The Mysterious Twin

Glancing at her watch, Ashley saw that it was nine-thirty. She’d promised to call Jill at bedtime every night to let her know that everything was under control. Was everything under control? Ashley asked herself as she closed the hall door and took Jill’s cell phone from her purse.

She dialed Jill’s number, and when the answering machine came on, she left the coded message, “Life is great.” Then hung up. When she dialed a second time, her twin picked it up on the second ring.

“Ashley?”

“Yes, it’s me. How are you doing?”

Ashley’s heart sank when Jill had a bout of coughing before answering. She knew that her twin wasn’t any better than she had been when she’d left her that morning. Ashley’s hand tightened on the phone.

Jill croaked, “The doctor is changing my prescription, and he says I should be back on my feet before long.”

Before long. Ashley knew that was a doctor’s euphemism for I don’t know how soon you can shake this.

“How did things go?” Jill asked in her husky voice. “How’s Davie?”

“The baby’s fine,” she answered, deciding to answer the easiest question first. “There’s a young woman here who’s great with the baby. Lily’s her name. She’ll be a great help to you.”

“Are the people nice?” Jill asked anxiously.

“They seem anxious to make your stay a pleasant one,” Ashley hedged. “I’ll fill you in later. Right now, I want you to quit worrying and take care of yourself.”

As they talked, Ashley moved restlessly around the room, not realizing that she was actually pacing from nervousness. She wanted to pour out her uneasiness about the whole situation, but she knew Jill wouldn’t listen. She never did. Her twin was always making fun of the lack of adventure in Ashley’s life, and chiding her for being such a stick-in-the-mud.

“Are there any good-looking men around?” Jill asked after heartily blowing her nose.

“Well, I’ve met one that will probably meet with your approval.”

“What does he look like?”

Ashley thought for a moment. “I guess you could say he’s a Pierce Brosnan look-alike.”

“Wow,” Jill croaked. “Not bad. Not bad.”

“Did you meet a Kyle Stone when you were here?” Ashley asked, knowing that sooner or later her sister would get him in her sights, and Lily’s sudden fear to talk about the man still worried her.

“The name doesn’t ring a bell, but there were lots of guys hanging around Hugo. He could have been one of them, but if he’s half as gorgeous as you say, I would have remembered him. Did he say he’s met me?”

“No, but—” Ashley hesitated.

“But what? I can’t see any reason for him not to remember me,” she said with her usual lack of modesty. “You’ll have to fill me in so I’ll know what’s gone on between you two.”

Ashley decided not to pursue the subject until she had more than Lily’s gossip to pass along. When Jill asked about the two children and her nanny duties, Ashley did her best to reassure her. “I’ll know more after tomorrow. Don’t worry, Jill. Just rest and get well.”

After they’d said goodbye, Ashley put the phone back in her purse, and closed the draperies. Then she checked on the baby and tried to relax as she got ready for bed.

STANDING AT THE WINDOW of the guest house, Kyle could look across the garden to the back of the house. The windows of the nursery and the adjoining bedroom were clearly visible, and his small but powerful binoculars brought Ashley’s pacing figure sharply into focus.

“Damn,” he swore when he saw that she was talking into a cell phone. He had been counting on being privy to every contact Jill made by phone. Every telephone in the house was bugged, and all phone conversations were recorded by an elaborate electronic set-up that he had hidden in a locked closet of the guest house. He couldn’t believe he’d overlooked the possibility that she would bring a cell phone.

As he watched her in deep conversation with someone, he was chagrined that she’d outwitted him the first night. Vandenburg didn’t tolerate sloppy work, and not knowing who she was contacting was a loose end that Kyle couldn’t afford to let get by him. He’d have to get rid of that cell phone and quick.

As he watched her walk over and close the bedroom curtains, he wondered how soon it would be before she realized that she had a view of the guest cottage from her windows. Nothing about the time he’d spent with Jill had gone smoothly, and the knowledge that she could watch his coming and going from the guest house was less than reassuring. She wasn’t nearly as self-centered as he’d been told.

He’d seen a flash of her temper when he’d made the mistake of following her up the stairs. Her flashing eyes and crisp tone had coldly dismissed him as if he’d been about to overstep some unspoken bound. In truth, he’d been hoping that they might end the night on a warmer note if they said goodnight at her bedroom door. The right words and tender looks could work wonders when it came to a satisfactory lingering parting with a woman. Everything about Jill’s sexy looks should have encouraged a flirtation, but he’d struck out all evening with her.

After the lights went off in her room, he turned away from the window. Throwing himself down on the couch, he picked up the phone and made a call that he would just as soon have passed up if there’d been a choice.

ASHLEY HAD three and a half hours sleep before Davie woke up for his night feeding. She couldn’t believe how loud a baby’s demanding cry could sound in the middle of the night. Ignoring the infant’s summons even for a few dazed moments wasn’t an option. Groaning, she threw back a light cover and padded barefoot in her short summer gown into the nursery.

She knew the routine from taking care of the baby at her sister’s. Fortunately, her diaper-changing time was improving. Even Davie seemed to be more patient with her less-than-experienced handling and her attempts to coax a smile from him. Everything was going well until she opened the door of the small refrigerator to get a bottle. The light suddenly went out, and the humming sound of the fridge cut off.

Somehow it had probably become unplugged, she thought, but Davie wasn’t patient about waiting to be fed, so she put off checking the cord, and gave her attention to heating his bottle and feeding him.

Davie was content after his bottle, but not sleepy. She rocked him for nearly a half-an-hour before he finally went back to sleep and she could put him back in the crib.

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