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The Right Twin
GINA WILKINS
DOUBLE TROUBLE!It’s a beautiful Texas summer, and Shelby Bell’s idyllic lakeside resort is tailormade for romance. So when Shelby suggests that Aaron Walker be her pretend boyfriend to help her catch a resort thief, she’s sure it’s the perfect plan. Aaron is handsome, smart, and understanding – so what if her perfect boyfriend is a fake?Having grown up in the shadow of his twin brother, Aaron is enjoying being the hero. Shelby looks at him as if he is number one. Could Aaron convince Shelby that when it came to romance, he was exactly the right man for the job?




“Sorry,” he said. “Couldn’t resist.”
“You couldn’t resist dunking me?”
Aaron’s smile faded a little. His dark eyes locked with hers. “I couldn’t resist putting my hands on you.”
“Oh.” Had the water suddenly gotten hotter? Shelby felt a definite wave of heat course through her, and was almost surprised that steam didn’t rise from her skin. “Um—”
“No one’s watching,” he murmured, reaching out to draw her closer with his left arm around her waist. He braced his other arm on her watercraft to support them. “I’m not playing a part. So if you want me to back off, just give me a shove.”
She put a hand on his shoulder, but only to steady herself in the water. She had no intention of pushing him away.
Dear Reader,
For me, revisiting characters from previous books is like catching up with old friends. I love to sit down with a cup of tea and find out what’s been happening in their lives—and then to give them new adventures and romance to entertain my readers. Members of the Walker family I introduced in my long-running FAMILY FOUND series, twins Aaron and Andrew Walker first appeared as adults in The Texan’s Tennessee Romance. They were so amused by their cousin Casey’s romance that I figured they deserved to be blindsided by Cupid themselves!
Aaron Walker is startled by a big hug from a pretty blonde who thinks she is greeting his identical twin, Andrew. Shelby Bell—a member of the big, close family that owns and operates the Bell Resort and Marina in southeastern Texas—is embarrassed by her mistake. Shelby is in trouble and she had hoped for help from Andrew. Now Aaron has to convince her that he’s the right twin for the job … and for her. I hope you enjoy their adventures together. Watch for Andrew’s story, The Texan’s Surprise Baby, in June 2013.
Gina Wilkins

About the Author
GINA WILKINS is a bestselling and award-winning author who has written more than seventy novels for Mills & Boon. She credits her successful career in romance to her long, happy marriage and her three “extraordinary” children.
A lifelong resident of central Arkansas, Ms Wilkins sold her first book to Mills & Boon in 1988 and has been writing full-time since. She has appeared on the Walden-books, B. Dalton and USA TODAY bestseller lists. She is a three-time recipient of a Maggie Award for Excellence, sponsored by Georgia Romance Writers, and has won several awards from the reviewers of RT Book Reviews.

The Right Twin
Gina Wilkins


www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
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Chapter One
Just once, Aaron Walker thought with a deep sigh, it would be nice if his twin brother, Andrew, would be the one to screw up. Nothing major, just something embarrassing or a little reckless. Something that would get their large, loving and well-intended family in a tizzy about anything other than Aaron’s latest debacle. But even as the selfish wish crossed his mind, he knew it was futile. Andrew rarely made mistakes, and never of the same magnitude as Aaron’s. Andrew was the one more likely to rush to the rescue than to need rescuing.
Sure, Andrew had been known to raise a little hell in his time, especially as a member of the “terrible trio”—the affectionate nickname given to the twins and their same-age cousin, Casey Walker, during their mischief-prone childhood and teen years. But now Casey had settled down with a wife and a legal practice in east Tennessee, while Andrew was rising in the ranks of the family-owned investigation and security business. Aaron was the only one still regularly causing general concern and disapproval.
Especially during the past few months, all Andrew did was work and complain about Aaron’s lack of focus. Aaron had just endured another one of those brotherly lectures, triggered by his decision to quit yet another job that hadn’t been working out for him. Andrew had stated that it was time for thirty-year-old Aaron to get serious about his life and his future. If he was determined not to work in the family business, he needed to find a purpose, and soon. Andrew wasn’t the first family member who’d given Aaron that speech—he’d also heard it from his dad, his uncles, his mother, his grandfather and a couple of random cousins—but Andrew was the one who most annoyed him. Had Andrew not been called out of his office for a quick consultation, they’d probably be in the middle of a heated quarrel right this minute.
Though Andrew had asked him to wait, Aaron decided to make his escape, postponing the quarrel for later. Just as he rose to walk out of the office, a colorful brochure lying on the floor beside the trash can caught his eye. It looked as though Andrew had tossed it that way and missed the receptacle. For no particular reason, Aaron picked it up and studied the bright photographs printed on the glossy trifold.
Bell Resort and Marina was located on Lake Livingston, a large reservoir roughly a hundred and seventy-five miles southeast of Dallas. Aaron had never been to that particular resort, but he’d visited the lake a time or two. Good fishing, peaceful setting, nice scenery. Eyeing the photos of people skiing, swimming, picnicking and lounging in the sun, he wished he were there rather than here in Dallas with his beloved but disapproving family. Just for a little while, until he could return to them with a solid new career plan in mind. All he needed was a little time to think, to regroup, to determine why he seemed to be the only one in his overachieving family who hadn’t yet found the path he wanted to follow. On impulse, he stuffed the brochure in his pocket and headed for the door.
Twenty-four hours later, he stood beside his car, idly watching numbers flash past on the gas pump from which he was filling his tank. It was midafternoon on this second Tuesday in June, the temperature hovering at ninety degrees even though summer was barely underway. The heavy scent of gasoline hung in the overheated air. He reached up to tug at the neckline of the bright blue T-shirt he wore with khaki cargo shorts and sandals. His longish, near-black hair clung damply to the back of his neck. After his almost four-hour drive, he looked forward to sitting under a tree by the water’s edge with a cold beer.
According to his directions, Bell Resort was only another fifteen-minute drive away from this little town where he’d stopped for a fuel-and-restroom break. There wasn’t much to see here—from where he stood, he spotted a few houses, a thrift shop, a dollar store and a tiny post office. Just the sort of laid-back area he needed in which to brood for a few days. Maybe a week. There was no one here to shake a head or a finger at him, no one to lecture him or advise him, no one here who knew him at all.…
Even as that thought crossed his mind, a young woman in a tank top and shorts squealed and almost tackled him with a hug. “You’re back! It’s so good to see you again!”
Aaron staggered a little with the assault, but quickly recovered his balance. He couldn’t say he was displeased about suddenly finding his arms filled with a petite, curvy blonde, but he had no clue who she was. “Um—”
She drew back a few inches to smile up at him and for a moment he forgot how to form words. Damn, but she was pretty. Clear blue eyes framed in long, dark lashes. Dimples deep enough to fall into. A nose that could only be described as “pert,” and full lips curved into a smile that made his knees feel suddenly shaky. Her scoop-necked top revealed the upper curves of perfectly sized, creamy breasts, and he could tell by feel that the rest of her was just as nicely formed.
Oh, yeah, coming here had definitely been a good idea.
“You are coming to Bell Resort, right?” she asked, surprising him again. “You’re here because I sent you the brochure and the reminder that you’re always welcome?”
The Bell Resort and Marina had been Aaron’s destination, though he hadn’t taken the time to make reservations. It looked ideal in the brochure his brother had tossed in the trash, but Aaron figured he’d find a room somewhere else on the lake if the resort was full. He hadn’t seen the personal invitation that had been enclosed with the brochure, so either Andrew had held on to it or thrown it away separately. “Well, yes, I thought I’d relax for a few days if there’s a vacancy. But—”
“Great!” She hugged him again, then pulled away. He released her reluctantly. “Of course there’s a vacancy for you! Everyone is going to be so happy to see you. We’re all still so grateful to you for what you did for us last year.”
“Listen, you—”
“You’ve grown out your hair,” she said, studying him with her head cocked to one side. “I like it.”
He was beginning to understand. Now if only he could get a few words in to explain it to her. “Thanks, but I—”
“You should see Lori’s hair. She dyed it coal-black with blue streaks. Dad nearly had a conniption. Pop said she looks like she bruised her head. Steven thinks it’s funny, but Lori complains that he’s laughing at her. Mom and Mimi just sigh a lot.”
“Yes, well, I—”
“Hey, Shelby, how’s it going?” a lanky young man in a faded camo T-shirt, denim shorts and a sweat-stained red ball cap called out as he ambled from the store toward a battered pickup truck parked at one of the other gas pumps.
“I’m good, Bubba,” the blonde replied. “Look who’s back.”
The guy nodded. “Yo, Mr. Walker. ‘Sup?”
Resigned, Aaron nodded in return, saying, “Hey,” an all-purpose greeting that seemed to satisfy the younger man.
Shelby turned back to Aaron when Bubba drove off. Her bright smile faded when she asked, “Does Hannah know you’re here? She’s out of town for a few weeks, visiting her mom’s family near Shreveport. I doubt she’ll be back while you’re here.”
“No one knows I’m here,” he said with a shrug. “It was an impulsive trip.”
She laughed and patted his arm, her momentary gravity evaporating. She was definitely the demonstrative type—not that he was complaining. “That’s so funny. I never would have pegged you as impulsive, but I’m glad you’re here, anyway.”
He nodded, wryly amused now that he’d finally figured out what was going on. He tightened the gas cap on his car and closed the flap, having already paid by credit card. Even here it seemed he was living in his brother’s shadow.
“Listen, before we head for the resort, would you mind if I buy you a soda or a cup of coffee inside?” Shelby asked, gazing up at him with a thoughtful expression. “There’s something I’d like to discuss with you before you see everyone else. Something’s been bothering me and everyone thinks I’m being overly dramatic, but maybe while you’re here you could help me out a little? You know, tell me if there’s reason for me to be concerned or if I really am nuts?”
He didn’t have the faintest idea what she’d just asked, but something about the way she looked at him made him want to agree to any request she made of him. “Let me move my car away from the pump and I’ll meet you inside,” he said.
The return of her generous smile rewarded him. “Thank you. I knew you would help. See you inside.”
He watched as she turned and all but sprinted for the door of the station, her shoulder-length blond curls bouncing against her shoulders. The back side of her was every bit as appealing as the front, he thought, his gaze lingering on those snug shorts. Making himself look away, he climbed into his car. He would park and then join Shelby inside. Maybe when she finally ran out of steam he would find a chance to break it to her that she had embraced the wrong twin.
There was something different about Andrew Walker, but Shelby Bell couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was. It wasn’t just his hair, though he’d worn it almost militarily short when she’d met him last year. The color of strong, rich coffee, it looked much softer now that he’d let it grow. A girl’s fingers could get lost in there for a while. His eyes were the same deep brown she remembered, and his facial structure was classically handsome. But something had changed.…
She’d met Andrew almost a year ago when he’d spent nearly two weeks at the resort, helping her family with a sensitive legal matter. Her dad and grandfather had hired the private investigator from a Dallas firm, and Andrew had pretty much single-handedly saved the family business from a spiteful con man. By the time he’d left, he’d been the family hero, invited to return for free lodging whenever he needed a vacation from his demanding job.
Like the rest of the family, Shelby had been extremely grateful to Andrew for what he’d done for them. She had liked him very much, and she’d certainly noticed how good-looking he was, but there had been no romantic chemistry between them. She had spent little time alone with him, always surrounded by family and guests of the resort. And she’d been dating Pete then, so she hadn’t really thought of Andrew in that way. Nor had he seemed particularly interested in her other than as a member of the family he had worked for and befriended.
She couldn’t quite figure out what had changed, why she was suddenly noticing things like the shallow indention in his chin and the way his T-shirt outlined the hard, lean body beneath. Why her toes were curling in her flip-flops just because of the way he smiled at her from across the table. She didn’t remember him smiling quite like that before. Maybe it had been too long since she’d been alone with an attractive man. She’d broken up with Pete last winter—well, okay, Pete had dumped her, but it sounded better her way—and she had been too busy to even go on a date since.
Drawing her thoughts from such an irrelevant path, she started talking as soon as they were seated in a small snack corner of the station with their drinks—iced tea for him, a frozen cherry-flavored drink for her. Now she needed to quickly outline what she wanted to ask him before he had a chance to dismiss her concerns without hearing her out, as her family was prone to do.
“So, I know you’ve just gotten here and you’re probably hoping for a nice, relaxing vacation,” she began in a rush of words. “And I know it’s presumptuous of me to ask a favor before you even get to the resort, especially after all you did for my family last summer—and even more especially since I can’t afford to hire you, exactly. But what I ask would only take a few minutes, and I’ll make sure you have a great time at the resort in return. Well, not that I wouldn’t do that, anyway—I mean, we all invited you to come back anytime and to make use of all our facilities for a nice, relaxing vacation, which we all figured you needed because you work so hard.”
“Shelby—”
She was making such a mess of this. In frustration, she powered on. “There’s this guy who’s been staying at the resort. He’s quiet, doesn’t make any trouble, is all paid up, even tips very well. But I don’t trust him. There’s something hinky going on with him, and no one in the family will listen to me when I try to tell them. You know how they are—’Oh, you’re just being Shelby again,’ they say. And, okay, I know I get carried away sometimes and maybe overreact a little, but wasn’t I the one who just knew the evil ex had been stealing from us last year? I kept saying that if we looked hard enough, we’d find plenty of ammunition against him and his stupid, greedy lawsuits, and I was right, wasn’t I?”
“Okay.” He took a sip of his iced tea, and she had a sneaking suspicion that he was trying not to grin. “Why don’t you finish telling me about this ‘hinky’ guy, and then I’ll talk?”
She didn’t know what it was about her that made people not take her seriously. Just because she was energetic and enthusiastic, quick to show her feelings, a little too prone to jump to conclusions, everyone seemed to think they should just brush off her suggestions and ideas. But Andrew had listened to her last year when she insisted her cousin Hannah’s ex-husband had been stealthily stealing from the family business, and that he had then falsified legal claims against them that could have put the resort in serious financial straits had he won. She had even helped Andrew come up with a plan to prove her suspicions, though she had suggested perhaps a half-dozen schemes before she’d stumbled onto one he’d approved. She hoped he would be inclined to listen to her again now.
“So, this guy—he says his name is Terrence Landon, but he doesn’t really look like a Terrence, you know? Anyway, he’s been at the resort for about two weeks. He pays in cash. Says he’s on an extended vacation from a high-stress marketing job in Austin that almost put him in the hospital with high blood pressure and ulcers. Every other day or so, he has men join him—associates, he calls them—for fishing and business talks. They always bring stuff in boxes and cases, and they never seem to leave with the same stuff they brought. And either they’re the world’s worst fishermen or they just don’t try very hard, but they hardly ever bring in a good catch.”
“And you think he’s—what? Dealing drugs? Weapons?”
She narrowed her eyes on his face, but he didn’t seem to be mocking her. It sounded like a legitimate question.
“Maybe,” she said cautiously. “Or maybe he’s just baking brownies for their kids. Who knows? Dad and Steven both say I’m misinterpreting things and Dad told me to stay away from the guy before I run off a good-paying customer with my ‘crazy imagination,’ to quote him. Maggie thinks I got a little too enthusiastic about all the private investigating last summer and I’m looking for a way to relive that excitement. As if I’d want to relive that horrible time,” she added indignantly. “Poor Hannah still hasn’t gotten over the stress and humiliation, which is probably how she ended up …”
She swallowed and shook her head, deciding to focus on one mystery at a time. “Anyway, I’m willing to concede that there’s nothing at all suspicious going on with Terrence Landon, but since you’re going to be with us for a few days, and since you’re trained to look for things like that, maybe if you just happen to bump into him while you’re here? Talk with him for a couple minutes or sort of discreetly observe one of his meetings with his associates? Then you can tell me if I’m seeing things that aren’t there, or if there really is any reason for me to worry about him staying at the resort.”
He had set down his paper cup of iced tea and laced his fingers on the table, looking at her more seriously now.
She swallowed hard in response to his expression. “I’m sorry, was I out of line asking? I know you said you’re here for a vacation, and I certainly didn’t mean to ruin it for you before you’ve even unpacked your car. Forget I asked, okay? It’s probably nothing. I’ll keep an eye on the guy just in case, but you should just relax and have a good time.”
He was shaking his head before she finished apologizing. “It isn’t that, Shelby. What you asked sounded perfectly reasonable—if I was who you think I am.”
She felt a quick jolt of pleasure at having her concerns called reasonable, something she’d yet to hear from her family—but then the rest of his words sank in. “I don’t understand.”
“You see, the thing is, you’ve made a mistake. I’m not Andrew Walker.”

Chapter Two
Aaron’s head was spinning a little—both from confusion at trying to follow Shelby’s convoluted request and from a growing fascination with her. He liked the way she looked, but he was even more intrigued by the way her mind worked. She was different from the women he’d spent time with lately—and that was a good thing.
He had been almost tempted to allow Shelby to continue believing he was Andrew, just to see how long he could get away with it. It wouldn’t be the first time he and his brother had switched places for one reason or another, though it had been years since they’d pulled such a stunt. But then he’d realized he wanted those generous smiles of hers aimed at him, not Andrew, and he’d known it was time to tell her the truth.
“I’m Aaron,” he said gently. “Andrew’s brother.”
She blinked rapidly, her long lashes sweeping her pinkening cheeks. “Twins?”
“Identical,” he said, though she’d probably already figured that out. “Though we’re told it doesn’t run in families, our dad is an identical twin, too. Coincidence, I suppose, but here we are.”
“Wow.” Her face had turned as cherry-red as her icy drink. “It never even occurred to me—”
“I take it Andrew didn’t mention he has a twin?”
She shook her head slowly. “No, but then he didn’t talk about himself that much. He was here on a job, after all, though we all got very friendly with him. You’re Aaron?”
He nodded, familiar with the reaction of new acquaintances shocked by how much he and Andrew looked alike. If it wasn’t for their different hair and clothing styles—he favored a more casual and colorful look than his brother—few people outside their family would be able to tell them apart.
She covered her cheeks with her hands. “Oh, my gosh. You must have thought I was crazy when I threw my arms around you out there.”
He chuckled. “Actually, I thought I’d just gotten very lucky.”
She didn’t even seem to catch the joke. She was still shaking her head and looking embarrassed. “And I didn’t give you a chance to correct me, did I?”
“Well, no, you—”
“I just kept talking and talking and then I practically dragged you in here to hit you up for a favor.”
“Shelby, it’s—”
“My family is right. I do get carried away,” she muttered in self-recrimination. “I really do need to—”
“Shelby.” This time it was he who interrupted, reaching across the table to catch her hands in his just to make sure he had her attention. “My turn to talk, remember?”
She nodded, her slender throat working with the words she must be swallowing.
He squeezed her fingers, then rather reluctantly released her. “I don’t think you’re crazy. You certainly aren’t the first person to mistake me for my brother and you won’t be the last. And you didn’t have to drag me in here. I’m pleased to have met you.”
Her bright blue eyes widened, her humor returning as her blush faded. “Oh, my gosh, we haven’t actually met, have we? I’m Shelby. Shelby Bell. It’s very nice to meet you, Aaron.”
“Bell as in Bell Resort and Marina?”
She nodded. “My paternal great-grandfather built a little bait shop on the river back in the early 1940s. They owned some land on what would become the banks of Lake Livingston when the river was dammed to form a reservoir in the late sixties. My grandfather started Bell Resort with a small marina, bait shop and a few campsites in 1970, and now it’s a family-run business. My grandparents have two sons—my dad, Carl Jr., and my uncle, Bryan. Both sons and their wives work in the resort. My brother, Steven, and I have jobs there, along with our cousins, Hannah and Maggie. My youngest sister, Lori, is still in college. She hasn’t decided yet if she’s going into the family resort or if she wants to do something else. Our parents and grandparents always say they want the kids to follow their own dreams, do whatever they want, but there’s still a lot of pressure to stick with the family and keep the resort running. I think poor Steven feels that obligation the most.”
Aaron couldn’t help wincing a little. “I’m familiar with family pressure.”
“Oh, right. The D’Alessandro-Walker Agency. That’s how we met Andrew, of course. My cousin’s evil ex-husband, Wade Cavender, had been embezzling from the resort for a couple years, and then the bastard had the nerve to try to sue us for a ton of settlement money he wasn’t due—extortion, really—and Andrew helped us find proof it was all a scam. He turned over evidence of the embezzlement to the police, which is why Wade is currently in jail, which is exactly where he deserves to be. His sentence wasn’t nearly long enough, but I don’t think he’ll mess with us again when he gets out.”
She’d given him a lot of information to process at once. “Um—”
She shook her head quickly. “But maybe you know all that, since I’m sure the case is on file at the D’Alessandro-Walker Agency. It’s a family-run business, too, right?”
Since she’d given him the history of her family business, he figured he owed her the same. “The agency was founded by my uncle Tony D’Alessandro, who took on my dad and his twin as partners in the business before I was even born. Several of my cousins, as well as my brother, work for the agency.”
Her brows drew downward in what might have been a slight frown of disappointment. “You’re not an investigator?”
Now was the time when he should tell her that not only was he not a dashing P.I. like the twin she and her family seemed to idolize, but he was currently unemployed. Again. He cleared his throat. “Like you, I grew up in the family business.”
It wasn’t exactly a lie. He’d worked in the offices of Dee-Dub, as the agency was familiarly known within the family, during his teen years, breaking away after high school to pursue his own goals. It just happened that none of his experiments had led yet to a career in which he wanted to spend the foreseeable future. He knew it wasn’t the investigation and security field.
Shelby’s face lit up again and he was selfishly glad he’d prevaricated. “So maybe while you’re staying with us, you could still take a look at Terrence Landon?” she asked hopefully. “You know, just to sort of get an impression of whether he’s as shady as I think he is?”
He couldn’t stand to see disappointment on her face a second time, especially when he knew what Andrew would do in his shoes. “I’m not promising anything, but I guess I could take a discreet look at the guy while I’m here. That doesn’t mean I’ll agree with your suspicions. Or that I’ll even see enough to form a proper opinion of my own.”
She waved off his warnings with one hand. “Of course,” she said. “Maybe there’s nothing to it at all. But I’d feel better if at least someone took me seriously enough to just get a good look at the guy.”
Aaron leaned back in his plastic chair and studied her thoughtfully. If he was reading her correctly, this was something else they seemed to have in common. Being the family oddballs, the ones over whom all the others shook their heads and clucked their tongues. Even as he wondered what he was getting himself into, he shrugged. “Sure. I’ll check him out.”
This time she was the one who reached across the table. She caught both his hands in hers and squeezed. “Thank you, Aaron.”
Oh, man. He could be in big trouble, he thought with a hard swallow. Something told him Andrew was not going to like this at all. As for Shelby—would she still look at him with such glowing eyes when she found out that he’d just promised something he was in no way qualified to deliver?
And speaking of his brother, just how had Shelby gazed at him?
“Um, you and Andrew …”
She seemed to follow his line of thought easily enough. She laughed again, and every cell in his body responded to the sound. “Me and Andrew? No way. I liked him, of course—the whole family liked him. But as for the two of us—just no sparks, you know?”
Watching her gather their empty cups to toss into the waste can, Aaron wondered if she would say the same thing about him in a few days. As for himself, sparks were already flying. He hoped his impulsiveness didn’t get him burned but good this time.
After extracting a promise from Aaron that he would say nothing about her request of him, Shelby drove away from the station, where she’d come to get away from the resort for a little while. Whenever she needed a break from family and chores, she headed to town for a cherry freeze. She’d never expected to be followed home this time by Andrew Walker’s identical twin brother.
Every time she thought of the way she’d thrown herself at him, she felt her face warm again. And not only from embarrassment. Remembering how his arms had gone obligingly around her, drawing her against that very fine, fit body, she felt a wave of heat climb from somewhere deep inside her all the way to her cheeks. Funny, she’d hugged Andrew when he’d left last year, standing in line with the rest of the family to do so, but she didn’t remember having a reaction anything like this! Was it because there had been so many other people around? Because she had considered herself in a relationship with Pete then, tenuous as it had been? Or because there was some fundamental difference between Aaron and Andrew other than the way they wore their hair?
She couldn’t wait to see how the rest of the family reacted to meeting him.
Turning off the two-lane highway onto the resort’s entrance road, she drove the short distance to the gate booth. The family employed teenagers and senior citizens in part-time positions at the booth. Overnight guests of the resort were issued passes to allow them entrance, but day users of the boat launch, picnic or swimming areas were charged five dollars’ admission per vehicle.
She spoke through her open car window to the seventysomething man currently working the booth. “The man in the car behind me is a guest, Mac. Wave him on through, okay?”
“Will do, Shelby.”
The paved road forked just beyond the gate. Staying straight led to the campground—forty RV and camper sites with concrete pads and electric and water hookups, and a central unpaved area for more basic tent-camping enthusiasts. Half of the RV slots were waterfront sites, while the others were shaded by trees, within view and easy walking distance of the lake. Shelby turned right, driving past the boat-and-trailer parking lot toward the large L-shaped building that housed the offices, marina, a diner and a convenience store offering food and camping and fishing supplies. Behind the boat-trailer parking lot was a grassy compound holding a large pavilion, charcoal grills, tennis and basketball courts, and a children’s playground. The pavilion was often rented out for family and high school reunions, corporate and church functions, and birthday parties. Even a few weddings had taken place there.
The marina lay straight ahead of her, with the boat dock, gas pump, lighted fishing pier and fish-cleaning station directly behind it. To the right of the marina was a large, sparkling swimming pool next to a two-story, sixteen-unit waterfront motel. Across the parking lot from the motel were three of the eight rustic cabins in the resort.
The road made a left turn in front of the marina, leading to the boat launch, a swimming area with a sandy beach, day-use grounds with picnic tables and a volleyball court, five waterfront cabins and the campgrounds. Public restrooms and shower facilities were strategically located in the resort for use by swimmers and campers who didn’t have their own camper lavatories.
Following the circular road back around toward the gate, guests would pass a turn-off marked with a sign that read Private Drive. That narrow road led to three brick houses occupied by Shelby’s parents, grandparents, and aunt and uncle. Her grandparents’ house sat in the center, flanked on either side by the houses built by their sons. Shelby had lived in her parents’ house from birth until she graduated from college four years ago, spending her entire life within the resort compound.
Near the three houses, a small, nicely landscaped compound held four tidy single-wide mobile homes. One of those mobile homes was Shelby’s. The other three belonged to her brother, her cousin Maggie and her cousin Hannah.
Hannah’s home was the newest. She’d had it moved in after her divorce sixteen months ago. She and her husband—“the evil ex,” as he was known in the family—had both worked for the resort … well, Hannah had worked, and Wade pretended to be useful while secretly embezzling and scheming to get his hands on even more of the family’s hard-earned profits. During their two-and-a-half-year marriage, Hannah and Wade lived in town and drove to the resort every day, but after the split, Hannah had needed the comfort of family around her. Not to mention that the divorce had cost her nearly everything she’d earned and saved, so moving back had been a financial benefit, too. Like the others, hers was a two-bedroom mobile home, which would come in handy soon.
Shelby didn’t bother driving around to her place, but parked in front of the office, motioning for Aaron to pull in beside her.
“Let’s get you set up for your stay,” she said when they’d both emerged from their vehicles. “Would you rather have a motel room or a cabin? Because it’s a weekday, we have several motel rooms available—probably one with a balcony looking out over the lake. Each room has a minifridge, flat-screen TV, cable and Wi-Fi, but no cooking facilities. I know one of the cabins across from the motel is unoccupied at the moment, but if you want a cabin, you’d probably rather have one on the water. I think there’s a one-bed cabin there you could use. All the cabins have TV, cable, Wi-Fi and a full kitchenette. We provide linens and kitchenware, but guests supply their own food.”
As she spoke Aaron studied the nearby pool in which several younger kids splashed noisily under the supervision of sunbathing parents, then turned in a circle to take in as much of the rest of the resort and lake as he could see from their vantage point. “That cabin on the water sounds good, if it’s available,” he said, proving he’d been listening while he looked. “I can go back into town for supplies after I unpack.”
She motioned toward the large, multiwindowed main building with its double-glass-door entrance. “We sell a few groceries, just the basics for easy meals. We also have a small grill inside, open until 7:00 p.m. We serve burgers, sandwiches, hot dogs, salads and a soup of the day. Nothing fancy, but not bad. No need to drive back into town for food tonight unless you just want to.”
He nodded. “That sounds great, thanks for the tip.”
“Well, look who’s here!” Bryan Bell ambled up to join them, a gas-powered weed trimmer dangling from a harness strapped around him. A lean fifty-three, with kind blue eyes and thinning sandy hair under a green cap emblazoned with the name and logo of the resort, Bryan was red-faced and sweaty from working in the heat. His sweat-dampened green T-shirt also bore the resort logo—the words Bell Resort and Marina printed inside a stylized, bell-shaped outline. The legs of his faded jeans were covered with grass clippings and dirt. Though everyone fussed at him for attempting too much during the worst heat of the day, her uncle was somewhat obsessive when it came to keeping the grounds trimmed and tidy.
Bryan beamed at Aaron. “Good to see you, Andrew. We’ve all been hoping you’d take us up on our offer to come stay with us. Did you bring fishing gear? If not, I’ll fix you up. Take you out to my secret fishing hole in the morning.”
For the first of what she was sure would be many times, Shelby said, “This isn’t Andrew, Uncle Bryan. It’s his twin brother, Aaron Walker. Aaron, meet my uncle, Bryan Bell.”
Bryan blinked a couple of times, looking as startled as Shelby herself had been. “Twin brother? Huh. Folks say Shelby’s dad and I look alike, but we don’t hold a candle to you and Andrew. Spitting image.”
Aaron nodded patiently. “Identical twins.”
“Well, ain’t that something. So how is Andrew?”
“He’s doing well, thank you for asking.”
“Good to hear it. He going to be joining you?” Bryan asked hopefully.
Aaron shook his head. “I doubt it. He’s pretty busy at work. I’m taking a couple weeks’ vacation.”
“Oh. Sorry to hear that.” Apparently realizing what he’d just said, Bryan added hastily, “Not that we’re sorry you’re here. It’s real good to meet you, Aaron. Andrew’s family is as welcome here as he is. Nice of him to recommend us to you.”
Aaron cleared his throat. “I was just going to check in.”
“Don’t let me keep you. And that fishing invitation is still good, by the way. I’ll be down at the boat dock at around seven in the morning if you want to join me.” Bryan grinned crookedly. “You’ve just got to sign in blood that you won’t tell anyone about my hidey-hole—well, except maybe your brother. We owe him that much and more.”
“I’ll take you up on that,” Aaron agreed congenially. “It’s been too long since I’ve gone fishing.”
“Who’s that you’re talking to, Bryan?” Dixie Bell, the seventy-nine-year-old matron of the family, had just come out of the office door. Silver-haired and brightly dressed, as always, she peered at Aaron through her rhinestone-enhanced glasses, then clapped her hands together, her lined face lighting up. “Well, as I live and breathe, it’s Andrew. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, young man. Come give Mimi a hug.”
Claiming that her given name had always been a trial for her, especially combined with her married surname, Dixie had adopted the name Mimi with the birth of her first grandchild, Hannah, twenty-eight years ago. She insisted everyone she particularly liked should call her that. Andrew had been one of the chosen.
“It isn’t Andrew, Mom.”
Speaking at the same time as her uncle, Shelby said, “This is Aaron, Mimi. Andrew’s twin brother.”
Her grandmother frowned and looked over the tops of her glasses, studying Aaron’s face intently. “Are you sure?”
Aaron made a sound that might have been a swallowed chuckle. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sure.”
Mimi still didn’t look entirely convinced. “Twin brother, you say? Andrew never mentioned he had a twin brother.”
Shelby thought Aaron looked less than surprised by that omission. Didn’t the brothers get along?
“I guess the subject never came up,” he said.
“He told you all about us, hmm?”
“Really nice place you have here, Mrs. Bell. I’d like to stay a few days if you have a vacancy.”
“Of course we have a vacancy for Andrew’s brother,” Mimi assured him, patting his arm. She didn’t even seem to notice that he had made no attempt to respond to her question, though Shelby had taken note. “Cabin Eight has just been renovated, a job that didn’t take as long as we expected, so we haven’t booked it for the next week. We’ll set you up in there. You stay as long as you want, no charge. It’s a one-bedroom, but if that twin of yours wants to join you, there’s a pullout sofa bed in the main room.”
“It sounds ideal, but I will be paying for my stay here,” Aaron said firmly. “Your arrangement with Andrew is between you and him, but I’ve come for a vacation and I’ll pay my way.”
Mimi frowned at him in a battle of wills that few people had the nerve to engage with her. Aaron held his own, gazing back at her with a pleasant but utterly determined expression. After a moment, the older woman harrumphed. “Shelby, take him inside and get him his key. Have Lori take his credit card information, if he insists, but give him the senior citizen discount.”
Aaron chuckled. “I’ll accept that.”
Shelby felt a warm shiver slide through her in response to his laugh. She didn’t remember hearing Andrew laugh quite that way. If he had, she certainly hadn’t responded as dramatically.
Having Aaron here was going to be interesting. And not just because he had agreed to keep an eye on the man in Cabin Seven.
She motioned for him to follow her into the office. “Let’s get that key.”
Shelby rode with Aaron in his car to show him his cabin, telling him she’d walk back to the office afterward. Cabin Eight was a pretty little A-frame nestled at the edge of the lake, the last in a row of five cabins of varying styles and sizes. Behind the cabins, a short slope led straight down to the water, with a narrow, graveled beach for walking or bank-fishing. A couple of good-sized trees shaded the cabin’s tiny side yard, where a charcoal grill and concrete picnic table invited casual cookouts. On the other side of a stand of trees was the first of the line of waterside camper sites. An enormous motor home with hydraulic extensions that expanded the interior space was just visible through the ruffling leaves of the trees.
Really roughing it, Aaron thought with a chuckle, looking away from the luxury RV. He’d always preferred camping with a tent and a backpack himself—though he had to admit the little A-frame cabin was appealing. Quaint, his mom would call it. He suspected his mother would already have her camera out, snapping shots of the cabin and the picturesque lake spreading beyond, where wake-trailing boats and rooster-tail-spouting personal watercraft crisscrossed the deeply blue water.
A pretty brunette in a green golf cart parked at the end of the cabin’s short driveway. “I see the dashing P.I. has returned,” she called out with a grin. “It’s good to see you again, Andrew—as long as no one’s trying to bankrupt us again. Please tell me you’re here for vacation, not business.”
“This isn’t Andrew, Maggie,” Shelby corrected with a wry smile for Aaron. “It’s his brother, Aaron.”
Maggie laughed heartily. “Right. One of your practical jokes, Shelby? Trying to convince me he’s undercover or something? A different name to go with the more casual clothes and longer hair—which I approve, by the way. Looks good.”
Although he should be getting tired of identifying himself to these people, Aaron couldn’t help but smile in response to Maggie’s teasing tone. “Thanks. My brother is always after me to get a haircut.”
Maggie frowned a little, as if something in his voice or behavior surprised her.
“It’s not a joke, Maggie. This really is Andrew’s brother, Aaron,” Shelby insisted to her cousin. “He’s going to stay with us for a few days.”
Tilting her head, Maggie studied him intently. Aaron figured he might as well return the favor. Maggie didn’t look much like Shelby, though there were some vague family resemblances. Her hair was straighter, darker—walnut-brown with golden streaks that could have come from the sun or a bottle, for all he knew. Unlike Shelby’s bright blue eyes, Maggie’s were hazel, framed in thick, dark lashes. Definitely attractive, but he still found himself more intrigued by Shelby.
“You’re Andrew’s brother,” Maggie said.
Shelby shook her head with an exasperated sigh. “That’s what I just told you. Geez, Mags.”
“Well, how was I to know you weren’t kidding? I mean, they look exactly alike. Mostly.”
Exactly, mostly. Aaron had to laugh at that. “It’s nice to meet you, Maggie.”
“Back at you, Aaron. Is Andrew here, too?”
“No, he’s working in Dallas.”
“Oh. Well, tell him I said hello, will you?”
“I’ll do that.”
With a wave, she started the golf cart again and headed down the road into the camping area.
“So, can I expect a variation of that conversation with all the rest of your relatives?” he asked Shelby.
She pushed a hand through her blond curls and gave him an apologetic smile. “I’ll try to spread the word before you run into the rest of them. They will, however, treat you like an old friend, just because you’re Andrew’s brother.”
He was unable to completely suppress a wince. “Yes, well, I’ll be sure and tell him everyone says hello.”
And he would not tell the Bell family he’d learned about their resort from a brochure he’d found lying next to Andrew’s trash can.
Shelby studied him a bit too closely for comfort before stepping onto the tiny front porch to unlock the door of the cabin. “Andrew stayed in the motel when he was here last summer. He said he didn’t need a kitchen because he didn’t cook, that all he needed was a bed and a table for his computer. But then, he was working, not vacationing.”
Aaron tried to remember when his brother had last taken a vacation. Had it been their hiking trip with their cousin Casey in Tennessee just over a year ago? That would have been before whatever job Andrew had done for the Bell family. It seemed like especially the past six months or so—since around Christmas, perhaps—Andrew had done nothing but work like a demon. And criticize his brother for not doing the same, of course. Even though Aaron had worked damned hard for the commercial real estate firm where he’d spent the past year, and had been successful enough in it that he could get by for a few months before running through his savings, his heart just hadn’t been in that career, something Andrew had predicted from the start.
“I like to cook sometimes. Nothing fancy, but it usually turns out pretty good.” He looked around the interior of the cabin in approval.
Though small, the space was well designed. The open living space was separated from the kitchen by an eating bar with two tall stools. A door to his left probably led into a bathroom, and a flight of wooden steps led up to the sleeping loft. A sofa, an armchair and a wooden rocker provided plenty of seating, and a flat-screen TV hung on the wall. The furniture looked new, as did the gleaming wood floor. A sliding glass door at the back of the room provided a view of a back deck and the lake. Two teenagers on Jet Skis sped past as he looked that way, but the cabin was insulated well enough to mute outside sounds.
“This is nice.”
Shelby smiled. “It’s the smallest of the cabins, but one of my favorites. We get a lot of honeymooners in this one. You lucked out that it’s available now. It took some water damage in that big spring wind storm last month, and we didn’t expect it to be available again until the first of July.”
He glanced around again, seeing no evidence of damage. “I remember the reports of that storm. Cut a swath across this part of the state, didn’t it? Was there much damage to the resort?”
“Luckily, no. A lot of stuff was tossed around, but this cabin took the only real damage when a large tree limb fell on the roof. It looked really bad at first, but most of the damage was cosmetic. Fortunately, the cabin was unoccupied at the time, and we’ve had a tree service out since to take down any other branches that pose a hazard.” She laughed and shook her head. “Uncle Bryan wanted to climb the trees and take the limbs down himself, but the rest of the family overruled him on that. He’s very territorial about the grounds.”
“I assume everyone in the family has a specific job here?” It was that way at D’Alessandro-Walker. Various family members worked in management, investigations, customer service, administrative and IT jobs. He’d tried most of them himself.
Shelby nodded. “Uncle Bryan and my brother, Steven, are in charge of the grounds and general maintenance. My dad mans the marina. Mom and Aunt Linda run the store and the grill. Maggie hires and supervises the housekeeping staff, and Hannah works in the office, taking reservations and handling promotion. My sister, Lori, helps out when she’s home from college, and my grandparents stay busy wherever they’re needed. They never let us forget they were the ones who started this enterprise,” she added with a crooked smile.
“You didn’t mention what your job is,” he reminded her.
“I keep the books. I’m a CPA.”
That surprised him. “You look too young to have earned a CPA.”
“I’m almost twenty-six. We were all expected to attend college,” she explained. “Most of us majored in business courses, though Lori keeps changing her major. I think she’s had three so far. None of which would be particularly useful for working in the family business. Which, I suppose, is her point.”
Aaron thought it possible he shared a bit in common with Lori, though he chose to keep that observation to himself. “Will Lori work for the resort when she graduates?”
“I don’t know. She won’t commit yet, though she’s always willing to fill in during holidays and summer breaks. She’s running the office while Maggie’s away for a few weeks. Steven—” Shelby gave a little sigh. “I think Steven might have liked to try something else, had he not felt so much pressure to help out around here. Just about the time he earned his business degree, the local economy took a hit and it became even more important for us to keep a tight rein on the resort expenses, salaries, benefits, that sort of thing. That was why it hit us so hard that the evil ex was willing to clean us out if he could’ve gotten away with it.”
Even more reason for the family’s gratitude toward Andrew, Aaron mused. “So, did you ever think about leaving the family business yourself?” he asked casually.
She adjusted a lamp into a more secure position on a rustic end table. “Not really. I’ve always known this is where I belong. My family’s a little different, but then so I am. We’re close and we get along very well, for the most part. I like my work, and the people we meet here in the resort. Well, most of the people,” she added darkly, glancing toward the tiny round kitchen window, through which Cabin Seven was just visible.
Following her gaze, he asked, “Is that where the ‘hinky’ guy is staying?”
“Yes. Which makes it all the more convenient that you’re in this one.”
He wasn’t sure convenient was the word he’d have used. He didn’t relish the image of himself sneaking peeks at his neighbor during his impulsive vacation. He moved to look out the window, just to ascertain how much he could see from here. Shelby followed him, standing shoulder to shoulder with him as they gazed out at the slightly larger cabin next door. The blinds were all closed, so they were unable to see in, though he wasn’t sure how much he could have made out, anyway, through the lightly tinted glass. He spotted movement from the corner of his eye and automatically turned his head to look that direction.
A tall, thin man with buzz-cut hair, a square jaw and a stern expression half hidden by oversized mirrored aviator glasses stood at the back of Cabin Seven, as if he’d just walked up from the lakeshore. Obviously he’d noticed them looking at his cabin, because he’d stopped to glare at them. Aaron gave him a friendly nod, then drew Shelby away from the window.
“You haven’t actually expressed your concerns to Landon, have you?” he asked her, thinking of the other man’s suspicious scowl.
“No, of course not! Though, maybe …”
He raised his eyebrows. “Maybe …?” he prodded.
Looking a bit sheepish, she scuffed the toe of one flip-flop against the floor. “Well, maybe he’s noticed me looking at him a few times. I mean, I think I’ve been discreet about it.”
Aaron had a strong suspicion that discreet and Shelby were two words rarely used in the same sentence. He shook his head. “I’ll unpack, then head over to the grill for something to eat before they close. If I happen to notice anything nefarious going on in the cabin next door, I’ll be sure and let you know.”
She gave him a quick frown, as if trying to determine if she was being mocked, but then she laughed. “Okay, you do that,” she said good-naturedly. “Maybe we should have a secret code word.”
“Nebraska,” he suggested, because for some reason that was the first word that popped into his mind.
Giggling, she nodded and moved toward the door. “Right. If I hear you say Nebraska, I’ll know you found signs of nefariousness. Um, nefariousness is a word, right?”
He shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“And we need another code word for danger,” she suggested, carrying the teasing a bit further. “Since we’re naming states, how about Minnesota?”
“Minnesota sounds very ominous,” he agreed, tongue-in-cheek. “If I ever feel in danger, I’ll say Minnesota.”
“And I’ll rush to your rescue.” She paused with a hand on the doorknob, looking over her shoulder at him with a bright smile. “So, I’ll see you later?”
“You will most definitely see me later,” he assured her.
He was gratified by the slight wave of pink in her cheeks when she slipped out the door. Maybe there had been no sparks between Shelby and Andrew—but he didn’t think he was imagining the sizzle between her and himself. And while it was unlikely that the attraction would lead to anything, considering that they were surrounded by her entire family, he certainly wouldn’t mind flirting with her while he was here, however long that might be.
He drew his phone out of his pocket. He needed to let the family know he was out of town for a few days. And he had a few questions for his twin.

Chapter Three
“Where the hell are you?” Andrew demanded in lieu of a greeting when he answered his phone.
“I’m fine, bro, thanks for asking.”
Andrew didn’t bother to respond to Aaron’s sarcastic comment. “Everyone was expecting you at the graduation party for Miles last night. Mom said you called her and told her you were headed out of town for a few days, but she thought you’d wait until after the party to leave. Dad’s ticked at you for just taking off without telling anyone where you were going.”
“I told them I wasn’t in the mood for a party. I specifically said I wouldn’t be there.”
“They thought you’d change your mind. Mom seemed really surprised when you didn’t show up.”
“I’m sure there were plenty of people there to celebrate the occasion,” Aaron muttered, pushing down a ripple of defensive guilt. “I sent Miles a graduation gift.”
There was always some sort of family gathering in the extended Walker clan. A birthday, an anniversary, a wedding, a housewarming, a birth. He and Andrew had thirteen first cousins just on their dad’s side, and another generation was well underway. The family had gathered last night at their cousin Brynn Walker D’Alessandro’s house to commemorate the high school graduation of Brynn and Joe’s son, Miles. So not only would many of the Walkers have been in attendance, but a good number of D’Alessandros had also been invited.
Even knowing he risked general disapproval with his absence, Aaron just couldn’t make himself attend. It had been about the time he should have been leaving for the party when he’d impulsively decided to escape to the lake for a few days. Someplace where no one would know him or any other member of his illustrious family. He guessed the joke was on him.
“So, Andrew. Tell me about the Bell family.”
A rather lengthy silence followed before Andrew cleared his throat and asked, “The Bell family?”
“Bell Resort and Marina? I’d think you’d remember, since you are apparently the Bell family hero.”
“Tell me you aren’t at the resort.”
“I could tell you that, but it would be a lie. I needed a place to get away for a few days. I’m sure you can figure out why. I didn’t expect to be greeted with genuflects when the folks here mistook me for you.”
“How did you end up there, anyway?”
“I found a brochure in—well, near your trash can yesterday. It looked ideal, and since you’d thrown the brochure away, I figured you weren’t interested and I wouldn’t have to worry about running into you or the rest of the family. I’d be completely anonymous. As usual, my plan didn’t work out quite as I expected.”
“Well, what do you expect?” Andrew asked with unmistakable exasperation. “You take off out of the blue to someplace you learn about from my trash can and you’re surprised there are complications?”
“I just needed to get away to think.” Aaron hated that he’d gone on the defensive, as he so often did with his twin lately. “It’s no different from what Casey did when he was questioning his career with the law firm in Dallas. He spent some meditation time in east Tennessee away from the family pressure for a few weeks and it ended up working out great for him. He met Natalie, they went into legal practice together, they’ve been happily married for—what? Four years now?”
“So you headed for southeast Texas looking for a wife?”
Aaron scowled. He was rapidly growing tired of his brother’s sarcasm. “I just need to reassess. Granted, I didn’t know there would be all new expectations of me here, just because I happen to be your brother.”
“What expectations?”
“We’ll get to that in a minute. First, why don’t you tell me exactly what you did for the Bell family that made them all so grateful to you? Were you just doing the job, or did you go beyond the call of duty to reap all this gratitude?”
“They hired me to assist with a problem and I took care of it. It wasn’t a favor—they paid me for my time, though they gave me so many perks at the resort that I took a discount off the total bill. And you know I’m not going to discuss the details of the case with you, Aaron.”
Aaron was not surprised by Andrew’s insistence on client confidentiality, even under these circumstances. “Shelby told me the basics of your job for them last summer, so you wouldn’t be breaking any agency rules to talk about it superficially with me. But I’m not really all that interested in your case. Tell me about Shelby.”
“Shelby?” Andrew’s brusque voice softened. “She’s sort of flaky, but a sweetheart, really. She gets a little carried away. Takes an idea and runs with it. She really got into the investigation when I was there. Came up with a lot of increasingly improbable ideas for helping me, that sort of thing.”
Something about his brother’s indulgent tone rubbed Aaron the wrong way. He found himself getting defensive on Shelby’s behalf. “Are you saying she can’t be taken seriously?”
“No, I didn’t say that. Shelby’s damn good at her accounting job for the resort. She’s the one who figured out what was going on with the guy they all call ‘the evil ex,’ even though she couldn’t find the proof they needed without professional help. And a couple of her offbeat ideas came in rather helpful when we were laying a trap for the jerk. She just goes about things a little differently. So what’s going on with her?”
“She asked me to look into one of the guests here. She thought I was you at the time she asked, but even after I corrected her, she thought I’d be qualified to do some snooping.”
Andrew groaned. “What sort of snooping?”
Aaron filled him in on Shelby’s concerns and her reasoning behind them. He could almost hear Andrew shaking his head before he finished. “Don’t let her drag you into one of her convoluted plots, Aaron. There are things here you need to do—like find a new job. Dad’s already got some prospects lined up for you.”
Aaron wondered if maybe he’d be more successful in any future career efforts if he lined up his own prospects. “I’ll call Dad later,” he said, somewhat curtly. “In the meantime, how about you run a name for me?”
“The hinky guy?”
“Yeah. No harm in checking him out, is there?”
“Give me his name,” Andrew said in resignation.
“Terrence Landon. And I’ve got a license plate. There’s a black SUV parked in front of his cabin.”
A heavy sigh sounded in his ear after he’d rattled off the numbers. “I’ll see what I can find. For Shelby,” Andrew added.
“I’m sure she’d appreciate it. Hell, she and the family will probably rename the resort in your honor.”
“Very funny. Um—have you met all the family yet?”
“Not all. A few. Had to convince the ones I’ve met that I’m not really you in disguise.”
“Have you met Hannah?”
Hannah. Running through a quick mental rundown of Shelby’s chatter about her family, Aaron remembered that Hannah was Shelby’s cousin, Maggie’s sister. “No. Shelby said Hannah is out of the state for a couple of weeks, visiting her mother’s relatives. A vacation from the vacation spot, I guess.”
“I see.” Andrew didn’t sound amused. “I’ll check this name and get back to you. You call Dad and explain why you’ve decided now is a good time to take off on a fishing trip.”
“And maybe you should consider seeing someone about having that stick up your backside removed,” Aaron snapped back. “Seems like it’s been getting more firmly lodged lately.”
He shoved his phone into his pocket before his brother could reply to the rather juvenile taunt. His temper sizzled. Andrew had a lot of nerve acting like Mr. Responsibility these days. Despite his rather recently adopted sanctimonious tone, Andrew had caused more than a few parental headaches of his own, despite excelling from a young age at D’Alessandro-Walker. Most likely because he’d known from the time he was a kid that he wanted to be an investigator.
Aaron didn’t know for certain what he wanted to do next, but he was sure of one thing—it wouldn’t be in the family business where so many people felt they had the right to tell him what to do.
Glancing at the bags still sitting on the floor, he stepped around them. He would unpack later. Maybe. He was beginning to wonder if he should just move on to someplace where he wouldn’t be walking in Andrew’s footsteps.
“He really looks that much like Andrew?”
Both Shelby and her grandmother nodded in response to the question from Shelby’s mother. Leaning her elbows on the polished counter of the Chimes Grill, Shelby said, “It will blow your mind.”
The Chimes Grill was located in one end of the big two-story main building. Decorated in a retro, red-and-chrome ‘50s theme, it held eight red-laminate-topped chrome tables with red vinyl seating and framed ‘50s movie posters on the crisp white walls. A little clichéd, maybe, but they liked it, and so did their guests. The long bar where Shelby sat was also red-topped, with six swivel stools. Her mother bustled around the open cooking area that filled the little diner with tempting aromas, skillfully flipping cooked patties onto waiting buns, which she would top with onion, lettuce and tomato. Pickle spears and chips were served on the side. A warming pot held the soup du jour, vegetable beef today. Homemade pies and soft-freeze ice cream were popular desserts.
The menu was simple and limited, but they didn’t lack for customers from among the campers, guests and day-use visitors. Two couples and one family of four were enjoying early dinners, and two fishermen swapped ones-that-got-away lies over coffee at the other end of the bar.
“I knew almost immediately he wasn’t Andrew,” Mimi said, absently polishing her sparkly glasses on her red-and-purple-flowered blouse. “I mean, at first glance there are similarities, but once I got a good look at him, I knew.”
Shelby rolled her eyes while her mom and her aunt Linda shared knowing smiles they had the sense to hide from their mother-in-law. “Mimi, you demanded that he give you a hug.”
“That was before I saw him full-on,” her grandmother answered serenely.
“You asked him if he was sure he wasn’t Andrew.”
Shelby’s mother chuckled, though she swallowed the laugh almost immediately when Mimi gave her a stern look.
“He does look very much like Andrew, but there are quite a few differences.” Mimi slipped her glasses onto her nose and nodded firmly at her daughters-in-law. “You’ll see.”
There were differences, Shelby thought. The longer hair, the more casual clothing—but she sensed that the real dissimilarity between Aaron and Andrew went deeper than physical. She was eager to study those differences more closely. Just for curiosity, of course.
Leaving Shelby sitting at the end of the counter, her mom moved away to take an order from a sunburned couple who’d spent the day on the water and were now hungry for burgers. Seeing some customers entering, Linda headed back into the store, and Mimi went to the office to check on Lori, who was answering phones today. Home for the summer before her junior year of college, Lori was filling in for Hannah. Having grown up working around the resort, Lori didn’t really need supervision in the office, but their grandmother watched over every aspect of the business as if she was the only one who could truly be in charge. “Pop,” as her husband, the patriarch, was known, tended to bark orders and strut around the grounds, but everyone knew Mimi was the one with the real power in the family.
Though it was already after five, Shelby had just a few things to do yet, but she wasn’t quite ready to settle in front of the computer. She wasn’t a rigid eight-to-five type, working whatever hours she needed to put in to get her job done efficiently, and the family didn’t have a problem with her unconventional schedule. They knew she would put in as much time as needed. Like everyone else in the family, she tended to work a good ten or fifteen hours a week over the standard forty. And she loved it.
Twisting on the red-vinyl-topped bar stool, she cast a proprietary gaze around her. Through the open doors of the grill, she could see the entry foyer into the main building. The foyer was decorated with mounted fish, antique lures displayed on wooden plaques and lush, live greenery. At the back of the foyer, facing the main doors, was the reception office where Lori was working. The other offices, including Shelby’s, were upstairs, accessible to family only. Opposite the grill, the convenience store was lined with shelves of groceries, souvenirs, camping and fishing supplies. The store opened at the back into the marina, where Shelby’s dad, with rotating help from his brother and son, sold bait, fuel, motor oil and other marine supplies; rented out fishing boats, ski boats, pontoon boats and personal watercraft; and kept an eye on the boat slips and fishing pier.
The resort had been Shelby’s playground as a child—the campgrounds and pier, the pool and tennis courts, even the store and the grill. She’d scooped minnows for customers by the time she was eight, served ice cream when she was ten, cleaned motel rooms when she hit her teens. Her siblings and cousins could make the same claims, and Steven could have added that he had twice saved children from drowning in the lake.
She remembered Aaron asking if she’d ever thought of leaving the business. She’d been completely honest when she’d told him that she had not. Unlike her brother and sister, she thought with a faint sigh. The whole family had begun to sense Steven’s restlessness, and Lori refused to commit her future to the resort until she’d explored a few other options.
“What are you thinking about so hard?” her mother asked, wandering back to where Shelby sat. “You’re not still fretting about the man in Cabin Seven, are you?” she added in a whisper, glancing around to make sure none of her customers overheard the question.
“Not at the moment.”
Her mother narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Dark blond hair pulled back into a casual twist, blue-eyed, fresh-faced, fifty-two-year-old Sarah Clements Bell had been mistaken more than once for an older sibling to her three grown offspring. She dressed neatly but casually in resort-logo polo shirts and khakis, wore a minimum of makeup, eschewed jewelry except for her watch, wedding rings and simple stud earrings, and refused to fret about maintaining the perfect figure, though she was probably less than twenty pounds over the ideal weight for her average height. Her husband thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, and her children adored her, but none of them made the mistake of underestimating her.
“Shelby, what have you done?” she asked in a low, firm voice. “You haven’t hired an investigator to check out your suspicions, have you? Is that why Aaron Walker came here?”
“No, Mom, that’s not why he came,” Shelby replied, able to look her mother straight in the eyes because that was, of course, the truth. She saw no need to mention the invitation she’d mailed to Andrew recently. How could she have known his brother would show up instead?
She should have realized she wouldn’t get away with the prevarication. “Did you tell him your theories when you took him down to his cabin?” her mom persisted. “Please tell me you didn’t ask him to spy on the neighboring cabin.”
Shelby cleared her throat.
“Shelby!” her mother hissed in exasperation, darting another quick look around. “We can’t talk about this now, but you can bet we will be discussing it as soon as we’re in private.”
“All I did was ask him to keep an eye out while he’s here,” Shelby muttered, feeling entirely too much like a kid in trouble. “It’s not like I officially hired him or anything. He said he didn’t mind.”
“You imposed on his vacation by—oh, my goodness.”
Her mother was looking beyond her, toward the doorway, and Shelby had a sudden inkling of what had caused the startled expression. She swiveled on her seat, then nodded at Aaron as he slid onto the stool next to her. “Didn’t take you long to unpack.”
“That’s because I haven’t yet,” he replied with a shrug. “I was talking to my brother.”
And it hadn’t been a warm and fuzzy call, Shelby mused, studying Aaron’s expression. Something was definitely going on between the brothers, and she didn’t think it took a P.I. to figure that out.
“Mom, this is Aaron Walker. Aaron, my mother, Sarah Bell.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” her mother said, shaking his hand. “Welcome to the resort.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Bell.”
“Please, call me Sarah. Can I get you anything?”
He glanced at the menu over the grill. “A grilled chicken sandwich sounds good.”
“Shelby, why don’t you serve Aaron something to drink while I cook his sandwich?”
He requested a lemonade, which Shelby fetched swiftly from a pitcher behind the counter. “I’ve been trying to prepare everyone for seeing you,” she informed him as she set the plastic tumbler in front of him. “You’ll probably still get a few double takes.”
He shrugged. “I’m used to that.”
She studied his handsome face from beneath her lashes. “I’ll just bet you are,” she murmured.
His eyebrows rose, and he studied her speculatively.
Giving him a friendly pat on the shoulder, she said, “Enjoy your dinner. Mom will take good care of you. I have some things to wrap up in my office, but I’ll see you later.”
She heard his stool squeak when he turned to watch her stroll toward the exit. She added a little extra pop to her walk—just because.
She hadn’t flirted this way with Andrew, she remembered, her amusement fading. Because of Pete, maybe. Or maybe the circumstances. But she couldn’t resist drawing those lazy grins from Aaron that made him look so different from his brother. And now she sounded like Mimi, she thought with a wry shake of her head.
It wasn’t as if she expected anything to happen between her and Aaron. He was here for vacation, and he’d agreed to do a favor for her only because she’d given him little choice. She wasn’t the type to sweep a good-looking adventurer, which she considered Aaron to be, off his feet. She wasn’t the “pretty one” in the family—her cousin Hannah held that title. Nor was she the summer-fling type. She’d had plenty of opportunities for that sort of thing, had she been interested, but that just wasn’t her style. Still, she enjoyed a little harmless flirtation as much as the next girl, especially with a man as attractive as Aaron Walker. Those sexy smiles of his were definitely rewards in themselves.
Half an hour later, after finishing the few work tasks she’d had left to do that day, she wandered back downstairs—only to find Aaron still in the diner, now sitting at a table surrounded by members of her family. Maggie sat next to him, with Mimi on his other side. All three of them were eating her mom’s homemade chocolate pie. Uncle Bryan and Aunt Linda sat across the table with cups of coffee. With no one waiting to order at the moment, Sarah sat on a bar stool near the table, participating in the lively conversation.
Shelby noted that Aaron didn’t seem to be saying much—as if anyone could get a word in edgewise with her family—but he appeared to be enjoying himself. She moved toward the cheery group. “Looks like a party going on in here.”
Her aunt motioned her over. “We were just telling Aaron some funny stories about raising you kids in the resort. He said he and Andrew always had family around when they were growing up, too.”
Aaron chuckled. “We could never get away with much. Which doesn’t mean we didn’t try. The terrible trio got into more than a few scrapes, despite being watched almost constantly by our parents, aunts and uncles. Not to mention older cousins who thought it was their job to report on our activities.”
“The terrible trio?” Shelby asked, pulling up a chair.
He nodded. “That’s what they called my brother, our cousin Casey and me. I can’t imagine why,” he added with a humorous attempt at innocence.
Mimi tsked her tongue. “I bet you boys were a handful.”
“Yes, ma’am, we surely were.”
Maggie propped her chin on her hand and studied Aaron with a smile. “For some reason, I can picture you getting up to mischief, but it surprises me that your brother was part of it. He seemed so proper and conservative.”
“I guess he is. Now,” Aaron murmured, and once again Shelby would have liked to know what was going on between the twins.
“Oh, here’s Pop,” Shelby’s mom commented, glancing toward the doorway. “I don’t think you’ve met my father-in-law, Aaron.”
“No, I haven’t.” Aaron started to rise, but the older man waved him back into his seat, peering intently at Aaron’s face.
Shelby sat back to enjoy the show.
Pop scraped a chair on the floor and dropped into it, never taking his gaze off Aaron. A sun-weathered, work-hardened eighty, Carl Bell Sr. had a ring of thin gray hair around his brown-spotted scalp and silver-framed glasses through which he peered with intense gray eyes. His nose was crooked and his thin mouth firm. He had hunched a bit with age, softened around the middle, and moved a bit more slowly, but he was still in full possession of his faculties. The thing was, Pop had always been eccentric, a quirk that grew more pronounced each year.
“So you’re Aaron.” He didn’t quite make air quotes with his fingers, but the gesture seemed to be implied.
Aaron nodded. “Yes, sir.”
“Humph.” Pop narrowed his eyes, while everyone else watched with poorly suppressed smiles. “I imagine a P.I. might need to use a different name when he goes on vacation. What they call incognito.”
“If he was incognito, why would he come to a place where everyone would recognize him, Pop?” Bryan asked.
Pop had never been overly concerned with logic. “Probably because he’d know he’d be among friends who wouldn’t give him away if anyone asked. You got a picture of yourself with Andrew?” he asked their guest.
Aaron seemed amused. “No, sir, not with me.”
“Humph,” Pop said again and gave the others a somewhat smug glance.
Laughing, Linda stood. “I’ve got to go take care of a customer in the store. I’ll let the rest of you try to convince Pop that identical twins do occur in nature.”
“Pop tends to let his imagination get away with him. And most of us think Shelby is just like her grandfather,” Shelby’s mom confided to Aaron with a smile that was both affectionate and wry. Maybe it even held a bit of a warning, Shelby thought with a frown.
Was her mother actually cautioning Aaron that he couldn’t take everything Shelby said seriously? Well, gee, thanks for the support, Mom, she tried to say with her expression.
If she received the subliminal message, Sarah ignored it serenely, moving to wait on an elderly couple who’d just come in for dinner. She greeted them by name. For almost as far back as Shelby could remember, the Hendersons had traveled in their motor home from Shreveport, Louisiana, at least a couple times a year for weeklong stays at the resort.
Lori drifted in through the diner doors, pausing to look with surprise at the group of relatives gathered there. “What’s everyone doing in here? Oh.” She pushed a fringe of blue-streaked black hair out of her eyes and studied the man everyone had gathered around. “You must be Andrew’s brother. Mimi told me about you.”
“Says he’s an identical twin,” Pop said with a grin and a broad wink, causing everyone to shake their heads in exasperation. “We’ve been instructed to call him Aaron.”
Lifting a thin, arched brow, Lori glanced at Shelby, who shrugged. “Lori, this really is Aaron Walker. Aaron, my sister, Lori.”
They exchanged greetings, and Shelby wondered idly what Aaron thought of Lori, who looked so different from the rest of the family—a deliberate effort on her part. Taller and thinner than Shelby, twenty-year-old Lori wore her colorful hair short and shaggy, tumbling into blue eyes lined in dark, smoky gray. She sported bloodred lipstick and black nail polish, and favored filmy, smoke-colored garments that seemed to float around her when she walked. She refused to call her style “Goth,” saying the term was outdated and inaccurate. She liked to call her taste “ethereal” instead.
However it was defined, the style somehow worked for Lori. Shelby thought her sister looked striking and interesting, especially in comparison to her own wardrobe, which consisted primarily of easy-care shorts and T-shirts chosen for ease of movement and comfort in hot Texas summers. In the winters, she swapped the shorts for jeans, wore long-sleeved tees and donned sneakers rather than flip-flops. Glancing from Lori’s ethereal chic, to Maggie’s pretty, fitted wrap top and cropped khakis, Shelby wondered if maybe she should start paying a bit more attention to her own wardrobe.
Aaron pushed his chair back from the table. “It’s been great meeting everyone, but I should probably unpack and make a few phone calls.”
“Did you walk over?” Shelby asked.
When he nodded she stood. “I left my car here earlier. I can drop you off at your cabin on my way to my place.”
She was aware that everyone watched them as they walked out. Did they think she was chasing after Aaron? She frowned, her ego piqued at the thought. She was going to have to think of a plan that would let her collaborate with Aaron while still preserving her feminine pride.
“So I’ve met everyone in the family except your father and brother now?” Aaron asked when they were in her car.

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