Light from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 3) (11 page)

Kenzie
grinned with glee, loving his discomfort. When she suddenly started laughing
out right, he turned to her with an angry glower. “What is wrong with you,
woman?”

“This-This
reminds me of you in the yellow Bug!” she laughed. “You looked like a clown in
a tiny little circus car, your knees tucked up to your ears, your head too tall
to hold up straight, and that silly flower flapping back and forth with every
bump! Of all cars for you to steal!”

He
looked appalled at her loud mention of ‘stealing’ a car. “I borrowed it,” he
corrected stiffly. “The rightful owner was compensated for their assistance in
the matter.”

“Even
if they had no say-so in the matter!” Still chuckling, Kenzie recalled their time
in Wyoming with fondness. Despite being chased and making a hasty getaway, they
had managed to go on their first date and attend her first carnival. She still
had the five dollar stuffed antelope, the one that cost Travis fifty dollars to
win.

As
the manicurists worked magic on their feet, Travis slowly began to relax.
Kenzie reached over to take his hand, feeling only slightly guilty at putting
him through the ordeal. “You had fun at the carnival, didn’t you?”

“Yes,”
he admitted grudgingly.

“Then
trust me. You’re going to have fun today, too.”

“I
get nervous every time I hear you say the words ‘trust me’,” he muttered. He
glanced down at the manicurists hovering over their feet, speaking in a
language he did not understand. From the covert glances the women cast his way,
he imagined they were making jokes at his expense. Crooking an eyebrow at
Kenzie, he scowled. “So when does the fun begin?”

A
smile tickled Kenzie’s mouth as she ran her gaze over him once again. Bursting
out in gleeful laughter, she said, “Oh, it already has!”

The
Guadalupe River State Park was surprisingly sparse this early in the day,
despite the holiday weekend. Kenzie and Travis meandered down the lazy waters
of the River on inner tubes, their arms and legs dangling over the sides of the
circular rafts as they drifted downstream. The recent draught rendered the
water at low level, and more than once the rafters had to reach out a hand to
navigate around the larger rocks and boulders strewn throughout the shallow riverbed.

“I
love the cliffs,” Kenzie proclaimed, gazing up at a particularly steep and
impressive limestone bank that edged one side of the riverbank. “If I ever
build a house, I want to use native limestone.”

“And
where would you build this house?” Travis asked curiously. “I thought you had
dug in your roots and were never moving.”

“Not
from the apartment, silly. Just the city.”

When
Kenzie left home - a term she used lightly - eight years ago, she settled in
Austin and swore to herself that it would be her last move. After living in
dozens of towns throughout her childhood, she longed for roots; central Texas
was now her home.

She
looked around her surroundings, completely content in the quaint countryside an
hour and a half from the city. On their left, rugged cliffs climbed high toward
the blue overhead sky. On their right, huge cypress trees - with massive trunks
and giant roots all gnarled and twisted - draped heavy limbs low over the
river, casting a green hue upon the water. The image was twice as nice,
reflected back by the mirror of water.

Kenzie
knew Travis had a small horse ranch an hour away from Austin, near LaGrange;
would it be a betrayal to that vow if she edged sixty or so miles out of the
city? Her heart answered for her.

Travis
let a moment settle between them before he spoke. He tried to sound nonchalant,
but there was a deep timbre to his voice. “So how far out do those roots
extend?”

Her
heart clattered in her chest. His question hinted of a future for them,
something her soul craved.  

“I
want to see your ranch, you know,” she said quietly, and saw the surprise in
his eyes. The pleasure. Her next words were hopeful. Breathless. “Will you take
me there?”

Travis
turned his brown eyes upon her and nodded slowly. Almost as an afterthought, he
spoke. “When you look at me that way with those big green eyes, I would take
you to the moon, if that’s where you wanted to go.”

Such
romantic words from the Ranger were few and far between. Hearing them, Kenzie
realized the man was not only a cheater, he was also a thief; his simple words
stole her breath away, right along with her heart. Kenzie managed to swallow,
hoping she did not look as vulnerable as she felt.

“You
promised to take me horseback riding,” she reminded him. “Remember?”

“I
remember.” His rich tone said he remembered everything about their time spent
together, and treasured it as much as she did.

Happiness
bubbled up from Kenzie’s soul as they drifted along the glassy green waters.
Even Travis visibly relaxed as the tranquility of the river worked its magic on
them both. She caught a glimpse of his playful side when he scooped up a
handful of water and tossed it at her. Sputtering in mock outrage, Kenzie
slapped the water’s surface hard enough to splash it upon him. After that, they
engaged in a silly battle to see who could splash the most water.

In
the middle of the war, Travis proclaimed victory. “I win!” he announced
triumphantly, a smug expression upon his face.

“Oh,
yeah?” she asked, sending another spray his way. “Who says I’m through
fighting?”

“Doesn’t
matter.” His voice floated out low and sensual as his eyes slid slowly down to
the soaked bodice of her swimsuit. The bathing suit he chose for her was
tastefully modest, with a halter-top that tied in the back and a peek-a-boo cutout
that revealed her cleavage. The suit showcased her full figure without
revealing too much skin, but when wet, the material clung to her, the same way
his hungry eyes did. “I definitely win.”

To
her surprise, Travis grabbed the edge of her tube and hauled it toward him. He
maneuvered alongside her and leaned across to kiss her with undisguised desire,
holding her in place with a large hand wrapped around the back of her neck.

“Think
I’d sink us if I pulled you over here with me?” he muttered breathlessly
against her lips.

“Maybe.
But what difference does it make?” she whispered back. “When I’m around you, I
always feel like I’m drowning.” She made the admission with large, luminous
eyes. Her heart was thudding in a crazy tempo, thrilled with Travis’s surprising
show of passion.

“I
know that feeling, darlin’, all too well.”

Just
as he made his own raw admission, they hit a small rapid and their rafts jerked
apart. Travis went to the right, the waters carrying his tube further
downstream, while Kenzie derailed toward the shallow and rocky riverbed to the
left.

“Wait
for me!” she laughed as she guided her way through the partially submerged
boulders.

“Been
waiting for you my whole life, just didn’t know it.” He casually tossed the
precious words over his shoulder as he hit an unusually strong current and
floated even further away.

Thinking
she had surely misunderstood, Kenzie was determined to catch up and ask him to
repeat his statement; she would get out and wade the waters if necessary!

“Don’t
you dare leave me now, Travis Merka!” she called to him, half-laughing,
half-begging. “Things were just getting interesting!”

He
laughed as he watched her paddle toward him frantically. The sound was rich and
deep, filling Kenzie with wonder. It seemed the lazy river had cast a spell
upon the somber and reserved lawman, loosening his self-restraint and making
him more vulnerable. More human. Today she was seeing entire new faucets to the
man who had taken her heart.

She
finally caught up with him at an exit point in the river. As they scrambled out
of their tubes and up the banks to shore, Travis purposely kept one step ahead
of her. He brushed past a trio of teenagers entering the river at the same
point. Without waiting for her, Travis hurried onto the trail that ran
alongside the river, its pathway half-hidden by the thick trunks of age-old
bald cypress and pecan trees.

“Where
did you go?” Exasperation mingled with laughter as Kenzie struggled to keep up
with his long-legged pace. The trail curved with a bend in the river, and all
she could see was a tangle of cypress, willow and elm, interspersed with
bushes, vines, and gnarly roots. The inner tube she carried on her hip snagged
on a sycamore limb and she tugged it free impatiently, just as she caught a
glimpse of Travis’s long form, lounging against the thigh-high roots of a
massive tree trunk. Near the base of the tree, the roots flared out like wooden
chaises, their height perfect for even the long-legged Ranger.

As
she stepped over the maze of smaller tangled roots leading up to the ancient
cypress, he laughed and snagged her around the waist. When he tugged her close,
she fell ungracefully upon his long body. The moment their bodies touched, heat
flared between them. Neither was concerned about gracefulness. “What took you
so long?” he breathed, nuzzling her neck as laughter quickly turned to lust. 

The
raft fell from her hands as she melted into him, consumed at once by the fire
their bodies ignited. Three weeks apart had been too long. Even Travis, normally
so carefully in control of his feelings, seemed starved for the taste of her.
The rough scrape of his beard grated against tender skin as his mouth ravished
hers. Kenzie longed to feel the scrabble on other parts of her body, but the
wet bathing suit plastered to her like a second skin. The steamy fabric
intensified the heat of his hands as they roamed greedily over her.

He
had kissed her like this once before, in a cheap motel room in Wyoming. She had
offered herself to him that night, but his rigid morals kept him from accepting
her gift.
Would it be the same this time?
She managed a few coherent
thoughts as he swept her along in the frenzied flame.

There
was shuffling behind them, and the sound of snickers. “Dudes, get a room!” a
boy’s voice called as a small group of teens traipsed past them. One of his
friends offered words of encouragement, crude though they were, sending the
group into peals of nervous laughter as they went along their way.

Travis
groaned aloud. Kenzie half-expected him to thrust her away, angry and ashamed
of being caught in such a compromising situation. She was encouraged when he
only stilled his hands and leaned his forehead against hers, allowing them both
an opportunity to cool down, even though her body was still draped upon his.

“I
can’t believe I’m acting like a love-starved teenager,” he muttered, voice
still thick with need.

Kenzie
giggled, partially from pent-up frustration, partially from sheer joy. “I can’t
believe we were
caught
by teenagers!”

“Told
you back in Wyoming, my dating skills are rusty.” Another minute holding her
close, and then Travis was gently pushing her off him.

Allowing
her eyes to trail over him with a seductive grin, gaze lingering over his
tented swim trunks, Kenzie raised an eyebrow and drawled, “Oh, there is nothing
rusty on you, Stix.”

Red
stained his cheeks as Travis pushed himself off the tree and grabbed the
inflatable rafts to cover his state of arousal. “Let’s get out of here,” he
suggested gruffly, to which she laughed merrily.

It
was a long hike back to the car, giving them plenty of time to walk out their
disrupted sexual energy. When they finally reached the parking area, Kenzie
tossed him the keys. “Here, you drive. I have no idea where we’re going.”

“But
isn’t this a rental? I’m not on the contract.”

Kenzie
rolled her eyes as she opened the passenger door. “Don’t worry, you’re not
breaking any rules,” she assured him. “It’s not a rental. It’s my car.”

“Yours?”
He was clearly surprised, and looked around the car with renewed interest. “How
did the insurance company work so fast?”

As
Travis moved the driver’s seat back to accommodate his long legs and readjusted
mirrors, Kenzie hesitantly told him the truth. “Actually, it was a gift. From
Senator Harry Lawrence.”

Travis
turned his head to look at her with suspicion. “And why would the Senator give
you a car?”

“My
question, exactly. He claims it is because he feels somehow responsible about
Franks stalking me and trying to kill me. When he heard about my wreck last
week, he says he saw the opportunity to express his apologies. It came gift
wrapped in a huge yellow bow. And get this. That afternoon, a
second
car
showed up at our apartment, this one pale icy blue with a huge red ribbon. It
was for Makenna. Even though he’s never met my sister, he said he would be
remiss if he did not apologize to her, as well, since Franks held us both at
gunpoint and wreaked havoc on both our lives.”

“You’ve
got to be kidding me. A Senator buys a forty thousand dollar automobile for a
woman he barely knows, and another one for a woman he’s never met before? And
they’re not even in his voting district? He’s the Senator from Colorado, for
crying out loud. Why would he buy you and Makenna cars?”

“Beats
me. We both tried to refuse, but he wouldn’t listen. He said if we didn’t want
them we could donate them to charity, but the titles were already in our
names.”

As
Travis eased the smooth-handling car onto the highway, his face was still set
in a frown. “It’s a nice car,” he conceded. “Handles well, nicely equipped, sharp
looking. But it’s not normal for an elected official to buy such extravagant
gifts for women less than half his age. I still say the man is some sort of old
pervert.”

Kenzie
sighed. “At first, it was sort of creepy. But Craven says that the Senator is
‘very fond’ of me. And he’s never said or done anything inappropriate.”

“Except
request you specifically as the photographer in Colorado, invite you to his
home in New Hampshire where he treated you like the guest of honor, and buy you
and your twin sister fancy cars.”

“Well,
when you put it like that….”

“I
think you need to steer clear of the Senator, Kenzie. Something is not right
about all this.”

“I
don’t think it hurt matters any that, somehow, I may have unwittingly helped
his chances at getting the Presidential nomination. Instead of blaming him for
what Franks did, people seem to be sympathetic towards him.”

“If
he actually gets elected, what’s he going to do, buy you both a house?” Travis
muttered.

Kenzie
shrugged. “Who knows what people will think when the whole story is revealed?
He may not have been aware of what was going on, but what does that really say
about him? This whole scam was going on right under his nose for over twenty
years.”

“Have
you heard anything from Captain Ramirez on how close he is to releasing the
information?”