The Twin

“Me, too.”

They looked at each other, connecting as they always did, grinned and hugged. “Hot damn!” they said in unison.

“You know what this means?” Cass said.

“Yeah. We’ve just acquired a humongous family.”

“Besides that.”

Sunny heaved a big sigh. “We’ve got to figure out how to tell Mama.”

“I vote we table telling her until she and Aunt Min get home from their grand adventure.”

Mama and Aunt Min had rented a cottage in France and were making excursions to various places in Europe—the dream of a lifetime. “But they won’t be home for another six months.”

Cass grinned. “Yeah. I know. But we wouldn’t want to spoil their trip now, would we?”

Chapter Five

Saturday was one of those perfect Texas days that come most often in the spring or the fall. The colors on the hills toward the lake seemed brighter than usual. Because most of the trees were evergreen, and the climate didn’t generate many autumn colors, this was a rarity. She’d heard something about an especially dry summer and a number of cool nights turning the deciduous trees into a lovely palette of reds and golds against the blue sky.

Sunny followed a winding, blacktopped road toward the place where she was meeting Belle and the others. She hated that Cass wasn’t along and had tried to convince her sister to come in her place, but Cass wouldn’t hear of it.

“You know I’m not much on fishing,” Cass had said. “Go on. Go. Go.”

And truthfully Cass didn’t know one end of a rod from another. Brian had taught Sunny to fish, and she’d learned to love it. They’d spent many an hour on Lake Travis. She hadn’t wet a hook since he’d died. In fact, she’d had to do some digging in her storage unit to find a rod and reel and her tackle box.

After checking the number on the mailbox, she pulled into the driveway of a ranch house at nine on the dot. It was a rather ordinary place except that its backyard abutted the gorgeous panorama of the lake, and a helicopter rested in a large clearing beside the house. Who on earth did that belong to?

She pulled up behind a black SUV and got out. By the time she had retrieved her fishing gear, Belle had appeared from behind the house, and a willowy, short-haired blonde was with her.

“Hey,” Belle said, waving. “You found us. Great. Sunny, this is Sam’s wife, Skye. She’s a veterinarian, a vegetarian, my double sister-in-law and my best friend.”

Skye stuck out her hand and laughed. “Sounds ominous, doesn’t it? Welcome to our branch of the Outlaw gang. I’m sort of new myself.”

“How are you a double sister-in-law?” Sunny asked.

“Well, Belle married my brother Gabe, and I married her brother Sam. Seems like we were destined to be sisters one way or another. I’m sorry your sister couldn’t come, but I look forward to meeting her next weekend. Sorry I don’t eat chili because Sam says yours is fabulous.”

“We have a vegetarian version,” Sunny said.

“You do? Sweet!”

Belle grabbed the tackle box, hooked her arm with Sunny’s and said, “Come on out back. The guys have the boat about ready to shove off.”

In the back, they walked down a flight of steps to a pier where a boat was docked. Sunny was surprised to see three men instead of the two she expected. She immediately recognized Sam, who looked up and smiled. A handsome blond guy she didn’t know also turned and smiled. When the third turned around, she almost dropped her rod.

It was Ben McKee. He’d traded his Stetson for a blue ball cap and his dress shirt and tie for a jersey faded from red to almost pink.

“Sunny,” Belle said, “the blond hunk in the sunglasses is my husband, Gabe Burrell, and I think you’ve met the other hunk, Ben McKee.”

“Good to meet you, Sunny,” Gabe said. “I see you’ve brought your own rod. It looks custom-made.”

“Whoo-ee,” Sam said. “We’d better watch out, guys. She looks like she takes fishing seriously.”

“Sunny,” Ben said, simply smiling and touching the brim of his cap. “Closest thing I have to a custom-made rig is a cane pole I cut myself.”

Sunny felt her face blaze, and she felt an irrational urge to slap the silly smile off his face. “It was a Christmas gift from my husband.”

There was a sudden silence. Her comment had gone over like a toad in a punch bowl.

“Sorry about the crack,” Ben said, and he held out his hand to help her aboard. “It’s a fine-looking rod. Was it made locally?”

Sunny accepted his hand, and everybody started talking at once as they climbed onto the large boat.

“The biggest fish of the morning,” Sam said, “is exempt from cleaning the catch or cooking lunch. Except for Skye. She’s not included in the contest.”

“Because you’re vegetarian?” Sunny asked her.

“No,” Belle said. “Because she’d probably catch a whale. Fish jump on her hook.”

“You fish,” Skye said, pulling a paperback from her tote, “and I read.”

“Why is it fish jump on your hook?” Ben asked.

She shrugged. “Just one of those odd things.”

“She’s enchanted,” Belle said. “Critters of every kind adore her. Who’s got the worms?”

“Ben brought the worms,” Sam shouted as he pulled the boat away from the pier.

They spent the rest of the morning fishing and laughing and talking. Sunny thoroughly enjoyed herself. She couldn’t remember when she’d laughed or talked so much. Sam and Belle were natural cutups, and they were in fine form. A shame she’d only met them now.

Shortly before they were due to go in, Sunny cast her line near where someone had left a milk jug marker. Immediately, a fish struck, a big one by the feel of it. She played it, praying she wouldn’t lose what she hoped was a whopping-size black bass. When she finally pulled in the fish, Ben helped her get the huge black bass in the boat.

Ben held it up and said, “Unless I miss my guess, this looks like the day’s winner. At least seven pounds.”

“Or eight,” Gabe said. “Only fitting, Sunny, that you’re our winner.”

“I agree,” Skye said.

Sam looked at Skye and frowned.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Skye said. “I had nothing to do with it. I’ve been reading about the latest treatment for mange.”

They headed back to the lake house, where the guys lit the grill and cleaned the fish while Belle and Skye retrieved containers of side dishes from the fridge. Sunny tried to help, but they wouldn’t hear of it.

“You won, fair and square,” Skye said.