Barbara McMahon - Mirror Image Bride

“Can we ride a horse?” Darcy asked, interrupting her ruminations.

“We can ask your dad. I’m sure he’ll want you to learn to ride.”

“Then I could ride everywhere,” Darcy said, coming to stand beside Maddie. “Can you ride?”

“Not very well.”

“Maybe he can teach you, too,” she said, heading out of the barn.

Maddie smiled at that suggestion. She doubted Ty wanted to spend a minute more with her than he had to. But she had enough questions to ask him when he got home.

She smiled in anticipation. It would give her another reason to spend a bit more time with Ty—and the confusing feelings she had for him. She could hardly wait.

Chapter Two

By lunchtime, Maddie was glad to leave the barn area and return to Ty’s air-conditioned house.

“Thank You, Lord, for this,” she murmured as she and Darcy entered.

“What?” Darcy asked, looking up at her.

“I’m giving a thanks prayer to the Lord for the coolness,” she said.

“Oh.” Darcy was quiet for a moment, then asked, “Can you ask God why my mommy died?”

“Honey, it was a terrible accident.” Maddie gave her a quick hug.

From what she’d learned from Violet, the drunk driver had come from a side street and T-boned the driver’s side of Brittany Parker’s car, killing her instantly. Maddie was thankful Darcy had not been in the car.

She released Darcy with a pat on her shoulder. “You’re with your dad now, he’ll take good care of you.”

“Mommy said my dad was dead.”

“He wasn’t. He’s been here all along, waiting for you to come live with him,” Maddie said, wondering how to explain things to the child when she herself didn’t understand his ex-wife’s behavior.

“Why didn’t he ever come visit me? Especially at Christmas. My grandmama and grandpa always come to visit at Christmas. It’s time for family.”

“He didn’t know where you lived.”

Darcy considered that for a moment, then shrugged. “I don’t like it here. When can I go home?”

“This is your home now,” Maddie said as they headed for the kitchen.

“No, it’s not. I live at 2733 Aspen Street, Houston, Texas.”

“That’s the home you had with your mom. Now you live here with your dad.” Maddie switched gears to try to lift the girl’s mood. “Let’s eat lunch and we can talk about what you want to do this afternoon.”

“Are you going to spend the afternoon with me?”

“I am. In fact, I’m going to be watching you during the day while your dad’s working. How’s that?”

Darcy shrugged, pulling her mouth down. “Okay, I guess.”

What a ringing endorsement, Maddie thought, but tried not to feel discouraged.

She glanced through the wide window over the sink when she stepped into the kitchen. She loved the beautiful view.

“What would you like for lunch?” Maddie asked, rummaging around, looking for bread and dishes.

“Peanut butter and grape jam. He bought some grape jam for me ’cause I like it.”

“He?” Maddie asked.

“You know, my dad,” Darcy said in a quiet voice.

Maddie wondered what Darcy was thinking. So far she hadn’t heard the child refer to Ty as anything but “he.”

Darcy sat at the big, farm-style table, kicking the legs of the chair as she watched Maddie open cupboard doors and look into the refrigerator. By the time Maddie had found all she needed, Darcy had regained her more chatty nature. She talked about the pigs and the chickens and the goat and the fact Violet grew vegetables. That seemed to fascinate her. To Darcy, produce came from the grocery store, not the ground.

“When we finish eating we’ll check out supplies and plan on what to have for supper,” Maddie said, finding the silverware drawer.

“Are you going to cook our supper?” Darcy asked.

“I am. And breakfast in the morning.”

“He gets up very early,” Darcy said.

“Hmmm, maybe you and I don’t need to get up that early. Shall we ask? I mean, it’s not like we have to get riding before it gets hot or have hours of work in front of us.”

She needed to talk to Ty to see what he expected. Maybe he’d want her there for breakfast each morning. Getting up early wasn’t her favorite thing to do, but it would be worth it to see Ty first thing each morning. Was his attitude softening toward her? She considered it might be wishful thinking, but she was holding on to the thought.

Once she knew what he expected, she could make plans accordingly. Maddie’s boss had always said she was an expert at that.

Her former boss, she amended silently, feeling a pang that she wasn’t in Fort Worth, working frantically to get the next edition of Texas Today to bed. She missed the hectic atmosphere, the camaraderie of her coworkers. The sense of accomplishment when the issue was finally on its way to the stands.

Sighing, she cut their sandwiches, poured milk and sat to eat. Another change in her topsy-turvy world.

“What are we going to do this afternoon?” Darcy asked as she was finishing her sandwich.

“How about some artwork? Did you bring any coloring books or crayons to color with?”

Darcy shook her head. “The lady who came to tell my babysitter my mom was dead packed clothes and left everything else at our apartment. And she didn’t even pack my favorite dress.”

“No toys or books or anything?”

“I got to bring Teddy bear, that’s all,” Darcy said, kicking the legs of her chair again.

Maddie had no idea how social services worked. Surely at some point the apartment had to be vacated for the next tenant. What would happen to all of Darcy’s things? And those of her mother? Surely they’d come to Darcy.

Another item to discuss with Ty.

Once they’d finished lunch, they walked over to the main house. The large, warm, brick home easily housed the Colby family and any guests they wanted. Maddie still felt a bit like an interloper when she entered without knocking. This was the home her sister and brother lived in. A far cry from the modest house she’d been raised in. Her father had moved to a home near the university for convenience when they’d left Appleton for Fort Worth. She didn’t remember much about the house of those early years with her mother.

Rachel came to live with them after her mother died. The older woman was a widow whose only child had died of meningitis. When her father attended medical school, his hours were long and hard. Rachel was the constant adult in the household. She was retired now and living in Galveston. She loved the sea. She’d tried to answer Maddie’s questions when she’d first called and told her about her twin. Rachel knew very little, only that she’d needed the job at the perfect time and she loved her kids, as she called Maddie and her brothers, Carter and Grayson.

Maddie pulled out her cell phone and tried her father’s number again. It went straight to voice mail—and the mailbox was full. It drove her crazy. Where was he? Surely if he’d been injured the authorities would have notified her.

If her brothers weren’t out of touch as well, she’d see what strings Grayson could pull to locate their dad. But he was working undercover in some narcotics investigation for Fort Worth Police and Carter was deployed. She was about to burst with the newfound knowledge about her fractured family and had no one to share it with. Or to find out more about what had caused the siblings to split.

She led Darcy to the room the family used as an office and suggested they search online for ideas of fun art projects they could do together. Although her mind was still reeling with concern about her family, she set her worries aside and focused instead on giving Darcy her undivided attention.

It was the least that Ty’s daughter deserved after all she’d been through.