âSo, Lauren Conway. Do you know you have a twin?â
Lauren hugged the hospital bedsheet closer. âNo. But I gather this Dana looks like me.â
Alex cocked his head, then reached into his back pocket and withdrew his wallet. He leafed through several pictures before he stopped, pulled one out and handed it to her.
Lauren looked down. In the picture was a woman with long, luscious hair and curves to die for outlined in a wild-print bikini. She held a surfboard and leaned on the smiling, sun-burnished man whose arm was around her. The man was Alex.
The woman looked exactly like Lauren.
The similarity made her light-headed and caused her heartbeat to falter. What was going on here?
Dear Reader,
Welcome to my contribution to the CODE RED series. Itâs been a pleasure to participate in this projectâthree Superromance novels, an anthology, a twelve-book continuity, then four sequelsâall about my favorite people, rescue personnel. It was a joy to work with the other authors involved in this series. I liked getting to know them and contributing to the story lines. But donât worry. The Unknown Twin can stand alone, too.
As many of you know, I wrote some firefighter books for Harlequin a few years back, and it was a pleasure to revisit Americaâs Bravest. I did have to do some additional research, though. Fire fighting in California is different from that in New York State, where I did my original research of riding the trucks, eating at the firehouses and participating in classes and drills. I met with a wonderful former California firefighter, who helped plan out the staff and station house for us. I also called on my other friends in the Rochester Fire Department, particularly Joe Giorgione, who was always there to help out with technicalities and plot elements. All of the firefighters I worked with were wonderful and gave me very important information.
Lauren and Alexâs story is a classic romance about opposites attractingâthe macho, charge-right-in hero and the creative, sensitive heroine. I love to put people who are so different together and see what happens. I didnât expect all of what transpired in the book. It was fun to watch Lauren and Alex wrestle with their relationship. I hope you enjoy their trek to happily-ever-after.
I love to hear from readers. My e-mail is [email protected] and my Web site is www.kathrynshay.com. Though few use it, I still have a snail-mail address: P.O. Box 24288, Rochester, New York 14624. Write and tell me what you think.
Kathryn Shay
IT WAS TOUGH having an imaginary friend at thirty-two. Lauren Conway stared down at hers, now captured in living color in a brand-new comic strip, Dee and Me, that sheâd agreed to create for the Courage Bay Courier. Sheâd moved to the California-seaside town two weeks ago to begin drawing the cartoon, which was based on the imaginary friend sheâd first made when she was a child.
Looking down, she reread the strip sheâd just finished.
Frame One:
You got yourself a job, Lily! Twelve-year-old Deirdreâs smile is pleasant. It always is, even when Lily does something stupid.
Lily looks nervous. Yeah, for the summer.
Frame Two:
Lily is first this time. I hope I donât blow it. Like I do everything else.
Donât be lily-livered. Dee laughs at her pun. Youâre not gonna blow it.
Frame Three:
Flexing her muscles, Deirdre picks up the free weights and raises them in an arm curl. Lily stares helplessly at her.
Deirdre asks, You wanna try it?
Frame Four:
Lily appears horrified. Dee, please. I canât.
If you think you canât, Lily, youâre right.
Frame Five:
Lily stares helplessly out at the reader. Easy for her to say.
Lauren studied her drawings. âIs it any good?â she asked aloud. Leaning back in her chair, she stared up at the ceiling; the cheerful fresco of blue sky and sun sheâd painted there made her smile. Sheâd worked in a cubicle on the other side of the building for a week while she fixed up this office on her own time. It was so small, so run-down, nobody else at the Courier had wanted it. And since she had just started as a part-timer, she hadnât been high priority for amenities. Rising, she crossed the room to two oversize beanbag chairs sheâd stuffed in the corner, since there wasnât room for much else. Kicking off her canvas sneakers, she stretched out on one and put her feet on the other. She continued to stare up at her own personal sky, inhaling the spicy scent of potpourri sheâd scattered throughout the office and pondering the direction of her cartoon.
Her new boss, Perry OâConnor, had studied the prototype when sheâd presented the concept to him in an interview several weeks ago. âItâs got a lot of potential, Conway.â He nodded to the drawings. âI like the self-effacing nature of the klutz. Cute dynamic with her alter ego. Puberty adds a lot. But you need a focus. A tack.â His expression was thoughtful. âWeâre looking for something to draw readers to the Courierâs Web site. Maybe we could do this cartoon on the fly.â