Dead Ringer. B.J. Daniels
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imagine growing up on a place like this. Couldn’t imagine having that much land or that much money. Nor could he deny the appeal of being a McGraw with all the privileges that came with it.
He knew he was getting ahead of himself. There were a lot of hoops he had to jump through before they would accept that he was Oakley, the missing twin. But at least he could admire the house until then. It was huge with several wings that trailed off from the two-story center.
He’d heard stories about lavish parties where senators and even the governor had attended. That was before the twins were kidnapped, though, before the first Mrs. McGraw went to the loony bin and the second one went to jail.
But the house and grounds were still beautiful, and the horses... A half dozen raced through a nearby pasture as beautiful as any horseflesh he’d ever seen. Horses were in his blood, he thought with a silent laugh. And as Waters turned into the long lane leading to the house, he thought maybe horses were in his future.
“There is nothing to be afraid of,” the attorney said. “Just tell them what you told me.”
“I will.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. Just stick to the story. The attorney had believed him. So Travers McGraw should, too, right? The stuffed horse had opened the door. The DNA test would cinch it.
As Waters brought the SUV to a stop in front of the house, Vance picked up the paper bag next to him and held it like a suit of armor to his chest.
“Try to relax,” the attorney said. “You look like you’re going to jump out of your skin.”
He took a deep breath and thought of his run-ins with the law as a horse thief. He’d talked his way out of those. He could handle this.
Think about the payoff, he reminded himself. This place could be his one day.
* * *
“DAD, I DON’T want you getting upset,” Boone McGraw said as they waited in Travers’s office. “You know what the doctor said.”
“I had a heart attack,” his father said impatiently. “Given the state of my health and why it was so bad, I’m fine now. Even the doctor is amazed how quickly I’ve bounced back.”
Ledger stood by the office fireplace, as anxious as the rest of his family. They all knew that their father had bounced back because even before this phone call, Travers McGraw was determined the twins were alive and that he would see them again.
And now, after releasing more information to the press, maybe one of the twins had come forward. Ledger couldn’t help being skeptical. They’d been here before. Except this time, this one had Oakley’s stuffed horse, which had been in his crib the night he was kidnapped. Would his father finally be able to find some peace?
Or, after twenty-five years, had too much time passed? Oakley would be a grown man, no longer that cute six-month-old baby who’d been stolen. He would have lived a good portion of his life as someone else, with other parents. He would have his own life and the McGraws would all be strangers to him.
Ledger feared this wasn’t going to be the homecoming his father was hoping for as he heard a vehicle pull up out front. He looked from his father to his brother and then went to answer the door. Better him than Boone, who already looked as if he could chew nails. It was going to take a lot to convince Boone that whoever was headed for the door was the lost twin.
Unable to wait for a knock, Ledger opened the door. Attorney Jim Waters and the young man, who might or might not be his brother, were at the bottom of the porch steps. His gaze went right to the young man, who looked dressed in all new clothing from the button-down shirt to the jeans and Western boots. He was tall, broad-shouldered and slim hipped like all the McGraw men.
At the sound of the front door opening, Vance Elliot looked up, his thick dark hair falling over his forehead. Ledger saw the blue eyes and felt a shiver.
This might really be his brother.
“Vance Elliot, this is Ledger McGraw,” Waters said by introduction.
“Please, come in,” he said, unable to take his eyes off the young man. “My father and brother are in his office.”
* * *
LEDGER LED THE two men into his father’s office and closed the door. The new cook, a woman by the name of Louise, he’d made a point of learning, was in the kitchen making dinner. Cull and Nikki should be back soon. Unless they decided to stay in Whitehorse and go out to dinner. He still couldn’t believe how hard his brother had fallen for the true-crime writer.
“Please sit down,” Travers said, getting to his feet to shake hands with Vance. He waited until everyone was sitting before he asked, “So you think you might be my son Oakley. Why don’t you start by telling us something about you?”
Vance shifted in his chair. He held a large paper bag on his lap, the top turned under. Ledger assumed the stuffed toy horse was inside. He would have thought his father would want to see it right away.
“I don’t know exactly where to begin. I was raised in Bear Creek, south of Billings, on a small farm. My parents told me when I was about five that I was adopted.”
“Did you have other siblings?” Travers asked.
Vance shook his head. “Just me.” He shrugged. “I had a fine childhood. We didn’t have much but it was enough. I went to college in Billings for a while before getting a job on a ranch outside of Belfry. That’s about it.”
“And how did you become aware that you might be one of the missing McGraw twins?” his father asked.
“I heard about it on television. When they mentioned the small stuffed horse and showed a photo of what it might look like, I couldn’t believe it. I’d had one just like it as far back as I could remember.”
“Is that what’s in the bag?” Boone asked.
Vance nodded and stood to place the bag on the desk in front of Travers. He took a step back, bumped into the chair and sat again.
The room had gone deathly quiet. Ledger could hear nothing but his own heart pounding as his father pulled the bag closer, unfolded the top and looked inside.
A small gasp escaped his father’s lips as he pulled the toy stuffed horse from the bag. Ledger saw the worn blue ribbon around the horse’s neck and swung his gaze to Vance. If he was telling the truth, then this man was Oakley, all grown up.
* * *
WATERS COULDN’T HELP the self-satisfied feeling he had when he saw Travers McGraw’s expression. He’d felt the same way when he’d seen the toy stuffed horse. It was Oakley’s; there was no doubt about that.
Of course, this wouldn’t be a done deal until after the DNA tests were run, but he was on the home stretch.
“Would the two of you like to stay for dinner?” Travers asked, putting the toy back into the sack and rising to his feet. “I’d like to hear more about your childhood, Vance.” It was clear he was fighting calling the young man by that name.
He’d also seen Travers’s face when the two of them had walked into the office. The horse rancher had looked shocked by how much the young man resembled Travers’s own sons.
Waters looked to Vance before he said, “We’d love to stay for dinner. If you’re sure it isn’t an inconvenience.” He thought of the years he’d sat at the big dining room table and eaten under this roof. If this went the way he expected it to, he’d be a regular guest again.
“Wonderful,” Travers said as he came around his desk. Putting an arm around Vance, he steered him toward the dining room at the back of the house. “Where are you staying?”
Vance cleared his voice. “I spent last night at a motel in town.”
“You can stay here on the ranch if you’d like,” Travers said. “I don’t want to pressure you. Give it some thought. We can discuss it after dinner.”