The Girl from Her Mirror (Mirrors Don't Lie Book 1) (23 page)

Bob was pinned behind the steering
wheel, coffee beans raining down onto his head. Makenna managed to free herself
from the mess and hop a few feet away, well out of his reach. She looked back
and saw a security officer running toward them, followed closely by Hardin, who
was literally dragging the bald man along with him. Lisa was still squirming on
the floor, surrounded by a small crowd and at least one person in uniform. As
another officer joined the sprint toward them, Hardin thrust the bald man into
his path.

“Texas Ranger,” he barked. “Hold this
man in custody.”

Without the baggage of the hefty bald
man, Hardin easily outran the first officer and reached the wrecked cart well
before the others. Sweeping Makenna into his arms and pulling her trembling
body close, he tucked her against his right side. He presented on the left, his
voice harsh as he spoke to the man behind the wheel.

“Bob Lewis, you are under arrest for
kidnapping!”

Watching Hardin in motion left Makenna
in awe. She was filled with warring emotions of pride and fear.

There was no doubt Hardin Kaczmarek was
a highly trained professional. After making certain she was not injured, he
settled her into the nearest seat and went about the business of securing Bob
Lewis until the proper authorities arrived. With all three would-be kidnappers
detained and handcuffed, Hardin calmly and systematically helped the officers
understand the injustices involved. Makenna was fascinated with his stoic
facial expressions and body language; despite his casual attire, there was no
denying the hard edge of his professionalism and his no-nonsense approach to
the law. Even though he was not the officer in charge and was clearly out of
his jurisdiction, he possessed an air of command that garnered the respect of
his fellow lawmen.

Knowing that such a vibrant, masculine
male was attracted to her - more than attracted, if she dared to believe-
brought a peel of pleasure to her heart, a glow of pride to her cheeks. Knowing
that she lied to and deceived such an honest, dedicated man of the law sent a
ripple of fear down her spine, a stab of cold dread to her soul. How would he
react to the news she had been misleading him all this time? Could he ever
forgive her?

When paramedics arrived with two
stretchers, one for Lisa and one for her, Makenna protested. Lisa was still
wailing in pain, between adamant denials of any wrongdoing on her part and
accusations aimed at Makenna’s reckless driving. Makenna - with her injured
leg, black eye, re-opened and now bleeding elbow wound, bandaged foot and hand,
and all her various cuts and bruises - suffered in silence. She resisted when
the paramedics tried to treat her, until Hardin extricated himself from the
circle of lawmen and appeared at her side.

“Sweetheart, you need to have your leg
seen. You need stitches in your arm and maybe on your foot and hand. Go with
the medics.” His tone was gentle but firm as he squatted in front of her.

“I’ll be fine,” she denied.

“You can’t walk,” he reminded her. He
touched her face gently, his amazing blue eyes filled with concern. “Do this
for me. Please?”

Makenna knew that once she was admitted
to the hospital, her true identity would be revealed. She had to be the one to
tell Hardin, if there was any hope of him ever forgiving her. “Hardin, I-I have
to tell you something.”

He brushed his thumb over her cheek,
careful of the scratch running along its edge. “We have many things to talk
about, babe. There are so many things I want to say to you, tell you. But all
of that can wait. I need you well.” His voice dropped an octave, so that only
she could hear. “We have unfinished business, after all.” There was enough heat
in his gaze to steal her breath and hold it hostage.

When it released with a sputter, she
tried to make him understand the urgency of her request. “B-But-But I need -”

“I need
you
.” He silenced her
protests with his softly spoken words. His eyes glowed with promise. “I need
you healthy and well. Please, sweetheart, go with the paramedics. I’ll be right
there beside you, all the way.” The kiss he dropped on her lips was brief and
chaste.

“I-I guess,” she agreed reluctantly.

“Ranger Kaczmarek?” A policeman called
him, so Hardin gave her a last smile of encouragement and left her with the
medics as he stepped away.

An hour and a half later, Makenna was
dressed in a less-than-fashionable hospital gown, propped up on pillows in the
ER exam room. She had been poked, probed and prodded, and they hadn’t even
touched her leg, except for x-rays. Makenna knew that when the doctors and
nurses were through with her, law enforcement would take over. They would have
endless questions for her, she was sure.

When the curtain parted and she saw
Hardin step inside with a big smile and a small bouquet of flowers, her heart
melted. 

“How’s our patient?” he asked. He leaned
over the bed rail and kissed her gently.

“I hurt more now than I did when I came
in,” Makenna complained. “They insisted on scraping off most of my skin and
pouring pure acid into every one of my scrapes and cuts.”

Hardin chuckled. “I doubt it was quite
that bad.”

“Easy for you to say. You aren’t
sporting thirteen new stitches.”

“Ouch. Thirteen?”

“Five in my arm, two on my side, four on
my foot, two on my palm.”

“My poor baby,” he crooned, kissing her
again. This time his lips lingered.

“Hardin,” she whispered, moved by the
tenderness and the touch of desperation in his kiss. “I have to tell you
something.”

“I have to tell you something, too.” He
rested his forehead against hers, his warm breath fanning her face. “When I saw
you with them, being taken away from me… God, woman, I was never so scared in
my life. I was so afraid of what they might do to you.” His whisper was gentle
on her lips. “I was afraid of losing you.”

A tear trickled down her cheek. He
caught the salty drop with his tongue. She could taste it when he kissed her
again. “You already mean so much to me,” he whispered. “The thought of losing
you…” His kiss deepened, flavored by more of her tears and his own sense of anguish.
“Kenzie, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

His hoarsely whispered admission caused
her tears to fall harder. She pulled away, unable to meet his gaze.

He straightened, but not fully. “Too
soon?” he asked ruefully. “That was one of the things I was going to tell you
about myself. I tend to be a little … intense.” He searched for the right word.
“I’ve been called extreme, avid, even over-zealous at times. I prefer to call
myself passionate. When there’s something I want, something I believe in, I
don’t hold back. I don’t believe in halfway.” He took a tendril of her dark
copper hair and twirled it around his finger. “I understand if this is too
much, too soon. But I believe in us. I believe what we have is real. And when
it’s something as important as you and me, I can be a patient man.” 

Makenna managed to shake her head,
biting on her lip to keep it from trembling. “It’s not that,” she whispered. “I
know we’ve only known each other a few days, but - but I feel the same. But
there are things you don’t know about me. Major things.”

“I’m willing to dedicate the next sixty
or so years to learning every single thing about you, big and small.”

“You-You may not feel that way when you
hear what I have to say.” She took a deep breath of courage. “Hardin -”

Before she could continue, the doctor
chose that moment to step into the cubicle. “Hello there, Miss Reagan. I’m the
Orthopedic, Dr. Moran. How are you doing this fine morning?”

“I’ve-I’ve been better,” Makenna said,
darting a glance at Hardin. He had a slight frown of confusion on his handsome
face as he stepped back and made room for the doctor.

“I can imagine. It appears you took a
pretty bad tumble. Luckily, most of your wounds are superficial, except for
this leg. I have some good news and some bad news on that front.”

“And that would be…?”

“The bad news is, you do, indeed, have a
hairline fracture in your left fibula. The good news is, it won’t require
surgery. I think if you keep it elevated with plenty of ice to reduce swelling,
you should be fine with an air cast. It will give you the support you need to
keep from doing further damage. Stay off it for a few days as much as you can,
then you should be good to go. Check with your own doctor in about two weeks so
he can evaluate your progress. Any questions? Is this Mr. Reagan? Will he be
the one taking care of you?”

“Hardin Kaczmarek,” Hardin supplied,
extending his hand. “And, yes, I plan to keep a close eye on Miss Reese.”

The doctor frowned, glancing down at the
chart in his hands. “I’m a little confused. This says your name is Makenna
Reagan. Am I in the wrong room?” The doctor glanced around, clearly not
understanding the situation.

“No,” Makenna murmured softly. She
avoided Hardin’s eyes as she said spoke louder. “No, Doctor, you’re in the right
room. And yes, my name is Makenna Reagan.”

Makenna could feel the anger rolling off
Hardin. It came in waves.

If the doctor noticed the tension in the
room, he chose to ignore it. He gave her a few more instructions, told her
someone would be in to move her to the casting room, and then was gone. Only
then did Makenna dare to steal a glance at Hardin.

He was wearing his stoic officer face.
No emotion showed, not even in his eyes. That was what frightened Makenna the
most.

“Hardin, I can explain,” she whispered.

“Which part can you explain,
Miss
Reagan
?” He emphasized the name. “The part where you lied to me, and have
been lying for the entire week? The part where you lied to the police, told
them your name was Kenzie Reese? Why would you do that, anyway? Especially
given all the trouble your friend is in? Do you realize you were almost
drugged, almost
kidnapped
, because you were pretending to be someone you
aren’t?”

“You don’t understand. Kenzie is my best
friend. I would do anything for her. So when she was in a car wreck - the wreck
where your Ranger friend was injured - right before her plane left, she asked
me to take her place. This assignment was very important to her career, and -
oh, my gosh! Where’s her camera?” Makenna interrupted herself to look around
frantically for her friend’s fancy camera.

“I have it. It’s safely locked in the
car.”

“Good. Oh, and what about our luggage? I
guess it made the flight, even though we didn’t.”

“Taken care of.” He was obviously
irritated at her wandering thoughts. “You were trying to make me understand why
you’ve been lying to me all week?”

Makenna laid her head back on the
pillow, staring up at the white ceiling tiles. She was so tired, so weary and
exhausted, not to mention in significant pain. But she had to make Hardin
understand. He was too important to her. The entire story came gushing out of
her, mingling with her fears and tears.

“Against my better judgment, I agreed to
take her place on this trip and pretended to be her. But I felt so guilty about
it. That’s why I was so nervous on the plane. I just knew they were going to
catch me any minute, pretending to be someone I wasn’t. Do you think they’ll
press charges against me? Not that I don’t deserve it. I know what I did was
wrong. Especially lying to you. I’m so sorry, Hardin. I-I felt so horrible
about not telling you the truth. Everything I told you was true, everything
about the Reagan and Reese families was true, I just … switched perspectives. I
told it from Kenzie’s point of view. And then when all this crazy stuff about
Joseph Mandarino started to happen, I didn’t tell the truth because I wanted to
protect Kenzie. If everyone followed me to New Hampshire, thinking I was her,
at least she was safe. How could she defend herself, laid up in a hospital room
with a broken leg? And she truly has no idea who her father really is. I
couldn’t just throw her to the wolves.”

“You could have trusted me.” Finally,
there was some emotion in his voice; pain and betrayal.

“I should have,” Makenna admitted on a
whisper, rambling on. “But I foolishly listened to Lisa, and believed the worst
of you. And then I found out you were a Ranger, and I knew you would be duty
bound to uphold the law. I not only used her plane ticket, I pretended to be
her when I rented the car. I’m sure that’s some sort of insurance fraud or
something. And then when we were about to make love, and you called me the
wrong name… it nearly killed me. I’m sorry, I let you think you had hurt my
leg, but it was my heart that was hurting, and my conscience.” Tears streamed
down her face as she talked. “And then… and then you told me about the other
daughter, the twin, and I was so confused. How could I tell you who I was, when
I wasn’t even sure myself?”

“I don’t think I follow,” Hardin said
with a frown. She was talking so fast, it was hard to keep up.

“I’ve always known I was adopted. But I
never wanted to find my birth parents, because Madeline and Kenneth Reagan are
the absolute best parents in the world and I am so lucky to be a part of their
family. It never mattered to me, or to them, that we didn’t have a blood
connection. Somewhere in the back of my mind I was afraid something like this
would happen, that if I ever looked for my parents they might be terrible
people, so maybe it was best to just never know. But the cabin and the feeling
of deja vu and the game I used to play in the mirror…”   

She stopped to take a deep breath,
exhausted after her endless line of chatter. She would have continued, but
Hardin broke in, the light of understanding dawning in his eyes.

“You said you were like the same person,
split in two,” he murmured, recalling something she had told him. “You said you
were so much alike. You looked alike, sounded alike.” With a sense of
certainty, he nodded and said, “You’re the other twin.”

Makenna closed her eyes, still trying to
absorb the truth. “I never knew. Never even guessed. Seriously, Kenzie and I
can finish the other one’s sentence. We know exactly what the other is thinking.
People mistake us for sisters all the time. From the very beginning, we were so
close, and I knew I was adopted, yet it never occurred to me that we might
actually be sisters.”

“Of course not, if she thought she was
an only child,” he reasoned.

“But shouldn’t I have known? I feel like
I’m a terrible person, because I didn’t recognize my own twin.”

“A twin you never knew existed. Besides,
deep down you did recognize her. You’ve told me more than once that she is just
like a sister to you.”

Despite his own anger and
disappointment, Hardin was trying to make her feel better. Makenna’s heart
melted. He was such a good man. No wonder she had fallen for him so quickly.
She hoped his compassionate words meant they still had a chance, but right now
her thoughts were focused on her best friend. Her sister. “I can’t wait to call
Kenzie. To tell her!”

Before she could savor the anticipation
of that conversation, a nurse came in, followed by an aide. “Ready for a ride?
We need to take another x-ray, then get you fitted for a cast.” The pretty,
young nurse let her eyes trail over Hardin. “You can wait in the family waiting
room. She should be done before long.”

Hardin didn’t seem to notice the nurse’s
interest. He leaned over the bed, pressing the forgotten flowers into Makenna’s
hand, even as he pressed a hard kiss onto her lips. “This conversation isn’t
over,” he told her. “Makenna.”

Her name sounded wonderful upon his
lips, even if it was said in a tight voice. “Hardin?” she whispered. “Please
tell me you don’t hate me.”

He sighed, resting his forehead against
hers. “I don’t hate you, Makenna Reagan.”

They weren’t the words of love from
fifteen minutes ago, but they were hope. She was smiling as she was rolled from
the room, bed and all. She buried her face in her bouquet, touched by his
thoughtfulness.

Hardin Kaczmarek was an amazing man.

It was early afternoon by the time they
arrived at Makenna’s apartment. Even though a police officer accompanied her,
Hardin insisted on driving her home and helping her inside. He carried her
luggage, held the elevator for her, helped her manage with the bulky crutches
and air cast. He was the perfect gentleman, but he was careful not to touch her
more than necessary. Makenna noticed, and the fact broke her heart.

“Kenzie! Ken, I’m home!” she called as
she unlocked the door.

“On the sofa!” her friend called from
within the apartment.

Makenna turned to Hardin, uncertain if
he planned to come in or not. Without waiting for an invitation, he pushed the
door opened and carried her bags in.

“It’s about time you got home,
girlfriend!” Kenzie complained. “I’ve been going out of my mind, wondering - oh
my gosh! What happened to you? Why are you on crutches?” she cried when she saw
Makenna come awkwardly into the living room.

“I fell down a steep incline. Long
story.”

“Is it broken?”

“Hairline fracture, nothing as bad as
yours. How are you doing? Can I get you anything?”

“How?” Kenzie hooted. “Neither one of us
can walk and carry something at the same time! This should be hilarious!” As
she noticed the man standing behind her friend, his muscled arms easily sporting
a suitcase, camera bag and computer bag, her green eyes lit with appreciation.
“If he’s the cab driver, I won’t bother replacing my car!”

Makenna laughed. “Kenzie, this is Hardin
Kaczmarek. Hardin, my roommate, Kenzie Reese.”

Hardin deposited the bags and extended
his hand to the dark haired woman propped among pillows on the sofa. “Nice to
finally meet you, Kenzie. I’ve heard a lot about you.” His eyes darted to
Makenna for the briefest of moments, reminding her of all they still had to
work through.

“And I haven’t heard
enough
about
you,” Kenzie cooed, squeezing his hand. She, too, glanced at Makenna. “So he
knows?”

With a sigh, Makenna nodded. 

“Wow,” Hardin said, looking from one
woman to the other. “You two really do look a lot alike.” Kenzie’s eyes had as
much hazel in them as green, and her black hair had none of the copper tints
hidden within Makenna’s tumbling curls. But their pretty faces had the same
heart shape, their noses had the same tipped end. Even their smiles were alike,
although Kenzie’s was more flirtatious.

“That’s what everyone says, but just
wait till they see us now! We’re twins!” Kenzie grinned, pointing at both of
their broken left legs. 

“I think that’s my cue to leave,” Hardin
murmured, low enough that only Makenna could hear. “Where would you like me to
put your things?”

“Don’t worry about them, I can get
them.”

“Really?” he asked, eying her crutches.

“Okay, maybe I need help with the suitcase.
My room’s the one on the right.” She nodded to the hallway off the far wall.
“On second thought, it’s mostly Kenzie’s stuff, so take it to the one on the
left. Either way, it doesn’t really matter.”

“The other luggage arrived earlier,”
Kenzie informed her. “I still can’t believe you missed your flight.”

It had seemed the easiest explanation at
the time. As Hardin carried the small case to the bedroom, Makenna maneuvered
to the opposite end of the couch and eased herself down. She propped her foot on
the coffee table, alongside her roommate’s.

“Aren’t we a pathetic pair?”

“I told Linda she could stop playing
nurse as soon as you got home, but looks like I was wrong. Now she’ll have two
patients!” Kenzie laughed. Lowering her voice, she leaned toward her friend.
“Oh my gosh, Kenna, he is totally hot! You scored big time with him,
girlfriend.”

A look of uncertainty came across
Makenna’s face. Kenzie wanted to question her about it, but the man of topic
stepped out of the bedroom. Even across the room, his sculpted chest was easily
visible beneath his t-shirt.

Shaking his head with a reluctant grin,
Hardin came forward. “You two look pathetic. How are you going to function here
by yourself?”

“I’ll call my mom. She’ll be more than
happy to baby us for as long as needed,” Makenna said.

“Ooh, maybe she’ll make us some of her
homemade chicken noodle soup. And some brownies.” With a twinkle in her eyes,
Kenzie all but drooled. “Maybe this whole broken leg thing will be totally
worth it.”

Hardin laughed. “I think I’m going to
like you, Kenzie Reese,” he declared. His gaze slid to Makenna and he winked,
as if they shared a secret. She was more concerned about sharing a future with
him than a secret, but maybe this was the first step. “So until Wonder Mom gets
here, what can I get for you two lovely ladies? Something to eat, drink?”

Kenzie motioned to the array of snacks
that already littered the coffee table. “Our neighbor checks in on me every
couple of hours and keeps me fed. I’m good, but Kenna might need something.”

She needed a hug, but Makenna wasn’t
going to beg. “Water might be nice.”

“If you don’t mind me roaming around in
your kitchen, I’ll get you some.”

“Glasses are in the cabinet between the
sink and fridge.”

The moment he was gone, Kenzie turned to
her roommate. “Okay, what’s going on? I can see there’s definitely something
between you two, but you’re acting all weird. What’s up?”

Makenna sighed. “He’s having trouble
with the fact that I lied to him from the very beginning about who I really
was. He’s all about truth and honor. By the way, did I mention he’s a Texas
Ranger?”

Her eyes widened. “Baseball or law
enforcement?” Either was impressive.

“Law enforcement. So you can see where
he might have a problem with me impersonating someone else, especially since I
broke several laws doing it. Not to mention…”

“What? Not to mention what?” When she
stopped mid-sentence, Kenzie pressed her to continue.

“Before I told him the truth, he told me
he thought he was falling in love with me.” Tears glistened in her eyes as she
admitted the rest. “Since then, the closest he’s said is that he doesn’t hate
me.”