Secret siblings revealed
Imagine her shock when Violet Colby discovers she has an identical twin sister she never knew existed. Why her family was torn apart remains a secret no one can answer—yet. Hoping to develop a sisterly bond, Violet invites her sophisticated city twin to the Colby Ranch in tiny Grasslands, Texas. But when her sister’s former fiancé arrives with questions of his own, country girl Violet finds herself drawn to handsome businessman Landon Derringer. And learns that true love requires faith—and a heart as big as Texas.
Texas Twins: Two sets of twins, torn apart by family secrets, find their way home.
Violet glanced at her watch again as Landon came back with the coffee.
“Still timing me?” he asked, sitting down.
“No. I was just thinking that there’s a call I should make soon.”
“Go ahead, if you want.”
He might be making an effort to be accommodating. Or he might be interested in who she was calling. She hadn’t quite made up her mind yet about Mr. Landon Derringer.
“I’ll wait until I’ve seen your mysterious friend,” she said.
He glanced at the door. “You won’t have long to wait. She’s here.”
The door swung open, and a woman stepped inside. Slim, chic, sophisticated. And other than that, Violet’s exact double.
* * *
Texas Twins: Two sets of twins, torn apart by family secrets, find their way home.
Her Surprise Sister —Marta Perry
July 2012
Mirror Image Bride —Barbara McMahon
August 2012
Carbon Copy Cowboy —Arlene James
September 2012
Look-Alike Lawman —Glynna Kaye
October 2012
The Soldier’s Newfound Family —Kathryn Springer
November 2012
Reunited for the Holidays —Jillian Hart
December 2012
MARTA PERRY
has written everything from Sunday-school curricula to travel articles to magazine stories in more than twenty years of writing, but she feels she’s found her writing home in the stories she writes for the Love Inspired lines.
Marta lives in rural Pennsylvania, but she and her husband spend part of each year at their second home in South Carolina. When she’s not writing, she’s probably visiting her children and her six beautiful grandchildren, traveling, gardening or relaxing with a good book.
Marta loves hearing from readers, and she’ll write back with a signed bookmark and/or her brochure of Pennsylvania Dutch recipes. Write to her c/o Love Inspired Books, 233 Broadway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279, email her at [email protected], or visit her on the web at www.martaperry.com.
Her Surprise Sister
Marta Perry
When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established, what is man, that thou should remember him, or mortal man, that thou should care for him?
—Psalms 8:3–4
This story is dedicated to the Love Inspired sisters who worked on this continuity series.
And, as always, to Brian, with much love.
Special thanks and acknowledgement to Marta Perry
for her participation in the Texas Twins miniseries.
Contents
Chapter One
What could she possibly say to a father who had walked out of her life when she was an infant? Hi, Dad, it’s me, Violet?
Violet Colby’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. What was she doing miles from home in Fort Worth, trying to follow an almost nonexistent clue to her birth father?
A sleek sports car cut in front of her SUV, horn blaring. Shaken, Violet flipped on the turn signal and pulled into the right lane. City traffic had frazzled whatever nerves she had left.
A coffee-shop sign ahead beckoned to her. That was what she needed—a short respite, a jolt of caffeine and a chance to reassess her situation.
She found a parking space, fed the meter and pushed open the coffee shop’s glass door, fatigue dragging at her. The aroma drew her irresistibly in, and a few moments later she was sitting at a small round glass table, a steaming mug and a flaky croissant in front of her. She hadn’t bothered to read through the long list of specialty coffees the shop offered. All she wanted was caffeine, the sooner the better.
A woman brushed past her, the summer-print dress and high platform sandals she wore making Violet uncomfortably aware of her faded jeans and scuffed cowboy boots. It wasn’t that she hadn’t been in Fort Worth before, but she usually took the time to dress appropriately for a trip to the city, a five-hour drive from the Colby Ranch. This time she’d bolted out of her mother’s hospital room, exhausted from long nights of waiting and praying