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“I’ve got a theory about that.” Jordan glanced over at the other Wares who’d gone into a small huddle.
Maddie looked too. Dorothy was speaking, but her voice didn’t carry, and from the expression on Adam’s face, he didn’t like what he was hearing.
“Let’s blow this scene,” Jordan whispered. “I’ve got a reservation at an inn in Linchworth. I wanted you to myself and I thought staying over would be better than battling rush-hour traffic back into the city.”
They’d made it nearly to the front door when Adam caught up with them. He grabbed Jordan by the arm and jerked her around to face him. “You can’t get away with this.”
The fury in his voice sent Maddie into action. Enough was enough. She gripped the arm holding Jordan. “Let my sister go.”
“What?” Adam sent her a startled look.
Maddie placed both hands on his chest and gave him one hard shove into the wall. “Just because you’re frustrated by the terms of your aunt’s will doesn’t mean you can manhandle my sister. Got that?”
Adam stared at her. “You shoved me.”
“I did.”
“Adam.” The cool tones of Dorothy Ware’s voice carried the length of the hallway.
“This isn’t the end of this,” Adam said as he pushed himself away from the wall and strode back to his mother.
Jordan waited until they’d collected their bags from the butler and run down the steps to the waiting limo. Then she whirled to face Maddie. “I’ve wanted to give Adam a good shove for years.” She pulled Maddie into a hard hug. “I guess I’ve been waiting for my superhero sister to do it for me.”
JORDAN LED the way into the suite she’d rented in the Linchworth Inn. She hadn’t said a word to Maddie during the five-minute ride in the limousine. In spite of the distracting and somewhat amusing altercation with Adam, Jordan knew her head was still spinning with the contents of her mother’s will. Maddie’s must have been too. She’d tried to think, to plan her strategy. But in business, the key to any successful strategy always depended on knowing your audience.
And she didn’t know her sister very well at all. Oh, she’d done as much research as she could—first cross-examining Mr. Fitzwalter and then checking out Maddie’s Web site. In Jordan’s opinion, the Web site needed a makeover, but the jewelry didn’t. Her sister had talent. Most of Maddie’s work was focused on Southwestern belt buckles, tie clips and pins. The designs were dramatic, the workmanship exquisite, using a lot of turquoise and intricately inlaid patterns. There’d also been a few examples of finer pieces—earrings and bracelets. Perhaps she could use her sister’s interest in jewelry design as a bargaining chip.
But she needed to know more. And she didn’t have a lot of time. The seventy-two-hour clock was ticking.
Leaning down, she opened the door of a small refrigerator and then glanced back at Maddie standing just inside the room, taking it in.
Jordan let her own gaze sweep the area. It was a small suite with two bedrooms. The sitting room had dormer windows with lace curtains and was furnished in antiques. Two chintz-covered love seats faced each other across a small coffee table with a marble top.
“I can offer you some wine. Mom and I always liked white. But I can order up a bottle of red or something else if you’d prefer.”
“White’s fine,” Maddie said.
Silence stretched as Jordan uncorked a bottle of chardonnay and filled two glasses. Stalling. That’s what she was doing. What in the world was the matter with her? She was hardly ever at a loss for words.
“This is a lovely room,” Maddie said.
Jordan glanced around again and felt her throat tighten a little. “Mom liked it. We used to stay here whenever we had to visit Uncle Carleton and company.” She would never stay here again with her mother. But she couldn’t let herself think about that right now. Not yet.
“You didn’t stay at Ware House?”
Jordan handed her a glass and waved her over to one of the love seats. “The atmosphere there has always been a bit frigid. And things have gotten worse since I got my MBA and started working at Eva Ware Designs. But it goes back further than that. I don’t think that Uncle Carleton and Mom ever saw eye to eye even when they were kids. The friction escalated when my grandfather died. Uncle Carleton is one of those old-fashioned men who believes that the oldest son should inherit everything outright. Thank heavens, my grandfather didn’t agree. When he died, he divided everything up between Mom and Uncle Carleton—even Ware House. She took her half of the stocks, bonds and cash and invested everything in her design business. She was able to move into the Madison Avenue store.”
“Smart decision,” Maddie said.
“I agree, but the other Wares didn’t.”
Maddie grinned suddenly.
“What?”
“What you called them—the other Wares. I’d already started thinking of them that way.”
Smart, Jordan thought. Her twin was perceptive. That could work in her favor. Tucking her feet underneath her, she leaned back. “As a sort of peace offering, Mom agreed to let Uncle Carleton, Aunt Dorothy and Adam live in Ware House. She got to use the place for business parties, and she agreed to attend any social gatherings that had to do with Ware Bank.”
Maddie sipped her wine. “You said the friction’s gotten worse since you went to work for Eva Ware Designs.”
“Because before that, Adam thought he had a clear shot at taking over the business one day. He’d been there for three years before I joined the company. He’s a brilliant designer. Mom was very aware of that. His parents were disappointed with him because he didn’t go into banking, so I think he feels he has to succeed. Aunt Dorothy certainly does. Plus, he has a temper.”
“I noticed. He may be a fine designer, but he doesn’t have your background in business.”
Jordan studied her for a moment. “How do you know that?”
“I looked you up on the Internet. A bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School, an MBA from Harvard. Very impressive.”
Slowly, Jordan smiled. “Touché. I visited your Web site. It needs some work, by the way. But the jewelry doesn’t. What I saw was beautiful.”
Setting her glass down, Jordan leaned closer and fingered one of the earrings Maddie was wearing. The silver had been configured into fragile lace surrounding a clear turquoise stone. “This is quite lovely. Mom was always looking for turquoise of this quality.”
“She should have come to New Mexico.”
Jordan met her sister’s eyes and saw a hint of pain that she totally understood. “She was in New Mexico when she gave birth to us. I badgered Fitzwalter until he showed me our birth certificates. We were born in Santa Fe.”
“She was at the ranch?”
“I don’t know about that, but she was definitely in Santa Fe.”
“She should have come back.”
“Yes, she should have. And our father should have come here. I’m not sure we’ll ever find out why they didn’t. Or why they separated us.”
“Why does she want us to switch places?” Maddie asked. “You said you had a theory about that?”
“I do. I got it the moment I searched your name. I think she wants you to get an in-depth experience at Eva Ware Designs because she wants you here.”
“No. That’s impossible.”
“I know her. She was a very focused woman. I’m sure she was keeping track of your career, and if and when something happened to her, she wanted you to see what she’d created—to know that you could share in it.”
“But why didn’t she contact me? Why put it in her will?”
Jordan rose and began to pace. “I’ve asked myself those questions over and over. She could have been afraid to contact you after all these years. The other thing about her is that designing jewelry was her driving passion.” Jordan waved a hand. “She gets—used to get—totally lost in her work. Other things got pushed to the back burner.”
“Why three weeks?”
“She probably thought twenty-one straight days would do it.” Jordan’s smile was wry. “When she first started at her gym, her trainer told her that doing something every day for three weeks was what it took to build a habit.”
“But that’s…crazy. And it’s not fair to you.”
“It’s not crazy if you knew Mom. Eva Ware Designs meant everything to her.” Jordan paced to one of the windows before she turned back. “That’s why we have to talk about the will.”
Maddie rose also. “Yes, we do. I want you to know that—”
Jordan held up a hand. “Stop right there. Since I’m the oldest, I get to go first.”
Maddie’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know you’re the oldest?”
Not a pushover either, Jordan thought. “I told you I’d seen the birth certificates. I beat you into the world by almost four minutes.” Impulsively, she strode over and grabbed Maddie’s hands. “I want you to please hear me out before you say a word.”
Maddie nodded.
Jordan dropped her sister’s hands, whirling away. “I’ve been trying to figure out how to say this in a way that will convince you.”
“You don’t have to.”
Jordan glared at her and pointed a finger. “You said you’d hear me out.”
“Okay. Okay.” Maddie threw both hands up and sat back down on the love seat. Watching her sister made her think of her father. That glare Jordan had just given her had been pure Mike Farrell and her father had always paced when he was trying to talk her into something. But she’d just wanted to make it easy for Jordan. The money, the house, Eva Ware Designs—none of it belonged to her. It should have all gone to Jordan. How could her sister want her to take it?
“I know it’s crazy.” Jordan sat back down on the love seat. “The thing is, we have to agree to the terms of the will.”
Maddie simply stared at her. “How can you possibly want that? It’s not fair.”
Jordan ran her hands through her hair. “I know it’s not. It’s horribly unfair. Switching places will be complicated, to say the least. But I don’t see what else we can do. I saw on your Web site that you have a jewelry show in Santa Fe in four days.”
Maddie did, and in all the turmoil of the last few days it had entirely slipped her mind. “I can’t miss it. I’ve worked for months on those designs, and it’s essential that I be there to make contact with new buyers.”
“No worries. I should be able to handle the show. I’ve done several with my mother. Marketing the product is the part of the business I’m good at.”
“But there are other things—problems at the ranch,” Maddie said.
“What kind of problems?”
Maddie raised her hands and dropped them. “I’m just not the best rancher in the world, and I’ve been struggling to fill my father’s shoes and at the same time grow my jewelry business. My neighbor, Cash Landry, has been helping me, but I can’t let that go on forever. And there’s this real estate agent, Daniel Pearson, who wants to sell the ranch for me.”
Jordan moved back to the couch. “You can’t be seriously thinking of selling?”
“No.” But Maddie felt a stab of guilt. Wasn’t that exactly what she was thinking of doing? After all, she hadn’t given Daniel Pearson a flat-out no. And here her sister was, arguing that they keep her mother’s business going. How could she even think of doing less for her father?
A gleam of interest leapt into her sister’s eyes. “Maybe I can help.”
“How?”
“Three weeks will give me a chance to get a feel for what the problems are. Not that I’m a rancher—but I do have those business degrees. Plus I’ll bring a fresh perspective. How many people did you tell about flying east for the reading of the will?”
“No one. My foreman Mac and Cash were both away, driving my cattle to market, then meeting with future buyers in Albuquerque. They’re not due back for a few days yet. Cash’s foreman comes over to tend the horses and check on things when Cash is gone. But I didn’t even have a chance to tell him I was leaving.”
Jordan took a thoughtful sip of her wine. “I’ll bet I could pretend to be you at the jewelry show without anyone knowing the difference.”
“Pretend to be me? You’re serious about this.”
“Very.” Rising, Jordan began to pace again. “I know buyers prefer to talk to the designer, and I’ve learned enough at Eva Ware Designs to masquerade as you. If the ranch is deserted right now, I’d only have to pretend when I go into Santa Fe. You won’t be able to pass yourself off as me, of course. The other Wares already know who you are, and so does Cho Li. I’ll let everyone else at the Madison Avenue store know. You’ll just have to do my job for three weeks.”
“But I have no idea what you do for a job.”
“My schedule is on my laptop. And Cho Li will fill you in. He’s been working with Mom for as long as I can remember. Is there someone who can fill me in at the ranch?”
“Wait. You’re going too fast.” Maddie felt as if all her objections were being picked off like ducks in a shooting gallery. “I haven’t told you all the problems at the ranch. It might not be safe for you there.”
“Why not?”
“There’ve been some incidents of vandalism lately. Minor ones at first—cut fences, graffiti on the bunkhouse. Cash was pretty sure it was the Trainer twins. Joey, the older one, had a sort of a crush on me. But lately, the incidents have gotten more serious. Due to a cut fence, some of my cattle strayed, and we couldn’t round them up in time to drive them to market. And a couple of weeks ago someone doctored the feed in my stables and I nearly lost my horse.”
“You called the police?”
“They couldn’t do much except file a report.”
Jordan joined Maddie on the couch. “I’ll be careful. Besides, it’ll be as safe for me there as it would be for you.”
“I can handle myself.”
Jordan’s eyebrows shot up. “So can I. After all, I’ve been raised in New York City. But there’s something you should know about the store. A month ago Eva Ware Designs was robbed. Someone broke through the security codes and took approximately one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of jewelry from the main salon. The police are still looking into it. But in the meantime, the security codes have been changed. And it happened after hours, so you should be fine.”
Maddie was more worried about Jordan than she was about herself. But Cash was due back from the cattle drive in another few days, she told herself. She could call him and tell him to look out for Jordan.
Suddenly, nerves tightened in her stomach. Was she really thinking of switching places with her sister?
“Is there anyone at the ranch who can fill me in on what I have to do?”
“Cash and my foreman can when they get back from the cattle drive.”
Jordan narrowed her gaze on her sister. “This Cash—are you and he…seeing each other?”
Maddie shook her head. “No. We grew up together. He runs the ranch next to mine. My father and his father had this idea that someday we might fall in love and join the two ranches. But it hasn’t happened. Cash and I are just friends.”
“Good. Do you think I could fool him into thinking I’m you if he shows up at the ranch?”
Maddie studied Jordan. “You’re really getting into the idea of masquerading as me.”
“It’s a practical approach. I won’t have to explain to everyone about the will and switching places. Do you think your cowboy neighbor will buy it?”
Maddie considered, then shook her head. “He’s pretty astute.”
Jordan grinned at her. “Really? I love a challenge. We’ll have to write things up for each other, and we’ll keep in touch by phone. That’s what the girls did in The Parent Trap, and they were only half our age.”
