The Wallace Family Gift

Twenty-five years ago, Dr. Brian Wallace and Belle Colby were married with two sets of twins—toddler boys and infant girls. Then the young family was torn apart. Each took a girl and boy and went their separate ways—never to see one another again. Brian is stunned to return home from a mission to find all the siblings reunited at their mother’s Texas ranch. He has never forgotten Belle or how much he loved her. Will unanswered questions stand in the way of this family finding their long-awaited second chance?

“You may have to trust me to handle the situation,” Brian said.

“Together, you and I made the decision to separate the twins in the first place,” Belle said. “We’ll make what decisions we have to now together. We’re no longer married. You can’t make decisions for me, Brian.”

“Not that I ever could.”

“No.”

“I have no doubt when it comes to you, Isabella.”

“I go by Belle now.” How was she going to deal with Brian on an extended basis? With prayer and God’s grace.

His gaze fastened on hers, betraying another hint of feeling. He gave a half smile, as if he remembered their married years, raising two sets of twins together. Toddling boys playing in the tiny house they rented. The warm, dear sounds of the babies awakening from their naps in the warm house decorated for Christmas.

Such good memories. Bright enough to outshine the bad.

* * *

Texas Twins: Two sets of twins,

torn apart by family secrets, find their way home.

Her Surprise Sister—Marta Perry

July 2012

Mirror Image Bride—Barbara McMahon

August 2012

Carbon Copy Cowboy—Arlene James

September 2012

Look-Alike Lawman—Glynna Kaye

October 2012

The Soldier’s Newfound Family—Kathryn Springer

November 2012

Reunited for the Holidays—Jillian Hart

December 2012

JILLIAN HART

grew up on her family’s homestead, where she helped raise cattle, rode horses and scribbled stories in her spare time. After earning her English degree from Whitman College, she worked in travel and advertising before selling her first novel. When Jillian isn’t working on her next story, she can be found puttering in her rose garden, curled up with a good book or spending quiet evenings at home with her family.

Reunited for the Holidays
Jillian Hart

www.millsandboon.co.uk

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts.

—Colossians 3:15

Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Jillian Hart for her contribution to the Texas Twins miniseries.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

Chapter One

Dr. Brian Wallace plucked the ceramic frog out of the flower bed, tipped it upside down and shook hard. The spare front-door key fell onto his palm as he squinted into the watery afternoon sun. It was good to be home. Late November air crisped over him and he shivered, goose bumps traveling down his arms. Weak from an extended illness, he gripped the railing to steady himself. The long trip from rural Texas had taken a toll on him.

The old adage There’s No Worse Patient Than a Doctor had never been more true, he thought, as he struggled up the stairs. Easily winded, he paused a moment at the top, thanking God he was here to see the colors of sunset. His near brush with death had marked him. He couldn’t deny it. He’d missed his life here in Fort Worth. He missed his kids—although they were grown, they were what he had left of his heart.

He ambled to the door, leaned heavily against the wall and inserted the key. The door creaked open. Every part of him vibrated with a mix of weakness and exhaustion. As he crossed the threshold into the comfort of the house, memories surrounded him. It had been years since his children had lived here, but he recalled the pound of music from an upstairs bedroom, the chatter of his daughter on her phone, the drum of feet as one of the boys prowled the kitchen.

Emotion dug into his chest, claws sharp. Yes, looking death in the face changed a man. It stripped away everything extraneous, leaving what mattered most.

His footsteps echoed in the lonely living room. He eased onto a couch cushion, sighing heavily as fatigue washed over him like water. Maybe he should have listened to his colleague—he’d valued Dr. Travors’s expertise, which had saved his life—but he’d had enough bed rest. He needed to get home; he needed to be here. The Lord had put a deep call into his heart. He couldn’t explain it as he reached for the phone to try his children again. He needed to see them.

He dialed his daughter’s number first. Dear Maddie. Many things had crossed his mind while he’d lain on a spare cot in the corner of a migrant worker’s temporary home—a shack beside many others on a remote Texas farm. His failings and regrets hit hard, but none as cruelly as his missteps in his personal relationships. He’d always had a difficult time opening up. He had to try to fix that. He’d been given a second chance.

He waited for the call to connect. A muffled ringing came from what sounded like his front porch. The bell pealed, boots thumped on the front step and joy launched him from the couch. He set down the phone, listening to the faint conversation on the other side of the door. His kids were here? Theirs were the voices he’d missed during his illness, the ones he’d most longed to hear. He gripped the brass knob, tugged and set eyes on his children. All three of them.

Praise the Lord, for bringing them here safe and sound. “You got my messages.”

“You left about a dozen.” Maddie tumbled into his arms. “Dad, you have no idea how good it is to see you. No idea.”

“Right back at you, sweetheart.” The endearment stumbled off his tongue—he wasn’t good with them—but he had to get better at speaking his feelings. He had to try harder. His dear Maddie, so like her mother. His chest ached with affections too intense to handle, so he swallowed hard, trying to tamp them down as he held her hands in his after their hug was done. “I was gone a little longer than I’d planned this time—”

“A little?” Her voice shot up. “Dad, you have no idea how worried sick we’ve been over you.”

“I don’t even know how to say how sorry I am—”

“What matters is that you’re all right.” Her hands gave his a warm, understanding squeeze.

“Where have you been?” Grayson, his oldest child, stepped in to join the reunion. Tall, dark and handsome. Pride swelled up, making it hard to look at the boy properly.

“Grayson.” Those couldn’t be tears in his eyes, of course not. Brian wasn’t a man given to tears. Maybe because he had thought of his two other children when he’d been fighting for his life on that cot. Yet another son and daughter, lost to him forever. His biggest regret of all. Emotion clumped in his throat, making it impossible to say more.

“We’ve been looking for you.” Grayson’s hug was brief, his face fighting emotion, too. “We found your wallet in a ditch and we feared you were missing. The police—”

“Missing?” He swiped a hand over his face, grimacing, hating what he’d put them through. “I was in rural Texas, you know that, sometimes without phones or cell service. I would have gotten a message to you kids, but I lost my cell—”

“I know. We found your phone, too.” Carter, his youngest from his second marriage, stepped in, healthy and whole, back from war. “We were afraid you’d gotten ill. Are you all right, Dad?”

“Now I am.” He wrapped his arms around Carter, holding him tight. When he ended the hug, he held on, drinking in the sight of the boy—okay, he was twenty-three, but Carter would always be his youngest, a seasoned soldier home from deployment safely. When Brian let go, it was hard to see again. He was grateful to God for returning his youngest son home unharmed.

“We heard you caught a virulent strain of strep.” Carter ambled into the living room, making himself at home.

“And that you’d been treating a family who were dangerously ill.” Grayson headed straight for the couch.

“We feared the worst, Dad.” Beautiful Maddie with her auburn hair and a stylish fashion sense swept through the doorway, anguish carved into her dear face.

“I never meant to worry you.” He shut the door, swallowing hard. His case had been severe and there’d been days, even weeks, where it hadn’t been certain he would live. He didn’t know what to do with the emotions coiled in his chest, so he shrugged, tried to play things down. “I survived, so it wasn’t so bad.”

“This is just like you. Always keeping us out instead of letting us in.” Maddie sounded upset, on the verge of anger or tears, maybe both.

He hated upsetting her. Frustrated at himself, he crossed his arms over his chest. Remember your vow, Brian. You have to try harder. “I didn’t mean it that way, honey. There’s nothing to worry about now. I’m on the mend. That you kids are here, that you came, means everything.”

It wasn’t easy, but he got out the words.

“Oh, Daddy.” Maddie swiped her eyes. “Don’t you dare make me cry. I’m choked up enough already.”

“What do you mean? What’s got you choked up? Is something going on?”

“Dad, you’d better sit down for this.” Grayson patted the seat beside him.

“This can’t be good.” He studied Carter’s serious face and the troubled crinkles around Grayson’s eyes. “Something happened while I was gone. That’s why you were trying to reach me?”

“It’s not bad news, but it could give you a real shock.” Grayson cleared his throat, waiting until Brian eased onto the cushion. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to do it. We found Mom.”

“Uh...” Brian’s brain screeched to a halt, unable to make sense of those words. He was hearing things. No doubt due to his exhaustion and weakened state. “Sorry...say that again? Your mom’s buried. She died when Carter was three. You remember the car accident.”

“Not Sharla, Dad. Our real mother, at least for Grayson and me,” Maddie added.

“Your real...? What?” That’s as far as he got. The mention of the mother of his other son and daughter floored him. How could they know? All they could remember was Sharla, his second wife, the woman he’d married when the kids were very young. “Wait a minute. I don’t understand. You’re not making any sense.”

“I know it’s a shock for you, Daddy.” Maddie settled on the couch across from him. “But it’s true. Take a deep breath. I found our birth mother.”

“No.” He shook his head, refusing to see how that was possible. The only person Maddie could be talking about was Isabella...his first wife, his high school sweetheart, the woman who’d broken his faith in true love.

“I found Violet—” she began.

“Violet?” He blinked, his brain spinning.

“Thanks to a lucky coincidence, Violet and I came face-to-face in a coffee shop and I found Mom from there.” Maddie’s hands cradled his.

Isabella was gone, tucked away in the Witness Protection Program with their two other children, never to be seen again. Their lives depended on it. “My mind’s playing tricks on me because I thought you said—”

“Yes, I did. Mom is in Grasslands, and we’re all together. Violet and Jack, well, they used to be Laurel and Tanner.”

Laurel? Tanner? He shuddered, fighting the memory welling up of the U.S. Marshal driving away in a black SUV. Isabella in the window, cradling a six-month-old in her arms, and a little chestnut-haired boy, just two, waving bye-bye.

He swallowed hard. His lost children were here, in Texas. In Grasslands? Within driving distance? All this time he’d grieved for them, missed them with his entire heart for twenty-five years and now the two sets of twins were reunited? They’d found one another?

No, he shook his head, refusing to believe it. It couldn’t be true. The hardest thing he’d ever done was let them go. But he’d had to make an impossible choice to protect his family from unspeakable danger.

“We’re together now, Dad.” Maddie’s happiness was real. Her hands around his were real. “The only one missing is you.”

Her words finally sank in. Realization crashed over him like a cold ocean wave, washing away disbelief.

This was really happening. It wasn’t a hallucination or fever, born from his illness. He rubbed his hand over his face, took a deep breath and willed his heart rate to slow.

“Isabella.” For twenty-five years—nearly all of his adult life—he’d been without her. And for good reason, he’d told himself. He’d done his best not to think of her for over two decades. That’s the way he wanted it.

How could he tell his kids that? Maddie with her delight, Grayson actually smiling and Carter relaxed and at peace. This was good news for them.

But it wasn’t good news. He thought about the reason for their separation in the first place. Was it safe to reunite the twins? What about the murderous drug dealer they’d been hiding from? His stomach clenched tightly as he pressed his hands to his face, overwhelmed.

“Violet and Jack are waiting to meet you, Dad.” Carter stood, holding out his hand. “C’mon. I’ll drive you.”

“Good, because I’m not steady.” A lot had changed in twenty-five years, but not his love for his kids—for all of his kids. He took Carter’s hand. “Then let’s go.”

As for Isabella, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. The last thing he wanted was to see her again.

* * *

“Mom, you don’t have to be so stubborn.”

“Me, stubborn?” Belle gripped her walker, refusing to give in to the limitations her head injury and consequent coma had left her with. She had work to do—work she missed back home on the ranch—and being cooped up in Ranchland Manor wasn’t in her plans for much longer. “What makes you say that?”

“Oh, no reason.” Violet, her beautiful, redheaded daughter, rolled her eyes. “Will you get in bed already?”

“I’m not sleepy.” The evening was still lovely, with the big Texas sky stretching like a soft blue canvas. She missed horseback riding beneath that canopy with the wind on her face. She breathed in, longing for the tangy scent of grass and open prairie. The biggest problem with being stuck in this place was the walls. At forty-three, Belle lived a very active lifestyle and liked her wide-open spaces. Maybe that had to do with those early years when she’d been in hiding, when her children were small.

“Mom, you’re here to heal, remember?” Jack, her handsome, strapping son, tugged around the armchair, so it would face the window instead of the bed. “Can you take it easy for once?”

“That would be against my better judgment.”

“Do something because we ask, okay?” Jack took her elbow.

“Yeah, Mom, it won’t kill you, right?” Violet’s loving laughter filled the room.

“It might,” she quipped, clunking the walker to a stop beside the armchair. Here came the hard part. She stopped her walker a few inches away, giving her just enough distance so that she would have to take a step on her own.

“Do you have to do everything the hard way?” Jack’s dry humor washed over her, making it easy to push off from the walker and lurch toward the chair. His strong hand banded her elbow, assisting her. Violet caught her other arm and she plopped onto the cushion. Goal achieved.

“Next time, it will be two steps,” she declared, determined to push along her recovery from what they hoped was a temporary deficit of motor functions.

“Next time, it better not be.” Violet plucked Belle’s hairbrush off the nightstand. “You don’t know what we went through when you fell off your horse and had to be rushed to the hospital.”

“Our world stopped turning.” Gruff, Jack turned away, striding fast to the window. He planted his hand on his hips, staring out at the courtyard, his whole body reverberating with emotion.

“I hate that you were worried.” She hadn’t been there to comfort them or to ease their troubles, because she’d been in a deep coma. It tore her apart. All she’d ever wanted was to be there for her children.

“Worried doesn’t begin to describe it.” Violet leaned in, brushing Belle’s thick auburn hair. “Terrified.”

“Heartsick,” Jack groused.

“You waking up was the best thing that could have happened.” Violet blinked dampness from her eyes.

“The doctors say you are a wonder, too, coming back to us with hardly any impairment.” Jack didn’t turn from the window, but his gratitude vibrated in his voice.

“Which I’m grateful to God for. He is good.” Belle patted her daughter’s arm, love brimming for them, her precious children. More grateful for them because of the two children she’d left behind. “My big problem is how do I convince the doctors to stop with the tests? That’s what I want to know.”

“Think of it this way,” Violet suggested. “The quicker all the testing is done, the sooner you can recover. The faster you can recover, the sooner you can come home.”

“Home.” Nothing sounded as good. To be in her own bed, to sit in the peaceful quiet of her living room and watch the horses graze in the paddock. The restless wind, the crisp scent of fall-becoming-winter air, feeling the sun on her back as she walked through the fields. That’s the medicine she needed right now. She’d never been one to sit around and let grass grow under her boots. “Any chance either of you can smuggle me out?”

“Funny.” Violet moved around the chair, tackling the other side of Belle’s hair. Across the room Jack’s phone buzzed. He reached into his pocket to check the screen. When he did, he traded looks with Violet.

Significant looks. As if Violet fully understood, she set aside the brush.

“You’re looking lovely, Mom.” A quick squint, a frown, and then she brushed a shock of hair behind Belle’s ear. “There. Absolutely stunning.”

“Okay, what’s up with you two? What are you not telling me? Don’t even try to deny it, because I know that look.” Belle couldn’t explain why her pulse lurched into an unsteady gallop, as if she could feel a change in the air. “Where are Maddie and Grayson?”

“On their way.” Jack’s jaw tensed as he leaned back, resting on the windowsill.

“They should be here any minute.” Violet’s hands fumbled as she reached for a barrette. “One more touch, and you’ll be perfect. Dad won’t be able to catch his breath.”

“Did you say— No, that’s not right.” Belle shook her head. Something had to be wrong with her brain because she’d thought she’d heard...

“Dad. I like the sound of that.” Jack launched to his feet, facing the doorway. “It’s good to meet you. So good.”

Dad? A tall, well-built man towered just out of reach of the light. She blinked, trying to bring the shadow into focus, but she didn’t need to see him to know his identity. Her heart leaped and tingles flickered down her spine in recognition. Tears burned behind her eyes as he strode into the light, whole and safe. Her ex-husband, more handsome than ever, and distinguished with a touch of gray in his dark hair. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been eighteen, nearly nineteen.

“Come in. It’s so good to finally meet you.” Violet dashed across the room and into her father’s arms.

“You were just a little thing when I saw you last.” Brian’s voice, still familiar after all this time, sounded tortured with emotion. He blinked dampness from his eyes as he reached out to hold his son. Jack hesitated a moment, as if he were unsure, before stepping into his father’s hug. “You were just a toddler, Jack. I would lay you on my chest and rock you until you fell asleep.”

“I don’t remember. Wish I did.” Jack swallowed, obviously wrestling with emotion as he stepped back. Only then did she notice her other children—the exact duplicates of Violet and Jack—slipping into the room. Carter hung back, watching the reunion.

There had been a lot of reunions in this family lately. There was only one more left. She straightened her spine, bracing for it, while at the same time wishing there was some way to get out of facing her ex.

“Isabella.” He choked on her name, frozen in place halfway to the bed, fisting his hands.

Maybe he was debating the merits of turning heel and leaving, so he didn’t have to deal with her. Or perhaps he was just as shocked as she was with the reality of seeing him again.

There’d been a time when she had believed she’d never be in the same room with him. That there would be no possible way. Life could sure surprise you.

“Brian.” She lifted her chin. No way was she going to let anyone know this was killing her. Put on a smile, she told herself, and welcome him. This was about the kids, not her. “You’re looking well. I’m thankful for that. We’ve all feared for you.”

“I understand the same can be said of you.” A muscle ticked along his strong jaw. Time had matured him, drew character in his face and pleasant lines around his eyes. “It’s good to see you.”

She couldn’t meet his gaze, although she could feel it sweep along her face. She tried to answer him, but words stuck in her throat and refused to budge. It wasn’t good to see him again. It was agony.

“Maybe we should leave you two alone to talk,” one of the girls suggested—maybe Maddie? Belle didn’t dare look up to see for sure. Staring at a polished fingernail—the girls had given her a manicure this morning—gave her something to do as the kids left the room, calling out promises to talk later to Brian, that they couldn’t wait to share the good news with their significant others. As their voices and footsteps faded, silence settled in—or what silence she could make out over the thump of her heart echoing in her ears.

Brain came closer, then halted again.

“You don’t have to see me if you don’t want to.” His baritone turned tender and smoky, the way it always had when it had just been the two of them.

Images assailed her—of them standing side by side at the boys’ cribs while they slept. Of Brian bringing her a steaming cup of her favorite tea while she nursed newborn Grayson, with Tanner tucked in one of his arms. And less than two years later, of the pride and stark love on his face in the delivery room when they both drank in the sight of their beautiful newborn daughters. She could still feel his kiss to her forehead, so sweet her soul ached.

“It’s fine.” She found the courage she needed to meet his gaze. A stranger’s gaze, she told herself stubbornly. That young man she’d loved—that teenager who’d stood beside her as husband and best friend—no longer existed. Just as she was no longer that same starry-eyed girl.

A lifetime separated them. And always would.

Chapter Two

“Come sit, Brian. You look pale.” Belle might be trying to hide it, but he could sense her true feelings. All she wanted was for him to turn back around and walk out of her life.

He knew the feeling. It would have been easier if he’d never walked through that door.

“The kids have been worried.” She looked toward the window instead of at him.

“I didn’t know they were searching for me.” His voice didn’t sound like his own, so raw and broken. Too vulnerable, he sank into a bedside chair. “I was out of touch longer than I planned, but I was safe and cared for.”

“You look exhausted. You always were one to work too hard.”

“I used to work hard for you, Isabella. For our kids.” He didn’t expect her to understand the pride he felt in his family when they’d been teenage parents fighting to keep their marriage together. “I never meant to let you down.”

There, he’d said it. The words he’d yearned to say since the U.S. Marshal drove her and two of their children away. “I’m sorry.”

“I forgave you long ago.” She bowed her head, not looking at him. “We both had to get on with our lives.”

“Yes.” He bowed his head, too. “Forgetting is a different matter.”

“It was easier when I knew I’d never have to see you again.”

“Easier to keep it buried.” Those feelings of failure, the mountains of regret. So much lay lost and broken between them—marriage vows, promises and the hope of raising their kids together. “We each had kids to take care of. Protecting them came first.”

“Exactly.” She lifted her head, her soft auburn hair cascading over her shoulders with a graceful bounce.

“This really must be a shock for you. Seeing me like this. The twins didn’t warn you I was coming?”

“No.” She traced her fingertips along the edging of the armchair so she didn’t have to look at him.

“I tried to prepare myself on the way here.” He cleared his throat. Time had changed her—her face had lost the round softness of youth, to be replaced by almost regal maturity that was impossibly more beautiful. But she was no longer his, and that’s the way they both wanted it. “Carter told me all about how the twins found one another and how they were praying at your bedside on Thanksgiving when you first opened your eyes and came back to them.”

“Carter is a wonderful young man. He’s so much like you—” Her honest, unguarded gaze found his. This wasn’t easy for her, either.

“I hope he doesn’t make my mistakes.”

“We all make mistakes.” Regret weighed on her, too, easy to see. “I hear you are an amazing doctor, like I always knew you would be. You help people, Brian. You make a difference in this world, and your children are proud of you.”

“You don’t have to try so hard to be kind to me, Isabella. We didn’t exactly part on good terms.”

“No, but for the kids’ sake—”

“We have to try.” He nodded, glad they agreed on this. If only he knew what to do about the pain wedged into his chest. Seeing her again made him aware of how he’d failed her. Being teenage parents with two sets of twins had been tough and the stress had torn them apart. He’d been to blame for that. He couldn’t deny it, and the guilt burdened him.

“They shouldn’t be proud. I’m not saving the world, just going where God leads.” His head reeled, more overwhelmed than he wanted to admit. “This latest mission didn’t turn out like I expected. For a while I worried I might not see the kids again.”

“Oh, Brian. That must have been agonizing. When I woke up and realized what I could have lost—”

“Exactly. Weddings. Grandchildren. Birthdays.” He smiled wistfully. “Speaking of which, I couldn’t believe it when I discovered that all of our kids are altar-bound.”

“I had a similar reaction to the news,” she confessed. “But deep down, I’m so thankful to God for both of our lives...and that we get to share in the happiest of our children’s lives.”

“I’m thankful you’re here, Isabella. But for the Lord’s grace, I might be having to confront our grieving children and I don’t think I could take seeing them hurt like that.”

“That was my fear, too.” Her hand found his—large and strong—and at the touch of his skin, her heart twisted. The pain of the past and the divorce stood between them, refusing to relent. She swallowed hard, wishing the past didn’t hurt so much. “What happened to you? Why couldn’t the kids find you?”

“The strep hit hard. One moment I was fine, the next I was so sick I couldn’t function....”

“Tell me everything,” Belle insisted.

“I recall leaving Blackstone in my beat-up SUV and heading toward a farming town along the border. Unfortunately, my car overheated when I was ten miles outside the migrant camp.”

“How awful! So you were stranded in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone?”

“It wasn’t as bad as it sounds. A local farm worker happened by in his truck and arranged to have my car towed for repairs. Since it was on his way, he offered to drop me off at the migrant camp while my vehicle was being worked on.” He sighed heavily. “Unfortunately, car troubles were the least of my worries. By the end of my first day at the migrant camp, I was sidelined by a cough and a high fever.”

Belle couldn’t hide her concern. “Oh, my...what happened next?”

“I knew I had to leave, because I could be highly contagious and might be doing more harm than good at the camp. So I got a lift back to the auto shop, picked up my SUV and decided to drive to a nearby medical clinic to get checked out.” A shadow crossed his face. “But a short time later I had to pull over because I was too weak to drive and a hazard to others. I sat on the side of the road praying for someone to come by...and the next thing I knew, I woke up in the ditch.”

“That must have been where they found your wallet.”

“I hadn’t realized I’d lost it. I’d passed out. It was night and I crawled my way through a field for miles toward a faint light. A house, as it turned out. The Cruz family took me in and cared for me.” He took a deep breath, then continued. “Mr. Cruz took my keys and fetched my car after finding a doctor. I was barely conscious and they didn’t have a phone, so I couldn’t call home. I was too ill to write a letter. Those people saved my life.”

“Bless them, and we’re all grateful.” Thankfulness filled her with such power it made her eyes burn. Thankfulness, for the kids’ sake. She tore her hand from his. “Thank the Lord you were able to come back to be with your children.”

She turned so he couldn’t see her face. She didn’t want him to guess how much this cost her. She wanted to be anywhere but with him. It hurt too much. She moved forward on the chair cushion, needing to get away.

“Let me help you, Isabella.” His chair scraped.

“No, I’m fine.” She pushed out of the chair, her left side sluggish. “I’ve got this.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.”

“It does.” She’d been on her own for decades. She couldn’t start leaning on him now. “The twins might be reunited, but that doesn’t change anything between us.”

“I didn’t expect it would.” His dark chocolate eyes gleamed with regret.

Regret she shared. Regret she felt all the way to her soul. The chasm of twenty-five years stood between them, a distance too great to bridge. Their love, once broken, couldn’t be repaired. It just couldn’t. “Seeing you again is harder than I predicted. It hurts.”

“Yes.” He covered his heart with the flat of his palm. “You would think all this time would have healed it.”

“Or maybe numbed it a little.”

“Exactly,” he agreed. “But it hurts the way it did when you asked for a divorce, while our children slept in the next room.”

“I remember.” The night their marriage ended and they’d given up hope. She gripped the walker for support. Dismissing the doctor’s orders not to be up on her own, she made her way shakily toward the window, hating the impairment that slowed her. Tamping down memories of one of the worst nights in her life wasn’t easy. “We need to come to an agreement, Brian.”

“What kind of agreement?”

“About you and me. How we deal with each other.”

He swallowed painfully. “Right. Do you have any suggestions?”

“We do the only possible thing. Let’s leave this in the past where it belongs and go on from here.”

“If that’s what you want.” Traces of pain hid in his voice. “We’ve both been hurt enough.”

“Yes.” She clunked her walker forward and stepped purposefully. The arguments, the sleepless nights, the stress of being teenage parents with two sets of twins haunted her. She’d been shattered the night she’d asked Brian to leave. No way would she let him see that, so her chin went up with stubborn determination to hide her vulnerabilities.

“Glad we agree,” he said gruffly.

“We have to get along for the children’s sake.”

“The big question is how.”

“I have no idea.” Her reflection in the dark window looked back at her. She saw a thin woman, hollow cheeked and fragile looking. Not the same vibrant Belle Colby who’d fallen off her horse. The coma and injury had ravaged her, but she was determined to regain her strength...and reclaim her life. She caught sight of Brian struggling to his feet and realized that she wasn’t the only one ailing here. “We are quite a pair, aren’t we?”

“We always have been.” He shuffled toward her, fighting to stay tall and strong, but she could read the strain on his face, the tension along his carved jaw, even in the window’s reflection. “Carter told me how this all came about, how Violet met Maddie. How the kids came together again. One thing has been eating away at me. I can’t help wanting to protect my children. It can’t be safe to reunite them, can it?”

“I’ve been worried about that, too,” she said softly.

“What about—?”

“David Johnson, the man I testified against? Yes, he’s still in prison, at least as far as I know. I haven’t been well enough these past few days—”

“You just woke from a coma.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fear the worst. What if Johnson figures out where we are?”

“Exactly. He may be in jail, but he likely still has his contacts on the outside.”

“The kids don’t know about the danger. They don’t remember going into hiding. They don’t know why we moved from Forth Worth all those years ago, and I refuse to talk about it. That’s what Jack and I argued about right before my accident. He wanted to know about you.”

“It must have been hard not to tell him. You had to want to.”

“I did.” She appreciated that he understood. “It was too dangerous.”

“When I remarried, Maddie and Grayson were young enough not to remember. That made the past disappear.”

“Disappear?” She held herself steady, breathing as if in pain. “A mother never wants to be forgotten by her children.”

“Neither does a father.”

This pain they shared, a pain visible on his sculpted face. She couldn’t believe her eyes. The honest display of his feelings surprised her. They’d already been divorced when she’d unknowingly stumbled into a dangerous situation. Their marriage had fallen apart because she’d been convinced he hadn’t cared about her, at least not the way a husband should. Brian could be so unemotional, closed off, clinical in his relationships. To see him overcome like this, with the manly intake of breath, the gathering of his control as he straightened up, made her realize how much had changed. Emotions skittered across his face, no longer hidden to her.

“I never even considered we might be in this situation one day, with the twins reunited,” he confessed. “All this time not knowing if you were safe or if they would be all right. The horrific nightmares I had of David Johnson escaping prison and hunting down the kids and there being nothing I could do. No matter what, we have to keep them safe.”

“We will.” That had never been in doubt. “I need to get in touch with my handler, but I’ve been stuck here with no one I can confide in.”

“You have me.” A smile touched his lips, chiseled and lean. The years hadn’t changed that smile, masculine and bracketed by dimples. “That may not be any consolation, but I’ll make sure our children are protected.”

“We’ll do it together.” Gently, she reached out to brush a strand of hair from his eyes. An old habit, she realized too late. She respected her ex-husband and his love for their children, that was all. They were temporarily joining forces to safeguard their family, but when the dust settled, the old conflicts would still be between them.

“Are you sure you’re up to this?” His emotions retreated, his eyes shuttered and he was closed off once again. His dark gaze gave nothing away. “You may have to trust me to handle the situation.”

“Together, you and I made the decision to separate the twins in the first place.” She winced, remembering the wrenching decision they’d been forced to make. “We’ll make what decisions we have to together. Remember we are no longer married. You can’t make decisions for me, Brian.”

“Not that I ever could.” A muscle jumped along his square jaw.

“No.” Was he remembering their late-night arguments, too? Times best forgotten, she thought, straightening her spine. “The doctors tell me I’m frail, but I don’t believe them. My memory is coming back, my speech is just fine, and before you know it, I’ll be walking on my own steam out the front doors of Ranchland Manor.”

“I have no doubt when it comes to you, Isabella.”

“I go by Belle now.” How was she going to deal with Brian on an extended basis? After all, they were bound to see a lot of each other since their children all wanted to reconnect as a family. “I hear what sounds like a herd of elephants in the hallway. Must be our kids.”

“Must be.” His gaze fastened on hers, betraying another hint of feeling. How had the years made him more handsome? His carved-granite face, high forehead, dark eyes and prominent cheekbones were flawless. He gave a half smile, as if he remembered their married years, raising two sets of twins together. Toddling boys playing in the small living room of the tiny house they’d rented. Childish voices rising in glee. “No! No! Mine! Mine! Boom!” as toys went flying and the boys’ laughter rang. The dear sounds of the baby girls awakening from their naps in the warm house decorated for Christmas.

Such good memories. Bright enough to outshine the bad.

“Mom! Dad.” All grown up, Violet bounded in, leading the group back from the cafeteria. “You two look cozy. Don’t you think?” she asked her sister.

“Absolutely.” Maddie’s grin shone triumphantly. “Looks like we came back too soon. Maybe we all should head to the cafeter—”

“Don’t you dare walk off.” Belle used her Mom voice. “I’m still in charge around here.”

“So you think.” Jack set a steaming cup of tea on the bedside table while everyone laughed.

“Hello? Hello?” A knock rapped on the open door and a nurse hustled in. “So glad to see y’all here, but visiting hours are over. You’ll be back bright and early tomorrow, I suppose?”

“Count on it.” Violet circled the end of the bed. “Mom, what did the doctor say?”

“Hmm, let me think. I can’t quite remember,” she hedged.

“Wasn’t it something like stay in bed? You are still recovering, Mom.” Maddie swooped in and caught Belle’s other elbow. “Is she always this much trouble, Violet?”

“Usually more.”

“Hey!” Belle argued good-naturedly as she let them help her to her feet. “I’m not an invalid. I can manage on my own.”

“This sounds very familiar.” Brian’s baritone lifted above the other conversations as Grayson pulled aside the bedcovers and Jack plumped her pillows. “I see some things haven’t changed.”

“Brian is talking about my stubbornness, in case you kids couldn’t guess.” She eased onto the mattress. “I don’t think I’m stubborn.”

“Sure, of course you’re not,” Violet teased. “Not one of us has ever thought that.”

The entire room laughed. Even Belle.

“Sleep well, Mom.” Maddie kissed her forehead.

“Sweet dreams.” Violet kissed her cheek and stepped back.

“We’ll see you in the morning, Mom.” Grayson squeezed her hand.

“We love you.” Jack drew up her covers.

“I love you all. That means you, too, Carter.”

“Back at ya, Belle.” Carter smiled at her before stepping away and offering his arm to his father. “I’ll bring Dad tomorrow to visit.”

“Excellent.” She hated how exhausted Brian looked. He’d been without family, fighting a dangerous illness. What if he’d passed away? He never would have known each twin he’d given up was now safe.

“Have a good night, Isabella—Belle,” he corrected, standing on his own, refusing his son’s aid. He looked even paler, if that were possible.

“You, too, Brian. We’ll talk again tomorrow.”

“Count on it.” He hesitated, as if about to say something, but stayed silent. He raised a hand in a show of farewell.

She raised hers. Tomorrow, she’d have to face him again.

“Just lie back, Mom.” Violet fussed over her, blowing on her tea and moving her Bible within easy reach on the nightstand.

“Is there anything else you need?” Maddie asked.

Such good girls. Seeing those identical faces brought tears to her eyes. Behind them, at the doorway, the boys lingered, checking in on her one last time before waving and stepping out of sight.

“Just take good care of Brian.” She sank into the pillows, grateful to relax. She could pretend all she wanted that she was just fine, but that wasn’t entirely true. The coma and head injury had taken a lot out of her, and it would be a while before she was back to her old, feisty self.

“We’ll look after Dad, I promise.” Maddie stepped away first, the vow shining in her eyes.

When the girls left, they seemed to take the light with them. Still, she smiled to herself as she heard Violet and Maddie lingering outside the door, gushing about how this was going to be the best Christmas ever. Not only did they have Landon and Ty—their doting fiancés—in their lives, but now their entire family was finally all together.

Belle heard their footsteps retreat down the hall and silence settled in—the way it had on the night she’d ordered Brian out of their little house and, later, on the first night she’d been in protective custody, listening to the children sleep and wondering about the other half of the twins in Brian’s care.

Brian. The kids had thought it was a great surprise for her to see him tonight, but they didn’t know the agony it brought.

Give me strength, Lord. She tugged her Bible into her arms and hugged it to her heart. Most of all, please keep our children safe.

* * *

“You look happier, Dad.” Carter helped him into the passenger side of the truck. “Seeing Belle was good for you.”

“I don’t know about that.” He cleared his throat, collapsed into the seat and did his best to cover up how hard seeing Belle had been—and would continue to be. “You kids sure surprised her, too. I’m not certain that was a fair thing to do to a woman who spent five months in a coma.”

“During which she murmured your name. I heard it.” Carter drew himself up, hardly more than a shadow in the night. “I hadn’t felt a connection to her until then and I realized she loves you. That’s all I needed to know.”

“Belle doesn’t love me. At least she hasn’t for a long, long time.” That was his fault, failings that tore him up.

“You never know what God has in store.” Carter stepped back, hand on the door, preparing to swing it shut. “There’s still something between you two, I think.”

Yes, there was—animosity, bitterness and remorse. The door closed with a click, leaving Brian alone in the cab. Grateful for that, he tried to gather his strength, watching Carter cross the pavement to exchange words with Grayson. The kids were climbing into their vehicles, waving goodbye, calling out plans for tomorrow, leaving him time alone to think.

Isabella—Belle—looked more beautiful than ever. No surprise she’d done so well without him. She’d always been strong and independent-minded. She’d rebuilt her life, raised two of their children and run a successful ranch. Turned out she’d never needed him the way he’d needed her.

How was he going to be able to face her tomorrow? And the day after that? This matter of David Johnson was a big one. Belle had risked her life in order to put the drug-dealing criminal away.

Horns honked in friendly beeps, and he waved as the kids drove off—Maddie and Violet together in Violet’s SUV, Jack and Grayson in separate vehicles. A sight he’d never thought he would see in his life—the kids reunited, laughing and gleeful, dreaming of a future filled with love and happiness.

That’s the way he wanted to keep it. Tomorrow, first thing, he and Belle had to figure out a way to keep their children safe.

“Dad, are you okay?” Carter settled behind the wheel, concern furrowing his forehead.

“Just tired. It’s been a long day.” He relaxed against the headrest. “There’s one more thing I need to do. Is there a church around?”

“Grasslands Community Church isn’t far from here.” Carter started the engine and buckled up. “Do you want to stop by?”

“Yes.”

Carter pulled out his cell phone. “Let me just make a quick call to let Savannah know we’ll be home a little late.” He smiled indulgently. “My lovely fiancée tends to worry, especially with all those pregnancy hormones running amok.”

Brian beamed back at Carter. He’d heard how his youngest son had taken his fallen comrade’s pregnant wife under his wing—and fallen in love in the process. He couldn’t be prouder of his boy.

The ride was a short one. The church door stood open as a late Bible study was just disbanding, from what Brian could overhear in the parking lot. He left Carter in the truck and climbed the stairs. His movements rustled in the empty sanctuary, where the stained-glass windows gazed down at him darkly. God’s presence surrounded him, a calm that strengthened his weary body and refreshed his hurting soul.

“Dear Heavenly Father,” he began, kneeling, his voice echoing slightly in the shadows. “As You know, I’ve been absent from worship lately when I was ill and I’ve missed it sorely. Thank You for sparing my life. I know it was a near thing, and I’m more grateful than ever after tonight. Seeing the twins reunited and Belle—”

He stopped, struggling to clear the lump in his throat. Belle, more beautiful than ever. Just as stubborn and full of grit, her smile could light up a room the way it once had lit every chamber of his heart. “You answered my only prayer. That somehow, someway, I could see my lost children again. That they could all find happiness together, reunited, the way it should have been. Thank You, Father, from the bottom of my heart. Please hold them safe in the palm of Your hand.”

His amen echoed in the stillness and peace. As Brian climbed to his feet, he felt God’s touch like a ray of hope in the dark late November night.

Chapter Three

The first day of December shone bright and beautiful. Belle followed the path of sunshine tumbling into the corridor along Ranchland Manor’s tiled floors with maddeningly slow speed.

“Up again?” Helga, one of the nurses, looked up from her station. “I thought the doctor wanted you to rest.”

“Think of this as an extra physical therapy session.” Belle trudged by. “The faster I recover, the sooner I can leave. No offense, Helga.”

“None taken.”

“But we’ll miss you, dearie.” Eunice Lundgrin looked up from her crocheting as Belle entered the large, bright common room. “You liven things up around here.”

“Only since I’ve been out of my coma,” Belle quipped over the thunk of her walker. “Don’t tell me you ladies finished the jigsaw puzzle without me.”

“You didn’t think we’d wait for you, did you?” Marjorie Collins looked up from her book. “You left us to go see that handsome Kirk.”

“He’s a physical therapist and my son’s age!” Laughing, Belle eased into the overstuffed chair closest to the picture window, aching to be outside in wide-open spaces. “It wasn’t a date.”

“Pretty girl like you ought to have a fella.” Eunice completed her double crochet with a flourish.

“I tried that once and discovered it wasn’t for me.” Laughing was easier than the truth of how hard marriage had been as teenage parents. She shot the older ladies a smile. “Men are just too much trouble.”

“I can’t say they aren’t,” Anna Chandro piped in as she reached the end of her knitted row, making lovely progress in spite of her stroke. “My Roberto, God rest his soul, was more trouble than I knew what to do with. Most days he was like having another kid around.”

“Ain’t that the truth?” Eunice agreed, giving her yarn ball a tug. “I raised my Charlie right along with our four boys. He was always tracking mud in on his shoes, forgetting to pick up his towel, turning up the TV volume until a girl couldn’t think.”

“I would have taken a broom to him,” Marjorie teased, marking her page and closing her inspirational romance novel. “My John doesn’t dare step one toe out of line.”

“Oh, yes, I saw it in his eyes when he visited yesterday.” Belle couldn’t help giving a little sigh. The dear lady’s room was across the hall from hers, and she’d spotted the wizened John arriving with a bouquet of flowers, a stack of new novels, and he’d stayed to share supper with her in the dining room. A sweeter couple never lived. Lifelong love, that had once been her dream, too...and no, she wasn’t going to let her heart flutter at the mention of his name.

“Speaking of guests, I saw Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome leave Belle’s room quite late last night.”

“Is that right?” Eunice gave her yarn another good yank. “So, there seems to be a lot Belle isn’t telling us. Look at her blush.”

“I’m not blushing. It’s the heat. I’m sitting in the direct sun.” Denial was always her first coping choice, along with a quick change of subject. “My children visited again last night, that’s all.”

“We noticed,” Eunice said, crocheting with lightning speed. “How could we not? Those two sets of twins?”

“They’re adorable.” Marjorie smiled, her hand resting on her book. “The girls are both so lovely, such nice, well-behaved young ladies.”

“And those boys, strapping and handsome.” Anna’s needles stilled. “What I can’t figure is how you managed with two sets of twins. One newborn is a handful. Up most of the night between feedings, diapers and colic. How did you handle twins? And twice?”

“It wasn’t easy, especially since I was sixteen at the time.” The confession came quietly, since she wasn’t sure how the older women would take her news. “Brian and I married and had the twin boys. The girls came two years later.”

“Double the blessings, double the hard work,” Eunice sympathized.

“And the stress. Child care is the most demanding work there is,” Marjorie piped in gently. “Four little ones all two years old or younger. I couldn’t have survived it. Stress would have done me in. Just proves you’re one special lady, Belle.”

“You are way too kind.” Belle’s chest knotted up as it always did, thinking of those years. Failure haunted her. She hadn’t been the wife and the mother she’d meant to be.

“Anyone can see you did a wonderful job,” Anna added lovingly.

“You three are the wonderful ones. No wonder we’ve become fast friends.” Belle felt a change in the air and turned toward the doorway where Brian stood. How long he’d been listening in was anyone’s guess.

“Good afternoon, ladies.” Brian tossed them a dazzling smile.

He looked better this morning. A good night’s sleep had done him wonders. He had more color in his face, and the dark circles were gone. The wind had tousled his dark hair, giving him a slightly rakish look, a reminder of the young man she’d fallen irrevocably in love with.

Not that she ever could again, she thought, wishing the other women in the room weren’t giving him a collective sigh of approval. Trying not to imagine what her new friends would be saying next, she spoke up before they could. “I thought you were going to take some time for yourself. Rest up. Regain your strength.”

“I’m tough. I don’t need to rest.” His easygoing humor rolled over her, just like in the old days.

But those days are long gone, she reminded herself stubbornly. Besides, as the kindly older ladies had reminded her, she wouldn’t want to go back. Their marriage hadn’t worked. End of story. She struggled to her feet. “I’m not sure what to do with you, Brian Wallace.”

“It’s too late to pretend you don’t know me.”

“Don’t think it didn’t cross my mind.” Before she could stand fully, he was at her side, his hand cradling her elbow, keeping her steady as he dragged her walker closer for her.

Her independent streak flared. It would be prudent to let him know straight off she didn’t need his help, now or ever. But that wasn’t fair to him. He was only trying to be courteous. Brian was simply being Brian.

“Thank you.” The words felt strangled. His nearness washed over her like sunshine—bright, refreshing and enlivening. Things she didn’t want to feel again, not when it came to Brian. She grasped the walker’s grips and shuffled forward, aware of him tall and straight at her side.

Her limitations frustrated her. As grateful as she was to have survived a head injury and resulting coma, she wanted to ride her horse, jog at her usual breakneck speed and keep up with things at the ranch. Worse, she hated being vulnerable around Brian when she needed to be strong.

“Don’t they make the cutest couple?” Eunice cooed.

“The cutest,” Marjorie agreed, opening her book.

“They look like they belong together,” Anna sighed as her knitting needles began clacking again.

She lumbered across the room as fast as possible. Was Brian upset also by that last comment? The two of them used to belong together.

Used to. Not anymore. That was something that would never change.

“I spent most of the morning on the phone.” He pitched his voice low, so it wouldn’t carry in the busy hallway. “The marshal who handled you—”

“Tommy Hatfield.” Fondness swept through her. Tommy had been good to her and her children, a rock when she’d feared for their lives. “How is he?”

“Retired. When I couldn’t reach him at his office, I tried his home phone.”

“They gave you that information?”

“No, I already had it. Did you think I would let you go without a single worry? Without making sure I knew the man who was taking you and the kids into protective custody?” A muscle jumped along his jaw, betraying his quiet words.

“I never gave it any thought.”

“You had a lot on your mind at the time.” His tone was kind as he matched his gait to her halting one. Kind was one adjective that had always described Brian. Committed was another. “Before he took you, I grilled that man. I had to make sure he’d done every possible thing to keep the three of you out of harm’s way. I couldn’t rest until I was certain of it.”

“I didn’t know.”

“You weren’t supposed to.”

It shamed her. At the time she’d been convinced Brian had fallen out of love with her so thoroughly, he didn’t care one iota for her. She should have considered his feelings more, the ones that may have lurked out of sight behind his unemotional exterior.

Maybe, she admitted, she should have voiced her concern and her caring for him more during their troubled marriage. It was too late to fix it, so she swallowed, concentrating on trudging forward, blind to where they were going.

“Tommy’s wife gave me his cell number, and I caught him out fishing.” Brian stopped to pull out a chair for her. “He sounded pretty surprised to hear from me. He didn’t know anything new about your case, so he has to get back to me.”

“So, more waiting.” She plunked into the offered chair, hardly noticing the dining room echoing around her. The vacant tables, the sounds of the staff hard at work in the kitchen, the rustle of Brian’s clothes as he drew out a chair and sat beside her, facing her, so close she could see the threads of bronze in the melted-chocolate color of his irises.

That kindness she read there hadn’t changed. He was still such a good man. Caring and compassionate. She hoped he’d found happiness in his life. Their failed marriage had been only half his fault.

“What do we tell the kids?” He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

“All of it. If my argument with Jack taught me anything, it’s that lies can destroy a family.”

“That’s right...you’d mentioned that you’d gotten into an intense confrontation with Jack before you fell off your horse.”

“He wanted to know who his father was, once and for all, and he was furious when I refused to tell him.” She couldn’t remember the argument or even hitting the ground. The details of that day were fuzzy to nonexistent, but it hadn’t been the first argument they’d had on the subject. She leaned back in the chair. “Don’t think I’d forgotten you or forgot the father Jack and Violet should have had.”

He swallowed hard, nodded once, obviously unable to answer. Guilt and sadness moved across his face.

Interesting. Yet again she was reminded that the Brian Wallace she’d once known hadn’t been one to show feelings at all, even in the heat of an argument. But now... She could detect a flicker of raw emotion in his eyes.

“There has always been a huge gaping hole in my life. In our lives.” His confusion sounded gruff, a father who’d been forced to walk away from two of his children. “It tore me apart.”

“Me, too.” Tears stung her eyes and she blinked them away, refusing to let them fall. Brian spotted them and leaned in to lay his hand against her cheek. One tear rolled across her skin and into the cup of his palm. The pain she felt, the wrenching agony of the hole in her life where he, Maddie and Grayson should have been, eased. “I never stopped missing them.”

“Me, either. I can get to know Violet and Jack, although I keep wanting to call them by their original names, before the marshal changed them. It’s going to take some getting used to.”

“It took me a long time to get used to it, too,” she admitted softly. “As important as it was at the time, I kept slipping up. Violet was just a baby, so she adjusted to her name easier, but Jack kept stubbornly insisting he was Tanner. We had to make a game of it.”

“I can picture it. Grayson cried and cried for you. Night after night, day after day. Being alone when he’d been with his twin every hour of the day and night didn’t help. He cried for Tanner—I mean, Jack—too.”

“I wondered.” She gazed upon his face, the one she knew so well. The memory of him had stayed with her more than she’d realized. “I ached for them every night and day. They were my children.”

“Being separated from them was torture. It would have been easier to reach in and cut out my heart. I knew you felt the same way.” Understanding shone in his eyes. He’d walked in those shoes, too.

Maybe dealing with Brian won’t be so bad, she thought. He’d been hurt, too. God willing, maybe the hurting was over. “I really think we can go on from here. We can be civil, right?”

“Right. For the children’s sake.” He moved away as if they’d never been close, as if they were just two people sitting together, side by side in a big empty room. The clunk and clatter from the kitchen echoed loudly. “We keep them safe, we work together to make sure the past doesn’t harm them and once this is over, I’ll be on my way.”

“Back to Fort Worth?”

“That’s where my life is.” His home, his practice, his church, his friends. “I’ll be back for the weddings, of course. But don’t worry, Belle, you won’t have to deal with me for long.”

“That’s not what I was worrying about.” For an instant, a hint of vulnerability softened her Cupid’s-bow mouth, and in the brush of sunlight tumbling through the wide windows, she looked bronzed, the highlights in her auburn hair gleaming like rare silk, and a flashback from the past roared through him—the image of Belle sitting in the rocking chair, one newborn cradled in each arm, serene and glowing with a new mother’s love. Affection he’d thought was long dead whispered in his heart, just ashes of what was, he rationalized. That’s all it could be. His love for her had died long ago, but his caring for her hadn’t.

That caring was what motivated him now. He launched off his chair and held out his hand. “Let’s check you out of here and get you a real meal.”

“What does that mean? A homemade meal?”

“Sure, in some restaurant. We’ll find one.”

“I’ll text my housekeeper, Lupita, and have the kids bring a meal from the ranch. A big picnic lunch for all of us.” She eased off her chair, her left leg weak. At least she allowed him to help. “We can eat it in the sunroom, although it’s strange to think it’s December. I still look outside and expect it to be hot, sunny July.”

“A lot of time passed while you were sleeping.”

“And a lot of things changed. Like the fact that our kids are suddenly all madly in love. I just wish I had been here to see them find their perfect soul mates.” Her chin hiked up, full of grit. “And did I mention I’m going stir-crazy in here? What I need is to be outside beneath the big blue Texas sky, and I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will be.” Tenderness gathered behind his sternum, but surely it wasn’t tenderness, it only felt that way. It had to be worry for what the kids had gone through, seeing her fall off her horse, expecting her to get up and praying for her to be fine but she wasn’t. The rush to the hospital, the terror in the waiting room, the fear and anguish at her bedside praying for her to come back to them.

Thank You, Lord, he prayed automatically, as if caring about Belle was second nature. Once it had been. Now, she was the mother of their children, nothing more. It made him sad. He waited while she tapped away at the phone she drew from her pocket, her auburn hair tumbling forward to curtain her face. When she was done he tucked the chairs into place beneath the table and waited for her to amble into the aisle.

“I know the girls were planning to keep me company for lunch anyway,” Belle explained. “I told her to bring the boys along. We’ll tell them over the meal.”

“I know that look.” The furrow across her forehead. “You’re worried about how they are going to take this.”

“I’ve spent twenty-five years second-guessing my decision.” She halted, her pearled teeth digging into her lush bottom lip. Vulnerability carved into her face, showing every bit of the gentle girl with the big heart he’d fallen in love with once. “Their safety wasn’t the only reason I didn’t tell them the truth. I was afraid they would hate me for separating us. For not letting you and the other half of the twins come with us.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Belle.” It cut him in two to think back upon that unhappy time. “We both made that decision, remember? We agreed to stay apart. It was for the best.”

“Yes, but will they understand?” For all her strength and bravado, Belle’s world had revolved around her children. Clearly that was as true as it had ever been.

“We’ll do our best to make them understand.”

“Maybe now is a good time to tell you something else. The twins received Bibles from an anonymous person while I was in my coma. There were notes inside asking for forgiveness. There was no explanation and I can’t help but wonder if it could be from him?”

“I’ll find out. I promise you.” He reached out to cover her hand, wanting to comfort her and reassure her, but hesitated. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea.

As if she agreed, she gave his outstretched hand a worried look, straightened her shoulders and moved forward. “I think I need to lie down for a while.”

“Fine.” He stayed planted where he stood in the corridor, watching her progress along the tiled floor, hurrying away from him. Tall, lean, graceful, even with a limp. It wasn’t longing he felt—his affection for Belle was in the past—but he couldn’t put his finger on what emotion tugged at him. Perhaps he would always want to make things better for Belle, always want to make her happy.

Not that he’d ever been able to do so. Shoulders braced, he headed for the nurses’ station. He had a few questions for Belle’s doctors.

* * *

“...Lord bless us and keep us. Amen.” Belle finished the blessing, trying to keep her voice from wobbling with nerves. Thankful for her faith that sustained her and for her family, united and happy, she opened her eyes and gave Violet’s hand one last squeeze before releasing it.

For a minute it was like seeing double—two identical sons and two identical daughters seated in wicker chairs around a patio table watching her every move. No doubt for signs of weakness. They worried over her health too much. She was a Texas girl, born and bred. She was tough, she was resilient and she’d defeat the last effects of her head injury in no time. She hated that they were troubled. Worse, she hated the crinkle of concern carved into Brian’s handsome face. Movie-star handsome, she might add. Honest piercing brown eyes, exquisite cheekbones and the strongly angled jaw that maturity had only improved.

Now, why exactly was she noticing? Probably because it was better than the difficult story she was about to tell. Anxiety fluttered in her stomach, making the appetizing meal Lupita had packed for them look like a very bad idea indeed. Her midsection rolled, and her hunger tanked. The secret had lived inside her for so many years. She’d avoided this moment for more than one reason, for more reasons than she’d admitted to Brian. What if telling the truth brought more pain?

“Do you want me to start, Belle?” Brian couldn’t be kinder as he searched her face across the length of table. Behind him a Christmas garland slung across the doorway into the sunroom. “I’d like to.”

“You didn’t mention that earlier.” Her words were light and meant that way, but she couldn’t help feeling annoyed. It was her story to tell, she was the one who’d torn this family apart long ago. Hadn’t that been how she’d spent the past hour in her room, practicing what she would say and how she would say it? Fearing all the while the twins wouldn’t understand. That they would resent her for disrupting their childhoods and separating them for over two decades. Each twin had grown up alone because of her.

“If you want to go first, then go.” Brian nodded absently, and Carter slipped a pulled pork sandwich onto his plate. Brian’s entire focus zeroed in on her. “Let me take the blame.”

“But you aren’t at fault.” His steadfast tone almost made her believe it.

“You weren’t the one who saw—” She stopped herself, seeing it happen all over again.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Jack leaned forward in his chair. “What did you see?”

“Yeah...what’s this all about?” Grayson asked.

“Mom, you look upset.” Violet took her hand again and squeezed.

“The doctor said you aren’t supposed to be stressed.” Maddie frowned, taking her other hand. “Dad, what’s got her so worked up?”

Belle shook her head. See how the man made her crazy? He’d always stirred her up, messed with her normally logical mind and turned everything on end. It wasn’t that they were arguing, exactly. She laughed at herself. Some things never changed. “Fine, Brian, you go first.”

Across the table, the man arched one brow as if to ask if she was sure. She nodded, nerves prickling. This looked important to him. She wanted to be the one to tell the truth, the truth her children had been asking about for a long time. Brian hadn’t been there, he hadn’t been involved, but she wanted peace between them. Leave the arguments and the fighting in the past where it belonged. As if he could see all that in her eyes, he drew in a breath, straightened his spine and looked around the table at each child, now an adult, the sadness in his gaze strong enough to dilute the shining sun.

“Twenty-five years ago your mother and I divorced. We’d married young while we were still in high school, and this may come as a shock to you but we had to get married. That was my fault, and mine alone. This was before both Belle and I were Christians.”

Brian’s sincerity rumbled in deep, low notes. “I won’t lie to you, it was tough being married that young. We had school to finish, and then your mother chose to drop out when the boys were born. That wasn’t an easy sacrifice. I almost did, too, because juggling full-time work was too much, but your mother encouraged me to hang in there.”

“You had dreams, Brian.” It hurt to remember the young man he’d been, the integrity that had always been a part of him. Insisting he had to marry her, struggling as hard as he knew how to be a good husband to her and a proud father. Why did it hurt to remember the good as much as it did the bad? “You’d always wanted to be a doctor since you were a little boy.”

“Yes, but I didn’t want it to cost me my other dreams.” He swallowed hard, telling her something she’d never guessed. Maybe being a father and a husband had been dreams of his, too.

And not something he’d been forced into. Tears burned behind her eyes and she blinked hard, refusing to let them fall, refusing to let him see.

“But it was too much. We couldn’t make our marriage work. I’m sorry.” Brian’s baritone dipped. “Your mother and I tried as hard as we knew how. We both gave it everything we had. Everything.”

“We did.” The wrenching fights, the tears after, the knowledge that they were failing at the single most important job in their lives—as married parents of their beloved double set of twins. Stubborn tears filled her eyes, but she held Brian’s gaze through the blur of them. No way could she let him take the sole blame for this. “I was the one who asked you to leave, Brian. I was the one who quit on you. I just couldn’t take you so unhappy, and then it happened.”

“I know.” Although he was at the other end of the table, his compassion bridged the distance between them. “I thought the same thing. I always figured we’d find our way back to each other and then—”

“The Witness Protection Program.” The words tumbled off her tongue. “If I hadn’t left the doctor’s office at that exact moment, then we never would have left.”

“It’s not your fault, Belle. It’s the way things happened, that’s all.” Brian sounded as if he had no doubt. “I never blamed you for that. I admired you for having the strength and the guts to testify.”

“You d-did?” She hated how her voice wobbled, betraying her. Lord help her, because Brian’s opinion of her still mattered. She hadn’t realized how much.

“Uh, Mom,” Jack spoke, surprising her. She blinked, realizing she’d forgotten she and Brian were not alone, that they were being watched like leads in a Broadway play, their audience enthralled. “Did you say the Witness Protection Program?”

“Yes.” The words felt torn out of her. “That’s why we left your father, Maddie and Grayson behind. The three of us were taken into protective custody. We were never meant to meet again.”

Chapter Four

“You mean we were in witness protection all this time?”

“But why?”

“How did that happen?”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

The questions erupted all at once, echoing around the sunroom and bouncing off the glass ceiling, but the regal and lovely woman across the table held his attention like no other. Belle sat tall and strong, folded her slim hands and let the questions roll over her. Gratitude shone quietly in the dark depths of her unguarded eyes. For an instant he saw both the woman he’d loved—the young Isabella full of life and spirit—and this newer Belle, seasoned and confident. Both intrigued him. Both touched him.

“We were sworn not to tell.” He spoke above the chaos of questions from their children, his gaze never wavering from Belle’s.

The twins fell silent, although the room echoed with their frustrations and curiosity.

“It was the only way,” he assured them. “Your mother witnessed a murder. She had Violet in her arms and Jack in a stroller. They were all in terrible danger. The thought of anything happening to you two—”

He stopped before his voice could break and betray him, his walls went up and he shut down the emotion before it surfaced. Just like he always did, he realized. Force of habit and one habit he had to break.

He gritted his teeth, took down his defenses and felt the terror of that long-ago time. “All I could think about was that man or his fellow drug dealers coming to gun you down, little Laurel and Tanner and my Isabella.”

“Dad, that had to have been horrible to go through.” Grayson patted him on the shoulder, the beloved son he’d had the privilege to raise. “Not knowing if they would ever be safe.”

“That’s why I testified.” Belle appeared a little shell-shocked, perhaps she’d realized what he’d tried to tell her. Although they were divorced, at that time, he’d still thought of her as his Isabella. “Witness protection meant safety.”

“But what happened exactly?” Violet wanted to know.

“You and Jack had awful earaches—I’d been up all night walking the floor with both of you,” Belle answered. “Our pediatrician squeezed you into her schedule, and I was on my way to the car when I heard the shot. I turned toward the sound and there he was standing in the alley with a dead man at his feet.”

“You had to be terrified, Mom.” Maddie took her hand.

“Petrified. Literally, since I couldn’t move. For an instant, I couldn’t believe what I saw. I just stared at the man, the murderer. It was like something out of someone else’s life.” Belle’s gentle face twisted with agony. “Then he pointed the gun at me.”

“He tried to shoot you?” Jack bit out.

“He aimed, and all I could think about were my precious babies. I had to keep you safe.” Conviction rang in her soft voice. “I got us away from there as fast as I could, although how was a mystery. I shook so hard, I could hardly run. I dashed back into the doctor’s office, fearing all the while the murderer would follow us in and finish the job. That fear haunted me until the police arrived.”

“And from there it happened so fast.” Brian took over the story. “The marshals whisked the three of you away...we hardly had time to really say goodbye.”

“There were a lot of things I meant to say and couldn’t,” Belle confessed, as if they were the only two in the room. “I’m so sorry, Brian. I hope you know—”

“I know.” Solemn, understanding, the low notes in his words held the ring of truth. “It was a long time ago. We just weren’t meant to be.”

“Exactly.” It was a hard truth to face. A lifetime separated her from Brian. Their divorce was so very long ago, making them both different people now.

“I don’t understand.” Violet spoke up, ripping Belle out of her thoughts. She realized all five children watched her breathlessly.

“It’s a lot of information all at once.” Her palms went damp and she gave a little push away from the table. Why was she trembling? Because the whole truth wasn’t out there. She’d kept a piece of it back. Not wanting to talk about it, she gestured toward the food. “No one’s eating. Lupita’s feelings will be hurt. You know the pride she takes in her cooking.”

“So this was what you were keeping from us all along?” Jack’s handsome face compressed into hard lines. “Every time I asked about our father. Every time you refused. You could have told us the truth. All you had to do was to say we were in the Witness Protection Program.”

“You could have told us, Dad.” Maddie’s gentle chiding felt like the first tumble of an avalanche before it crashed down a mountain and destroyed everything.

What if the twins couldn’t understand? Belle worried. What if they blamed her?

They wouldn’t be wrong to do so. She steeled her spine, determined to face the consequences of her long-ago decisions. Consequences she knew would hurt if they ever came to light.

“Yeah, Dad, at least we would have known,” Grayson chimed in. “You let us believe Sharla was our real mother.”

“You were so young, too young to understand, don’t you see?” Brian stood up, towering above them. His dark hair tumbled over his forehead as he surveyed each child. “It was hard for me to look at you every day and realize your twin was out there somewhere in the world and not knowing where. I wanted to tell you, but Violet and Jack were witnesses, too, and safer with your mother if nobody knew. It was a decision we made out of love, you have to understand that.”

Thank you. Belle thought the words, and although she didn’t say them, she knew Brian heard them.

“We get it.” Jack spoke first. “But we aren’t children anymore, Mom. You could have told me all about this. Or do you think I wouldn’t have understood?”

“I was afraid you would try to find your father and your twin.” She squeezed Maddie’s hand and then Violet’s. Did the girls know how much she loved them? “I couldn’t risk your safety. When we moved back to Texas from Washington State, I figured we were all right as long as we kept the past buried.”

“But I unearthed it,” Maddie chimed in. “And I’m not sorry we found each other, Violet.”

“Me, either,” Violet seconded, sharing a look with her twin.

It did Belle’s heart good to see the girls together. And the boys—so responsible and capable and, when she glanced at Jack’s face, so gloomy. Yes, it was time to be fully honest. “In truth, I feared you might blame me for taking you away.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Carter spoke up. She loved that boy, too. She’d only known him a short time, but he’d already made a lasting impression on her heart. In many ways, he reminded her so much of his father. “You did what you had to do. Sometimes that’s the way life is. You made the best of a bad situation. You moved away from Dad. You kept everyone safe. It couldn’t have been easy to leave your kids behind.”

Yes, she definitely loved that boy. “It killed me. I’m so sorry, Maddie. Grayson. Having to leave you was the hardest thing I’d ever done.”

“Why didn’t you take us with you?” A muscle jumped along Grayson’s jawline. “You could have done it. You took two kids into witness protection. Two more wouldn’t have been difficult.”

“Yes, Mom. Why did you go without us?” A flash of pain misted Maddie’s eyes.

Belle’s undoing. Tears rose in a burning lump in her throat, and she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t answer because how could they understand? What if they turned away from her? What if she lost them again? She didn’t think she could take it.

“She left you behind because I loved you both so much,” Brian answered. “When our marriage failed, your mother knew how devastated I was, because she was just as devastated. I’d lost too much. I couldn’t bear to lose all of my children, as well. Your mother suggested this solution.” He breathed deeply. “That’s Belle, that’s who she is. You don’t blame her. If you have to be angry at someone, then you’re angry at me. Got it?”

“We got it, Dad.” Grayson’s answer resonated low and deep.

“Yes, Dad,” Maddie answered.

“No wonder you were always so sad, Mom.” Violet’s grip tightened around her fingers. “You tried to hide it, but sometimes at night when I’d get up to get a drink of water, I’d see you sitting alone in the shadows.”

“I hate it if I made it harder for you, Mom.” Jack’s apology sounded torn from him. “I wish I’d known. I never would have argued with you, you never would have fallen off the horse—”

“I should have trusted you with the truth, both of you.” She could see that now. “It was too dangerous, and it hurt too much to look at what I’d lost. Going forward and keeping the past where it belonged was safer.”

“And now look where that has brought us.” Brian’s words snared her attention. “Together again. Your mother’s right. Lupita went to a lot of trouble to pack this lunch, so we’d better enjoy it. Eat up. Don’t worry...everything is going to be all right. I’ll make sure of it.”

The surge of gratitude rippled through her. Brian was a man of his word, she knew. He’d do his best to make sure their children were safe. Somewhere out there was David Johnson, the man who’d threatened her in the courtroom, the man who had mercilessly committed murder in cold blood and could have killed Belle and maybe Jack and Violet, too.

Wherever he is, keep him away from my children, Lord, please. No matter what, keep them safe. She sent the silent prayer heavenward as the conversation turned to the latest news at the ranch—apparently the hired hand Emmett Potter and Lupita’s niece Carolyn were still dating. Belle smiled, glad to still be in the loop with things at home. After telling the truth, her children were still here, lovingly gathered around her and in no small part due to Brian. She owed him for that. Huge. Big-time. He really had grown into the man she’d always known he would be.

* * *

“Thanks, Doctor.” Brian glanced over his shoulder down the hall of Ranchland Manor, distracted by the echo of laughter from Belle’s room. Sounded like the kids were having a good time saying their goodbyes. He turned his attention back to Belle’s doctor. “I appreciate your time.”

“No problem. I’ll take your recommendation into consideration.” Doc Garth flipped through Belle’s chart. “I can’t say I haven’t been tempted. She’s one of the most motivated patients I’ve seen.”

“That’s Belle.” Wistfulness ached in his chest. The two of them weren’t meant to be—he knew that—but he respected her. He wanted to help her. “She may recover more completely at home. It’s not as if she’s lacking in people to care for her there.”

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