by Liz Isaacson
Because inevitably, it was always Fabi.
But not this time.
Jazzy could hardly believe it, but looking into Max’s penetrating blue eyes, it seemed that his interest was in her alone.
A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “My name is Jazzy. I used to have long hair and my eyes are lighter than my sister’s. Oh, and I actually like dogs.” She lifted her eyebrows and half-shrugged.
Max let a beat of silence go by before he chuckled. He kneaded her closer and said, “I think you wanted to ride horses tonight. Are we still doing that?”
Jazzy wasn’t sure why she’d been so worried about telling him, but Fabi had insisted that they shouldn’t. Even though both twins had agreed not to go out with their respective men again until they could figure out a solution, Jazzy had learned that morning that Fabi had set a date with Ed for Saturday night.
Since they hadn’t agreed on anything, Jazzy had asked her sister what the plan was.
“Nothing,” Fabi had said.
Nothing. The word still rang in Jazzy’s head. Her sister was planning on continuing the ruse with Ed, and that had made Jazzy’s blood boil. Sometimes she really disliked Fabi’s devil-may-care attitude.
So she’d texted Max and then determined to tell him before they went up to the horse farm.
“So, do you want to drive?” he asked as they started toward the parking lot.
“You can.”
“I, uh, didn’t bring my truck.” He stopped next to a shiny, black motorcycle and grinned.
Jazzy’s stomach fell to the ground and then pinged back into place. “Oh, uh.”
Fabi had told her once about riding a motorcycle with one of her dates. Tom…something. He’d worn a leather jacket and sunglasses and Fabi had found him dangerous and sweet at the same time.
“I can drive your car,” Max suggested.
“No,” Jazzy said, making a snap decision. “I want to ride this with you.” She looked at the smallness of the seat and tried to ignore the fact that she wasn’t wearing proper footwear. Wren had told her the cowboys would have boots up at the ranch, that she didn’t need any special gear. How could she have known that she’d need closed-toed shoes for the ride up to the ranch?
“Do you have an extra helmet?” she asked, half hoping he didn’t.
“As a matter of fact.” He reached for the saddlebags on the back of the bike. “I do.” He pulled out a bright red helmet and handed it to her.
She pulled it over the haircut she hated and thrilled when his warm fingers touched her chin as he helped her buckle it in place.
Max ducked his head, a hint of shyness in his eyes that endeared him to Jazzy even more. Without thinking, she reached out and ran her fingertips along the top of his skull. It was smooth and beautiful and she curled her fingers around his earlobe as his heated gaze met hers.
She flinched and dropped her hand. “I—I’m sorry.”
Max put a few extra feet of distance between them and pulled on his own helmet. “Nothing to be sorry about.” He swung his leg over the seat and added, “Climb on, Jazzy.”
Hearing her name in his round, bass voice brought another grin to her face, and she joined him on the motorcycle, the hum of it underneath her nearly as thrilling as wrapping her arms around the very solid mass of a man in front of her.
Who was she kidding? Max was really who got her heartbeat thrumming and her mind dancing through fantasies, not some silly motorcycle. But the bike certainly added to his allure, and Jazzy liked the entire package.
A man named Walker Thompson met her and Max in the stables, and two more cowboys arrived very soon after initial introductions were made.
“Emmett,” Walker said. “And Ted. They’ll help you two get your horses and get started tonight.” Walker smiled and headed out, and somehow the thought of getting on a horse while these three men watched her had Jazzy’s stomach in triple knots.
But then Max replaced his ball cap with a cowboy hat, and Jazzy’s whole world tilted in a very good way.
Ed got out of his car after parking behind Max’s motorcycle. His partner sat on the front steps of Maggie’s house, a black cat at his side.
“What’s with you and stray animals?” Ed laughed as he came closer.
Max reached down and patted the cat, which hissed and streaked away, probably because Ed was a lot less forgiving than Max when it came to strays.
He tossed a bag of dill pickle-flavored sunflower seeds to his friend. “Thanks for coming to help.”
Max caught the bag against his chest, surprise in his eyes. “Maggie’s feeding us lunch, right? Because if she’s not making that sausage and pepper Alfredo pizza, I’m walkin’ out right now.”
Ed chuckled. “You have a thing for food too.”
“Hey, I’m not great in the kitchen, and your sister is.”
“How was the horseback riding?”
Max’s neck turned a ruddy shade of red. “Uh, it was okay.”
Ed kept a close eye on his best friend. “What happened?”
“So apparently it’s not as easy as it was when I was in high school.”
Ed chuckled and shook his head. “Few things are, my friend. I hope you didn’t hurt yourself, because we’re moving beds today.”
“I can handle a couple of beds.”
Ed stood and nudged Max with his foot, watching as the other man got to his feet a little gingerly. “Did you fall off a horse or something?”
“I’m fine.”
“Whatever.” Ed almost started laughing at the thought of the mighty Max Robinson making a fool of himself with a horse in front of Fabi. “Let’s hope Tad’s doing okay today.” Ed had done more than hope; he’d been praying for a few days now.
He knocked on the door and pushed it open. “Hello?” He stepped inside, aware that Max had followed him with a slight groan pulling through his throat.
High-pitched squeals met his ears and two little girls barreled around the corner, their arms waving as they ran toward him. Ed braced himself as Charlene flung herself into his arms. “Uncle Ed, you’re here!” The five-year-old weighed next to nothing, as if she were made of smiles and sunshine, and Ed laughed as she touched his beard as she took his face and held it very close to hers.
“Mama said you were comin’, and that I could have a sucker when you did.”
“I hope there’s a sucker for me too,” Ed said, grinning at the girl.
Helen arrived a breath later, just as giggly but grabbing onto his waist instead of jumping at him. “Mama left treats for everyone.”
“Well, you girls need some new beds, right?” Ed put Charlene down and glanced behind her to the kitchen and dining room. “Where’s your mom and dad?” Maggie usually spent Saturdays in Vernal, but she said she’d be home today.
“In the garden,” Helen said, hiding shyly behind Ed’s leg.
“You guys remember my friend, Max, right? He’s come to help before. He’s gonna put that new bunk bed of yours together.”
Max bent down to the girl’s height and grinned at them. “Do you guys like gum?”
Ed grinned, knowing that Maggie would likely kill him as he nodded at Max that it was okay to give the girls the treat. Helen came out from behind him and Charlene snatched for the piece of pink bubble gum.
Max held it out of her reach. “First, I need to know. What’s your mom making for lunch?”
“Hey, beautiful.” Ed leaned against his truck, his back still aching at a pain rate of three out of ten. His sister had not only had him and Max move out two twin beds and put together a new bunk bed for the girls, but she’d needed a sleeper sofa moved into the basement too. And that thing didn’t come apart and weighed a lot more than Max was used to lifting.
But the sight of Jazzy Fuller skipping toward him in a muted navy blouse and a black pencil skirt lifted his spirits. She could barely walk in the skirt, so the skipping was particularly impressive.
She wore a smile the size of Jupiter too, and she gig
gled as she got within arm’s reach. “Hey. No stripes.” She paused and scanned him.
Ed felt very much like her eyes were equipped with lasers, as his skin heated everywhere she let her gaze roam. “I’m glad our schedules finally lined up.”
Something flickered in Jazzy’s eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it had come. “Sorry, it’s been a busy week.”
He groaned as he pushed off the vehicle. “I hear you. So.” He exhaled and put a smile on his face. He’d been dreaming of going out with Jazzy again, and now that the time was here, he didn’t want to discuss his week. He didn’t want to talk about the gratitude in his sister’s eyes, and the way his nieces had begged him to stay and make cookies with them. He didn’t want to mention that Tad hadn’t come out of the bedroom, not even to say hello, and that Maggie had made more excuses for him than he deserved.
Jazzy laced her arm through his, and all his cares seemed to evaporate with her simple touch. At that moment, he did want to tell her about all the darker, twisted pieces of his life that he was desperately trying to keep together.
She brushed her hair back from her face, and said, “How do you feel about karaoke?”
Ed scoffed, sure she was kidding. “Oh, I loathe karaoke.”
Her face fell slightly, and he realized that she hadn’t been kidding. “It’s just too loud for tonight,” he said, revealing something about himself he hadn’t been planning on. “I want…something…quieter.” He barely managed to string together the sentence, unsure of how to articulate it to bring back her smile.
She searched his face, understanding appearing in those bright blue eyes. She softened and said, “We can go to China Isle. Most people do take-out, so the restaurant is usually really quiet.”
Ed liked Chinese food as much as the next person, so he nodded and turned to open the truck door. Jazzy wiggled her way onto the seat, barely leaving enough room for Ed to position himself behind the wheel.
The China Isle parking lot held plenty of cars, but Jazzy had been right. The majority of the people were waiting in the to-go line. He and Jazzy got a table in the corner at her request, and with the dim lighting and the distance from the entrance, Ed got the quiet atmosphere he wanted.
He grinned at her, relaxing now that they were alone and there was peace in this place. “Thank you,” he said. “I…had a stressful day with my sister and…yeah. Thank you.”
“How is Maggie?” Jazzy sipped her water before making a face and setting it down. “Okay, that’s warm.”
A waitress appeared and Jazzy told her about the water. She waved down a busboy, and a fresh water was brought, their order taken, and then they were left alone again.
“Maggie’s…overwhelmed.” Ed’s head ached and he drank half his water in the hope that he was simply dehydrated from all the physical activity of the day. “I do what I can to help her, but sometimes it doesn’t feel like enough.” He tried to smile, but it felt weak on his face.
Jazzy reached across the table and covered his hand with both of hers. “You probably do more than you think.”
“I’m sure that’s not true.” Ed didn’t need to be immortalized or patronized. “But she’s the only sibling I have, and I’d do anything for her.” His convictions were right there, always first and foremost in his life.
“You moved here to help her, didn’t you?” Jazzy asked, her bright blue eyes blazing with knowledge.
“I did.”
“Did you—?”
“Can we talk about something else?” Ed finished his water, never more grateful for the speed of Chinese food as the waitress arrived with their dishes. He flashed her a smile, wishing he’d cancelled his date. He wasn’t fit to be around people tonight, and he’d known it as soon as he’d left his sister’s house.
“Of course we can,” Jazzy said without missing a beat. She didn’t seem affronted by his brusque tone, and she started chatting about the strawberry festival at the end of the month. Ed had attended a few times since he’d come to Brush Creek, and he let her talk, something she was very good at.
The mood lightened under the power of her voice, and Ed finally snapped out of his funk about the time the cashew chicken disappeared completely. He wanted to apologize, but Jazzy didn’t seem to mind carrying the conversation.
He drove her home, unsure of where they stood, especially when she fell silent. He rarely only took a woman to dinner and then dropped her off, the entire date taking about an hour, but he pulled into her apartment parking lot with a sigh.
“Sorry,” he said. “I should’ve rescheduled.” He ducked his head, a pin of guilt pushing into his heart. “I was a lousy date tonight. Can I have a do-over?”
He turned toward her, hoping she housed a lot of forgiving bones in her body. She gazed at him before reaching up to trace her fingers down the side of his face. Tingles shot through his jaw, and his pulse started to pound as she leaned into him, her eyes drifting closed.
The next thing he knew, Ed was kissing Jazzy, and the tingles turned into fireworks. They popped and sparked through his whole system, and Ed brought his hands up to cradle her face.
She giggled and put a breath of space between them. “You want a do-over on this?” she asked, her face still so close Ed could count her eyelashes.
He only answered with another kiss.
Chapter Seven
“You kissed him?” Jazzy’s voice could’ve disturbed a field full of birds, and Fabi did not appreciate it. “He thinks you’re me!”
“Oh, relax.” Fabi made her voice as carefree as possible, though she’d been fretting over the most delicious kiss of her life since the night before. She and Ed had sat under the huge tree behind the apartment building way past dark, talking and kissing until Fabi was sure she’d never be able to go out with another man without comparing him to Ed.
“Relax?” Jazzy had abandoned her makeup, something she took great care with on the Sabbath. Her eyes were wide and filled with shock. “Relax? You realize that word travels very quickly in this small town, right? What happens when someone says they saw me holding hands with Max at the park and then someone says, no, Jazzy’s dating Ed Moon?”
“No one concerns themselves with our lives,” Fabi said, knowing she wasn’t quite right. Whether she liked it or not, as a Fuller, their lives were under more of a microscope than normal. “Most people in this town can’t even tell us apart.”
Jazzy pursed her lips, and Fabi’s brain caught up with her mouth. “And why would people say they saw you holding hands with Max in the park?” She squinted at her twin, who suddenly had an insane amount of interest in her blush brush. “They’d just think it was me.”
Jazzy swept the color onto her cheeks, though they filled with a heavy dose of embarrassment. By the time she spoke, she looked positively like a tomato.
“What did you do?” Fabi asked, her chest tightening.
“I told him the truth.” Jazzy slammed her precious makeup brushes onto the counter. “Okay? I told him I was Jazzy and you were Fabi, about how you asked me to take your place, all of it.”
Fabi didn’t realize coldness could be so sharp or seep so quickly through her lungs and into her bones. “When?” She pressed one hand to her heart while her mind whirred through possibilities for damage control. Did Ed already know? Had Max said something to him?
“Thursday night,” Jazzy said matter-of-factly. Fabi had never really disliked her sister. They got along great for how much time they spent together, and she couldn’t imagine life without Jazzy to come home to, tell everything to, and fall asleep with her in the same room.
But in that moment, she felt a flash of frustration so strongly she wanted to leave the room and not talk to Jazzy for the rest of the day.
Thursday. She’d told Max on Thursday that she wasn’t Fabi. And Max and Ed worked together on Friday. But Ed had said nothing on Saturday.
Panic seized her lungs and squeezed. Maybe that was why he’d been in a foul mood at the China Isle. Fabi had thought t
hat was because of his sister, and she’d been happy to sit somewhere quiet with him, eat her favorite crab Rangoons, and wile away a couple of hours giggling, whispering, and kissing.
She looked at herself in the mirror, reassuring herself that he wouldn’t have kissed her if he’d known she wasn’t who she claimed to be. Would he?
“Do you think he told Ed?” she finally asked. Fabi hated how puny her voice sounded, but she’d never had to hide anything from Jazzy, and her vulnerability leaked into her words.
Jazzy had finished her makeup but she hadn’t left the bathroom. “He said he wouldn’t, because I told him you’d tell him.”
Relief rushed through Fabi, though she still had no idea how to tell Ed she was the twin who kissed most of the males she went out with.
And she’d just done it again.
Still, she didn’t think Ed would break things off with her now. He seemed…different than the men she normally dated, and Fabi could pinpoint why.
He was real.
He was older than the twenty-somethings she’d been out with recently.
He had more to worry about than what his hair looked like or what he should do now now that he’d finished college.
“How did Max take the news?” Fabi asked. Maybe she could get some pointers on how to reveal her true identity to the man she was rapidly becoming attached to.
“Okay, actually.” Jazzy tilted her head the slightest bit. “You really like Ed, don’t you?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes.”
A smile tugged at Fabi’s mouth but she tamed it back into a straight line. “I do like him, and it’s a bit strange, but I think this could be something…real with him.”
The grin Fabi had smothered appeared on Jazzy’s face. “I think so too,” she said. “For you and Ed, and me and Max.” She giggled, and it had been such a long time that Fabi had heard Jazzy sound so gleeful, that a push of happiness ran through Fabi.
