by Jill Kemerer
But he’d also been reliable and trustworthy. Kind. A man of his word.
She opened her mouth to say something, to make it better, but what could she say? She barely knew him anymore. Ten years had changed him.
Ten years had changed her, too.
“Wait.” Mason’s voice softened. “I do want to get to know you. I’m just... This has been... Well, I think I need some time to process everything.”
Ryder took out his wallet and handed Mason a business card. “Here’s my cell number. Call me when you’re ready. We’ll figure out how to move forward.” Then he walked out of the kitchen and back down the hall toward the entry.
Brittany turned to Mason. “I tried to contact you. I didn’t come here to upset you.”
His lips were drawn together in a tight line, and his brown eyes were hard, as hard as she’d ever seen them. Ryder was already halfway down the hall, so she pivoted to follow him. A framed photograph of Mason with his arm around a beautiful brunette holding a small baby mocked Brittany on the way out. Their love for each other radiated from the photo.
Her chest tightened, and she forced her legs forward. She’d had that kind of love for a few short months. But she’d been immature, scared of her feelings and unwilling to consider a future she hadn’t planned out. Her dishonesty had cost her dearly.
The bottom line? She had always put her personal ambitions above love. She had then. She did now. Her relationships never lasted long, and she’d made peace with that.
Until she had her own dance studio, she wasn’t diverting her energy to a here-today-gone-tomorrow romance. Making a name for herself in dance had been her goal ever since she was a child, and sometimes it felt further away than ever. She’d already surrendered her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. But she could still help other girls realize their dreams...if a bank would approve a line of credit so she could lease her own studio space.
Ryder held the front door open, and she nodded her thanks. She would enjoy this long-overdue visit with Nan, return to Santa Ana after Christmas and, in the meantime, pray the bank would call with the good news that her line of credit had been approved. A spot in a strip mall would be vacant in January. She had enough cash to pay for some of the renovations, but it would take several months to attract enough students to cover all her expenses.
If the bank turned her down, she’d have to reinvent herself, because she couldn’t keep doing this anymore. Years of working odd jobs to pay off her student loans and save for the studio had taken their toll.
She hurried to Ryder’s rental car and momentarily turned back to look at the house.
Mason glowered through the front window.
Well, at least she knew how he felt about her.
Some things never changed.
* * *
He’d handled that badly.
Mason collapsed onto the sofa and let his neck fall back into the cushion. What was he supposed to do now? He didn’t know what upset him more—the fact he had an identical twin he’d never heard of or that Brittany had been the one to introduce them.
He’d been rotten to them both.
Well, what had they expected? If he would have had some warning, some time to process it...
He thought of all the emails and calls from Brittany he’d ignored.
He hadn’t known she had anything important to tell him. Still, maybe he’d been wrong not to answer her. She hadn’t exactly tried to contact him in ten years. Not once.
Which was fine. She hadn’t really cared about him the way he’d cared about her. It probably should have affected how he felt about her grandmother, but it didn’t. Nan—Ada Rhodes—lived a mile down the road from him in this secluded corner of Rendezvous. After Ma and Pops passed, Mason found himself checking on her more often. She’d been slowing down for a while now, so for the past year he’d stopped in every weekday afternoon to see how she was doing and to feed the barn cats. On Saturdays, he and Noah popped over to her place to bring her groceries.
Nan was as close to a mother or grandmother as Mason had now. And he couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to her, either.
He pulled out the card Ryder had handed him, gave it a cursory glance and flicked it onto the end table.
Lies. So many lies.
Ma and Pops had to have known he had a twin brother. Not once had they mentioned it. Wouldn’t they think he’d want to know he had a sibling?
An identical twin. Ryder.
His heart raced.
He wasn’t ready to think about him. Not yet.
And what was with Brittany coming here to introduce them? Especially since he couldn’t remember the last time she’d visited her own grandma. She didn’t appreciate Nan. While she romped around California, Mason was the one taking care of her sweet grandmother. Not that he minded checking on Nan. He didn’t.
The ticktock of the kitchen clock echoed through the house.
He’d give about anything to have Mia here right now. She’d know what to say. She’d rub his shoulders and ease the gnawing sensation gripping every muscle in his body.
He missed her so much.
The first year after she died, he’d strained to hear her laughter. He’d wake up in the dead of night, reach over to touch her and his lungs would seize when he realized he was alone. He’d find himself catching his breath as he entered the kitchen, knowing she wouldn’t be there, but somehow expecting her to be rolling out dough for cinnamon buns. The second year after she died, his in-laws, Bill and Joanna Page, had begun to cling to him and Noah even more, and his memories of Mia had grown fuzzy. Last year, the third year, Mason could no longer hear the echoes of her gentle laugh. Worse, he was drowning under Bill’s expectations of him. Mason itched to create a sliver of distance from his in-laws, and they were just as determined to keep him glued to their side.
His cell phone’s loud ring made him jump. “Hello?”
“You’re not going to believe this.” His friend Gabby Stover managed Mountain View Inn, and every Tuesday night he met with her and his sister-in-law, Eden Page. They’d formed their own support group to deal with the tragedies they’d experienced. He and Eden were still trying to piece their lives back together after Mia’s death, and Gabby’s sister had recently died of a heart attack after giving birth to a baby girl. Gabby was now raising little Phoebe as her own daughter. Thankfully, Eden babysat Noah and Phoebe for him and Gabby while they worked. He didn’t know what he’d do without them.
“I don’t want you to freak out.” Her words tumbled out quickly.
Gabby must be working tonight. It hadn’t occurred to him to warn her Ryder was on his way to the inn.
“I already know. I have an identical twin.” Saying the words out loud made them seem real. How had he made it twenty-nine years without knowing he had a twin? Maybe he’d better stop wondering and start coming up with a plan for what to do about his long-lost brother.
The sound of her gasp came through the line. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I just found out myself. He stopped by.”
“What do you mean he stopped by? How did he find you? Did you know you had a twin? Why isn’t he with you now?”
Sometimes Gabby was the bossy older sister he’d always wanted. Not tonight, though. “An old...er...friend of mine ran into him in California and figured we should meet.”
“California? Who?”
“Brittany Green.”
“Wait—Brittany? The name sounds familiar. Do I know her?” He could hear computer keys tapping in the background. “Couldn’t she have called first?”
“She’s Nan’s granddaughter. And she did call. I didn’t answer.”
“Nan’s...oh, that’s right. Why wouldn’t you answer? And I’m surprised you let Ryder come to the inn. Why is he staying here and not at your place?”
He suppres
sed a groan. Of course Gabby would assume he’d invited Ryder to stay. She was like that—welcoming to all. Well, not cowboys. She had an odd aversion to them.
“I didn’t ask him.” Should he have asked him to stay?
“Why not?”
“Seeing him was a shock. I needed time to process.”
“No doubt. For what it’s worth, he seems nice.” A moment of silence stretched between them on the line. “You are going to talk to him more while he’s here, right?”
Yes. But what if it opened a can of worms he’d rather be left shut? What else had Ma and Pops lied to him about? How much of his past was true and how much was false?
“I think so,” he said.
“Good. This is your family. You should get to know him better.”
“Yeah. It’s a lot to take in.” A lifetime of wanting a sibling pulled hard on his heart. What if he got to know—and love—his brother only to lose him the way he’d lost his grandparents and Mia? Nothing good stuck around his life for long.
Except Noah. Mason trusted God would always take care of his son.
“I’ll pray about it, and you should, too.” Muffled sounds came through the line. “Prepare yourself, though. Babs saw him on the way to his room and thought it was you. He set her straight.”
A sinking sensation slid down to his stomach. Babs O’Rourke was the owner of Mountain View Inn and could only be described as a busybody. In her early seventies, she had flaming red hair, talked a mile a minute and noticed everything—and everyone—in Rendezvous. The entire town would know he had a twin before dawn.
“Can I let you go?” Gabby asked. “I’m being summoned.”
“Sure. Talk to you later.”
He got up and poured himself a glass of water. Gabby was right. He needed to pray. Between juggling single fatherhood and managing his ranch, he was full up on problems. This fall he’d had to make tough decisions about his cattle herd. The payment plan for Mia’s medical bills didn’t allow any wiggle room in his budget. Until he paid them off, he needed the ranch to bring in more income than it currently was.
And now this...
Maybe his tattered baby book would have some answers. Or the boxes of old photos in the attic might hold some clues.
One thing was certain—whatever he decided to do about Ryder, he’d be doing on his own. As far as he was concerned, he’d had enough of Brittany Green for another ten years.
Chapter Two
Rendezvous was a middle-of-nowhere town where dreams died. That’s what her mother had always told her, anyway.
The next morning, Brittany slipped her feet into fuzzy slippers and padded into Nan’s kitchen for a cup of coffee.
Rendezvous hadn’t always been the dream killer her mother claimed. Until Brittany graduated high school, it had been more like a welcoming hug—a place to catch her breath each summer. But she couldn’t deny her mom’s words. One of her dreams had died here a decade ago. And the others had no shot at coming true in these parts. A small town in Wyoming wasn’t the place to put together an elite competitive dance team, that was for sure.
California had been the right choice ten years ago.
The kitchen window revealed a pastel glow in the early dawn sky. After scooping grounds into a coffee filter, she filled the carafe with water and pressed the On button. Nan wasn’t up yet. Strange. Her grandmother had always been an early riser. She must be more tired than usual.
Brittany had rearranged her schedule to spend two weeks here—just until after Christmas. It had been a long time since she’d been back. A year at least. Maybe two.
Had it been three years since she’d visited?
She listened for sounds of her grandmother. Silence. Maybe she should check on her.
She peeked into the bedroom where Nan slept peacefully. She looked...older, smaller than Brittany remembered. When had Nan gotten so frail?
Brittany used to call her every Sunday, but Nan’s hearing wasn’t the greatest, so she’d been skipping the calls to write letters instead.
She shouldn’t have stayed away so long.
After closing the door carefully, she padded back to the living room. Gurgles from the coffee maker told her it wasn’t finished brewing. Wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, she ticked through a mental list to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything back home.
It had been hard to juggle her schedule and finances to make this trip. For as long as she could remember, she’d been working three jobs. Besides the diner gig and freelance data entry work, she rented rehearsal space in an established studio to teach classes. The arrangement didn’t allow her to hire more teachers, expand her class offerings or put together a competitive dance team, though. So far all but one bank had turned down her application for a line of credit to open a studio in Santa Ana’s expensive market. She’d be hearing from them soon.
A window overlooked the porch of Nan’s weathered one-story house. Jagged reddish mountains with thin, horizontal white stripes jutted in the distance. The snow-covered prairie seemed to whisper, and clumps of bare trees dotted it here and there.
This land was quiet, unforgiving—and breathtaking.
Like Mason.
She’d fallen hard for him as a teen. Actually, she’d had a crush on him for years. Not surprising, since they’d been inseparable every summer.
The minute she’d arrived in Rendezvous after graduating from high school, she knew something had changed in their relationship. The glint in Mason’s eyes had set her heart pounding wildly. A sweet kiss had sealed it. The rest of the summer had been spent holding hands, hiking, hanging out, laughing and talking.
And the longer it went on, the guiltier she’d felt.
No one had known she had a boyfriend back home. For months she’d been hoping Parker would take the hint and end things with her, but he wasn’t a take-the-hint kind of guy. She should have broken up with him before coming to Rendezvous.
Why hadn’t she?
Because Mom had actually approved of him, and her mother never thought much of anything Brittany did.
Ancient history. She tossed the blanket off her shoulders. What was taking the coffee maker so long? And why was she thinking about that summer, anyhow? She must be in caffeine withdrawal.
But the memories kept coming. The final night here was seared in her memory like a scarlet A. On Nan’s front porch, Mason had asked her to stay in Wyoming instead of going back to California. She’d stood there in silence trying to figure out how to explain. She was going to become a professional dancer. He knew she’d already been accepted into UCLA’s dance program. How could she do those things in Rendezvous?
Then disaster had rolled up in a Porsche. Her boyfriend, Parker, sick of her avoiding his calls, had shown up at the worst possible time. Mason’s face had said it all. He’d looked her in the eye and told her he never wanted to see her again. She’d never been so ashamed in her life. And she’d unintentionally made good on his wishes until yesterday.
The coffee maker rumbled. Finally. She returned to the kitchen, grabbed her favorite mug and poured herself a cup of joe, focusing on the good memories. Endless hours with Nan. Hugs and bedtime prayers. Failed summer reading plans and successful baking sessions. Feeling loved and cherished by her grandmother.
It really was good to be back.
Footsteps made her turn. Nan smiled, holding out her arms for a hug. Brittany embraced her, noting how thin her body was under the cotton nightgown and robe. “How did you sleep?”
“Good. It’s wonderful to wake up to your smiling face.”
“Want a cup of coffee?” Brittany turned to the counter.
“Yes, lots of sugar. Lots of cream.”
“You got it.” She found a container of store-bought pastries and put them and some chocolate chip cookies on a plate. Then she poured Nan a cup of coffee and settled in with
her at the table.
“I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve visited.” She reached over and covered Nan’s hand with her own. Her bony fingers felt fragile.
“Oh, honey, you’re busy.” Nan patted her hand. “No need to apologize. I would have come to California for Christmas, but I...” A lost expression flitted through her eyes.
Nan used to come visit for Christmas, but it had been a few years. Her vibrant grandmother was fading. How had she not picked up on it before?
“I’ve always wanted to spend Christmas here with all the snow.” She just never could get the time off in the past.
“Plenty of snow here.” Nan took a sip. “Did you try out for the dance team?”
Try out? She drew her eyebrows together. “Nan, I did try out in college, and I made the Spirit Squad my sophomore year. Don’t you remember?”
A flicker of concern crossed Nan’s face. “Oh, that’s right. I remember you saying something about a dance team. I get my dates mixed up sometimes.” She pushed the plate Brittany’s way. “Cookie?”
“Yes, please.” She selected one bursting with chocolate chips and bit into it. Mmm...
“Mason and Noah bring these every week. Have you seen the baby yet? He’s a darling child.”
“No, I haven’t.” The cookie suddenly tasted like ashes.
“And what about you?” Nan asked. “Are you thinking of marrying the banker?”
Banker? What banker? She couldn’t mean Charles, could she? “Charles and I broke up a long time ago.” Four years, if memory served her right.
“You did? I thought you’d marry him.”
“Nope. We weren’t meant to be.” Within two months Charles had apparently decided she wasn’t serious girlfriend material. He’d dumped her and started dating a marketing executive shortly after.
She sighed. The story of her dating life.
“Have you been feeling okay?”
