Light from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 3) (7 page)

He
tucked her into the car and she ran a last appreciative hand over the soft
leather. “I really like this car,” she murmured as he slid in behind the wheel.
“I think I may rent one of these while I wait to hear the verdict on my car.”

“I
could extend my contract, let you keep in for a few days.”

“That’s
sweet, but I can do it.” Kenzie tried to hide a sleepy yawn behind her hand.
“Sorry, I think my busy weekend is catching up with me.”

“At
least there’s a holiday weekend coming up soon. Big plans for the Fourth?”

The
pain that moved into her heart was almost physical. Before he had moved away,
she and Travis made plans. She would keep her end of the bargain, but she
doubted he would join her.

“I’ll
probably go to Hardin’s parents’ house. They have some sort of huge family
gathering every year. You?”

“The
Lawrences have invited me to spend the weekend with them, but I’m thinking of
going home to see my family.”

“You
should. Family is important.” She stared out at the state Capitol as they
passed by. The native red granite twinkled in a bath awash with light, but for once,
its beauty did not move her.

“Hey,
if you decide not to go to your sister’s fiancé’s, you could always go to
Colorado with me.”

Kenzie
smiled at the invitation. “Thank you, it’s nice of you to offer.” She hesitated
for a moment before saying softly, “Thank you for being such a good friend,
Craven.”

“My
pleasure.”

“And
thank you for having the good sense to turn me down earlier.”

“It
was hard to do, but we both know nothing would have happened tonight. When and
if you and I do get together, I don’t want there to be any doubts between us.
And definitely no regrets.”

Kenzie
smiled wanly, knowing she would have had both.  

They
said goodnight in the hallway. Kenzie invited him inside, but he cited his
early flight as reason to call it a night. His kiss was almost chaste as he
promised to call once he returned to Washington. As Kenzie watched him leave,
she wondered if she would really see him again in two weeks, or if he would cut
his losses and walk out of her life forever. The prospect was oddly depressing.

“You’re
back earlier than I expected,” Makenna said when she let herself into the
apartment.

“It’s
after ten.”

“I
know, but I expected you to stay out half the night. Have a good time?”

“Yes,
very nice.”

“You
seem a little down.”

“I
am.” She did not have to explain herself; her twin knew exactly how she was
feeling, and why.

After
a brief silence, Makenna made a hesitant announcement. “He called, looking for
you.”

“He
called me, too. I let it go to voice mail.” Her fingers traced her cell phone.
She had not listened to his message yet. “Where did you tell him I was?”

“I
just said you were out.”

“Thanks,
Kenna.”

“Are
you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m
not sure of anything right now,” Kenzie admitted with a weary sigh. “Except
that I’m tired. I’m very, very tired. I’m going to bed. Night, Sis.”

Makenna
frowned, not at all comfortable with this sad, solemn woman who inhabited her
sister’s body. “I hope you sleep well. Love you.”

“Love
you too.”

Closing
the door behind her, Kenzie leaned back against it. Part of her yearned to
listen to the message Travis had left. She ached to hear his voice. But the
defiant side of her, the side that rebuked rules and regulations and this crazy
concept they called love, urged her to stay strong, to resist the pull of
weakness. He had not bothered to call as he promised. He had waited three days.
She had shown remarkable control in letting his call go to voice mail earlier;
she could use just as much restraint in not listening to it until morning.

At
least if Travis Merka was going to break her heart, it was going to be on her
terms.

***

Marci
knocked on their apartment door early the next morning. “Sorry to come over so
early, but there’s something outside you need to see,” her friend announced.

“Can’t
it wait?” Kenzie moaned. Still in her pajamas, she had just started her second
cup of coffee.

“I’m
pretty sure you’re going to want to see this as soon as possible.”

“Alright,
already,” she complained. She did not bother to change out of her fuzzy
slippers. She wore a skimpy camisole top and capri sleep pants as she joined
her friend in the hallway. “Where is it?”

“Outside.
On the curb.”

“Oh.
Maybe I should put on more clothes.”

“You’re
fine. Come on.” Marci grabbed her hand and drug her toward the elevator. Makenna,
who went back for a robe, joined them just as the doors opened.

The
three rode the elevator down to the lobby of the apartment building and Marci
led the way out the front doors. She moved to one side as, with a sweeping hand
gesture, she drew their attention to the car sitting directly in front of their
complex. The dark metallic blue car looked remarkably like the one Craven had
been driving, but the huge yellow ribbon and bow encircling it were a new
addition.

“Who-Whose
is it?” Kenzie knew the answer, but she asked anyway.

“Well,
this was taped to your front door, so I’m guessing it’s yours,” Marci said,
dangling a key fob tied with a matching yellow ribbon.

“He
bought you a car?” Makenna murmured in amazement.

“I
can’t believe he would do this,” Kenzie breathed.

“I
can’t believe you let him leave!” her friend countered.

“
Why
would he do this?” Still in a daze, Kenzie had not taken the key from her
friend.

“Oh,
you know why, girlfriend. The man is head over heels in love with you.”

“But-
But he knows…”

“He
knows you need a car. And he knew how much you liked this one.”

“Travis
isn’t going to be happy about this,” Kenzie murmured worriedly.

“Travis?”
her friend cried in disbelief. “A smokin’ hot Craven Shaw buys you a car, and
you’re worried what
Travis
is going to think? I thought the two of you
broke up.”

“We
were never together to begin with.”

“Then
what do you care what he thinks? I mean, the guy is sexy as hell and he’s a
Ranger and all, but he’s moved on. And Craven bought you a
car
, Kenzie.”

“I
can’t be bought with gifts, Marci, even if they are forty thousand dollar
cars,” Kenzie snapped.

“Yeah,
he’d at least have to throw in some cinnamon rolls or something,” Makenna
murmured from beside her sister.

Kenzie
whirled on her, clenching her fists at her sides. “Whose side are you on,
anyway?”

Makenna
answered warily. “I-I didn’t know we were taking sides.”

“Well,
Marci clearly thinks I should choose Craven over Travis. And it sounds like
you’re agreeing with her.”

Makenna
did not point out that two days ago, Kenzie was begging her to give Craven a
chance. Clearly, her sister was very torn. “I was making a joke, Ken. And it
doesn’t matter what either one of us thinks. It only matters what you think.”

“I
think I’m going back to bed!” She whirled to march away, then stopped, whipped
back around, and snatched the key from Marci’s hand. With her nose held high,
Kenzie stomped her way back to the apartment building, her over-sized and fuzzy
house shoes slapping against the pavement as she went.

Despite
her claims of going back to bed, Kenzie was too upset to lie down. She tried
Craven’s number, only to get his voice mail. Thinking of another voice mail,
she played the one from Travis. Its brevity was like a knife into her heart.

“Sorry
I missed you, darlin’. I’ll try again later.” 

Angry
that the scales were tipping so far in Craven’s favor, she dialed his number
again. The moment he answered, she demanded angrily, “Why is there a car
sitting in front of my apartment with a huge yellow bow?”

“Because
I couldn’t find a red bow?” he offered.

His
innocent and humorous reply brought a groan from her lips. “Craven, why did you
buy me a car?”

“To
be perfectly honest with you, and as much as I would love to take credit for
it, the car is not from me,” he informed her. “It’s from the Senator.”

Kenzie’s
back stiffened. “And the Senator would buy me a car
WHY
?”

“He
knew you wrecked yours, Kenzie. And he still feels terrible about what happened
with Franks. He feels responsible for you being held at gunpoint and threatened
by his oldest and most trusted adviser.”

“So
he buys me a
car
? That’s ridiculous!”

“Not
really. He wants you to know how truly sorry he is that you were in danger.”

“It
wasn’t his fault. Not really. He was framed by Bernard Franks. And he lost his
hopes of the Presidency because of it.”

“Actually,
that may not be the case. He’s had an outpouring of support over the last few
days. It’s too soon to know, of course, until this whole thing with Franks
plays out, but right now polls are showing a strong sympathy vote.”

Bitterness
tinged Kenzie’s bark of laughter. “So this is a thank-you gift for boosting his
ratings!”

“Kenzie,
the Senator is very fond of you. He’s simply doing a good deed for someone he
cares about.”

“You’ve
made that statement before. Why is the Senator so fond of me? He hardly knows
me.”

“Believe
me, you’re a very easy person to care about.”

Kenzie’s
heart swelled at his words. Her mother always told her just the opposite.
Correction.
That woman
always told her just the opposite.

“When
the Senator found out I was coming to see you, he suggested I take you car
shopping. But when I saw how much you liked my rental, we decided to surprise
you with it. Please tell me you like it.”

“Craven,
I cannot possibly accept a car from Senator Lawrence!”

“It’s
a gift, Kenzie. Of course you can accept it.”

“No,
I can’t.”

“Well,
you’ll have to work out the details with the Senator. The paperwork is done and
the car is paid for. It’s legally your car, in your name.”

“Argh!”
Kenzie growled into the phone. “Goodbye, Craven!” Exasperated, she slammed down
the phone.

Makenna
knocked gently on her door and pushed it open without waiting on her reply.
“Ken? You okay in here?”

“No,
I am not okay. I’m mad. I’m mad that everything keeps changing and getting all
mixed up! I’m tired of my life being a roller-coaster ride. On Friday, someone
tried to kill me. On Saturday, I found out the woman I thought was my mother
really wasn’t my mother after all, and that my real mother is still out there
somewhere and I have no idea how to find her. On Sunday, someone tried to
seduce me with a cinnamon roll and came very close to succeeding, proving I am
pathetically weak. On Monday, I broke a man’s heart while another man continues
to break mine, plus some creepy guy was staring at me on the sidewalk. And now
on Tuesday, a United States Senator buys me a forty thousand dollar car because
he’s
fond
of me and I may have inadvertently boosted his political
career! No, Makenna, I am
not
okay!” she ranted.

“Calm
down, calm down. And slow down. First of all, you are not weak. A dose of
Craven Shaw and cinnamon rolls is a pretty potent combination for any woman,
especially someone in your emotional condition right now. But you were strong
and resisted, so stop beating yourself up. Second of all, what creepy man on
the sidewalk? And third, the car is from the Senator? How did you boost his
ratings?”

“When
we were in Fredericksburg, some guy was really watching us. I don’t know, maybe
he got his jollies from watching people kiss, but he looked oddly familiar, I
just couldn’t place him.” Kenzie got distracted, thinking about the strange
man. She missed Makenna’s arched brows at the mention of kissing Craven.
“Anyway, yes, the car is actually from the Senator. Supposedly, his way for
apologizing for Franks, but Craven also let it slip that the ordeal might be
gaining him a sympathy vote. I think Senator Lawrence has one of those slick
souls that nothing sticks to. He always manages to come out on top.”

“Well,
look on the bright side. At least you have a ride now!”

“I
was perfectly happy with old Myrtle. And I was just beginning to warm up to the
new car. I was even thinking of giving her a name. Now both of them are history
and there’s a forty thousand dollar car sitting outside in my name that I can’t
possibly accept.”

“You
do
need a car, Kenzie,” her sister said quietly. “Maybe you should be
gracious and accept his gift, extravagant though it may be.”

Kenzie
flung back onto the pillows, her hands going to her aching head. “Maybe I
really should just go back to bed!”