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sister.
    “Obviously,” Faith said, dryly, “her adoptive mother failed to mention it. Mine didn’t say anything until she knew she was dying.”
    His hazel eyes grew even more surprised. “Hope’s adopted?”
    It was her turn to be shocked. “She doesn’t know?”
    He turned away, then quickly turned back again. “And you know this for a fact? Maybe your mother was mistaken.”
    “Mistaken?”
    His gaze ran from the top of her head to the tip of her red shoes. “No. I guess not.” Releasing a long rush of breath, he ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Hope’s adopted—damn, this can’t be good. I’d like to think she knows and has kept it a secret all these years, but Hope isn’t the type to keep secrets—nor is she the type who likes surprises.”
    “She has the right to know,” Faith stated, although she couldn’t help the quaver in her voice. She had been nervous enough about showing up on her sister’s doorstep unannounced; the news her sister wasn’t aware she was adopted tripled her apprehension.
    “Yeah, you’re right,” Slate said. “Though I’d hate to be the one to tell her.”
    Faith swallowed hard at the thought of breaking the news to a woman who brandished a gun—onstage or off. Still, she had come too far to back out now. “So do you have her address and phone number?”
    “I’d love to help you out with that, darlin’, but I don’t have either one.”
    “But I thought you and Hope were good friends.”
    “We are.” He shrugged. “We’ve both just been a little busy the last year.”
    She leaned forward, stretching out her seat belt. “A year? You haven’t talked to her in a year?”
    He held up a hand. “Now calm down. I haven’t talked to her much, but her mama talks to her every week, and from what I hear, Hope is doing just fine.”
    Relieved, she relaxed back against the seat. “Oh. Well, do you think her mother would give me her information?”
    Slate hooked his arms over the steering wheel and stared out the windshield. “Hell, I don’t know. The Jenna Scroggs I know wouldn’t mind at all, but then again, the Jenna I know wouldn’t keep a secret from her daughter. But it doesn’t matter, seeing as how she and Burl are in Lubbock visiting Jenna Junior and won’t be back until Monday.” He glanced over at her. “Unless you want to wait.”
    “No.” Faith shook her head. “I need to find her.”
    Finding Hope had become a relentless need—something that pulled her through her mother’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, the nine months of suffering, the funeral, and the quiet loneliness that filled her life afterward. Besides her aging aunt, Hope was the only family Faith had left. And she wasn’t willing to live without her sister for longer than it took to reach California. Even if Hope didn’t like surprises.
    “So I guess that explains why you’re here,” Slate broke into her thoughts. “Although it doesn’t explain why you were impersonating Hope.”
    Embarrassed by the stupid charade, Faith turned away and looked out the side window. “I thought I would get more information that way.”
    He snorted. “Hell, darlin’, all you had to do is ask—there are no secrets in Bramble… at least, I didn’t think there were.” He sat back against the seat. “So without her address or phone number, how do you plan on finding her?”
    It was a good question. Finding her sister in a small town in Texas was nothing compared to finding her in a huge city with millions of people.
    Suddenly feeling exhausted and defeated, she slumped back in the seat. “I don’t know.”
    He nodded as if he somehow understood her irrational behavior, then stared at the sunset for a few moments before he spoke. “I guess if you give me your number, I can call you with the information when Jenna and Burl get back.”
    She glanced over. “You would do that?”
    “I don’t see why not. Any sister of Hope is a sister of mine.” He flashed that sexy