Free Something Different/Pepper's Way by Kay Hooper Page B

fascinated that Gypsy wanted to burst out laughing.
    Many mothers and daughters look like sisters; Gypsy and her mother looked like twins. The same height, roughly the same weight, the same short black curls and wide gray eyes. They were even dressed similarly in jeans and blue knit pullovers. It was an odd thing, but even if they were in different parts of the country, nine times out of ten Gypsy and her mother would wear at least the same colors on any given day.
    Rebecca Taylor, née Thorn, looked eighteen. The only thing that set her apart from her daughter in looks was a singlesilver curl at her left temple. Her voice was different, slower and richer with age, but her conversation made Gypsy’s sound positively rational by comparison. And she never missed a thing.
    “Hi, Mother.” Gypsy hugged her mother briefly. “I see you’ve met Chase.”
    “Yes. Gypsy, you need to talk to Corsair. Stealing keys is a very irritating habit.”
    “I will, Mother.” Gypsy swallowed a laugh as she glanced at Chase. “Poppy—Chase Mitchell. Chase, my father, Allen Taylor.”
    Still bemused, Chase nearly forgot to shake hands.
    It was a fun day. Gypsy’s parents had the knack of setting anyone at ease immediately, and they both obviously liked Chase. As for Chase, he’d apparently decided to go with the tide. Although he still tended to blink whenever he looked at Rebecca—particularly whenever she and Gypsy were standing near each other—he was quickly back on balance again.
    Rebecca commandeered the kitchen to cook lunch, towing Chase along behind her when Gypsy helpfully mentioned his culinary skill. Allen and Gypsy were almost immediately ordered to make a trip to the store when the cupboard was found to be bare. Corsair and Bucephalus got into the act, mainly by being constantly chased from the kitchen by Rebecca.
    When Gypsy looked back on the day, she remembered snippets of conversations, frozen stills from the action.
    “Why didn’t you tell me that your mother was also your twin? I made a total fool of myself in that tree!”
    “There are no fools in my mother’s orbit—just interesting people.”
    “I wish I could believe that.”
    “Believe it. My mother
expects
to find strange men in trees.”
    “A sane man would run like a thief in the night.”
    “Are you sane?”
    “Apparently not.”
    “He’s a redhead.”
    “Yes, Mother.”
    “Temper?”
    “So far, no. But give him time; I only met him Friday.”
    “I like his eyes. Would he sit for me?”
    “Like a shot, I imagine. He likes your work.”
    “He cooks well.”
    “Yes, Mother. Military schools.”
    “Really? That explains it.”
    “Explains what?”
    “He stands and moves like a soldier. Precise.”
    “I haven’t noticed.”
    “Of course not, darling.”
    “Mother.
    “I like your Chase, darling.”
    “He’s not mine, Poppy.”
    “Better tell him that.”
    “I have. The man’s deaf.”
    “The man has good taste.”
    “You’re prejudiced.”
    “Slightly. Not that it matters.”
    “Gypsy, Corsair’s sitting in the sink.”
    “Check his water dish, Mother.”
    “Chase, why do you keep letting Bucephalus inside?”
    “Sorry, Rebecca, but he knocks.”
    “Do you let in every salesperson who knocks?”
    “Only the ones with good legs.”
    “Chauvinist.”
    “Dyed-in-the-wool.”
    “Chase, what were you talking to Mother about? You look strange.”
    “I feel strange. She just told me the story of how Allen managed to catch her. No wonder you wouldn’t tell me.”
    “Well, it’s their story. Don’t take it too much to heart, by the way.”
    “You mean, don’t let it give me ideas?”
    “Something like that.”
    “I wouldn’t dare. You look like her, but you’re not Rebecca. You’d come after me with a gun.”
    “I’m glad you realize that.”
    “Military schools don’t produce idiots.”
    By the time Gypsy tumbled into bed that night, she was still laughing softly. The little party had broken up only an hour