by Barb Han
“Figures,” Ryder said with a smirk. “I’m all show and no substance.”
And that was the second bit of good news. If Ryder’s sense of humor was intact he was going to be fine.
“Who jumped me?” he asked, making a move to sit up, wincing with pain.
“Go slow there, buddy,” Joshua said, grateful his brother would be okay. Seeing him lying there on the ground hadn’t done great things to Joshua’s blood pressure.
Ryder glanced toward the trailer. “I can rest later. We gotta get the hell out of here.”
“Think you can walk?” Joshua asked.
“I plan to.” His brother’s resolve was one of the many things Joshua appreciated about his twin. “What’s the deal with her?”
“I’m guessing she’s the one who pulled you out of that trailer,” Joshua said.
“Like that?” Ryder’s voice showed his shock as he motioned toward her injuries.
Joshua nodded. “Let’s get her to safety and treat both of your injuries then figure out what happened.”
“That’s the best plan I’ve heard all day,” Ryder agreed, accepting help up from Joshua to stand.
Next, Joshua picked up Alice. Even though she was fierce and he knew how much she insisted on taking care of herself she seemed small and soft cradled in his arms. Being a cop, he understood her thinking but he also needed to teach her that accepting help from him wasn’t a sign of weakness. “My Jeep isn’t far. Lean on me and we’ll get there faster.”
“I can walk on my own. Your hands are full with her,” Ryder said, wincing and sucking in a burst of air when he put weight on his right leg.
His brother didn’t know the half of it.
Chapter Seven
“What happened?” Alice gasped as she bolted upright. Of course, her mind would snap to the last thing she remembered.
“Hold on there. You’re okay, you’re safe,” Joshua tried to soothe her. He could see confusion in her wide blue eyes and she was disoriented, which he’d expected. It was the middle of the night, pitch-black outside. His eyes had long ago adjusted to the dark while he stayed by Alice’s side, not wanting her to wake up scared or alone after the ordeal she’d endured to save his brother. “Lie back down and try to relax.”
She reached up to tug on her oxygen mask.
“Doc said you could take that off once you woke. You breathed in a lot of smoke and she mumbled something about oxygen levels and preferring to take you to the ER,” he said as he moved to her side and then sat on the edge of the bed. He did his level best to calm her panic as he helped her adjust the oxygen mask so she could talk.
“Where am I?” she asked. “Wait a minute. You were hurt. I dragged you from a trailer in the woods. There was blood all over your face. Your forehead was covered in it.”
“I’m fine,” he said and a place deep in his heart stirred at seeing how concerned she was about him. “That was my twin brother you saved. His name is Ryder and we both owe you for what you did. You’re at Dr. McConnell’s house. She’s a family friend, taking care of you at her home on a favor, and only agreed to treat you here because I gave my word you’d stick around until she said you were well enough to leave.”
Confusion knitted her brow.
He’d given her a lot to digest at one time. He wished there was more he could do to take the fear out of her eyes.
“Hold on a second. You’re a twin?” Her look of shock tugged at his heart. He hadn’t exactly deceived her and yet the feeling was the same.
“Yes.” He’d planned to tell her at some point but there hadn’t exactly been a good time.
“Why didn’t you tell me that before?”
“We didn’t get around to talking about it,” he said, which netted a cross look from Alice. “I didn’t tell you before because there’s a girl out there who needs our help.” That part was true enough. “And as long as we’re confessing our sins...why did you disappear on me?”
Alice shifted her position, looking uncomfortable. “What branch of law enforcement did you work in?”
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said, moving to adjust the pillows so she could sit more comfortably. “Is that better?”
She nodded and didn’t meet his gaze. “I left the motel because I had a tip from my informant.”
“It couldn’t wait until I got back?” he asked. “In case you’re still wondering, I’m on your side.”
“How could I know that for sure? I kept you around because I thought you might end up getting hurt if I left you alone. The reason you got yourself into trouble was because you were trying to help me. Once I realized you were in law enforcement I knew you could take care of yourself, so I took off to follow a lead.”
“Your informant told you about the trailer?” Joshua asked. He’d been wondering how she knew about that location.
“Yes. I thought maybe they were holding girls there since it was out in the sticks.”
“And you hoped that either Isabel was there or one of the girls would know where she’d been taken?” It was more statement than question.
She nodded.
“Want me to turn on the light?” he asked.
“Yes. Please. What time is it?”
“Two twenty-five in the morning,” he said, flipping the switch on the soft light next to the bed. The warm glow brightened the room and he could see her anguish clearly on her face. “What can I get for you? Water? Food?”
“Nothing, no, wait. Water,” she said, examining the bandage covering her right forearm.
He made a move to get up but her hand stopped him and he did his level best to ignore the jolt of electricity spreading through him from the point of contact.
“Hold on. First of all, thank you for saving me. I owe you one,” she said.
“Best as I can figure, we’re even,” he said with a half smile.
“Tell me what happened before you go. How’d I get this?” She motioned toward the extra-large white bandage covering her arm wrist to elbow.
“I’m not sure. I found you with these injuries, so I’m guessing this happened while you were trying to save my brother.” He repositioned the pillows behind her so she could sit up more easily, thinking about the fact that she’d put herself in harm’s way again trying to save the person she believed to be him.
“My cut was bleeding. Did you stop it?” She pushed the covers down to expose her side. “Wait. How’d I get into pajamas?”
“That was me and the doctor I told you about.” He tried to push the images of the soft curve of her hip and the long lines of her legs out of his mind. He’d been a gentleman and looked away as soon as he could.
“She treated your cut and your burns, most of which are second-degree. We have a salve to put on twice a day and we have to keep the burns dressed, especially once they blister.”
“And you arranged all this?” she asked suspiciously as she glanced around the room.
“You saved my brother. For that, I owed you.” He was grateful to have Dr. McConnell as a friend. The woman was country to the core from wearing jeans and boots underneath her lab coat to the rustic Southwest feel of her home. The queen-size bed was positioned as the focal point of the room. The headboard and footboard were each made of a single large pine log with log side rails. A thick burgundy bedspread contrasted with the light-colored wood. The walls were painted a light gray shade that reminded him of a chilly, winter sky—the kind that made him want to throw a few logs onto the fireplace and stay in, stay warm. “You lost a lot of blood. Doc groaned a little bit about me not taking you to the ER, but I asked her to treat you here instead.” He could only imagine how weird it would be to wake up in a strange bed next to a man she barely knew after sustaining the kind of injuries she had. “I should wake the doc, so she can check on you while I get you t
hat water.”
Her fingers touched his forearm again. She pulled back when he stared like she’d just touched him with a branding iron.
“The other night at the motel was the first night I’ve really slept in a long time,” she said.
Joshua didn’t want to give away his real reaction to her, especially since his attraction was completely out of place under the circumstances.
“How’s your brother?” she asked.
“I’ve had better days,” Ryder said from his position in the doorway.
“How long have you been up?” Joshua asked, turning toward his brother’s voice. He stood and then covered the distance between them in a few short strides to embrace his brother in a bear hug.
“Half an hour maybe,” Ryder responded. He looked tons better than he had a few hours ago.
McConnell had insisted that he stay with her, too. Joshua had seconded her argument, preferring to keep watch on his brother while he healed.
“Take a seat.” Joshua pointed toward the side chair. “You shouldn’t be walking around yet.”
“I made it out of the woods,” Ryder quipped and they both chuckled at his bad pun.
“Even so, I’d feel better if you took a load off,” Joshua said with a wry grin.
Ryder nodded, but stopped short of letting Joshua help him walk to the chair.
“This is my brother Ryder,” Joshua said to Alice as she studied his brother’s features.
After a thoughtful pause, she said, “No wonder I thought he was you. You two look almost identical.”
“Yeah, but I’m the better-looking twin,” Ryder teased.
“Still holding on to that dream?” Joshua shot back.
“I have a mirror. I know what I see. Then I look at you. Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out.”
“You also have a head injury,” Joshua pointed out with a smirk.
“Shots fired. Looks like I’m taking aggressive action,” Ryder kept the joke going, shooting a pleading look toward Alice, who smiled back.
Joshua loved all of his brothers but he and his twin had always had a special bond, the kind that made long explanations unnecessary. Which made keeping a secret from him feel even worse and especially one as big as he was holding on to.
The two used to joke that they knew what the other one was thinking without needing to say the words. Most of the time, Joshua enjoyed their special bond. But when it came to his career move and Alice, he’d rather keep his brother in the dark a little while longer.
Especially where it applied to Alice. He had yet to figure that one out for himself.
* * *
ALICE COULDN’T HELP but notice the ease with which Joshua and his brother spoke to each other, the obvious love they had for one other. They shared the kind of relationship she wanted and hoped for her own boys.
In her job, she saw the bad side of people. Families at odds. Husbands hurting their wives. Abuse. Being witness to too much of the dark side of humanity had tainted her view, if not extinguished all hope there was something better, something more to people and relationships. There was still a spark in her that believed in people who did the right things for the sake of honesty. Men who loved their wives, families, and didn’t hurt their children. Even if her personal experience had mirrored more of her professional experience.
“Do you have any siblings?” Ryder asked Alice.
The question caught her off guard.
“No. It was just me,” Alice answered, hating the lonely edge to her voice when she said the words out loud. Now that she’d started down that slippery slope she figured she might as well go all in. “My dad disappeared before my first birthday and my mom was killed on her way to work a few years later.”
The look of surprise and compassion on both men’s faces brought stinging tears to the backs of her eyes as both offered apologies. This wasn’t the sort of thing she ever talked about with people. In fact, she’d been holding it all inside so long. Looking at Joshua, seeing sympathy and not condemnation, gave her the strength to power on. “I’d started kindergarten by the time I had to be moved from my first foster family. They were religious zealots and believed in hitting first and asking questions later.”
Joshua returned to his seat on the bed and she could felt the mattress dip under his weight. The concern in his eyes turned darker, like clouds as a storm brewed. His eyes were how she could tell the difference between the brothers. Joshua’s were so green, almost like clear emeralds, whereas his brother’s were more hazel. Both of the men had black hair—Joshua’s was darker and a little curlier—and she wondered if dark hair was an O’Brien trademark.
Joshua also had a freckle by his left ear. She told herself it was the cop in her needing to memorize every detail and not the woman.
“The second and fourth foster families weren’t bad. Neither had bet on a long-term assignment when they’d taken me into their homes. They were emergency relief when a placement went wrong.” She didn’t want to think about the nonemergency families having spent the better part of her life trying to block those out. Her experiences varied from people who wanted money from the state and “free” help around the house to “fathers” who wanted easy prey. Alice had stabbed one with kitchen scissors; he lived. She simply ran away after fighting off the next one, figuring she’d fare better on her own. “By the time I was a teenager, I figured I’d do better on my own. Figured it might be easier than fighting off some of my male guardians. Got caught after two weeks, which turned out to be a good thing. I was placed with a retired sheriff and his wife. They were kind and I was able to bring up my grades enough in high school to get into a local college.” She looked up at the brothers and realized she’d been a little too chatty. Her cheeks flamed. “Sorry. I don’t usually tell my life story to strangers.”
“Don’t be,” Joshua said quickly.
The room was suddenly too quiet and Alice could hear her own breathing. Had she shared too much? Looking at Joshua made her heart race and especially seeing the intense look on his face that said he could read between the lines of what she was saying.
“Are you feeling better?” Alice asked Ryder, trying to change the subject and calm her racing pulse.
Joshua covered her hand with his; that little bit of contact spread warmth through her.
Ryder smiled sympathetically before nodding. “I owe you for saving my hide. If you hadn’t been there...I wouldn’t be here right now.”
“We both owe you,” Joshua said and there was an emotion in his voice she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Regret? But that didn’t make sense, did it?
“I have a feeling both of you would’ve done the same thing for me,” she countered. “One of you already has.”
A gray-haired no-nonsense-looking middle-aged woman with rounded shoulders stepped into the room. Her hair was cut short, just above her ears and to the collar in back.
“What’s my patient doing out of bed in the middle of the night?” she asked, staring at Ryder.
“I was getting a drink before going to the bathroom, ma’am,” he said, the utmost respect in his voice as he grinned at his brother like he was about to be sent to the principal’s office.
Joshua made a move to help his brother up, but Ryder wasn’t having it. He waved off his twin as he grimaced. “I’m getting out of here in the morning and heading back to the ranch.”
“We’ll see about that,” Dr. McConnell said.
“If you get the green light, I’ll call to make arrangements for you to be transported safely.” Joshua was all business when it came to his brother’s life. “You’ll need to lay low until we catch this son of a—”
“Not with a lady in the house,” the doctor interrupted, clucking her tongue.
Alice suppressed a chuckle. Besides, it hurt to laugh.
“My apologies, ma’am. I didn’t mean to offend.” Joshua tipped an imaginary hat toward Alice.
“Apology accepted.” She winked, grateful for the lighter conversation.
Joshua moved from his spot presumably to give the doctor better access. He walked a step behind Ryder with his hands up, ready, in case his brother needed him but without Ryder even knowing he was doing it. Witnessing the two of them together stirred her heart in so many ways. Their parents had done something right in raising these men and she hoped to do half as well with her own boys despite the seeds of doubt that reminded her she had no idea what she was doing in the parenting department. She absently fingered the half-heart charm necklace resting on her chest as the doctor pulled a stethoscope from around her neck.
The exam didn’t take more than a few minutes and the doctor gave her a stern warning about movement. “If you need to go to the bathroom, ask for help.”
Alice glanced from Joshua to the doctor and must’ve blushed because the doctor quickly added, “He’ll help you to the door and wait outside until you say it’s okay if I’m not around.”
McConnell reinforced her recommendations of hydration and bed rest before turning off the light.
“It’s good that your brother is going to be okay,” Alice said in the dark once the doc had gone. She was still thinking about the close bond between the two men.
“Thanks to you.” There was that edge in his voice, like earlier. Then it dawned on her why. Joshua blamed himself.
“It’s not your fault,” she said.
“You don’t want to go down that road,” he said quietly. There was a warning in his tone but no real threat.
“Which one?” She wasn’t ready to move on from the topic and maybe it was because she recognized guilt when she heard it, saw it. Leaving a teenager to ride the bus on her own and not immediately sounding an alarm when she didn’t show was a good reason to be guilty. Looking too much like your twin was not.
“I know what you’re trying to do here, but leave it alone,” he said.
