hardy boys fan fiction
SISTERS
hardy boys nancy drew fan fiction
by
CQB
Chapter 3
hardy boys fan fiction
THE CHAPTERS
"Whoa, Joe Hardy deep in thought! I think I see smoke coming out of your ears!" Frank teased as he joined Joe at the table. Joe affectionately punched Frank in the arm. He showed his brother the card from Vanessa and talked to Frank about his decision to cool things off with Lindsey before it even got started.
"I hate to dump this on you right after you made this decision," Frank said, "but I accepted an invitation to have dinner with the Preston family tonight. We're suppose to be at the cottage by 6 p.m."
Joe sighed. It could still work out. He would just be honest with Lindsey and maybe he would even tell her about Vanessa. He could still be friends with Lindsey and not feel guilty about Vanessa at the same time. At lease, he hoped so!
* * *
Both Frank and Joe were a little nervous about dinner with the Preston family. After all, they were FAMOUS! Practically celebrities! Laura Hardy inspected the boys before they headed out and gave an approving smile. 'Twice in one week,' Mrs. Hardy thought as she gazed at her 17-year-old son. Joe looked nervous, but very handsome in his neatly pressed blue shirt, blue print tie and black dress pants. Frank too, looked great in a hunter green shirt, brown print tie and dark brown dress pants.
The Hardy van pulled up in front of the rented cottage. Joe checked his image in the visor mirror while Frank ran his comb through his dark hair for the tenth time since they left the house. They locked the van and walked up the front steps.
"My word!" was not the greeting Frank or Joe expected upon entering the cottage. The words had come from Richard Collins. He had just flown into Bayport to see how Catherine and the kids were doing. Kendall had filled him in on what had been happening and about the resemblance between his mother and Joe Hardy.
Joe blushed and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, as Richie continued to stare at him like a bug under a microscope. Lindsey gasped as she saw Richie's scrutiny of Joe! The poor guy looked miserable and Frank looked thoroughly confused.
"Richie! Doesn't Mom need your help in the kitchen?" Lindsey asked with a steely gaze in Mr. Collins’ direction. "Ah, oh...yes! I do believe she does." He replied, walking away mumbling something that sounded like 'it's absolutely amazing!'
Lindsey ushered the Hardy's into the living room. To Joe's dismay, Lindsey's brother Davy was playing a video game. He, too, stared at Joe like he was something from outer space. Lindsey shooed him out and finally explained to Frank and Joe about the uncanny resemblance between Joe and her mother. Joe smiled, finally understanding what the curious stares were for.
"I'm sure it's not that much of a resemblance," Frank stated, smiling at Lindsey.
"I don't know," Lindsey responded, "I didn't realize it until Denny and Davy said something, but it's so obvious now."
Just then, Davy came in and called everyone to dinner. As Frank and Joe followed Lindsey into the dining room, Kendall greeted the boys and escorted them to their chairs at the large, round, oak table. Joe was seated between Denny and Lindsey, while Frank sat between Denny and Kendall. Mr. Collins was seated next to Lindsey, then Davy, placing Mrs. Preston's seat between Davy and Kendall, almost directly opposite of Joe. Even with the explanation from Lindsey, Joe felt very uncomfortable as the Prestons and Mr. Collins continued to look him over.
Kendall, noticing Joe's discomfort, began talking about the great time he and Lindsey had at Chet's party. Lindsey, Frank and Joe joined in the discussion. The others asked questions and Joe was relieved to finally have the spotlight off of him.
Singing could be heard in the kitchen as Catherine Preston put the final touches on the meal she and their cook, Beverly had prepared.
Beverly stayed in the kitchen to make the dessert as Catherine carried the black, cast-iron pot full of steaming chowder to the table.
"Mom," Kendall spoke as he quickly stood up, "let me carry that." Catherine smiled as Kendall placed the pot on the table. She glanced around the table and noticed the men standing respectfully as she found her seat. As she sat, her eyes crossed the table to the blond, blue-eyed youth opposite her. He was looking right into her eyes and Catherine gasped as she realized she was looking at a younger, masculine version of her own face.
Joe Hardy couldn't believe how much Mrs. Preston looked like his mother, Laura! He’d seen pictures of her before, but in person, the resemblance was very noticeable. Obviously, Frank thought the same thing as the brothers caught each other’s eyes.
"This is...so nice," Mrs. Preston stammered, trying to break the stunned silence. "Frank, Joe, I'm so glad you could join us this evening. I've been looking forward to meeting you both. Lindsey and Kendall haven't stopped talking about you and your friends since the party the other night."
"Yes, Ma'am," replied Frank, managing to find his tongue. "Thank you for the invitation." Frank glanced at his younger brother, but could tell that Joe hadn't heard a word Mrs. Preston had said. He wished he was close enough to give Joe a kick, but was afraid he'd hit Denny instead. Lindsey, seeing Joe's shocked _expression, gently squeezed his arm. That was all it took to bring Joe back to reality. He blushed and thanked Mrs. Preston for her hospitality.
After dinner, Kendall, Lindsey, Frank and Joe took a walk along the shore. "How can our mother's look so much alike?" Joe asked, voicing the thoughts of everyone else.
"Beats me," replied Kendall. "Mom is an only child. Her parents, our grandparents, are Maggie and Hank Thompson. They live in Alcott, New York and we only see them about once a year."
"Our mom has four brothers," added Frank, "but no sisters. Her parents died in a car accident the summer before Joe was born. I'd only seen them twice, but was too young to remember them at all."
"I know they say that everyone has a twin somewhere in the world, but this is unreal." Joe said, shaking his head enough for a blond lock to fall across his forehead. Running his hand through his hair, he added, "I think we need to get our mothers together."
"That would be easy," Lindsey said, "We could invite your family over for a cookout on the beach. Then, our moms would meet and...", her voice trailed off.
"For what purpose? That wouldn’t explain why they look like each other." Frank stated. The teens all looked at each other expectantly. Not coming up with any ideas, the Hardy's said their good-byes and headed for home.
The boys entered the house and, noticing that both their parents’ cars were in the garage, locked the doors and turned on the alarm system. Before making their way up stairs, they noticed that the light was on in the den that had been converted into their father's office.
"Dad?" Frank asked as he gently tapped on the door. "Come in," came the reply from within the room.
"How was dinner?" Mr. Hardy asked as Joe followed Frank into the office.
Joe and Frank exchanged a funny look and Mr. Hardy's handsome face took on a frown. "O.K. boys, spill it. What's going on?"
"Dad," Frank began, "does Mom have any female cousins that look like her? I mean, a lot like her?"
"Not that I know of," thought Mr. Hardy. "She has her brothers. She has several cousins, but they are all men. I don't think there are any other females on her side of the family."
"Well," Frank continued, "Mrs. Preston could pass for Mom's twin."
"Maybe there's a resemblance..." countered Mr. Hardy.
"It's more than a mere resemblance," Joe interjected, shaking his head. "I felt like I was looking at Mom all night and the Prestons kept saying how much I looked like their mom."
"Hey, Joe. Don't you have a Preston CD somewhere?" asked Frank.
"No," he replied, realizing what Frank was thinking, "But Vanessa does. We listened to it on the way to the airport in the...maybe it's still in the van!" Joe dashed out the front door, slamming it with a thunderous roar. He returned to find his bathrobe-clad mother had joined Frank and Fenton in the office.
"Joseph Aaron Hardy! What on earth are you making so much noise for at this time of the night?" asked Mrs. Hardy with a frown.
"Sorry Mom," Joe said sheepishly, " I didn't realize I was so loud, I was in a hurry. I'm sorry I woke you."
"Now that I'm wide awake, you three may as well let me in on what has you all up yet, when it is well past midnight." replied Mrs. Hardy. Joe handed the CD case to his father. Fenton took out the CD jacket from the case and studied the picture of the Preston family on the front. His eyes fixed on the image of Catherine Preston, then moved to his younger son, then to his wife of 20 years. The resemblance was remarkable!
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.