Twins For The Soldier

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Lee sat straight. “I don’t want you to accept any more money from him.”

Viviana knew Lee didn’t want to talk about their father, but she did. When Emory offered to pay the delinquent electric bill she’d wanted to tell him that he was twenty years too late in his attempt to play the supportive father, but had held her tongue. Even if he hadn’t been able to provide for his family financially, she’d realized once she was older that he could have been there emotionally for them.

“I didn’t ask him. He volunteered.” She didn’t want to argue with Lee about their father. And she didn’t want Emory involved in something that had nothing to do with him. His name did not appear on any of the documents in connection with the main house, the guesthouses or the land. “I’ll make certain not to involve him again.”

Lee gave her a barely perceptible nod. “Thanks. You have a lot on your plate before the B and B is up and running, and that means prioritizing.”

“You’re right. I think we should take care of legal matters first.” Reaching for a pencil and pad she began jotting down possible names for the new corporation. Her hand stilled. “I did something I never thought I would do.”

“What’s that?” Lee asked, as he stood up and began clearing the table.

“I posted a photo of Marcus on a number of social media sites with a warning that he’s an identity thief. Hopefully someone will recognize him and call the authorities.”

Lee’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Scamming you probably wasn’t his first rodeo, and if he’s done this before then someone is sure to recognize him.”

Viviana pushed back her chair, stacked plates and flatware, and joined Lee in the kitchen. “That’s what I’m hoping.” She pressed her lips together when she recalled meeting Marcus for the first time. He was everything she wanted in a man, and then some, but that was before she realized he’d hustled her. “You’re probably right about that. Everything about him was so calculating and I...” Her words trailed off when Lee’s cell phone rang.

Wiping his hands on a towel, Lee picked up the phone and glanced at the display. “I have to take this.” Angela was calling him again. He tapped a button. “How’s it going?”

“Great. I just called to say I’m back in The Falls.”

Lee turned his back when he noticed Viviana staring at him. “I thought you were going to be away for two weeks,” he said under his breath.

“That was before my parents decided to fly to LA and take Malcolm and Zoe with them. My kids were beside themselves once they discovered they were going on a plane for the first time.”

“Can I call you back later, because I’m having dinner with my sister?”

“No problem. Call me whenever you get the chance.”

He smiled. “I will.”

“Who was she?” Viviana asked once he ended the call.

He set the phone on the countertop. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you were talking to a woman because your voice changed. Have you been holding out on me?”

“No. And for your information, Miss Busybody, the woman is Angela.”

“Angela Banks?”

“Remember she’s now Angela Mitchell.”

Viviana snorted under her breath. “It appears as if you haven’t wasted any time hooking up with your best friend’s widow.”

A frown appeared between his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I always thought Angela married the wrong friend.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, so get your mind out of the gutter because I have no intention of hookingup with her.”

Viviana held up her hands. “Don’t get me wrong, Lee. I happen to like Angela and wouldn’t mind having her as a sister-in-law and becoming an auntie to her adorable twins.”

Lee smiled when he should’ve told Viviana to stop meddling in his life. “I never figured you for a matchmaker.”

“That’s because I’m a true romantic at heart.”

He tugged on the end of her unbound hair. “Let me know when you’re ready to meet a nice guy and I’ll introduce you to one of my buddies.”

Viviana scrunched up her pert nose. “Nice, or even close to perfect, but no thanks. I need to concentrate on reviving the business before I even consider looking at another man.”

Lee dropped a kiss on his sister’s hair. “It’s going to happen, and when you reopen it will be better than before.”

Wrapping her arms around Lee’s waist, Viviana rested her head against his shoulder. “That’s what I always like about you. You’re always so optimistic.”

He wanted to tell her that optimism was what allowed him to survive dangerous missions. And whenever Lee went out with his team his sole focus was completing what he’d been ordered to accomplish and return alive. “Why don’t you go home before it gets too dark.”

She lowered her arms. “Don’t you want me to help you clean up?”

“No. Everything can go into the dishwasher.”

Viviana kissed Lee’s cheek and then gathered her tote as he walked her to the door. She smiled up at him. “You’re the best brother a sister could ever have.”

He winked at her. “That goes double for me when it comes to choosing a sister. Text and let me know when you get an appointment with the lawyer.”

“I will.”

Lee closed and locked the door behind her, and then returned to the kitchen to finish loading the dishwasher. On average, he and Viviana communicated several times a month, either Skyping or through text messages. He’d felt obligated to let her know that he was all right, because aside from their Aunt Babs he was her only other surviving relative. And they’d agreed to give each other power of attorney for all legal matters if he wasn’t available to sign in person. There were few things they hid from each other—the exception was his missions—and what he found odd was her not mentioning that her relationship with her latest boyfriend had ended nearly four months earlier. It was only when she received a notification that the property would be added to an auction listing that she was forthcoming, finally admitting she’d been too embarrassed to tell him that she had been scammed and faced losing the house.

Viviana claimed she was a romantic, but she was also a grown woman who didn’t need him lecturing her about the men she chose to become involved with; he’d hoped the imminent fear of finding herself homeless would finally allow her to think with her head and not her heart. A wry smile twisted his mouth when he recalled his mother claiming she was a romantic, hopelessly in love with her husband, and would stand by her wedding vows until death parted them. And it had.

Lee programmed the dishwasher and punched the start button. He then picked up his cell phone and tapped Angela’s number. She answered after the third ring.

“Leland, come and get me!”

“What’s wrong?” he asked, hearing panic in her voice.

“Please come.”

His heart rate sped up. “Where are you?”

“I’m at Miss Joyce’s.”

“I’m on my way.”

Lee hung up and dashed to the bedroom to retrieve his keys. He had never known Angela to be a drama queen, not even when she and Justin split up temporarily. She’d come to him and say, “Justinand I are not speaking,” and whenever they continued to share the lunch table she was the epitome of poise, not allowing anyone to suspect she and Justin were no longer a couple. But hearing her strident tone now had momentarily unnerved him. He wondered if something drastic had happened between her and her mother-in-law.

He wasn’t overly fond of Joyce Mitchell and had never felt welcome in her home, but he respected her as Justin’s mother. Most times he’d suggested Justin and Angela come to The Falls House for their study sessions whenever it was Justin’s turn to host the meetings. Miss Joyce, as people usually referred to her, used to glare at him and then turn her back without saying a word. It was apparent she sided with those in The Falls who believed he would end up like his father—a drug-addicted felon.

Lee tried not to overthink why Angela wanted him to come and get her as he managed to stay under the speed limit on his way to The Falls. Night had fallen over the landscape when he maneuvered up in front of the Mitchell house and spotted Angela waiting at the curb, clutching the handles of a Pullman. He got out of the jeep and came around to help her in at the same time the front door to the house opened and Joyce came down off the porch, gesturing wildly. He lifted the Pullman, storing it in the SUV’s cargo area.

He closed the passenger-side door once Angela was belted in.

Angela’s chest rose and fell heavily as she stared out the windshield. “You just got back and this is the second time I’ve burdened you with my problems. But I didn’t know who else to call.” She didn’t have any close friends from high school, and had made it a practice not to discuss her personal business with coworkers.

Lee gave her a quick glance. “It’s okay, Angie.”

“Nothing is going to be okay until I finally move out and take control of my own life. When I told her that I was going to look for a house she went off on me, and I knew I couldn’t spend another night under her roof without losing it completely. The woman knows exactly what buttons to push to make me lose it.”

Decelerating, Lee rested his right hand on her denim-covered knee and gave it a gentle squeeze while steering with his left. “That’s because she knows what to say to set you off.”

Angela slowly shook her head. “She messes with me so much that I’ve learned to ignore her, especially when the kids are around, because I don’t want them to see their mother go ballistic on their grandmother. She said something so twisted tonight that I knew I couldn’t spend another minute there.”

“Where do you want to go?”

She stared at Lee’s distinctive profile. She had always thought him incredibly handsome, but his attractiveness didn’t end there. He exuded a masculinity that was almost palpable. “I’d like to spend the night with you.”

Lee’s foot hit the brake, causing the vehicle to come to an abrupt stop. “No!”

Angela gave him an incredulous look. “Why not?”

“Because where I’m staying only has one bedroom.”

“Do you have a sofa?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll sleep on your sofa. It’ll be just for tonight.” Angela wanted to tell Lee that she could check in to a hotel or motel, but she didn’t want to be alone. Not tonight. And not when she needed to bare her soul about pretending to be strong when it was something she struggled with every day for the benefit of others and her children.

Lee exhaled an audible, ragged sigh. “Okay, Angela. Just for tonight. If you need someplace to stay, then I’ll call Vivi and have her put you up.”

Angela clutched the hand on her knee. “I really appreciate it.”

Lee pulled his hand away and activated the Bluetooth feature on the dash, connecting it to Viviana’s number. “Hey, Vivi,” he said when her greeting came on the speaker. “I have Angela with me and I’m asking if you can do her a favor.”

“Of course. What does she need?”

“Can you prepare one of the bedroom suites for her? She’ll be there tomorrow and she will let you know how long she’s staying.”

“That’s not a problem. I’ll put her in the suite across from mine. What about her twins?”

“They’re away for the summer, so it’ll just be her.”

“No problem. Give her my number and have her call me before she comes over just in case I may have to step out.”

“I will.” He disconnected the call and met Angela’s eyes. “You’re all set.”

Slumping against the leather seat, she nodded. “Thank you so much.”

Chapter Four (#u8c315954-0b6e-5edd-b0f1-f23477876608)

Angela felt as if she could finally exhale after so many years of holding herself in check. Her appearance on the ramp had been touted as the next coming of supermodel Naomi Campbell, when in reality Angela had been just a frightened teenage girl who had to psych herself up before taking that first step onto the runway. And no one knew of her insecurities about her height and waif-thin body, which had become the brunt of jokes from her peers who called her Olive Oyl, the skinny cartoon character from Popeye