Arlene James - Carbon Copy Cowboy

Kendra gasped. She’d give anything to know if she had family somewhere, anyone at all, really, even a great-aunt or second cousin. While little Darcy watched avidly, Violet and Maddie exchanged troubled looks. Ty stilled as if waiting for Jack to say more, but he did not look up from his plate. After a moment, Jack picked up his fork again and started to eat. The rest of the meal passed in silence.

Kendra found that her appetite had fled with his words. She wondered what she’d walked into here—an ill mother, twins who had never met... She found it all very confusing.

Jack excused himself and left the table without so much as a glance in Kendra’s direction. She worried that he might be angry with her. Perhaps they all were. She looked to Violet, on the verge of an apology, but the other woman beat her to it.

“I’m sorry, Kendra. Don’t mind Jack. He’s got a lot on his mind right now.”

“We all do,” Maddie added.

“You see,” Violet went on, “Jack and I didn’t even know until a couple months ago that Maddie, Grayson and our other brother Carter existed.”

Kendra switched her shocked gaze back and forth between Violet and Maddie. “How...?” She bit off the question, fearing that to voice it would be rude.

“We don’t know,” Maddie said flatly.

“And until our mother wakes up...” Violet began.

“Or we find our father,” Maddie supplied.

“We won’t know why they split the family and raised us apart,” Violet finished.

Kendra shook her head, overwhelmed. “That’s...that’s...” She swallowed the word awful, a question occurring. “You said, until your mother wakes up?”

Violet’s whole countenance fell. “Mom’s in a coma,” she whispered. “She fell off her horse.”

“Oh, wow,” Kendra said, impulsively clasping Violet’s hand with hers. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know....”

“No reason why you should,” Violet told her, squeezing her hand.

Kendra took her hand back, exclaiming, “I shouldn’t be here! You have enough troubles without me bringing mine into the mix.”

Both Maddie and Violet rushed to reassure her.

“No, no,” Violet said. “It’s no bother.”

“It might even be a good thing,” Maddie said at the same time. Ty cleared his throat, and she instantly subsided. Kendra could only wonder what that might be about, but she had no time to ponder the matter as Violet suddenly rose.

“You must be tired,” she said, “after everything you’ve been through. Let me show you to your room.”

“I’d like to help clean up first,” Kendra insisted, aware that she really had no choice but to stay the night here at least.

Violet waved that away. “Lupita will have cleaned up everything but what you see here.”

“Ty and I will clear the table and load these things into the dishwasher,” Maddie volunteered. Ty lifted an eyebrow but said not a word. He was certainly a quiet type, good-looking, too, almost as good-looking as Jack.

Kendra got up. Suddenly exhausted, she felt herself sway. Violet instantly reached out.

“You poor thing! You haven’t recovered at all.”

“I’m fine,” Kendra said with a wan smile, “just a little tired is all.” Straightening, she lifted her chin and took a deep breath.

“You come on with me now,” Violet instructed, taking Kendra by the arm.

“Do you have any things to be brought in?” Maddie asked, looking to Ty.

“I left a bag of toiletries in Jack’s truck,” Kendra said, just then remembering. “Other than that, I only have what I’m wearing.”

“I’ll run out and get the bag,” Maddie told her, hurrying away from the table. “Then I have some things you can borrow.”

“We’ll get you all fixed up,” Violet promised.

Embarrassed, Kendra could do nothing but smile and follow her hostess from the room.

Chapter Four

Violet led Kendra into the living room, a large space beautifully decorated with overstuffed leather pieces and Native American fabrics. They crossed the floor to a sort of open hallway, from which a pair of identical stairways ascended to the second floor from opposite sides of the house. Kendra gazed through a wall of windows to an enclosed courtyard until the stairs turned. They came out on a narrow landing above.

“You’ll be just at the head of the stairs,” Violet explained, “and I’m at the other end of this landing.” She opened a door for Kendra, saying, “Make yourself at home. I’ll just run and grab some things for you and be right back.”

Kendra wandered into a spacious room with sage-green walls and cream-colored woodwork and carpet. A queen-size bed with a tall, wrought-iron headboard stood against the center of the far wall, its silky, quilted bedspread echoing the sage-and-cream palette with strips of coral pink highlighting the geometric pattern. Marble-topped wrought-iron tables flanked the bed, each holding an identical pottery lamp. A pair of deep window seats, framed by coral-pink drapes and strewn with fluffy pillows, centered each of the side walls, one looking out over the compound, the other over the courtyard below. A small desk and an overstuffed chair in a complementary flower print comprised the only other furnishings, giving the room a clean, airy feel.

Violet returned, her arms full of clothing, the plastic bag of toiletries and the bridal veil, which she dumped on the bed. “Shorts and tops,” she announced, “and a few other essentials. The closet is through the bathroom.” She pointed to a door beside the one through which she had just entered. “Let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you. You’ve all been very kind.”

“It’s no problem,” Violet told her in her soft drawl. “Do you mind if I ask how you came to meet my brother?”

“I’m told that he came on the accident right after it happened and called for help.”

“I see. Funny, he never mentioned that part.”

“The first time I remember seeing him was when I woke up at the clinic yesterday.” Kendra looked inward, remembering that moment. He had seemed so familiar, and yet she hadn’t known him—or anyone. “At first, I thought he must be someone connected to me personally. But then I realized that wasn’t the case.”

“It must be so awful to lose your memory,” Violet said, shaking her head. “You don’t remember your family, even?”

“No.”

“A boyfriend?”

“No one,” Kendra said solemnly.

Violet dithered for a moment before saying, “There is that bridal veil.”

Kendra closed her eyes. “I don’t remember anything about that. Jack says I was wearing it when he found me, but...” She waved a hand at her casual clothing. “That doesn’t make any sense. Nothing makes any sense.”

“Well, don’t you fret about it now,” Violet advised, patting her shoulder. “We’ll pray on it, and it’ll all come back to you.”

Kendra nodded, doing her best to smile, but she couldn’t be quite so certain as Violet sounded. What if she never figured out who she was or where she belonged? What if she’d run away from an ugly past?

She shook her head, thanked Violet again and watched the other woman leave the room.

“Now you rest,” Violet said, gently closing the door behind her.

Kendra stood for a long moment, feeling so very alone.

Oh, Lord, why is this happening to me? What if my memory never returns? What will happen to me? As kind as they had been, she couldn’t expect Jack’s family to offer her shelter forever. Please return my memories to me, and please don’t let there be anything in my past to shame You or me.

She ended her prayer a few minutes later, and once again loneliness swamped her. Desperate to shake it off, she grabbed the plastic bag of toiletries and carried them into the bathroom. Creamy white with splashes of sage and coral, it offered ample storage, a small shower and a lovely tub. The closet had built-in drawers, where she stowed her borrowed clothing and the puzzling veil. Picking out a pair of soft knit shorts and a sleeveless top that could be worn as pajamas, she decided to run a tub of water and take a long, hot soak.