Lonestar Secrets

by Colleen Coble

  Mrs. Stickman's mouth sagged, but then she smiled. "Would you consider letting us have Kylie when we take Faith?There's room in our hearts for another grandchild."

  Tears sprang to Shannon's eyes, and she wanted to open her arms and hug the other woman. This kind of acceptance was something she'd craved all her life. "I'd be honored," she said in a choked voice. "Kylie has always wanted a grandma and grandpa."

  "Could I have them both in a couple of weeks?"

  Shannon nodded, her throat too full to speak. The other woman exchanged a brief hug with her, then went toward her car with a spring in her step.

  "Nice to meet you," Shannon called over her shoulder as she stepped toward the door. She couldn't wait to tell Kylie. But first Jack had to tell the girls the truth.

  The aroma of beef enchiladas filled the hall. Shannon went to the kitchen and wandered to the stove. The rice and beans were bubbling away on top, and flans sat cooling on the windowsill. Enrica must have stepped out of the kitchen a minute.

  Shannon's stomach rumbled at the same time that her cell phone rang. She pulled it off her belt and glanced at the number. Mary Beth's name flashed across the caller ID screen. Shannon froze. She didn't want to answer it, but she had to. She flipped the phone open and put it to her ear.

  "Shannon?" Mary Beth's voice was breathless and weak. "Everything okay?"

  Shannon's heart leaped. "I'm fine. There's a guy after me. What does he want?"

  "Money that belongs to you!" Mary Beth's voice was fierce. "Run a scanner over your arm and keep it. Don't give it up, no matter what he tells you. He's not going to hurt me. At least I don't think so. Oh no, here he comes." Her voice cut off.

  Jack's silhouette filled the doorway. "Who was that?"

  She glanced at his broad shoulders. He would stand by her. Keeping him informed was the only way he could protect them. No secrets, she reminded herself. Other than the MS. That was one secret that would take time to gather the nerve to tell.

  He stood staring at her with a frown crouching beneath his dusty cowboy hat. "Shannon? What's wrong?"

  She realized she'd been staring at him for several long moments and settled onto a bar stool at the gleaming granite island before her knees gave out. "It was Mary Beth, the friend I roomed with."

  "The one in trouble?"

  She nodded. "She told me to run my scanner on my arm."

  "What scanner?"

  "I think she must mean the scanner I use to identify pets and livestock. Owners put a chip in them with their name and contact information. But I don't know how she would have put a chip in my arm." She frowned. "No, wait. She gave me a tetanus shot before coming here."

  "Is the chip that small?"

  She nodded. "We insert it into animals on the end of a needle."

  "What would be the point of putting a chip in your arm?"

  "I don't know. She was cut off before she could tell me anything more. All she said was, `Keep the money. It belongs to you.' But I have no idea what she's talking about."

  He stepped closer and ran his fingers down her bare arms. His big, warm hands sent chills down her back. She wanted to draw away, but a response like that would make more of the incident than he intended. It would make her look foolish. "It was here," she said, touching her upper left arm.

  His hand probed her skin. "I don't feel anything," he said. He dropped his hands and stepped back.

  "It's too small to feel. Only a scanner will pick it up."

  "What would be on a chip that small that someone would want?"

  "I don't know. Mary Beth didn't say what it was. I'll stop by the office in the morning and get my scanner. See what I can find." She tipped her head to look up at him. "Let's check on the girls. I want to make sure they're safe."

  "No one will break in here. This place is like a citadel. I've got ten ranch hands and an arsenal no criminal would want to mess with. At least not if they're smart." His voice dropped to a threatening growl.

  It helped to have someone else shoulder this with her. To feel protected. Even with her parents, she'd often been their second thought. They'd get so caught up in their search for the Spanish treasure that dinner would be cold hot dogs and beans. She'd put herself to bed many nights.

  He started toward the door, then turned. "I thought about what you said."

  "Which part?"

  "About telling Faith. I'm going to tell her tonight. I'd like you to be there."

  Her lungs squeezed. Her daughter would finally know her. Faith seemed to like her. She and Kylie were so much alike. "Tonight? What changed your mind?"

  He shrugged and didn't look at her. "It's time."

  There was more to it than that. "How are you going to tell her? I like to have important conversations plotted out ahead of time in my head. She might not be receptive."

  "I thought that might be the case. It doesn't matter though. The time has come for the truth." He glanced up and their gazes locked. "I want her to remember and love Blair, but I don't think that's going to happen."

  "Do you have a book of photos of the two of them together? That might help. I'll do what I can, Jack. I don't want to replace Blair. There's room for me too."

  He nodded. "Faith has a book, but she's got it about worn-out."

  She tried to keep the happiness from her voice. "If you're sure about it, we can do it tonight."

  "I thought you'd be overjoyed," he said.

  "I am." She managed a smile. "I want to handle it right. And Blair's mom asked to take both girls next weekend. She wants to be a grandma to Kylie too."

  His smile was genuine. "That's great!"

  "When do you want to do it? Tell the girls, I mean."

  "When we put them to bed. Faith will be relaxed and ready to listen."

  17

  IT WAS A LONG EVENING WHILE SHANNON WAITED AND WONDERED HOW HER daughters would take the news. Kylie didn't seem to be jealous of Faith, but would the truth change things?

  Just to settle her mind, Shannon peeked in on the girls playing in Faith's room. They were surrounded by stuffed animals, though their unicorns held center stage. The scent of Jack's spicy cologne announced his arrival beside her.

  He stood in silence watching with her before speaking. "They love those unicorns," he said with a laugh. "Do you still believe in unicorns, Shannon?"

  Her gaze lingered on the unicorns. "Faith in anything is a funny thing. It veers between total acceptance and more questions than I can count. Sometimes I'm as sure there are no unicorns as I am that there is a God. But then night comes and I question everything I know to be true. There is never any certainty of the unseen. We hope. That's what we do as Christians, and that's what I do with unicorns. Maybe like C. S. Lewis's jewel, that glimpse of a unicorn I sometimes see is a glimpse of Jesus."

  From the corner of her eye, she saw him stare at the girls. "They trust so completely. A lot like you did when I knew you a lifetime ago, Shannon." He turned her to face him and his gaze locked with hers. "Only now do I see how I killed something in you when I broke your faith in me. I'm sorry. Truly sorry. I wish I could go back and see that trust in your eyes again."

  All his other apologies had come with a curl of the lip, as though she had no reason to be upset. This was the only one accompanied by a shamefaced expression and deep sincerity in his eyes. She blinked back tears. "I forgive you. It worked out for the best, you know. Without the motivation to prove everyone wrong, I might not have gone on to school. So maybe I should thank you."

  He held up his hand. "Don't, Shannon. Let me wallow in my guilt awhile. I deserve it."

  She chuckled through her tears. "I'm okay, Jack. Really. You're helping restore my faith in people." She brushed her lips across his cheek and ignored his shocked intake of breath. "Let's go to supper." She called to the children. "Girls, come and eat." They trooped downstairs together.

  The girls chattered through supper, each vying for Jack's attention. Faith told her father about the new colt that had been born in her grandp
a's barn. Kylie told them about Enrica taking her for a walk to look at butterflies. After the meal, Shannon and Jack each read a story to the girls. Seated together on the overstuffed leather sofa in the massive family room, Shannon almost could believe they were the perfect little family.

  Fantasy could be its own reward.

  Jack dropped a kiss on Faith's blonde head. "Time for bed, kiddos."

  "Aw, Daddy, one more story," Faith said.

  Jack's gaze caught Shannon's. "Okay, but only when you're in bed. Go get your pj's on, both of you."

  Faith scrambled down from his lap, and Kylie did the same. The sound of their feet rushing up the steps made Shannon chuckle. Her smile died at the somber expression on Jack's face. "Are you having second thoughts?" she whispered.

  "No, just trying to figure it out. I'll make it a story."

  "Do you want me to tell her?"

  "No, this needs to come from me. Why would she believe you? I was there."

  "So was I." Her voice went sharp. "I held her when she was still covered with goop." Her throat thickened. Rylie Faith had stared up at her as if memorizing her face. If only Faith could recall that memory.

  He glanced away. "I'm sorry."

  She stood. "We'd better go up." Her back stiff, she stalked away from him. He was doing it again, minimizing her role in the girls' lives. She marched up the steps and down to the bedroom.

  The girls had taken to sleeping in the same bed. They took turns between the two bedrooms. Tonight they were both in Kylie's canopy bed. Their scrubbed faces with damp wisps of hair on their cheeks peered over the top of the pink and lavender quilt. They each had their stuffed unicorn. Identical ones, even though they'd been purchased miles apart before Faith and Kylie had ever met.

  Shannon kissed each soap-scented cheek and tucked the covers around the girls. She sat on the edge of the bed and brushed Kylie's hair back from her face.

  "A story, a story!" Faith began to chant. Kylie took up the singsong with her.

  "Enough, both of you," Jack said. He sat on the other edge of the bed and took Faith's hand. "You ready?"

  "You don't have a book, Daddy," Faith said.

  "I don't need a book for this story," Jack said. "It's, er, very familiar to me." He cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, there were two beautiful baby girls. They were as alike as Daisy and Candy, our kittens."

  "Like us," Kylie said. She gripped her sister's hand.

  "Just like that," Jack agreed. "Their mother looked just like them. They were all blonde and beautiful. And they had the deepest blue eyes their daddy had ever seen. As deep as sapphires, as dark as the blue of the sea."

  Did he think she was beautiful? The girls drank in his words. Shannon wanted to tell him to stop. Maybe this was the wrong thing for Faith. She watched her little girl's face, so sweet and innocent. Would this disrupt her life? She opened her mouth, then closed it again. The girls needed to know they were twins.

  He cleared his throat. "Something happened at the hospital so that the girls got mixed up with another baby. The other baby died, and one little blonde girl went home with her mommy, and one little blonde girl went home with her new mommy and daddy."

  Kylie frowned fiercely. "That's a bad story! The little girls need to be together. Like me and my sister."

  Faith nodded. "Tell another story, Daddy. I don't like that one."

  "There's more to it. I think you'll like the ending. The little girl was very happy with her mommy and daddy. And the other little girl also was very happy with her mommy, though she wished she had a daddy too."

  "What are the little girls' names? They need names," Faith said.

  "How about if we name them after you two?" Shannon asked gently.

  Faith nodded. "I like that."

  "The little girl who went home with her new mommy and daddy was Faith, and the other little girl was Kylie," Jack said. His voice was hoarse. "But Faith's mommy died."

  "Just like my mommy," Faith said.

  He nodded. "And Kylie and her mommy came to town. They went to a stockyard where they met Faith and her daddy. As soon as they saw the two little girls together, Faith's daddy and Kylie's mommy knew they were sisters. It couldn't be anything else. They looked too much alike."

  The eyes of both girls were huge. They were watching Jack with rapt attention, hanging on his every word.

  "Kylie's mommy went to the hospital. She found out about the mix-up with the babies. Kylie's mommy was very upset when she found out she had missed seeing her little girl grow. She went to Faith's daddy to talk about it."

  Shannon's muscles clenched, and she leaned forward. Surely he wasn't going to tell the girls that she'd proposed marriage. She licked her dry lips and waited for the girls to finally understand it all.

  "When the mommy and daddy talked it out, they realized they both loved the little girls so much that they wanted them to be a family. So they married each other. Now they can all be together and live happily ever after."

  "And the little girls can be sisters like they were supposed to," Kylie whispered. Her gaze sought Shannon's, and the innocent blue eyes held a question.

  "It's not a real story. Is it, Daddy?" The sweet pink had left Faith's cheeks.

  "Yes, baby, it is. Miss Shannon is your mommy."

  "But you're my daddy." Faith launched herself from under the covers and into Jack's arms. Sobs erupted from her throat.

  "Of course I'm your daddy." He smoothed her damp curls back from her face. "But now I'm Kylie's daddy too. And you have a new mommy. We're a family."

  Tears streamed down Faith's face. "I already have a mommy." She jerked from Jack's arms and slid out of bed. From under the bed she pulled a tattered photo album. She carried it to the bed and flipped it open. "See, my mommy's holding me. You're there too, Daddy. We're a family. Grammy says Mommy is watching me in heaven."

  Shannon looked into Blair's proud face as she smiled down at the infant in her arms. So happy. They'd been the perfect family. "I'm sure your mommy is watching you from heaven, sweetheart. And she'll always be your mommy. I'm not going to take her place." She wanted to say more, to tell her daughter that there was room for two in her heart, but the little girl was too young to understand yet.

  Jack closed the book and pulled Faith onto his lap. "Your first mommy loved you very much. But she's in heaven and can't be here to take care of you. Miss Shannon is here to love you and take care of you. She can be a mommy too. You're very lucky to have two such wonderful mommies."

  Faith buried her face in Jack's shirt. "But you're my daddy."

  "I'll always be your daddy." He hugged her tightly to his chest. "Always."

  Kylie tugged on the sleeve of Faith's pajama top. "But we're real sisters, Faith. I told you so."

  Faith raised her face, and her gaze found Kylie's. "Sisters," she echoed with a question in her voice.

  Kylie nodded. "We're twins, aren't we, Mommy?"

  Shannon's throat thickened. "Yes, you are, sweetheart. Faith is your big sister. She was born a minute before you."

  Faith finally looked at Shannon. "I'm the big sister?"

  Shannon nodded and leaned forward to touch Faith's blonde hair. "You are. I'm so glad we found you, baby girl. I've missed you so much."

  Faith pulled away and put her head on Jack's chest again. "Only Daddy calls me `baby girl."'

  "Then I'll come up with another name for you. I want you always to love your daddy. And your mommy."

  "You're not going to take me away, are you?" Her blue eyes darkened.

  "Of course not." For the first time she realized she'd done the right thing in forcing the marriage issue. If she'd tried to get Faith through the courts, the little girl would have been terribly hurt. "Neither of us will ever leave you. We are your family forever."

  "Forever!" Kylie jumped up and began to bounce on the bed. "Sisters forever, Faith. Forever!" She managed to pull Faith to her feet to jump with her, but Faith's eyes held tears, and her mouth stayed sullen.

&nbs
p; At least one of the girls was excited. Shannon's gaze locked with Jack's. That hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped.

  Jack leaned down to kiss Faith, then straightened with a frown. "You've got a fever, Faith. No wonder you're grumpy."

  "I'm not grumpy," she said with a sullen glare at Shannon.

  Shannon touched her older daughter's forehead, but the child flinched away. "Is your throat sore?" she asked. Faith nodded and tears gathered in her eyes.

  "I've got some Dimetapp," she said. "Let me get some."

  "Ask Enrica first," Jack said. "She has some homeopathic concoction that works wonders."

  Shannon touched Kylie's forehead. "You're hot too. Is your throat sore?"

  Kylie nodded. "But I'm okay, Mommy. You should rest. I saw you limp today."

  Heat flooded Shannon's cheeks, and she didn't look at Jack. "I'm fine, sweetie. Let me see what Enrica has to help you."

  She hurried to the door and downstairs to find the housekeeper. Her cell phone rang when she reached the kitchen, and she saw Grady's number roll up. She flipped it open. "Hey, Grady."

  "Sorry to bother you," he said in a hoarse voice. "I've got the flu, and the Mitchells' horse has foundered. Can you go?"

  She hesitated. It was her job, and she had no choice, but she hated to leave when the girls were sick. "On my way," she said finally. "I know where it is." She closed her phone and slipped it back into her pocket. "Enrica, the girls are sick with sore throats and fever. Jack said you have some miracle medicine."

  "I take care," Enrica said, her dark eyes concerned. "You tell Mr. Jack you go?"

  "Yes, I'll do that. Thanks." She hurried up the steps to the girls' room, where she found Jack in a chair beside the bed reading a story to them. "I ... I have to go," she said. "Foundered horse and Grady is sick too."

  He frowned and stood. Taking her arm, he led her into the hall. "You'd leave the girls when they're sick?"

  "What choice do I have? It's my job."

  "What about your job as a mother?"