Книга - The Soldier’s Newfound Family

The Soldier's Newfound Family
Kathryn Springer


“IF ANYTHING HAPPENS TO ME…”When he returns to Texas from overseas, U.S. Marine Carter Wallace makes good on a promise. To tell a fallen soldier’s wife that her husband loved her. But widowed Savannah Blackmore, pregnant and alone, shares a different story with Carter—one that tests everything he believes.He brings Savannah back to the Triple C ranch, where family secrets—and siblings he never knew about—await him. Now the marine who never needed anyone suddenly needs Savannah. Will opening his heart be the bravest thing he’ll ever do? Texas Twins: Two sets of twins, torn apart by family secrets, find their way home.







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“If Anything Happens To Me...”

When he returns to Texas from overseas, U.S. Marine Carter Wallace makes good on a promise. To tell a fallen soldier’s wife that her husband loved her. But widowed Savannah Blackmore, pregnant and alone, shares a different story with Carter—one that tests everything he believes. He brings Savannah back to the Triple C ranch, where family secrets—and siblings he hadn’t known about—await him. Now the marine who never needed anyone suddenly needs Savannah. Will opening his heart be the bravest thing he’ll ever do?


“It’s very nice of you to offer me a place to stay.” Savannah regarded him warily.

“But,” she continued, “I’m sure that when your sister offered you a place to stay, she wasn’t expecting you to pass it on to a random stranger.”

Savannah wasn’t a stranger. Carter had carried her photograph around in his pocket for two months.

For a moment it looked as if Savannah was wavering. But then her chin came up.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I know you were Rob’s friend, but I’m not your responsibility.”

“When I make a promise, I keep it.”

“And you did. You delivered Rob’s message—”

“Not that promise,” Carter interrupted. “I’m a marine, ma’am. And we never leave a man—or a woman—behind.”


About the Author

KATHRYN SPRINGER is a lifelong Wisconsin resident. Growing up in a “newspaper” family, she spent long hours as a child plunking out stories on her mother’s typewriter and hasn’t stopped writing since! She loves to write inspirational romance because it allows her to combine her faith in God with her love of a happy ending.


Special thanks and acknowledgment to Kathryn Springer for her contribution to the Texas Twins miniseries.




The Soldier’s Newfound Family

Kathryn Springer








www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


We ought always to thank God for you, brothers,

and rightly so, because your faith is

growing more and more, and the love

every one of you has for each other is increasing.

—2 Thessalonians 1:3


This book is warmly dedicated to my continuity cohorts—Marty, Barbara, Arlene, Glynna and Jill.

For wisdom, grace, patience and a sense of humor while we linked the Texas Twins books together.

It was a blessing working with you!


Contents

Chapter One (#ufe11bcd9-9477-5c15-b8ba-c26e579b9aae)

Chapter Two (#uf9d92dbf-4fe3-5f38-91d9-b92644c84d0d)

Chapter Three (#u3b3d837c-10ff-5b43-ba3d-a08b4f2afc74)

Chapter Four (#ufefe9034-2b03-53a4-84fa-005dce798a1a)

Chapter Five (#ue7f27b02-0033-5f56-ae5b-4696c1aa365a)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-One (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty-Two (#litres_trial_promo)

Dear Reader (#litres_trial_promo)

Questions for Discussion (#litres_trial_promo)

Teaser Chapter (#litres_trial_promo)


Chapter One

“And this one’s Asteroid Man...”

Another plastic action figure landed on Sergeant Carter Wallace’s lap tray, adding to the growing number of soldiers that had formed a perimeter around the coffee cup the flight attendant had set down in front of him.

“I got him for my birthday.” A pair of eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets regarded Carter solemnly, waiting for his opinion.

“Cool.” Just like the coffee he hadn’t taken a sip of yet.

A wide, gap-toothed grin rearranged the pattern of butterscotch freckles on the preschool boy’s cheeks. “He can fly, too. And the bad guys can’t see him coming because he’s inbisible when he lands.”

Across the narrow aisle, the boy’s harassed grandmother caught Carter’s eye and mouthed the words I’m sorry as she tried to calm the fussy toddler in her lap.

The frustrated looks the woman had been receiving from their fellow passengers had only compounded her stress. Which explained why she hadn’t noticed her grandson unbuckle his seat belt and commandeer the empty seat beside Carter after the beverage cart rattled past.

Without an invitation, the kid had settled in next to him and announced that his name was Josh and that he was four years old.

“Are you a real soldier?” he’d whispered, staring at the patches on Carter’s camo jacket in open fascination.

Carter wrestled back a smile. “Yes, I am.”

“I like soldiers.”

Those three simple words had derailed Carter’s plan to get some shut-eye. Josh had plunged both hands into a backpack and proceeded to pull out his action figures, an eclectic blend of superheroes and guys in camouflage, all working together to save the world.

The kid might have prevented Carter from the luxury of a long-overdue nap, but he’d also kept the nightmares at bay.

At least for a few hours.

“This is Mike.” Josh carefully placed another action figure behind a Lego bunker. “When he’s in trouble, Asteroid Man does this—” The action figure came down right in front of Soldier Mike with a thump that rocked the lap tray and sent coffee sloshing over the side of the cup. “See? He saves him ’cause they’re friends.”

Carter felt beads of sweat pop out on his forehead as a memory slammed against the barricade he’d built around it. Josh’s chatter was muffled by the deafening blast that sucked Carter back in time. He felt the sun-baked ground shudder beneath his feet. Saw a fireball bloom in the distance, reaching so high the flames licked the clouds. By the time he’d reached the scene, two trucks in the convoy had been reduced to smoking metal skeletons.

Along with the buzzing in his ears, Carter had heard shouts and the pop of gunfire from a sniper who’d moved in to finish what the roadside bomb had started.

You’ll be nominated for a Silver Star, Wallace.

Carter didn’t know why. Sure, he’d saved three men that day. But he’d lost Rob.

His closest friend.

He hadn’t reached him in time. And God hadn’t bothered to intervene....

Carter was almost relieved when the seat belt sign blinked on a few minutes later and the flight attendant told the passengers the plane would be landing soon. Josh’s soldiers retreated to the backpack once again, and he scrambled back to his grandmother’s side.

Carter stared out the window as the wheels came down and the plane began its descent. Sheets of gunmetal gray clouds began to unravel, offering a teasing glimpse of the city below. It had been over a year since he’d stepped on Texas soil.

A lifetime ago.

The plane rolled to a stop by the gate, and the child’s grandmother smiled at Carter across the aisle. “I can’t thank you enough for keeping Josh occupied.”

A smile hooked the corner of Carter’s lips. “Not a problem, ma’am. Marines are trained to handle all kinds of situations.”

“Are you home for good?”

Carter hesitated, not knowing quite how to answer the question. He chose the safest response.

“For a little while.”

The woman frowned. “But someone will be here to meet you?”

Carter nodded, touched by her concern. “My sister.” In her last email, Maddie had promised to pick him up at the Dallas/Fort Worth airport, but that had been several weeks ago and he hadn’t been in touch with her since then.

She’d hinted that she had something important to tell him, but insisted the news be shared in person. Carter couldn’t imagine what it would be, but there were times he’d been grateful for the distance that separated him from family drama. Besides that, she had Grayson, their older brother, to confide in. The two had always been close, bound together by some invisible thread that Carter had never been able to grab hold of.

There was a flurry of movement around them as the passengers collected their bags. Josh grinned up at him. “Bye.”

“Take care, bud,” Carter said.

“I will.” The boy’s thin arms locked around Carter’s leg and then he was gone, swallowed up in the line of passengers exiting the plane.

Carter slung the camouflage duffel bag over his shoulder and made his way toward the baggage claim. A businessman glanced up from his laptop and gave him a respectful nod. A woman on the escalator caught his eye and tapped the tiny yellow ribbon pinned to her collar.

Carter had learned that when he wore his uniform, he wasn’t just a soldier named Carter Wallace. He was someone’s dad. Brother. Son. Across three time zones, people had sought him out. Smiled at him. Thumped him on the back. By touching him, they were touching someone they loved.

It was strange. Humbling.

At the bottom of the escalator, he began to look for Maddie. She was the kind of woman who stood out in a crowd. Stylish and sophisticated...

“Carter!”

Out of the corner of his eye, a blur of movement began to take shape.

Auburn hair. Big brown eyes...and cowboy boots?

Carter had only a split second to brace himself for impact before Maddie dived into his arms. His throat swelled shut when she clung to him. He couldn’t remember his older sister ever being so demonstrative.

“I can’t...breathe,” he managed.

The choke hold around his neck loosened. A little. “Sorry. It’s just—” Were those tears in her eyes? “I’m glad you’re here.” Sniffling, Maddie stepped back and clasped his shoulders. “Let me look at you.”

Carter’s lips quirked. “I haven’t changed since the last time you saw me.”

Not on the outside, anyway.

“You, on the other hand...” His gaze skimmed the Western-style plaid shirt and jeans and paused to linger on her feet. “Nice boots. Are you on some kind of undercover assignment for Texas Today?”

“I’ll leave the undercover stuff to Gray—and I’m not working at the magazine anymore.”

“Not working... I thought you loved your job.”

Maddie flashed a wobbly smile. “I told you there have been a lot of changes.”

“That’s an understatement.”

Carter’s head whipped around at the sound of a familiar drawl. His brother, Grayson, sauntered up, hand in hand with a beautiful, dark-haired woman and a small boy sporting a cowboy hat and a Dallas Cowboys T-shirt.

Carter had come home on leave several times since he’d enlisted, but he’d never been greeted at the airport by both his siblings before.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.” He extended his hand but Gray ignored it and hugged him instead, adding a manly thump to his back for good measure.

The lump in Carter’s throat doubled in size. Had the plane landed in Fort Worth or The Twilight Zone? Because things were getting weirder by the second.

“Carter, I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Elise Lopez, and her son, Cory.” Gray smiled down at the woman, an expression on his face that Carter had never seen before. Identical to the one he’d seen on Rob’s face whenever he’d talked about Savannah...

He thrust the memory aside.

“Congratulations.” Carter glanced at Maddie. “I guess this must be the big news you had to tell me about in person.”

A look passed between his siblings.

And that’s when Carter felt it. The prickle of unease that skated up his spine and lifted the hairs on the back of his neck. He recognized the signs, similar to the ones he’d experienced trudging through the mountains of Afghanistan.

Suddenly, this no longer felt like a reunion. It felt more like an ambush.

* * *

“Let me get this straight. There are two of each of you?” Carter leaned forward, staring at his siblings in disbelief.

His half siblings, if what Gray had just told him was true.

“We thought it would be better if we waited until you got home to break the news,” Maddie said softly.

It would have been better if they hadn’t told him at all, Carter thought, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that his mother, Sharla Wallace, hadn’t given birth to Maddie and Gray. They’d spent the past hour explaining that a woman named Belle Colby was their biological mother and both Maddie and Gray had an identical twin.

Which meant their dad had never bothered to mention that he’d been married once before. Brian Wallace might be a distant father—more available to the missionary patients he served than his own family—but he wasn’t the kind of man who would keep something like that a secret.

Unless there was a good reason.

Maddie reached for his hand across the kitchen table. At least they’d chosen the privacy of Gray’s condo to drop this bomb on him. Gray had left Elise and Cory at Maddie’s apartment, where they’d been staying now that his sister was living at the Colby Ranch near a small town named Grasslands.

Carter’s older brother was apparently tying up loose ends in Fort Worth before starting his new job at the Grasslands Police Department. Gray and Elise planned on making a permanent move to Grasslands after they were married.

Carter had barely recovered from the news that his brother was engaged when Maddie spilled the rest of the story. Starting with how she’d recently reunited with Violet, her identical twin.

According to Maddie, Violet was the one who’d set things in motion. Her mother, Belle, had been badly injured after falling off a horse last July and she’d set out to find her biological father. A search that had led her to Maddie, instead.

“I know it sounds unbelievable—”

“Unbelievable?” Carter interrupted, shifting just out of Maddie’s reach. “How about impossible? You both have an identical twin that you didn’t know about. Dad was married before he met Mom. I think we’ve gone straight from unbelievable to a guest spot on the Dr. Phil show.”

No one smiled. Probably because they knew it was true.

“We’ve been having a hard time accepting it, too,” Gray said carefully. “Unfortunately, Belle can’t answer our questions until she comes out of her coma. And...Dad.” He stumbled over the word, which suddenly made the story more real than fantasy. Carter wasn’t used to seeing his big brother, a tough undercover cop, lose a grip on his emotions. “I’m still trying to track him down.”

Carter tried to put himself in Gray’s position. While tracing their roots to an old address in Fort Worth, Maddie had met a woman named Patty Earl who’d cast doubts on the fact that Gray and his twin, Jack Colby, were even Brian Wallace’s sons. Her late husband, Joe Earl, had claimed that he’d fathered the twin boys.

Carter had always felt like the odd man out in his family, but if the woman’s claim was true, it meant that he was Brian’s only son by blood.

He wanted to talk to his father, demand to know why he’d kept all this a secret. But according to Gray, their dad had disappeared while traveling near the Texas-Mexico border and no one in the family had been able to reach him for several months.

Brian wasn’t expected to return until Thanksgiving, but his wallet and cell phone had turned up recently and there was a growing concern that something had happened to him. Another piece of information that Gray and Maddie had waited to tell Carter until he was back in the States.

“I know it’s going to take some time to sort all this out,” Gray said. “We’re still working on it. It’s been just as hard on Violet and Jack.”

The names meant nothing to Carter. He tried to picture another Maddie. Another Grayson. The “country” equivalents of his big-city sibs. Under different circumstances, the thought would have made him smile.

“I’d like you to meet Ty.” Maddie touched the engagement ring on her finger. The last Carter knew, she’d been engaged to Landon Derringer, a Fort Worth CEO who’d been a close friend of the Wallace family for years. Carter was having a hard time keeping up. “And Violet and Jack have invited you to stay at the ranch until we hear from Dad.”

“Why?” Frustration sharpened the word but it didn’t faze Maddie.

She lifted her chin. “Because family should stick together.”

Family? Is that what they were? Because Carter had no idea how to define this tangle of relationships.

“Come on, Carter.” Gray met his eyes and Carter saw a glint of stubbornness there. Or maybe he was seeing his own reflection. “What would it hurt to hang out at the Colby Ranch for a week or two?”

“You’ll love it there,” Maddie said earnestly. “I promise.”

I promise.

Carter’s hand closed around the photograph in his pocket.

“Give me a few days.”

Maddie’s expression clouded. “Carter—”

“There’s something I have to do first.”

* * *

“Did you see the guy who just sat down at table four? Because he sure can’t take his eyes off you.”

“That’s your section.” Savannah Blackmore brushed aside her coworker’s sly comment as she continued to restock the shelves behind the counter.

Libby hadn’t been working at the diner very long, so all she knew was that Savannah was single, but not the reason why. Not that it mattered. The “cosmetology student by day—waitress by night” fancied herself a modern-day Emma, matching up people with the hope they would find their own “happily ever after” ending.

Over the past seven months, Savannah had learned there were endings, but they weren’t always happy ones.

“He has broad shoulders, too.” Libby fanned herself with the order pad.

Some girls noticed a man’s smile or the color of his eyes. Libby judged a man by the width of his shoulders. Savannah doubted she could find a pair strong enough to carry her burdens. Guys avoided women with baggage and she had enough to fill up the cargo hold of a Boeing 747. The delicate flutter below her rib cage reminded Savannah there was someone else to consider. Someone she needed to be strong for.

That’s why she wasn’t even tempted to look at the guy at table number four.

“I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“You can run but you can’t hide,” her coworker teased.

“Watch me.” Savannah made a beeline for the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the dining area.

Come to think of it, the canned goods in the pantry could use a little organizing, too....

“Order up.” Bruce, the diner’s owner and self-appointed cook, pointed to a platter piled high with ribs, mashed potatoes drenched in butter and a generous helping of coleslaw.

It was Libby’s order, but over the top of the doors, Savannah could see she’d been waylaid by a group of tourists wearing matching T-shirts with the words I Brake For Rodeos emblazoned on the front.

“I’ll take it.” Savannah grabbed the plate and caught Libby’s eye as she rounded the counter. “Where does this one go?”

The impish light that danced in the younger girl’s eyes answered Savannah’s question even before she could say the words—

“Table four.”

With a sigh, Savannah counted the scuffed tiles as she made her way to the back of the diner.

Part of her knew that Libby must have misunderstood the guy’s interest. The past few months had taken their toll. She felt—and probably looked—as wrung out as the mop hanging in the utility closet.

Savannah summoned a polite smile as she approached the table.

Okay, so maybe Libby hadn’t been exaggerating. The guy’s close-cropped hair was the pale gold of winter wheat, a perfect setting for a pair of deep-set, cobalt-blue eyes. A gray T-shirt stretched across the broad shoulders Libby had gone on and on about....

Savannah’s gaze locked on the familiar insignia and her mouth went dry.

A soldier.

He rose to his feet as she reached the table. “I’m Sergeant Carter Wallace, ma’am....”

Savannah felt a tingling numbness spread down her arms to her fingertips. The plate wobbled. As a river of barbecue sauce carried the ribs toward the edge, it was gently plucked from her hands and deposited on the table.

The soldier’s gaze dropped to the apron tied around her waist, lingering there until Savannah felt the color rise in her cheeks.

What was his problem? Hadn’t he seen a pregnant woman before?

“Your waitress will be back in a few minutes to see if you need anything else.” Savannah whirled toward the kitchen.

“Savannah? Wait.”

How did he know her name?

She slowly turned around, reluctant to face him again.

A muscle worked in the sergeant’s jaw. “I know—knew—your husband. Rob.”

Bitterness and sorrow clashed, splashing over the walls of Savannah’s grief. She swallowed hard against the lump that rose in her throat and managed a smile.

“I’m glad one of us did.”


Chapter Two

Carter watched Savannah disappear through the swinging doors that separated the kitchen from the dining area.

In his mind, this had played out differently.

Savannah had been happy to see him. Touched by the message that Rob had entrusted him to deliver. Instead, she’d looked at him as if he’d lobbed a grenade in her direction.

Maybe you did.

It occurred to Carter that he shouldn’t have chosen a public place to introduce himself, but Rob had never given him their home address, only mentioned the name of the tiny diner in Dallas where Savannah worked.

Carter dropped into the chair again and pressed his fingers against his temples, an attempt to ward off the headache that had sunk its talons behind his eyes. When he’d stepped off the plane, he’d naively assumed that time would slowly begin to sand down the jagged edges of his memories and life would return to normal.

Normal, he remembered his nanny, Rachel, saying with a laugh, is just a setting on the dryer.

Carter finally understood what she’d meant. Because so far, nothing had gone the way he’d planned.

He’d spent a sleepless night at Gray’s condo, fighting jet lag and the realization that everything he’d believed about his family had been based on a lie.

Breakfast with Maddie and Gray the next morning had been awkward; no one seemed to know how to fill the silence. Carter had politely declined their invitation to church. His brother took off shortly after breakfast to pick up Elise and Cory. After the service, Maddie planned to return to Grasslands so she could check on Belle Colby at the convalescent center.

Carter had welcomed the time alone to regroup. He’d decided to help Gray search for their father, the only person who could tell them the truth about the past. But first, he’d been honor bound to deliver a message.

If the woman the message was intended for decided to cooperate.

“How are those ribs tastin’?” Libby, the waitress who’d been so attentive when Carter had walked into the diner, bounded up to his table.

“Great.” Once Carter tried them, he’d know for sure.

“Okaay.” She glanced down at his plate and frowned. “Anything else I can getcha?”

How about an explanation for Savannah’s parting words?

I’m glad one of us did.

The statement hadn’t made sense. She was Rob’s wife. Of course she knew him. Savannah’s reaction—and her abrupt departure—didn’t quite match up with the woman Rob had described. A woman with a sweet smile, a sense of humor and a strong faith.

Carter understood how grief could do a number on someone, but wouldn’t she want to talk to someone who’d spent time with Rob?

Been with him at the end?

His gaze shifted to the kitchen, where Savannah was hiding out. If he could outlast a sniper for ten hours, he could certainly wait out a pretty green-eyed waitress.

“I’ll take a piece of pie and a cup of coffee.”

Libby followed the direction of his eyes and grinned. “Coming right up.”

A half hour ticked by and the dining room emptied as the lunch crowd dwindled. Carter finished off the pie and started on his third cup of coffee but there was still no sign of Savannah.

“Excuse me?” He motioned to Libby as she emerged from the kitchen, armed with two coffee pots. She changed direction, navigating through the maze of tables until she reached his side.

“Do you need a warm up on that coffee?”

He needed to talk to Savannah. “No, thanks. Just the bill.” Carter reached for his wallet. “Is Savannah busy?” he tossed out casually.

“No.” The smile dimmed. “She left a little while ago.”

“Left?”

“She said she wasn’t feeling well.”

Savannah had slipped past him. Admiration and frustration battled for dominance. Frustration won.

Carter released a slow breath. “Will she be back tomorrow?”

“She’s not scheduled to work again until Tuesday.”

Great. Before she’d left, Maddie made him promise he would drive to Grasslands to meet the rest of the “family” as soon as possible.

“Would you mind giving me her home address?”

Libby looked uneasy with the request. “I don’t know—”

“Her husband and I served together in Afghanistan. He introduced us.” It was the truth. Sort of. He and Savannah might not have met until today, but Carter felt as if he knew her. He knew that she hummed when she was nervous and that her favorite color was blue. She liked yellow roses and coffee-flavored ice cream and black-and-white movies.

And she was more beautiful in person than she was in the photograph Rob had given him.

Carter set that thought firmly to the side.

“I didn’t know Savannah was married to a soldier,” Libby breathed. “She never talks about him.”

“He talked about her.” Twenty-four seven. “And he asked me to deliver a message.”

“That’s so romantic.”

Only in the movies, Carter wanted to say. The reality hadn’t been quite so warm and fuzzy.

He and Rob had been shoulder to shoulder in a shallow ditch, caught in the middle of a firefight. Under attack from both the ground and the air.

If anything happens to me, promise that you’ll find Savannah and make sure she’s okay. Tell her that I loved her.

But Rob hadn’t told him that Savannah might not want to be found.

Or that she was pregnant.

* * *

“Going somewhere?”

Savannah whirled around at the sound of a deep male voice.

It was him. Carter Wallace. The soldier who’d shown up at the diner that morning. He filled the doorway, arms folded across his chest in a casually deceptive stance. The set of his jaw warned Savannah that she wouldn’t evade him as easily this time.

She didn’t bother to ask how he’d found out where she lived. He must have sweet-talked Libby after she’d left the diner.

“Your landlady let me in.” Those intense blue eyes scanned the living room and narrowed on the hedge of cardboard boxes that separated them.

“Look, Sergeant Wallace.” Savannah heard a catch in her voice. “I don’t know what you want—”

“That’s because you didn’t wait around long enough to find out.” The corners of his lips kicked up in a rueful smile. “I’m sorry if I upset you when I showed up at the diner today. Rob told me where you worked but not your address.”

Rob told him.

Savannah’s throat tightened. She couldn’t deal with this right now. Not when she’d spent the past few hours packing up her things, each box she taped shut one more reminder that she was closing the door on the past with no idea what the future would bring.

“Do you mind if I come in?”

Yes, she did.

“I’m really busy.” To prove it, Savannah bent down and snatched up one of the boxes. A muscle in her lower back protested the suddenness of the movement and she winced in pain.

“Hey—take it easy.” Carter Wallace was at her side in an instant and he plucked the box from her hands. “Should you be lifting stuff?”

Color flooded Savannah’s cheeks when she saw his gaze drop to her rounded stomach, something that even a loose-fitting sweatshirt couldn’t hide.

“I’m not an invalid.” She was just...tired. And not prepared for unexpected company. Especially a handsome, blue-eyed soldier who’d claimed to be friends with her late husband.

“Where do you want this?” Carter stared her down.

Good job, Savannah. Instead of convincing him to leave, she’d unwittingly given him a reason to stay.

“Really, you don’t have to—” She saw his eyebrows dip together and realized there was no point in arguing. “By the door.”

Without a word, Carter strode across the room and deposited it near the entryway. And then proceeded to do the same with the rest of the boxes.

As he set the last one down, Savannah didn’t miss his swift but thorough assessment of the cramped upstairs apartment she’d briefly shared with Rob after their wedding.

“Thank you.” Savannah glanced at her watch, hoping Carter would take the hint.

He did.

“I’ll only take up a few minutes of your time,” he said quietly. “It’s important.”

Savannah sighed. Maybe the best thing was to get this over with as quickly as possible and send Sergeant Wallace on his way.

“All right.” She motioned toward a chair and sent up a swift, silent prayer for strength as Carter sat down. The flimsy wood creaked under the weight of his solid frame, the floral slipcover an almost comical backdrop for a guy who looked as if he could bench press the sofa.

It didn’t matter that Carter Wallace wasn’t in full uniform. His faded, loose-fitting jeans and a gray T-shirt with the marine insignia that stretched across his muscular chest proved to be just as intimidating. He looked as if he were born to be a soldier.

Savannah perched on the edge of the sofa and waited. But now that he had her attention, Carter didn’t seem to know what to say.

“You mentioned that you knew Rob—” Savannah’s voice cracked as grief sliced at the threads of her composure. She’d barely begun to accept the fact that her husband had walked out on their marriage when a military chaplain had knocked at the door and informed her that Rob had been killed in a roadside bombing.

Carter nodded. “He was assigned to my unit. We worked together. He talked about you.”

Savannah’s fingers knotted together in her lap. “He did?”

Carter looked surprised by the question. “All the time.” He paused. “That’s why I’m here. A few days before Rob... He asked me to give you a message.”

Savannah heard a rushing sound in her ears. Spots began to dance in front of her eyes. “A message?”

This wasn’t what she’d expected. She’d assumed that Carter had sought her out because Rob had owed him money. After the funeral, she’d received calls from some of his former buddies, asking if she would “make good” on the loans they’d given him.

Each one a reminder of how gullible she’d been.

“He was a good man. A good friend.” Carter leaned forward. “And he...he loved you.”

Savannah felt the color drain from her face. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Carter frowned. “That’s the message that Rob asked me to deliver. He wanted me to tell you that he loved you.”

Savannah’s breath collected in her lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

“Sergeant Wallace, Rob left me.”

* * *

Carter stared at Savannah, more shaken by the words than he let on. Rob hadn’t mentioned that Savannah didn’t support his decision to become a soldier.

“To serve his country, yes,” he said carefully. “Rob thought he was doing the right thing, but he couldn’t wait to finish his tour and come home to you. It was all he talked about.”

Savannah vaulted from the chair and then swayed on her feet. For a split second, Carter was afraid she was going to pass out. Instinctively, he reached out to steady her but she spun away from him, one hand pressed protectively against her belly, the other one palm up, as if trying to keep him at a distance.

“Please. Just go.”

Carter sucked in a breath, the flash of pain in those green eyes landing with the force of a physical blow. It was obvious that Savannah was still grieving. He fumbled for the right words, something that had never come easily. Unlike Rob, who’d entertained everyone on base with his anecdotes.

“Savannah, I know this must be difficult. Have you talked to someone—”

“I didn’t mean that Rob left when he enlisted. I meant that he left me. A week after we were married,” she choked out. “He sent one letter when he finished basic training saying that he’d made a...mistake. After that, I never heard from him again.”

The words hit Carter broadside. “I don’t understand.”

“I think you do.” Savannah’s gaze didn’t waver. “You just don’t believe me.”

Carter opened his mouth, ready to argue, and then realized she was right. What Savannah had just told him clashed with the man that Carter knew. The one who’d been devoted to his wife.

Rob had bragged about their plans for the future. Buying a piece of land. Building a home. Raising a family.

Why would—

Carter’s heart plummeted to the soles of his boots, weighted down by a sudden, unwelcome suspicion. “The baby—”

Emerald sparks flashed in Savannah’s eyes. “Is Rob’s. But he...he never knew.”

“You didn’t tell him?” Carter regretted the question the moment Savannah started toward the door.

To see him out.

But Carter didn’t move. Wasn’t going to move until he got some answers. “Rob never mentioned that you were separated. In fact, all he talked about were the things the two of you were going to do when his tour ended.”

“Then he lied to you, too.”

Too?

The band around Carter’s forehead tightened. “Rob and I were friends. Why would he do that?”

He had looked up to Rob. Admired him.

Envied him.

Carter had dodged serious relationships for years, never going out with the same woman more than once or twice. Knowing how hard it had been on him and his siblings every time their father left on a mission trip, he was determined not to subject someone he cared about to a relationship marked by uncertainty and goodbyes. Something the wife of a soldier had to accept. But listening to Rob talk about Savannah had made him question his decision to remain single. Made him wonder what it would be like to have a woman like her in his life.

Now she was trying to convince him that it had all been a lie?

Savannah opened the door, which didn’t answer his question but guaranteed there wouldn’t be an opportunity to ask any more.

Carter didn’t know what—or who—to believe. Savannah? A woman he’d just met. Or Rob, the guy who’d laughed with him? Encouraged him to pray, even though every mile Carter had hiked through the rugged hills of Afghanistan had taken him that much farther from the faith he’d professed as a child?

The guy that Savannah claimed had abandoned her.

What he did know was that she wanted him to leave.

“I’m sorry,” Carter muttered, although he wasn’t quite sure why he was apologizing. Or even who he was apologizing to. “I won’t take up any more of your time.”

As he started to move past her, she touched his arm. A gesture that stopped Carter in his tracks.

“Sergeant Wallace? Thank you for keeping your promise,” she whispered. “I am... I’m glad that Rob had a friend over there.”

The words brought Carter up short. He had kept his promise—but not all of it.

Find Savannah and make sure she’s okay.

For the first time, he noticed the lavender shadows below her eyes. Being the youngest in the family, Carter didn’t have a lot of experience with kids, but he figured that working at a diner wouldn’t be easy on a pregnant woman.

Savannah’s grief might be coloring her perspective about Rob’s feelings for her—maybe she’d somehow misinterpreted the reason he’d left—but Carter couldn’t simply walk out the door until he knew that she wasn’t alone.

“Are you moving back home?” he asked abruptly.

“Home?”

“Back to your family.”

“I’m staying in Dallas.” An emotion Carter couldn’t identify flickered in Savannah’s eyes. “But my landlady’s nephew needed a place to stay so she asked me to find something else.”

She was being evicted?

“Don’t you have a lease?”

“Mrs. Cabera only agreed to let me stay here because Rob and her son had gone to high school together. It was a verbal agreement.”

Carter didn’t like the sound of that. “But you have somewhere to go, right?”

Savannah hesitated just long enough to make him suspicious. “Of course.”

“Where?”

Her pink lips compressed. “This isn’t your problem.”

In a roundabout way, that answered his question.

“What are your plans?”

Savannah was silent for so long that Carter didn’t think she was going to answer the question.

“I’ll check into a hotel for a few days. Until I find something else,” she finally said.

“Isn’t there a family member who can put you up for a while?”

“No.”

Funny how one simple word could complicate a situation, Carter thought.

“Well, I happen to have picked up a few extras recently,” he said lightly. “And one of them owns a ranch near Grasslands. My sister, Maddie, offered me one of the empty cottages on the property, but you can stay there—”

Savannah’s eyes widened and Carter felt a slow burn crawl up his neck when he realized how that sounded. “—and I can bunk in the main house,” he added quickly. “You’d have a place to rest up. Until you find something else.”

Color swept into Savannah’s cheeks, filling the faint hollows beneath her cheekbones.

“That’s very nice of you.” She regarded him warily, as if she wasn’t sure it was nice of him at all. “But I can’t just quit my job at the diner. And I’m sure that when your sister offered you a place to stay, she wasn’t expecting you to pass it on to a random stranger.”

Carter could have argued the point. Savannah wasn’t a stranger. He’d carried her photograph around in his pocket for the past two months. Memorized the heart-shaped face and delicate features.

But how could he tell her that without coming across as some kind of stalker?

“I heard someone say that sometimes, a change of scenery can change your perspective.”

Carter decided not to mention Rob was the one who’d told him that.

For a moment it looked as if Savannah was wavering. But then her chin came up and Carter saw the answer in her eyes.

“You don’t have to worry about me. I know you were Rob’s friend, but I’m not your responsibility.”

Find Savannah and make sure she’s okay.

Whether Carter wanted it to or not, that made her his responsibility.

“But it’s not just you anymore, is it?” he reminded her. “You have your baby to think of, too.”

Savannah flinched. “Goodbye, Sergeant Wallace.”

Carter battled his rising frustration, not sure how to get through to her. “When I make a promise, I keep it.”

“And you did. You delivered Rob’s message—”

“Not that promise.” Carter interrupted. “I’m a marine, ma’am. And we never leave a man—or a woman—behind.”

Even though he was serious, Carter flashed a smile, letting her know that she could trust him.

A smile Savannah didn’t return.

“You aren’t leaving me behind, sergeant.” The door began to close. “I’m asking you to go.”


Chapter Three

“So, when will you be here?”

Carter sighed into the phone as he entered the post office. “Soon.”

“How soon?” Maddie wanted to know.

“A few more days.” Long enough to give Savannah time to change her mind.

Carter had jotted his cell phone number and the Colby Ranch’s address on a piece of paper and tucked it under the windshield wiper of her car after she’d shut the door in his face the day before.

He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her. Wondering what had happened between her and Rob. None of the things Savannah had told him lined up with the claims his friend had made, but Carter couldn’t shake the feeling that she was the one who’d been telling the truth. Unsettling, given the fact he’d trusted Rob with his life.

“Jack said he might be able to find some work for you around the ranch now that you’re out of the service,” Maddie continued. “You love being outdoors. You helped Dad build that playhouse in the backyard when we lived in Appleton, remember? Once it was finished, you told everyone that you wanted to live there. I had to lure you into the house with chocolate chip cookies when it was bedtime.”

Maddie’s low laugh flowed over him, stirring up memories from the past.

Carter remembered handing his dad the nails, one by one. It was one of the few times they’d actually worked on a project together. Once his dad had started medical school, he’d left Rachel, the full-time nanny he’d hired, in charge of the family. Carter had heard the words “don’t bother your father” so often over the next few years, he’d eventually taken them to heart.

“I’ll come to Grasslands and meet Violet and Jack—” Carter still couldn’t think of them as family. “But I can’t promise any more than that right now.”

“I just want us to be together,” Maddie whispered. “With Dad gone...”

Dad is always gone, Carter was tempted to say. He knew that Gray and Maddie were concerned that something bad might have happened to their father, but knowing Brian, he’d probably just got caught up in his work and assumed everything back home was fine. Thanksgiving, the day he’d promised he would be home, was still three weeks away.

Gray had explained they couldn’t file a missing person’s report because technically, Brian Wallace wasn’t considered missing.

“I’ll be there.” Carter inserted the key into the post office box he’d kept in the city. “By the weekend—” A package tumbled out with an avalanche of junk mail. He winced as it hit the tiled floor. “I hope that wasn’t something breakable,” he muttered.

Maddie heard him. “Breakable? Where are you?”

“I’m at the post office and there’s a package in here that didn’t get forwarded for some reason.”

“A package,” Maddie repeated. “What does it look like?”

“Um...like a package?”

“Well, open it!”

Carter rolled his eyes. Bossy older sisters. But there was a tension in Maddie’s voice that hadn’t been there before. Not even when she’d been pestering him about coming to Grasslands. He dumped the letters onto a nearby counter and cut through the tape on the package with his pocketknife.

“Did you send this?” Carter stared at the small, leather-bound book swaddled in tissue paper. “Because I already have one.”

Not that he’d cracked it open for a few years.

“What is it?” Maddie whispered.

“A Bible.”

“Is there a note inside?”

Carter thumbed through the delicate, gold-tipped pages and found a piece of paper. “How did you know?”

“Because someone sent a Bible to me and Gray. And to Violet and Jack.”

Carter quickly skimmed the contents of the letter and then read it out loud.

“‘I’m sorry for what I did to you and your family. I hope you and your siblings can find it in your hearts to forgive me.’”

It wasn’t signed.

“What is this about? Who sent it?”

“We don’t know,” Maddie admitted. “At first we assumed it was a mistake because whoever wrote the other letters specifically mentioned a twin. But Gray thinks it might have something to do with the reason we were separated.”

“Maybe it has something to do with Dad’s disappearance.” Carter read through the words a second time, trying to make sense of the cryptic message. “Why didn’t you mention this before?”

“We didn’t think you’d—” Maddie stopped.

“Get one.” Carter filled in the blanks.

Because at the moment, he was the only one in the Wallace-Colby puzzle who actually knew where he fit. Which, the irony wasn’t lost on Carter, made him the odd man out. Again.

“I’m sorry, Carter.” Maddie sounded on the verge of tears now. “Gray will want to see the letter and compare the handwriting, but it has to be from the same person. Maybe if we put all of them together, we’ll find something that we missed.”

Carter held back a sigh.

“I’m on my way.”

* * *

“I have to admit I’m not happy with the numbers I’m seeing this morning.”

Savannah felt a stab of fear as Dr. Yardley set the paperwork down on the desk and took a seat across from her in the examining room.

“Is there something wrong with the baby?”

“The baby seems to be fine. It’s you I’m worried about,” the doctor said bluntly. “Your blood pressure is elevated, and you’ve actually lost weight since your last appointment.”

“I’m feeling fine,” Savannah protested. “A little tired, that’s all.”

“Mmm.” Dr. Yardley looked skeptical. “How many hours did you work at the diner last week?”

Savannah silently tallied them up. “Between twenty-five and thirty.” Give or take a few. She’d volunteered to cover for one of the waitresses who was standing up in a friend’s wedding so she would have money to cover the security deposit on a new apartment.

The apartment she still hadn’t found.

After being on her feet all day, she just couldn’t seem to summon the energy to search for a new place to live. Savannah assumed it was normal to feel this way but the concern in the doctor’s eyes told her otherwise.

“That’s what I thought.” Dr. Yardley shook her head. “I want you to cut back to half that amount. Effective when you walk out of this office today.”

“But I promised my boss that I could fill in on weekends and evenings when I wasn’t working my regular shift.” Savannah stared at her obstetrician in dismay. “It was the only reason he hired me.”

“You’ve been under a tremendous amount of stress throughout this pregnancy, Savannah, and you still have three months to go. If you end up on complete bed rest, you won’t be able to work at all.” The doctor’s stern words were tempered with a smile. “You need more rest and a little TLC. Two things that I’m afraid modern medicine hasn’t figured out how to put in a pill yet.”

Savannah laced her fingers together in her lap to stop them from shaking. “I’ll talk to him.” Although Bruce didn’t exactly have a reputation for his easygoing disposition.

The doctor gave her a shrewd look. “Is there anything else going on that I should know about?”

“I’ve been looking for a new apartment,” Savannah admitted. “But I’m sure that I’ll find something in the next few days.”

Dr. Yardley’s pen tapped the clipboard. “Isn’t there a family member you can stay with until the baby is born?”

“I don’t have any family.” One of the reasons she’d been so quick to fall for Rob’s charm.

“All right, then. How about a friend?” the physician persisted.

Even as Savannah was shaking her head, an image of Carter Wallace’s face flashed through her mind.

No. Way.

She didn’t want to accept his help. Carter had been stunned when she’d told him that Rob had left her. Savannah hadn’t really expected him to believe her word over Rob’s—but still, it had hurt. Why, she wasn’t sure.

She wasn’t sure why Carter had offered her a place to stay on his sister’s ranch near Grasslands, either. The sergeant had been Rob’s friend. She, on the other hand, was simply an obligation. One he had probably been relieved to cross off his list. There was no way she was going to show up on his doorstep like an orphan puppy in search of a home.

She’d viewed Rob as a knight in shining armor, swooping in to rescue her, and look where she was now. A single mother on the verge of being homeless.

God, I know that I’m not alone. I know that You’re with me. Show me what I’m supposed to do.

“I know things are difficult right now, but you have to do what’s best for you and the baby,” Dr. Yardley was saying. “If I could, I’d write you a prescription for a change of scenery. I think that’s what you need more than anything right now.”

A change of scenery can give you a change in perspective.

The words chased through her mind, stirring the memory of someone else who had said the same thing.

Savannah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Because even though she’d just asked God to show her what to do, she wasn’t ready to acknowledge that Carter Wallace just might be the answer to her prayer.

* * *

“Earth to Carter. Come in, Carter.”

Maddie’s teasing voice yanked Carter back to the present.

“Sorry.” He cocked his head to one side. “Reception is still a little fuzzy between earth and The Twilight Zone.”

Laughter rippled through the dining room and once again, Carter had to adjust to the sound. To the faces of the people gathered around the long plank table. Gray and Jack. Violet and Maddie. Identical but...not.

“What’s The Twilight Zone?” Eight-year-old Darcy Garland’s lively, brown-eyed gaze bounced back and forth between the adults.

“It’s not real,” Ty Garland, the little girl’s father, explained. Carter saw him wink at Maddie across the table.

Yeah. That was another thing. His siblings hadn’t only found each other, they’d found, in Maddie’s words, “their soul mates.” Carter was still trying to wrap his brain around that, too.

“That’s what you think,” Jack Colby muttered. “You don’t have to get used to a guy walking around with your face.”

“Wearing a shirt and tie,” Violet added, her eyes dancing with mischief.

“She’s right.” Jack flashed a wicked grin in Gray’s direction. “When you start working for the Grasslands Police department in January, Sheriff Cole will have you trading in those fancy city duds for a pair of Levis and Tony Lamas in no time.”

Their easy banter ricocheted around the table and Carter felt a stab of envy. Violet and Jack Colby had gone out of their way to make him feel welcome since his arrival, but Carter still felt as if his life had become a jigsaw puzzle in which the pieces no longer fit together.

But at least he had family. More than he was comfortable with, at the moment.

Carter’s gaze drifted to the window. Again.

Almost a week had gone by since he’d left the city and he still couldn’t stop thinking about Savannah.

He lay awake at night, scrolling through past conversations with his friend. Searching for scraps of information that verified what Savannah had told him. Rob had talked about her constantly...but had he ever talked to her? Sent an email or letter? Received one?

That’s what Carter couldn’t remember.

Lupita Ramirez, the ranch cook and housekeeper, bustled into the dining room. She rapped a wooden spoon against the palm of her hand to get everyone’s attention.

“Who has room for chocolate cake?”

A collective groan followed the question.

“No one—” Jack started to say.

“But we’ll take some anyway,” Maddie and Violet sang out. At the same time. And then they laughed. In unison.

“Weird,” Ty Garland muttered.

Carter had to agree.

“I’m going to have to start working out more.” Gray sighed when the housekeeper left the dining room. “Lupita makes enough food to feed the entire county.”

“That reminds me, Pastor Jeb wants the church to host a special harvest dinner the weekend before Thanksgiving,” Violet said. “He’s been calling around, asking members of the congregation to volunteer to help, but he wants to invite the whole community.”

Unbidden, an image of Savannah’s face swept into Carter’s mind. Again. The flash of anger in those expressive green eyes when he’d asked about the baby. The vulnerable curve of her lower lip.

Did she have plans for Thanksgiving? Or would she be alone?

Carter shifted in the chair. In his mind’s eye, he could see her standing by the door, arms wrapped protectively around her middle. Proud. Scared.

She made it pretty clear that she isn’t your concern, he reminded himself.

But that didn’t stop him from wondering how she was doing. Had she found an apartment yet? He hated to think of her staying in a hotel with a baby on the way, even for a few days.

Carter had made Rob two promises before his friend had died. He’d promised that he would always have Rob’s back and he’d promised that he would make sure Savannah was okay. So far, he hadn’t kept either one of them.

“I’ll see if I can’t round up a few of the boys from the teen center to help with setup or something,” Landon Derringer was saying. “They’re always complaining they don’t have anything to do.”

“Round up?” Violet grinned at her fiancé’s choice of words. “You’re starting to think like a cowboy already, sweetheart.”

Gray shook his head in mock sorrow. “Another victim.”

Across the table, Derringer smiled at Violet, confirmation that he’d been a willing one.

Carter had been stunned to find Landon, Maddie’s former fiancé, at the ranch when he’d arrived. The guy had followed his sister to Grasslands and fallen in love with...Violet. And apparently no one but Carter thought that was strange. But in light of the other things the family had experienced lately, maybe it hadn’t even made the list.

“I think a harvest dinner is a great idea.” Violet handed a pitcher of cream to Maddie a second before she reached for it. “We have a lot to be thankful for.”

Carter couldn’t believe a murmur of agreement followed the statement. Maybe if they’d witnessed some of the things that he had over the past five years, they would have a different perspective. And given what they’d been through lately with Belle’s accident and Brian’s disappearance, Carter didn’t think there was a whole lot to be thankful for, either.

Maddie’s expression turned pensive but she smiled at Violet. “This is the first Thanksgiving we’ll all be together.”

“Mom loves holidays,” Violet said wistfully. “She pulls out all the stops.... I know she’ll be home by then. She has to be.”

“There are a lot of people praying for her,” Maddie whispered.

But Carter noticed that everyone sidestepped the real question. Whether his father would be in attendance. Carter had managed to corner Gray for a few minutes and his brother had finally admitted how worried he was that something had happened to Brian. Their dad ministered to transient people in remote areas along the border, and the last person Gray had been in contact with had noticed that he seemed ill. Carter tried to convince himself that a physician would certainly know what to do—where to go—if he came down with something.

Unless he was alone and didn’t have access to the medicine he needed to fight the illness. His dad’s cell phone had been recovered a few weeks ago, but there were other ways he could have maintained contact with the rest of the family. Why hadn’t he used them?

Carter felt the walls begin to close in and suddenly felt the need for some fresh air.

“No dessert for me.” His chair scraped the floor as he rose to his feet. “I think I’ll take a walk.”

“Sure.” Maddie frowned.

So did Violet.

Carter blinked but there were still two of them. Oh, yeah. He definitely needed some fresh air.

He could feel everyone watching as he walked out of the dining room. The second the door closed, he would be the next topic of conversation around the dinner table.

Carter wasn’t used to that, either. His older siblings valued and encouraged independence. Other than exchanging brief updates now and then, Maddie and Gray had pursued their own interests and left him alone. Carter wasn’t quite sure what to do with the sudden interest they were showing now. Add Jack and Violet into the mix, and Carter was beginning to feel like it was four against one. Odds he didn’t care for.

He stepped outside, back against the door as he made a swift but thorough sweep of the property. Searching for possible threats.

You’re in Texas, remember?

It took a moment to let his soul adjust to the newness of his surroundings. The rustle of the wind through the pecan grove. The scent of the mesquite trees. Miles of blue sky. A place that Maddie and Gray were both ready to call home.

And yet Carter was tempted to reenlist after they located his dad. In the military, he knew exactly who he was. What he was supposed to do. Now, it felt as if he’d stripped of his identity along with his uniform.

Nipper, Jack’s Australian shepherd, bounded up to him, and Carter reached down to scratch the dog’s velvety ears.

“I suppose you want to go for a walk?” Roaming the property together had become a nightly ritual when Carter couldn’t sleep.

The dog’s tail slashed the air and he barked. Carter took that as a yes.

Restlessness drove him toward the creek where the cottages were located. In spite of Violet’s generous offer, Carter had decided to stay in the main house and bunk in the guest room that Gray occupied when he visited the ranch, leaving one of the cottages empty in case Savannah changed her mind. A possibility that had begun to shrink over the past few days.

Savannah hadn’t exactly welcomed him with open arms. What made him think she would accept his help?

Just as Carter reached the creek bank, his cell phone rang.

An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen and Carter’s heart slammed against his rib cage. Had his father finally discovered they’d been trying to contact him?

“Hello?”

He heard a crackling sound. And then a tentative but familiar voice. “Hi.”

“Savannah?”

“Yes.” A long pause followed. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all.” Carter’s hand tightened around the phone. “Is everything all right?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t—” The line crackled, distorting her words. If they lost the connection, Carter was afraid she wouldn’t call back.

“Savannah? You’re breaking up. Where are you?”

“I’m...here.”

“Here?” Carter repeated.

“At the gate.”


Chapter Four

Savannah’s heart performed a little Texas two-step as Carter Wallace approached.

In faded jeans and a long-sleeved black T-shirt that accentuated his athletic build, Carter was even more attractive than she remembered. His loose-limbed stride and the set of his broad shoulders conveyed the fierce confidence of a man who faced life head-on. A confidence Savannah couldn’t help but envy.

Once again, she contemplated turning the car around. Something that had crossed her mind at least half a dozen times since she’d left Dallas.

Her boss hadn’t exactly been thrilled when she’d stopped by the diner after her appointment with Dr. Yardley and told him that she had to reduce her hours. The next day, when Savannah checked the schedule, she saw that not only had Bruce honored her request, he’d given all her shifts to a new waitress he’d hired over the weekend.

Leaving her with no choice but to accept Carter’s offer to stay at his sister’s ranch for the time being.

But doubts began to creep in as Savannah parked between the massive stone columns that stood like sentinels on either side of the driveway, guarding the property from outsiders. Like her. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but the Colby Ranch was obviously a large, prosperous operation.

It only reminded Savannah how little she knew about Carter Wallace. Was she really welcome here? Maybe he was already regretting his impulsive invitation.

Rob had made a lot of promises, too, and he’d only kept one of them.

I’m leaving, Savannah.

Savannah’s fingers closed around the shift stick but the passenger-side door opened before she could put the car in reverse. Carter hopped in beside her, his large frame folding almost in half to accommodate the passenger seat of her compact car.

Savannah took a deep breath. If he looked at her with pity, she’d turn the car around and head straight back to Dallas....

“It’s about time.” The crooked smile that Carter flashed in her direction coaxed a dimple out of hiding, an unexpected but charming contrast to the man’s ruggedly handsome features. “If you didn’t show up within the next twenty-four hours, I’d decided to round up a posse and find you.”

He’d planned to return to Dallas? For her?

No, not for you. For Rob, she reminded herself sternly. An internal dash of cold water on the warmth his words stirred in her heart.

It would be a mistake to forget the reason she was here. To Carter, delivering Rob’s message had been a duty. An obligation. But Savannah had an obligation, too. To do everything she could to protect the health of her unborn child. Even if it meant swallowing her pride and accepting help from a stranger.

“I hope this isn’t a bad time,” she stammered. “I probably should have called first.”

Except that if she’d dialed Carter’s number any earlier, Savannah knew she would have lost not only her voice, but her nerve. She’d packed her suitcase that morning and stowed it in the trunk of the car, giving God what she hoped was ample opportunity to send some kind of sign that He had another plan. One that didn’t include Carter Wallace.

Yet here she was.

“I didn’t call before I showed up at your door that day, either,” Carter said easily. “So I guess that makes us even.”

No, they weren’t. Not until he understood that she didn’t intend to be a charity case or outstay her welcome here. She’d scheduled another appointment with Dr. Yardley in two weeks. If the test results proved that she was obeying orders, Savannah planned to ask for an increase in her hours at the diner again and continue her search for another apartment.

“I can pay rent.” Savannah didn’t look at Carter as she put the car into gear and continued down the long gravel driveway. “I don’t expect to live in the cottage for free. Or I can help out around the house or in the kitchen. I’m a pretty decent cook.”

At one time, she’d dreamed of attending culinary school. Before she’d met Rob.

“Chicken and dumplings are your specialty, right?”

“How did you know...” Savannah’s voice trailed off, leaving an awkward silence in its wake.

Rob must have told him.

The day they’d met, Carter had claimed that Rob talked about her all the time when they’d served together in Afghanistan. Savannah hadn’t believed him—until now. The thought that Rob’s friend knew more about her than she knew about him was a little unsettling.

And what else had Rob told him? The truth—or more lies? Less than twenty-four hours after they were married, Savannah had discovered that her new husband didn’t seem to know the difference. She’d been so tired of being alone that she’d let Rob sweep her off her feet.

Believed everything he’d said...

“Don’t worry about things like paying rent or washing dishes right now.” Savannah could feel the weight of Carter’s gaze, studying her profile. “How about I show you where you’ll be staying first? You can unpack your things. Settle in and get a good night’s sleep.”

Which could only be, Savannah thought ruefully, a tactful way of saying that she must look as exhausted as she felt.

“All right.” Self-consciously, she looped a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. She knew the past few days had taken a toll on both her health and her emotions. The stress of apartment hunting during the day. Wrestling with her fears at night. Savannah had been reading through the New Testament every morning, taking comfort in the fact that other believers had faced difficult situations, too, and God hadn’t abandoned them.

She trusted Him. Men, not so much anymore.

“Keep going past the main house,” Carter instructed.

The simple description didn’t do the place justice.

Savannah tried not to gawk as they passed a magnificent two-story home fashioned from native stone and brick. The setting sun winked off the mullioned windows and painted the glass with a rosy, welcoming glow. Trumpet vine wove through the spindles of the wrought-iron fence that separated the landscaped lawn from the rest of the property.

Everything was neat and well cared for. The Colby Ranch could have easily been featured on the cover of Texas Today magazine.

“It’s beautiful,” Savannah murmured. “Did you grow up here?”

“No.”

Savannah tried not to flinch at the sting of Carter’s curt response. Although he seemed to know a lot about her, it was becoming clear that Carter wasn’t going to be very forthcoming about his own life.

* * *

Carter saw Savannah’s hands tighten around the steering wheel and realized the word had come out a little sharper than he’d intended. He tried again.

“No,” he said more softly.

One-syllable words were okay on a military base, but if he wanted Savannah to stay at the ranch, it was clear to Carter that he would have to brush up on his people skills. He could coax a disabled vehicle back to life and make an engine purr like a kitten, but he’d never been much for small talk.

Especially when the woman sitting next to him took his breath away.

The photograph hadn’t done her justice. Savannah’s honey-brown hair fell loose around her shoulders, a perfect frame for her delicate features and wide green eyes.

The only thing missing was the smile.

Carter still hadn’t seen one of those.

When he’d heard her voice on the phone, he couldn’t believe that Savannah had actually accepted his invitation. Not until he’d spotted her car parked at the gate. Both hands gripping the steering wheel, ready to turn around and exit his life as quickly as she’d entered it.

He wasn’t sure why Savannah had changed her mind, but now that she was here at the Colby Ranch, Carter was going to make sure she stuck around for a while.

It’s what Rob would have wanted.

Carter was certain about that, no matter what Savannah had said about their marriage. Why would Rob fake devotion to a wife that he’d abandoned? What would he have to gain?

Savannah might need a place to stay, but Carter needed some answers. And the woman sitting next to him was the only one who could provide them.

Another light winked on in the house. Carter hoped no one would glance out the window and see an unfamiliar vehicle nudging its way up the drive. Typically after Lupita served dessert, everyone pitched in and cleaned up from dinner and then gathered in the family room to watch a movie or play a game. Ty and Maddie would help Darcy with her homework. Jack and Gray would take part in what had become their favorite pastime—giving each other a hard time—while the women planned their upcoming nuptials with all the intensity of a military strategist.

And they insisted he join them.

Bonding, Maddie called it. Carter figured it was easier to bond with people who shared your DNA. He’d never had much in common with his siblings before, and now he was no longer sure he and Gray had that in common.

Carter would count the seconds until he could come up with a reasonable excuse to slip away. But now, for the first time, he hoped they followed standard protocol again and did not show up at the cottage to meet the newest visitor. It might overwhelm Savannah and give her a reason to bolt.

She didn’t trust him, that much was clear.

But Rob had. Which meant that Carter was honor bound to shield her from potentially stressful situations.

Meeting his family definitely qualified.

* * *

Savannah fixed her eyes on the driveway.

The sudden drop in temperature inside the car made her wonder if there was some family dynamic going on between Carter and his sister that she should know about. The last thing she wanted was for her presence to add tension to an already strained relationship.

“You can take the first right behind the barn.” Carter pointed to an enormous metal building with a green roof. Two chestnut horses stood shoulder to shoulder in a corner of the paddock, dozing under the branches of a cottonwood tree.

Savannah followed his instructions and saw a row of adorable little cottages scattered along a creek bed.

“I’ve been staying in the main house but the cottage on the end is empty. My sister had it all made up for me, but I never moved in. That means it’s all yours,” Carter said.

Yours.

In spite of her misgivings, the word flowed through Savannah, as sweet as a glass of tea on a hot summer day. Even knowing this was a temporary arrangement couldn’t prevent the sense of wonder that swept over her.

The branches of two mature pecan trees formed a canopy over a cottage as whimsical as an illustration in a child’s storybook. A sloping roof with patchwork shingles shaded an enclosed porch like the brim of a hat. Narrow wooden shutters trimmed the windows. Blue. Her favorite color. A hand-woven basket, overflowing with gourds and miniature pumpkins, sat on the top step like a welcome gift.

An Australian shepherd emerged from one of the outbuildings and ambled toward the car as Savannah pulled up in front of the cottage.

“That’s Nipper. Jack Colby’s dog.” Carter shook his head. “Don’t let the name fool you, though. The only thing that mutt might do is lick you to death.”

“Is Jack part of your family?”

“That’s the question of the day,” he muttered.

Savannah frowned. “I don’t understand.”

But Carter didn’t bother to enlighten her. Instead, he hopped out and jogged around the front of the car to open her door. His large hand gently cupped her elbow as he helped her out of the vehicle.

The warmth of his touch sparked something that sent Savannah’s blood racing through her veins like a prairie fire.

She sucked in a breath, yanked her heart back in line.

It wasn’t as if she were...attracted...to Carter Wallace. More than likely sleepless nights and low blood sugar had tipped her off balance.

Guard your heart, Savannah.

Savannah had forgotten her grandmother’s advice when she’d met Rob. She wasn’t about to make the same mistake again.

“Come on. I’ll show you the inside.”

Savannah balked. “You’re sure that your sister won’t mind an extra houseguest?”

Carter glanced in the direction of the main house. The flash of some emotion—guilt?—didn’t exactly put her mind at ease.

“Sergeant Wallace?”

“It’s Carter, remember?” That elusive dimple made an appearance again. A secret weapon designed to sneak through a woman’s defenses and affect her ability to think straight.

Fortunately, Savannah had become immune to a charming smile.

“Now that we’ve got that cleared up...how about answering my question?”


Chapter Five

Carter realized he’d made a tactical error. He should have known that Savannah would see through his pitiful attempt to sidestep the question before she unpacked her suitcase from the car.

“No one will mind a bit that you’re here.” Carter hoped it was true.

According to Maddie, the Colby family had taken Keira Wolfe in after she’d been injured in a car accident and suffered short-term memory loss. The veterinarian was now Jack’s fiancé and staying in a guest room down the hall until the couple exchanged their vows. Violet also made room for Landon Derringer and Elise and her son, Cory, during their frequent visits to the ranch. Even in the midst of their own problems, it seemed that Violet and Jack didn’t mind lending a helping hand to someone in need. And Savannah definitely qualified.

He couldn’t help feeling protective of her. It wasn’t that she appeared weak and helpless. Just the opposite. It couldn’t be easy to accept help from strangers, and yet Savannah had done the best thing for her and the baby. He respected that. He respected her.

Relief took some of the starch out of Savannah’s slender shoulders. “That’s good, because I don’t want to take advantage of your sister’s hospitality.”

Carter decided this might be a good time to clarify a few minor details. After all, Savannah would find them out sooner or later. Although if he had his way, later—much later—would be better.

“Maddie doesn’t actually own the ranch,” he admitted. “She’s a...guest...here, too.”

Savannah, who’d started up the narrow sidewalk, froze midstep. Twisted around to look at him.

“A guest?” she repeated.

“Belle Colby actually owns the Colby Ranch. Maddie is spending some time with Belle’s...daughter.”

Violet. Maddie’s identical twin sister. His long lost half sister. Carter could barely make sense of what had happened, let alone try to explain it to someone else. And something told him this wasn’t the time to launch into a lengthy explanation about the Wallace family tree. The one that had sprouted a few branches since his last deployment.

“So Belle Colby gave you permission to invite me here?” Savannah asked slowly.

Carter drove a hand through his hair. “Belle is...recovering from a riding accident that happened last summer. She’s in a long-term care facility in Grasslands right now, but the family is...hopeful that she’ll recover.”

Savannah’s lips parted but no sound came out. She glanced down at the keys clutched in her hand and Carter realized she was only seconds away from getting in the car and driving back to Dallas if he didn’t explain.

“It’s complicated.” Really complicated.

Savannah’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly is going on, Sergeant?” she demanded. “Are you dispensing information on a need-to-know basis only? Because if that’s the case, I need to know a whole lot more before I accept your invitation to stay here.”

Carter suppressed a smile. Savannah was downright beautiful when she got riled up. She got some color in her cheeks and those eyes...as green as cottonwood leaves.

“Fine. I’ll try to explain. But keep in mind that sometimes truth is stranger than fiction—”

“There you are!”

Carter slowly turned around. Great. Just great.

Walking toward them was the proof.

“Is that Maddie?” Savannah whispered.

Carter’s eyes narrowed on the young woman striding toward them. Brown-and-gold-plaid shirt, complete with pearl buttons. A silver belt buckle roughly the size of a paperback novel.

And he still couldn’t say for sure.

At some point over the past few months, Maddie had swapped her designer labels for Western wear. To make life even more interesting, the two women conspired together, taking an almost fiendish delight in making it difficult for people—like him—to figure out which one was which. Or who was who.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Savannah choked.

“I told you. It’s—”

“Complicated?” A huff of frustration punctuated the sentence.

“Right.”

“Darcy said she heard a car come up the driveway.” The flip of a long copper ponytail provided the clue that Carter had been looking for.

Violet.

Once Maddie’s hair got longer and she could copy her twin sister’s hairstyle, he was going to be in big trouble.

“Now I know why you ran off before dessert.” Violet gave him an I’ll-deal-with-you-later look but smiled warmly at Savannah. “Who do we have here?”

Carter caught the brunt of Savannah’s accusing gaze.

Okay. He already was in big trouble.

* * *

Knowing that Carter hadn’t been completely honest left a bitter taste in Savannah’s mouth.

She was going to have a few choice words with the man. But at the moment, Savannah had no idea what to say to the woman standing in front of her. The one whose eyes were bright with curiosity—and who obviously had no idea that Carter had invited a pregnant stranger to stay with them.

“This is Savannah Blackmore.” Carter came to her rescue.

Nice of him, since he was the reason she was in this awkward predicament to begin with!

Good manners forced Savannah to clasp the hand the woman offered when what she really wanted to do was hide. “Hello.”

“Savannah, Violet Colby—” For some reason, Carter stopped.

“Carter’s sister.” The woman nudged him aside and finished the introduction.

Savannah felt Carter stiffen beside her.

“You’re Carter’s...sister?”

And why hadn’t he mentioned that when he’d talked about Maddie?

“When he wants to claim me.” Violet smiled sweetly at her brother.

Carter shifted his weight, almost as if he were uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going.

Well, good, Savannah thought. Why should she be the only one?

Savannah’s gaze bounced back and forth between Carter and Violet Colby but she failed to find even the slightest resemblance between them. Carter was blond and blue-eyed while Violet’s hair, as bright as a new penny, framed an oval face dominated by a pair of eyes the color of dark chocolate.

“Savannah lost her apartment a few days ago,” Carter explained. “I was hoping it would be okay if she bunked in one of the cottages for a while.”





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