the lake for a few days. Someplace where no one would know him or any other member of his illustrious family. He guessed the joke was on him.

      “So, Andrew. Tell me about the Bell family.”

      A rather lengthy silence followed before Andrew cleared his throat and asked, “The Bell family?”

      “Bell Resort and Marina? I’d think you’d remember, since you are apparently the Bell family hero.”

      “Tell me you aren’t at the resort.”

      “I could tell you that, but it would be a lie. I needed a place to get away for a few days. I’m sure you can figure out why. I didn’t expect to be greeted with genuflects when the folks here mistook me for you.”

      “How did you end up there, anyway?”

      “I found a brochure in—well, near your trash can yesterday. It looked ideal, and since you’d thrown the brochure away, I figured you weren’t interested and I wouldn’t have to worry about running into you or the rest of the family. I’d be completely anonymous. As usual, my plan didn’t work out quite as I expected.”

      “Well, what do you expect?” Andrew asked with unmistakable exasperation. “You take off out of the blue to someplace you learn about from my trash can and you’re surprised there are complications?”

      “I just needed to get away to think.” Aaron hated that he’d gone on the defensive, as he so often did with his twin lately. “It’s no different from what Casey did when he was questioning his career with the law firm in Dallas. He spent some meditation time in east Tennessee away from the family pressure for a few weeks and it ended up working out great for him. He met Natalie, they went into legal practice together, they’ve been happily married for—what? Four years now?”

      “So you headed for southeast Texas looking for a wife?”

      Aaron scowled. He was rapidly growing tired of his brother’s sarcasm. “I just need to reassess. Granted, I didn’t know there would be all new expectations of me here, just because I happen to be your brother.”

      “What expectations?”

      “We’ll get to that in a minute. First, why don’t you tell me exactly what you did for the Bell family that made them all so grateful to you? Were you just doing the job, or did you go beyond the call of duty to reap all this gratitude?”

      “They hired me to assist with a problem and I took care of it. It wasn’t a favor—they paid me for my time, though they gave me so many perks at the resort that I took a discount off the total bill. And you know I’m not going to discuss the details of the case with you, Aaron.”

      Aaron was not surprised by Andrew’s insistence on client confidentiality, even under these circumstances. “Shelby told me the basics of your job for them last summer, so you wouldn’t be breaking any agency rules to talk about it superficially with me. But I’m not really all that interested in your case. Tell me about Shelby.”

      “Shelby?” Andrew’s brusque voice softened. “She’s sort of flaky, but a sweetheart, really. She gets a little carried away. Takes an idea and runs with it. She really got into the investigation when I was there. Came up with a lot of increasingly improbable ideas for helping me, that sort of thing.”

      Something about his brother’s indulgent tone rubbed Aaron the wrong way. He found himself getting defensive on Shelby’s behalf. “Are you saying she can’t be taken seriously?”

      “No, I didn’t say that. Shelby’s damn good at her accounting job for the resort. She’s the one who figured out what was going on with the guy they all call ‘the evil ex,’ even though she couldn’t find the proof they needed without professional help. And a couple of her offbeat ideas came in rather helpful when we were laying a trap for the jerk. She just goes about things a little differently. So what’s going on with her?”

      “She asked me to look into one of the guests here. She thought I was you at the time she asked, but even after I corrected her, she thought I’d be qualified to do some snooping.”

      Andrew groaned. “What sort of snooping?”

      Aaron filled him in on Shelby’s concerns and her reasoning behind them. He could almost hear Andrew shaking his head before he finished. “Don’t let her drag you into one of her convoluted plots, Aaron. There are things here you need to do—like find a new job. Dad’s already got some prospects lined up for you.”

      Aaron wondered if maybe he’d be more successful in any future career efforts if he lined up his own prospects. “I’ll call Dad later,” he said, somewhat curtly. “In the meantime, how about you run a name for me?”

      “The hinky guy?”

      “Yeah. No harm in checking him out, is there?”

      “Give me his name,” Andrew said in resignation.

      “Terrence Landon. And I’ve got a license plate. There’s a black SUV parked in front of his cabin.”

      A heavy sigh sounded in his ear after he’d rattled off the numbers. “I’ll see what I can find. For Shelby,” Andrew added.

      “I’m sure she’d appreciate it. Hell, she and the family will probably rename the resort in your honor.”

      “Very funny. Um—have you met all the family yet?”

      “Not all. A few. Had to convince the ones I’ve met that I’m not really you in disguise.”

      “Have you met Hannah?”

      Hannah. Running through a quick mental rundown of Shelby’s chatter about her family, Aaron remembered that Hannah was Shelby’s cousin, Maggie’s sister. “No. Shelby said Hannah is out of the state for a couple of weeks, visiting her mother’s relatives. A vacation from the vacation spot, I guess.”

      “I see.” Andrew didn’t sound amused. “I’ll check this СКАЧАТЬ