Brent Hamilton was in shock. Mrs. Carpenter had just told him that he looked just like Clint Buchanan, her ex-husband. That was a development that he certainly wasn’t ready for.
“What in the hell am I going to do now?” thought Brent. “If I look so much like Clint that even his ex-wife thinks I am him, there is no way I will be able to go undercover and get to know the Buchanans slowly. I think the only thing I can do is tell Mrs Carpenter the truth — maybe she will help me meet the Buchanans and help me explain this all to them.”
Viki continued to stare at Brent. “My lord, they could be twins. I feel almost the same way I did when Tom Dennison showed up so many years after Joe died,” she thought. “This man can’t be Clint’s twin, but he’s got to be related to the Buchanans somehow for them to look so much alike.”
Viki took a good look at Brent. While his features were just like Clint’s, there were other things she noticed that were very different. His posture — the way he sat in the chair, for instance. Brent’s hair was not quite as dark as Clint’s, and he wore no jewelry. His clothes were imported, as were his shoes. Clint never wore anything but cowboy boots and, maybe once in awhile, sneakers if they were playing tennis or touch football with the boys. This man had Italian shoes on — Clint wouldn’t be caught dead in those!
“Please call me Viki and, if it is all right with you, I will call you Brent,” said Viki. “I think it is always nicer to be on a first name basis when doing business together.”
“Oh, yes, Viki, that’s fine with me,” replied Brent. “Actually, Viki, I need to talk to you about something that is totally unrelated to business.”
“Brent looks upset,” thought Viki. “I have seen that same expression on Clint’s face over the years. Well, if the man has a problem I can help him with, I will be more than happy to try to help. I wonder if it has anything to do with his uncanny resemblance to Clint.”
“I’d be more than happy to help you, Brent. What can I do?” asked Viki, wondering what the problem might be.
“The first thing you can do is listen to my story. Then maybe you can help me figure what I should do from there,” said Brent, hoping that his instincts about Viki were right and that she was the kind of person who would be honest enough to help him get the answers he needed. Viki having been Clint’s wife meant that she probably knew things about the Buchanans that it would take him months to find out any other way. “Here’s hoping that I can trust her and that she will help me,” thought Brent.
“Viki,” said Brent, “I haven’t had anything but airline food today and my stomach is beginning to tell me about it. Could I have the pleasure of taking you out for a late night dinner? I will tell you my story over a meal, if that sounds okay with you.”
Viki thought about the fact that just about anywhere they went to eat, someone would be likely to notice Brent and mistake him for Clint. If Brent wanted to talk seriously with her, she thought that could turn out to be a problem.
“Brent,” said Viki, “I have another idea. Because of your resemblance to Clint, dining out might not be the best thing. Why don’t we got to my house? I have leftover homemade spaghetti, french bread and salad fixings. It wouldn’t take any time at all for me to fix us some dinner and we would have complete privacy to talk about this problem of yours.”
Brent stared at Viki, thinking, “This is one very understanding lady. She doesn’t even know me and she invites me to her home for dinner.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Viki checked the spaghetti and looked over at Brent cutting up vegetables for the salad. Her heart was doing flip-flops! “He look so much like Clint — I guess my heart doesn’t want to believe that it isn’t him,” thought Viki. “Being around this man is not going to be easy. Once before I started to fall in love with Tom Dennison because he was Joe’s twin. I must not do that this time with Brent. I have to keep telling myself that, just because he is wearing Clint’s face, doesn’t make him Clint. I really like this man, though. He is funny, obviously very smart, and he sure does know how to pour on the charm. But there is a great sadness in his eyes that he is trying to hide.”
Brent looked over at Viki as she worked around her kitchen, putting the finishing touches on their dinner. “I like this woman,” he thought to himself. “And how long has it been since I have let my guard down enough to like a woman, as opposed to just being attracted and turned on by her? Not that Viki isn’t attractive — in fact she’s beautiful, but she has a brain, a sense of humor and, most of all, a warmth about her that is drawing me to her like a magnet. I may be out of my mind but, after knowing Viki for only an hour, I feel like she is someone I have known all my life. I hope that I really can trust her. Right now she is the key to this whole situation.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Brent looked across the table at Viki. “I guess I’d better start explaining to you the real reason I came to Llanview,” he said, while trying to think of the best way to describe his circumstances. “Two weeks ago, my mother had a heart attack. Several days later, she died.” Brent tried to fight back the tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke.
“Oh, Brent,” said Viki, looking at him with concern and sympathy. “I am so sorry. You have been through a rough time. Is there any way that I can help?”
“Yes, Viki there is,” replied Brent. “Let me explain further. My dad, Greg, and I never got along. He tried to be a good father, but we never had any common interests. When he passed away 5 years ago, I even felt guilty because it didn’t bother me the way it should have. It was almost like we weren’t really connected. Anyway, just before my mother died, she told me that she had a confession to make. Then she dropped the bomb — she told me that she had an affair when my father was in the Navy, at sea. It seems that Greg Hamilton wasn’t my father, after all. My father was a man named Asa Buchanan.”
Viki felt like a bomb had dropped on her, also. No wonder Brent looked so much like Clint — they were brothers!
Viki looked at Brent, shaking her head. “You’re Clint’s brother. That at least explains the resemblance. Have you contacted Asa yet?” asked a very shaken Viki.
“No,” responded Brent. “When I promised my Uncle Cliff that I would see you about the supplement for The Banner, I decided I would do that before I tried to contact any of the Buchanans. Then I walked into your office only to find out that you’re my brother’s ex-wife. That just floored me! But I figured you might be the best person to tell, and help me figure how to approach this whole thing.”
“I will be very glad to help, Brent,” replied Viki.
“I have a very personal question to ask,” Brent said, looking somewhat uncomfortable. “Viki, what kind of a relationship do you have with Clint and his family? I mean if you’re bitter enemies or something, you won’t be of much help to me.”
A big smile crossed Viki’s face. “Well Brent, that is a somewhat complicated question, but I can assure you that I do, for the most part, get along very well with the Buchanan family. My three children, Kevin, Joey, and Jessica are Buchanans. Bo and his wife, Nora, are very good friends. I love Cord, Clint’s son, like he was my own son. Actually, Cord was married to my sister, Tina, and they have two children, C.J. and Sarah. Asa is another matter all together, but I love him dearly and I think that, despite a lot of disputes between us, he cares about me also. Does that answer your question, Brent?”
Brent was thinking, “Yes, that answers it for the most part, but the unusual thing is that Viki talked about everyone but Clint. I wonder why?”
“Viki, you didn’t mention Clint,” Brent nudged gingerly. “Was that on purpose?” Viki’s expression changed. She seemed a little embarrassed and there was a sadness in her eyes, almost like she was getting ready to cry. Looking at Brent while talking about Clint was going to very difficult.
“Clint’s and my relationship is very complicated,” said Viki, while trying to keep her composure. “We have been best friends and co-workers over the years, as well as husband and wife. I divorced Clint about 5 years ago when I fell in love with my late husband, Sloan Carpenter. We remained friends, despite my having hurt Clint. He still loved me and, after Sloan’s death, I know he believed that we would find our way back to each other. I had a lot of problems that Clint helped me get through. I don’t know what I would have done without his help and support.”
“About six months ago,” Viki continued, “Clint asked me to marry him again. I didn’t believe I was ready, so I said ‘no.’ He told me he had to get on with his life, and I guess he really meant it, because two weeks later, he married his present wife, Lindsay. Shortly afterward, he quit his job at The Banner and moved to California.”
Brent saw tears in Viki’s eyes, even though she had turned her head away and was trying to hide them as she spoke.
“You still love him, don’t you, Viki?” asks Brent, looking at Viki with honest concern in his eyes.
“Yes, I guess I do. I always will, but I have hurt Clint so many times that, even if Lindsay weren’t his wife, I don’t know if Clint could ever really love or trust me again.” Viki wiped her eyes as she spoke, trying not make a complete fool of herself.
Brent took Viki’s hand and squeezed it. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Viki, honestly.”
“I know that, Brent. Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine,” replied Viki. “Now for your problem. I will get hold of Bo tonight and just tell him that I need to meet with him here at Llanfair at 9 a.m. tomorrow. You go to your hotel, and be back here about 8:30 a.m. When Bo gets here, you can tell him your story.”
“How do you think Bo will react, Viki?” asked Brent.
“He’ll be surprised, just like I was. But Bo is a good man and, when he hears your story, I think he will be a very big help in introducing you to Asa and the rest of the Buchanan clan.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Brent told Viki goodbye and headed for his hotel feeling like tomorrow might be the biggest day of his life.
“I hope that Viki is right about Bo,” he told himself. “I don’t really like having to put my complete trust in people I don’t know. But I trust Viki. Something about her just tells me that she is going to be a very important part of my future.”
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