The Twin Bargain. Lisa Carter

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      The shock at seeing Ethan again was not dissimilar to the stinging jolt Amber had felt when once she overturned one of her father’s rafts into the freezing cold water of the river.

      But the sensation was the same. Fighting her way to the surface, gasping for air. Her heart in overdrive. This couldn’t be real. He couldn’t be real.

      Amber shook herself slightly, trying to clear her muddled thoughts. Ethan Green wasn’t an illusion. Standing beside Miss ErmaJean’s hospital bed, he was as real and solid as the granite rocks of the North Carolina mountains.

      She tried not to gape at him. The broad shoulders, the well-muscled chest beneath the jacket, the six-pack waist that tapered to his jeans. This man she didn’t know—the man who’d fulfilled the youthful potential of the boy she’d once loved so impossibly. This man robbed her of coherent thought.

      Amber wasn’t sure why her brother hadn’t told Ethan about the last five years of her life. When he and Matt left for basic training, she believed she’d never see Ethan again. His leave-taking had been so final. He’d been so exultant about finally gaining his freedom from the small-town life he hated.

      Freedom. A concept she barely remembered. She tucked a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. His gaze followed the motion of her hand. And something fluttered like the wings of a butterfly inside her rib cage.

      Ethan’s gold-flecked hazel eyes were as intense as ever. She swallowed against the rush of feeling. What was wrong with her?

      He’d surprised her, that’s all. She hadn’t expected to see him here. Not after so much time. No big deal.

      Especially on a day like today when her plans to make a better life for her children were falling to pieces.

      She endeavored to get her traitorous heart to settle down. No easy task when it came to the boy she’d had a schoolgirl crush on since she was... Eleven?

      As far back as memory served, there’d been her, Matt, Ethan and Callie. Inseparable. Or that’s what she’d believed until Ethan made a deal with Matt, convincing her brother to also join the Marines after graduation.

      She and Callie had been left behind. At sixteen, she’d never dreamed being left behind would become the story of her life. She finished growing up alone, the hard way. Experience, a bitter teacher.

      Why was he staring at her? Self-conscious, she smoothed her hand over her scrubs. Well aware the years hadn’t been kind. But he could at least pretend not to look so...so shocked.

      Was it her appearance or single motherhood that shocked him the most? Her ex-husband, Lucy and Stella’s father, had been an irresponsible jerk, but she worked hard to make sure the twins never suffered for her errors in judgment.

      She fingered the end of the stethoscope. “Girls, tell everyone good-night.”

      “Night-night, Gigi.” Lucy smiled at Ethan. “You, too, Efan.”

      Stella glued herself to Amber’s leg.

      “I was kidding about the bolts.” GeorgeAnne planted her hands on her bony hips. “I’ve heard you two girls like milkshakes. I wasn’t misinformed, was I? Thought we might swing by the drive-through on the way to your house.”

      Lucy immediately abandoned Ethan. “I wike vaniwaa, Miss G’Anne.”

      Stella made a face. “I like strawberry-vanilla-chocolate ice cream.”

      GeorgeAnne’s mouth quirked. “Who doesn’t?”

      Amber quickly calculated how much money her depleted wallet contained. Not enough for milkshakes. “I’m sorry, girls, but—”

      GeorgeAnne raised her hand. “My treat. Got nothing but a passel of grandsons. I think it’s time to see how the other half lives.”

      Amber warmed toward the often sharp-tongued, overly brusque woman. “Thank you, Miss GeorgeAnne.” For not making her feel like such a charity case.

      The older woman moved toward the door. “The train for milkshakes is leaving now. Anyone going to hop on board?”

      “Me!” Lucy grabbed hold of her sister’s hand. “Stehwaa, too.”

      Amber’s heart sank. Stella looked like she’d rather eat live worms. Her babies had made so many sacrifices so she could finish school and get a good job.

      Doing her best to ignore Ethan and her zinging pulse, Amber ushered the odd trio to the elevator.

      Until Miss ErmaJean offered to take care of Lucy and Stella, she’d struggled to juggle her waitress job, single parenting and nursing school. It was good of Miss GeorgeAnne to babysit the girls, but with ErmaJean out of commission, tonight would have to be her last class.

      The twins and Miss GeorgeAnne stepped into the elevator.

      Only two months left till graduation. But there was no other option. She’d have to withdraw from the program.

      Lucy waved goodbye. Stella glowered. As the elevator doors closed, the rest of Amber’s life stretched out before her in a bleak panorama.

      Endless shifts at the Mason Jar. The broken-down trailer. Never quite making ends meet. Once again, it would be her girls who suffered the most for her mistakes.

      Her shoulders slumped. She was so tired of battling life alone. “Is this all there ever will be for me and the girls, God?” she whispered.

      She passed her hand over her face. It wasn’t like Amber to be melancholy. She was a fighter. Scrappy, Ethan used to say. But right now, she felt the fight had been beaten out of her.

      Yet she wasn’t alone. She had wonderful friends like Miss ErmaJean and Callie. God had never left her. He wouldn’t fail her now, even with this seemingly insurmountable setback.

      After all this time, seeing Ethan revived memories and dreams she’d believed long buried. Emotions she had no time, energy or right to feel. And Ethan wanted to take ErmaJean away for good?

      It felt like the final straw. His grandmother had become a mentor, confidante and friend. If only there was a way to convince him to let Miss ErmaJean convalesce at home.

      Who was she kidding? Amber couldn’t get her own life on track. Why did she think she had the right to tell anyone else how to live theirs?