Twins times two! Read Free Page B

well behaved. If they act out in any way, feel free to give them a paddling, but I've rarely found such a measure necessary."
    Cara bit her lip to keep from saying that she was a proponent of time-out rather than spanking. It wasn't any of her business how Ross chose to discipline his children.
    "If you have any problems at all, please call me. I've made arrangements to leave early, so I should be home no later than eleven."
    He stopped in front of a set of double doors. Glancing at his watch, he depressed the brass handle. "I won't stay other than to quickly introduce you. If the children catch on that I'm going somewhere without them, they'll scream and cry. They handle things better if I go quickly."
    "That's fine. I'm sure we'll all have a great evening together."
    Ross's brow creased. "I wouldn't go at all if there were any way to get out of this event. But..."
    Despite his stern manner, her heart warmed at his apparent reluctance to leave the children even

    for a few hours. "We'll be fine. Feel free to call if you want to check on us."
    "No. That won't be necessary. I've always had good luck with the people sent by your agency." He paused, opened his mouth as if to say something, then clearly thought better of it. "Well, here goes..."
    In one smooth motion he opened up the door, revealing a child's fantasy playroom on the other side.
    "Becca, Brianne...this is Melba's friend, Cara. She's come to play with you for a little while. You be good for her, okay?"
    In that instant a pair of children came running from the other side of the room, moving into Cara's line of sight.
    And in the space of a heartbeat, the bottom dropped out of her world.

    Chapter Two
    Somehow Cara managed to hold on to her instinctive cry until she heard the whisper of Ross's footsteps disappear down the hall. Even so, she didn't dare move until the slam of the door was followed by the low growl of his car.
    The trembling began in her extremities, moving inward until she was forced to grip the doorjamb to remain upright. Her eyes were glued to the children playing on the floor in front of her. As much as her mind rebelled against what she saw, the twins were so like her own—one a carrottop with cornflower-blue eyes; the other a strawberry-blonde with deep-indigo eyes. If not for the way the girls' haircuts were different—short and left to curl naturally—Cara would have believed that her own little girls had been brought to the house as part of an elaborate joke.

    But they weren't her twins. When Ross's twins looked at her there was no recognition in their gazes. Instead they broke into hysterical cries and rushed to the window overlooking the drive.
    "Daddy! Daddy, don't leave us!" one of them cried while the other pounded on the glass and sobbed.
    They were "Daddy's girls." Heidi and Zoe had adored their father, as well. It had taken months for them to stop asking for Cara's brother. Now they tended to be reticent around males, probably because their world was more generally populated with women.
    "Shh, shh, there's no need to cry."
    Cara's instincts sent her body into autopilot. Pushing her own confusion aside, she quickly comforted the little girls, then showed them the treasures she'd brought with her in the duffel bag.
    Soon the twins were assembling a floor puzzle decorated with cartoon animals. Yet, they must have sensed something in her manner because they regarded her now and again with concern and a hint of shyness.
    Cara's smile was hollow and automatic. She felt numb, even though her limbs continued to tremble with shock and disbelief.
    Cara's children were rarely shy. They raced up

    to engage strangers in conversation as if meeting long-lost friends. But these youngsters...
    No. They weren't her children. They were two completely different individuals.
    Cara's stomach flip-flopped in sudden dread, and she sank into a child-size chair drawn up to a gaily painted table. In a rush she remembered the many times that her brother had