Leona Karr - The Mysterious Twin

“It’s only for a few days,” Jill insisted, watching Ashley’s look of utter dismay. “I just couldn’t show up like this, coughing my head off and looking like a rag doll that went through the washer. This nanny job will see me through the summer, and by then…” her voice trailed off, and a haunted look deepened the shadows in her face. “Maybe by then I’ll have some of this sorted out.”

The whole idea was crazy. Ashley couldn’t believe she was even considering it. “Where does this Hugo Vandenburg live?”

“He has an estate not far from here. You can take my car, it’s only a few hours drive.”

“In Georgia?”

Jill nodded, but avoided looking directly at her twin. Ashley knew her sister well enough to know she was holding something back.

“Where is this place?” she asked. “Where does Hugo Vandenburg live?”

“Well, he doesn’t exactly live there, I mean, not all the time. It’s kind of a summer mansion,” she hedged, and then took a deep breath. “His estate is on one of those small islands off the Georgia coast. You have to get to Roble Island by ferry.”

Her lips trembled. “He’ll hire someone else if I don’t show up as planned…I mean, if you don’t show up as planned.”

Saying no to Jill had never been easy, and under these circumstances, a heartless refusal was almost impossible. Ashley didn’t know exactly when she made the decision that she would impersonate her sister for a few days, but a harmless charade seemed the least she could do to get her sister out of a tight spot. And she was on summer faculty break.

“Thank you, thank you, sis,” Jill kept saying gratefully between coughing spells.

“How will I know when you’re ready to make the switch?” Ashley sighed in defeat.

Jill thought for a minute. “I don’t want to answer the phone unless it’s you. Call me every evening and leave a message on the machine…like, “Life is great.” Then call me right back and I’ll answer the phone. When I’m over this bug, I’ll rent a car, meet you and we’ll change clothes and switch cars. No one will be the wiser. Take my cell phone and use it so nobody in the house will know.”

“Good idea. I brought my cell, but it only works in the Rocky Mountain area. Can you think of anything else?”

Jill shook her head, and Ashley sighed. Oh, what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive. She’d never been any good at lies and now she was preparing to live one.

The ferry trip across the Sound was a short one, but long enough for Ashley’s stomach to tighten with nervousness. She was supposed to call the Vandenburg house when she arrived on the ferry, and someone would come and lead the way through the marshlands and tropical woods to the estate on the Atlantic side of Roble Island.

The ferry berthed at its pier, near a main thoroughfare bordering the west side of the island. A colorful little village hugged the waterfront, tempting tourists and residents with inviting shops, restaurants, parks and several inns and motels.

She parked beside a public telephone that stood in a parking lot across from the nautically styled Seaside Inn. She dialed the number Jill had written on a slip of paper, and worried her lower lip waiting for someone to answer the insistent ring.

What if nobody was home?

A woman with a trace of an accent finally answered, “Vandenburg residence. Who is calling, please?”

“This is…Mrs. Budge Gordon.” Even as she said the name for the first time, it sounded false in Ashley’s ears. “I was told to call when I arrived. Someone is supposed to guide me to the house.” Then she added, “I’m the new nanny.”

“I’ll tell Mr. Stone. Where are you?”

Ashley glanced quickly around. “I’m at the Seaside Inn,” she said, and before she could ask how long it might be before her escort arrived, the woman hung up.

Great, thought Ashley. She had no idea how far away the Vandenburg house was from the wharf. Ten minutes? A half hour or more? Jill had said that the estate was on the Atlantic side of the island at its southern tip.

Davie was sleeping peacefully in his car seat, and Ashley hesitated to move him. I should have told them I’d be waiting in the car, she lamented. Whoever was coming for her would probably go inside the inn looking for her. Sitting in the front seat, she could watch everyone who went in and out of the white clapboard building, but the problem was that she didn’t know what Mr. Stone or anyone else the woman might send looked like.

After waiting twenty minutes, she decided that she’d better unload the baby and make herself visible. Not a good start, she thought, as her natural penchant for having things well-ordered put her off balance.

She was busy unhooking the carrier from the back seat when a red Jaguar pulled into the parking lot and parked a few stalls away. She didn’t see the dark-haired slender man who got out of the car and walked toward her.

There she is, Kyle Stone thought as he took in the white Mercedes and the neat backside of the woman as she leaned over to bring a baby out of the back seat of the car and put him in a small hand carrier. Of course, she’d be driving a fancy car like that. Even though he’d never met Jill and Budge Gordon, he knew their reputation as leaders in the fast crowd of nationally known sport figures. Kyle hadn’t been surprised that Budge had decided to shaft everyone and take off with illegal betting money. Keeping up their high-flying lifestyle must have been a constant financial drain.

Jill Gordon as a nanny? The idea made him hide a chuckle as he sauntered over to her car. He’d had his doubts about her ever showing up. But here she was, dressed as if she was ready for a beach party.

“Hello. You must be Mrs. Gordon,” he said politely as she turned around, clumsily grasping the handle of the carrier with both hands.

Her eyes widened with surprise and obvious relief. “Are you—?”

“Kyle Stone,” he answered, smiling as he quickly made a mental assessment of her. Her makeup was artfully applied to enhance her delicate features and deep liquid-blue eyes. Full lips were carefully traced with a pink, kissable lipstick, and shoulder-length, wavy, honey-blond hair framed her face. Tight jeans cupped her thighs and legs in a provocative fashion. At the moment tiny lines of a frown marred her forehead, and the skimpy summer blouse she wore didn’t hide the rise and fall of her fast breathing.

“Did you have trouble finding the ferry to the island?” he asked politely. Nervousness stood out all over her.

“No, not at all.” Her smile was quick and superficial. “Thank you for coming so quickly. I would like to get the baby settled at the house as soon as possible.”

“Of course. It’s only about a fifteen-minute drive across the island.”

She wished now that she hadn’t taken the baby out of his car seat. Maybe the movement of the car would lull him back to sleep. It wasn’t time for another bottle, and it would be just her luck to have Davie shrieking his head off when they arrived at the house.

“I think you’ll find everything you need in the nursery,” Kyle said. “Mr. Vandenburg gave orders that it was to be completely equipped. What’s the baby’s name?” he asked politely.

“Davie.”

“He’s a fine fellow. So bright. Look at the way he’s looking around.”

Instead of smiling or responding to the compliment as he had expected a new mother would, she gave her attention to returning the baby to his car seat.

When she had trouble locking the baby in, he said, “Here, let me.”

Without any argument, she stepped back and let him do it. “I don’t know why I have trouble getting that fastened,” she said nervously.