Marta Perry - Her Surprise Sister

Secret siblings revealed

Imagine her shock when Violet Colby discovers she has an identical twin sister she never knew existed. Why her family was torn apart remains a secret no one can answer—yet. Hoping to develop a sisterly bond, Violet invites her sophisticated city twin to the Colby Ranch in tiny Grasslands, Texas. But when her sister’s former fiancé arrives with questions of his own, country girl Violet finds herself drawn to handsome businessman Landon Derringer. And learns that true love requires faith—and a heart as big as Texas.

Texas Twins: Two sets of twins, torn apart by family secrets, find their way home.

Violet glanced at her watch again as Landon came back with the coffee.

“Still timing me?” he asked, sitting down.

“No. I was just thinking that there’s a call I should make soon.”

“Go ahead, if you want.”

He might be making an effort to be accommodating. Or he might be interested in who she was calling. She hadn’t quite made up her mind yet about Mr. Landon Derringer.

“I’ll wait until I’ve seen your mysterious friend,” she said.

He glanced at the door. “You won’t have long to wait. She’s here.”

The door swung open, and a woman stepped inside. Slim, chic, sophisticated. And other than that, Violet’s exact double.

* * *

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

MARTA PERRY

has written everything from Sunday-school curricula to travel articles to magazine stories in more than twenty years of writing, but she feels she’s found her writing home in the stories she writes for the Love Inspired lines.

Marta lives in rural Pennsylvania, but she and her husband spend part of each year at their second home in South Carolina. When she’s not writing, she’s probably visiting her children and her six beautiful grandchildren, traveling, gardening or relaxing with a good book.

Marta loves hearing from readers, and she’ll write back with a signed bookmark and/or her brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. Write to her c/o Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279, email her at marta@martaperry.com, or visit her on the web at www.martaperry.com.

Her Surprise Sister

Marta Perry

www.millsandboon.co.uk

When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established, what is man, that thou should remember him, or mortal man, that thou should care for him?

—Psalms 8:3–4

This story is dedicated to the Love Inspired sisters who worked on this continuity series.

And, as always, to Brian, with much love.

Special thanks and acknowledgement to Marta Perry

for her participation in 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

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

Chapter One

What could she possibly say to a father who had walked out of her life when she was an infant? Hi, Dad, it’s me, Violet?

Violet Colby’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. What was she doing miles from home in Fort Worth, trying to follow an almost nonexistent clue to her birth father?

A sleek sports car cut in front of her SUV, horn blaring. Shaken, Violet flipped on the turn signal and pulled into the right lane. City traffic had frazzled whatever nerves she had left.

A coffee-shop sign ahead beckoned to her. That was what she needed—a short respite, a jolt of caffeine and a chance to reassess her situation.

She found a parking space, fed the meter and pushed open the coffee shop’s glass door, fatigue dragging at her. The aroma drew her irresistibly in, and a few moments later she was sitting at a small round glass table, a steaming mug and a flaky croissant in front of her. She hadn’t bothered to read through the long list of specialty coffees the shop offered. All she wanted was caffeine, the sooner the better.

A woman brushed past her, the summer-print dress and high platform sandals she wore making Violet uncomfortably aware of her faded jeans and scuffed cowboy boots. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been in Fort Worth before, but she usually took the time to dress appropriately for a trip to the city, a five-hour drive from the Colby Ranch. This time she’d bolted out of her mother’s hospital room, exhausted from long nights of waiting and praying for her mom to open her eyes.

She hadn’t been able to take it any longer. That wasn’t the Belle Colby everyone in the county knew, lying there motionless day after day. Belle Colby was energetic, vibrant, always in motion. She had to be, running a spread the size of the Colby Ranch and raising two kids on her own.

Not now. Not since her mare had stepped in a hole, sending Belle crashing to the ground. And Jack, Violet’s big brother, was so eaten up with guilt for arguing with their mom before the accident that he was being no help at all.

Violet broke a corner off the croissant and nibbled at it. Her family was broken, it seemed, and she was the only one who could fix it. That’s what she’d been thinking during those lonely hours before dawn at her mother’s hospital bed. The only solution her tired brain could come up with was to find their father—the man Belle never talked about.

Now that she was here in Fort Worth, where she’d been born, the task seemed futile. Worse, it seemed stupid. What would it accomplish if she did find him?

She didn’t belong here, any more than the sophisticated-looking guy coming in the door would belong on the ranch. Swanky suit and designer tie, glossy leather boots that had certainly never been worn to muck out a stall, a Stetson with not a smudge to mar its perfection—he was big-city Texas, that was for sure.

That man’s head turned, as if he felt her stare, and she caught the full impact of a pair of icy green eyes before she could look away. She stared down at her coffee. Quickly she raised the mug, hoping to hide her embarrassment at being caught gaping.

It didn’t seem to be working. She heard approaching footsteps and kept her gaze down. A pair of glossy brown boots moved into her range of vision.

“What are you doing here?”

Violet looked up, surprised. “What?”

“I said, what are you doing here?” He pulled out the chair opposite her, uninvited, and sat down. “I told you I’d be at your apartment…” He slid back the sleeve of his suit to consult the gold watch on his tanned wrist. “In five minutes. So why are you in the coffee shop instead of at your condo? Are you trying to avoid me?”

Okay, he was crazy. That was the only answer Violet could come up with. She groped for her bag, keeping her eyes on his face. It looked sane enough, with a deep tan that made those green eyes bright in contrast, a square, stubborn-looking jaw, and a firm mouth. His expensively cut hair was sandy blond.

He didn’t look crazy, but what did that mean? Or maybe this was his idea of a pick-up line.