Marta Perry - Her Surprise Sister

What if Maddie ended up devastated by what she learned? It would be his fault for bringing Maddie and Violet together in the first place.

Ahead of him, Violet’s right-turn signal blinked. She slowed down and turned on a gravel road that led through impressive stone gates and under an arched sign with three intertwined Cs. This, obviously, was the Colby place.

The gravel road stretched, straight as a ruler, between barbed-wire fences along pastureland on either side. It ran about half a mile, he’d guess, before ending at a two-story brick house. Good-sized, the house had a porch across the front and what seemed to be wings going back on two sides. Outbuildings scattered behind it like so many Monopoly houses dropped on the land.

Violet pulled up on the gravel sweep in front of the house, and he drew his car in behind her. A fine layer of dust from the lane settled immediately on his hood.

He got out, wondering if Violet had taken the lane at that pace deliberately to mar the glossy finish of his car. But she was waiting for him, and she didn’t seem antagonistic. In fact, she looked at him with a question in her eyes.

“I was wondering—I assume you know Maddie’s father and her brothers?”

He nodded, jingling his keys in his hand for a moment before slipping them into his pocket. “I can’t say I know her father very well, but I do know him. A doctor, busy as most doctors are, I guess. Grayson and I are the same age, and we’ve always been good friends. Carter was just a kid then, tagging along, but he’s grown into quite a guy.”

A question in those chocolate-colored eyes deepened. “Have you talked to either Grayson or Carter about all this?”

He shook his head. “Grayson’s a cop, and he’s on an undercover operation right now, which makes it virtually impossible to contact him. And Carter’s in the military overseas. Hasn’t Maddie talked about them?”

“Not much.” She went through a wrought-iron gate, started toward the porch and he fell into step with her. “I’m not just being curious. Maddie sent an email to her dad, but he hasn’t answered. She doesn’t seem interested in contacting her brothers, but I thought maybe they should know about all this.”

He frowned, thinking about it. “Maybe she feels she should tell her father first. And since neither Grayson nor Carter can do anything about it right now, maybe she’s right about that.”

“She really is alone, then,” Violet said softly, her eyes shadowed.

“Are you worried about Maddie?” he asked, trying to get a sense of what was behind the comment.

“I can’t help but feel responsible.” She paused, her hand on the handle of the heavy-looking front door. “If I hadn’t started off half-cocked looking for my father, I wouldn’t have found Maddie. So if we end up getting hurt by what we find, I’m responsible.”

He couldn’t quite suppress a smile. “Oddly enough, I was just saying that very thing to myself—that I brought you two together, so if it goes badly, it’s my fault.”

She smiled back, somewhat ruefully. “Guilt trips. Maybe we should stop overanalyzing things. My mother always says if God puts you in a situation, it’s for a reason.”

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