by Becki Willis
“I think she gathered the evidence to clear your name, as much as she did to clear his,” Makenna said. She reached a tentative hand out to touch her father’s knee.
Joseph’s eyes softened as he looked upon the daughter he had not seen in twenty-three years. “You are so like your mother,” he said, his voice choking with unshed tears. “Gentle, compassionate. Beautiful.” He placed his hand on top of hers and squeezed gently.
Watching the tender scene, Kenzie felt warring emotions rage within her.
Appreciation, that Joseph was creating a personal connection with Makenna, rather than making an intellectual observation.
Envy, that Joseph was sharing such a precious sentiment with her sister and not her.
Shame, because Makenna deserved this moment with their father, every bit as much as she herself deserved one.
Caught up in the battle of confusing emotions, Kenzie almost missed Joseph’s next words. “You are both so much like your mother,” he said. With his other hand, he reached for Kenzie’s fingers. His grip was surprisingly strong, and provided the balm her bruised heart needed. “Tamara and Tressa, my tiny treasures.”
A memory teased Kenzie’s heart. “You-You used to say that, didn’t you?” she whispered breathlessly. She had so few memories, she was afraid she might chase this fragile one away.
“Yes, while I bounced you each on a knee.”
“I don’t remember her,” Kenzie admitted brokenly. “I’ve tried so hard, but I don’t remember my own mother.”
“If I could change the past, Lady Girl, you know I would.” Her father’s voice was uneven with emotion. His grip weakened, and she thought she saw him age before her eyes. His shoulders slumped even more than before. “You deserved better than the life I gave you.”
Kenzie’s only response was a functionary nod through her tears. He was right; she had deserved better. She could not- would not - pretend otherwise. However, there was no reason to antagonize him further, and she still had questions.
“If-If you didn’t know about the evidence our mother gathered, how did that woman –Ellen- get the envelope?”
“I have no idea.” Joseph puckered his brow in a troubled scowl as a memory surfaced. “There was that one time… One day when we first arrived in Denver, I remember that Ellen went to the post office alone. She came back acting very odd. There was something in her manner, something that I still remember to this day, all these years later… I wonder if your mother mailed the envelope from Texas. She must have known she was being followed. She must have wanted someone to have the information, in case something happened to her.”
“She addressed the letter to Charlie.”
Joseph nodded. “We were to be the Sanders family there. A boy named Charlie and a girl named Carly. By addressing it to a son, she knew anyone finding the letter would never suspect our true identity. And by sending it ahead to Colorado, it was her way of saying something had gone wrong, that she would not be joining us.”
“What-What did you think had happened to me?” Makenna asked in a small voice.
His eyes were full of sorrow when he looked down at her. “I thought I had lost you forever, Tamara. I thought you were gone.”
Makenna wiped away the tears that streamed down her face. “I was raised by a wonderful family,” she assured him. “I had a happy childhood and a very stable life with a loving family.”
“I’m glad one of my girls had a good life. I’m only sorry Lady didn’t have the same good fortune.” His smile was sad as he looked first at Makenna, then Kenzie. A new light came into his eyes, edging away the sadness. Even the timbre of his voice changed. “You really do look so much alike. Yes, I think you must be half-identical. Polar body twins, I’m most certain.”
His sudden change of topics and concentration level drew a frown from Makenna. Kenzie was right; he was difficult to talk to, difficult to relate to. His genius put him on another wavelength, demanding his attention even amid the most personal of conversations. Or perhaps, she realized, that was his coping mechanism; when he grew uncomfortable with matters of the heart, he relied upon his analytical mind to rescue him.
Taking note of how Kenzie had broken through to him earlier and pulled him back on track, Makenna tried the same method. She touched his knee again and spoke firmly but softly. “Joseph. F-Father.” Only Kenneth Reagan deserved the revered title of Daddy. “I want to ask you something.”
“Yes, of course, Tamara.” To him, the auburn haired beauty was still his little Tamara. Her twin had been so many different people - Charlie, Amy, Shannon, Lisa, Jessica, Tara, and now Kenzie, just to name a few - that he no longer thought of her as Tressa; he thought of her as Lady, his resilient little trouper who played every role he ever asked of her. No matter what he called her -Lady Girl, Ladybug, Little Lady- he secretly thought of her as his Lady Luck.
“Would you consider talking with my fiancé, Texas Ranger Hardin Kaczmarek? Hearing your story, I have no doubt you were forced into the situation. If you turn state’s evidence, your name would be cleared and you could go into the Witness Protection program. You could have a normal life again.”
“Without Maggie and my little treasures, my life will never be normal.” His words were surprisingly sweet, hardly something within his usual character.
“It would be better than hiding out in a basement.”
He looked first thoughtful, then uncertain. For an intelligent man, he suddenly appeared so lost and confused that Makenna felt her heart go out to him. Even Kenzie was moved by his vulnerability. “Lady?” he finally asked, raising his lost gaze to hers. “What should I do?”
She knew what he was asking. Exoneration would mean forgiveness; was he worthy of either?
No matter how many times he had hurt her, no matter the nomadic life he had forced her into, no matter that he had lied to her about her mother and that woman… the fact was, he was still her father. The little girl in her, the one that still loved and needed her father, answered in a husky voice.
“I think we should call Hardin, Dad.”
***
With Hardin’s help, Joseph Mandarino and his daughters slipped from the basement hide-a-way, unseen and unscathed. Captain Ramirez personally drove them back to Austin, where the Mandarino family was tucked away inside a safe house for the next two days. Between questioning by the Rangers and the US Deputy Attorney General, the girls squeezed in questions of their own, most centered around their mother and their early childhood.
On the third day, Joseph was moved to an undisclosed location, and goodbyes were in order. Unsure if their paths would ever cross again, the final moments together for the Mandarino family were bittersweet.
“Tamara, it has been a true pleasure for this old man to get acquainted with such a fine, responsible daughter. Maggie would have been so proud of the woman you have become. Your parents did an excellent job rearing you with values and morals and proper manners.”
Makenna threw her arms around her father’s neck and hugged him. His surprise was only momentary, and then he was returning the embrace.
“I’m sorry we were cheated out of all those years together,” she whispered. “I’m sorry we lost your Maggie. She sounds like an amazing woman.”
“That she was.” He covered the crack in his voice by clearing his throat and forcing a bright tone. “Like mother, like daughters.”
“Be safe. Thank you for agreeing to testify, so that the guilty people will be properly punished.” Makenna moved away, wiping at the tears that spilled from her eyes.
“My only regret is that Bernard Franks was killed before he could be politically ruined. He deserved far worse than a quick, simple death.”
“I agree completely.” Makenna moved aside, allowing Kenzie to come face-to-face with their father.
“Lady Girl,” Joseph said, his throat thickening with true emotion. “My little Tressa, all grown up and so strong and brave.” His voice warbled and cracked. “I’m sorry, Lady. I’m sorry f
or what I put you through. I’m sorry for Ellen and I’m sorry for dragging you all over the country and I’m sorry for not telling you the truth about your mother and your twin sister. I’m not asking you to forgive me, Lady. I’m just asking you not to hate me.”
“I don’t,” Kenzie whispered, surprised to find that it was true. She made a hesitant move forward. He made an awkward move her way. They met in the middle, bumping elbows as they made a floundering attempt to hug. When they finally got it right, it was the sweetest and most poignant embrace Kenzie could ever remember. “I don’t hate you, Dad. I’m proud of you for doing the right thing.”
“And I am proud of you, Lady Girl of mine. You are such an amazing woman. I know I had nothing to do with that. I can’t take credit for your strength or your integrity. You learned those things yourself. You’ll have a fine future, Little Lady. You’ll make some lucky child a very good mother, just like my Maggie.”
“Daddy.” Kenzie choked out the word on a broken voice, thick with tears.
“Go, now,” he said. He hugged her hard one last time and set her away from him. His own eyes shimmered with tears. “Go have a fine life. Both of you. Every time you look into the mirror, I want you both to see your mother. Find the light. That light is a piece of her soul, shining through you. She loved you girls with all her heart.” Joseph stepped back, moving toward the door and the officials waiting on the other side. “Goodbye, my ladies. Tamara and Tressa, Daddy’s tiny treasures.”
With those softly spoken words, Joseph Mandarino stepped out of their lives. Again.
Chapter Thirty-One
“Where are you going so early this morning?” Makenna stumbled into the kitchen for a cup of life-restoring coffee, surprised to see her sister already dressed and eating a bowl of cereal.
“Kate called with an assignment. I’m going out early, before it gets too hot. You know what August in Texas is like.”
Fumbling in the cabinets for a coffee mug, Makenna nodded. “Hot and humid. I can’t believe I picked the most miserable month of the year to get married.”
“Let’s hope your flowers don’t wilt between the florist and the church.”
“You think you jest,” her sister muttered gloomily.
“You could always take Harry up on his offer to move the wedding to New Hampshire. Or Colorado, if you prefer. Come to think of it, you could even have it at their DC home, if you wanted to.” Kenzie frowned, her spoon suspended mid-air. “Four houses in three states is definitely too much.”
“But wasn’t the temperature great in Colorado this weekend? If Mom and Mrs. K hadn’t already gone to so much trouble, I might actually consider it.”
“I’ve seen the organized chaos they’re calling preparation,” Kenzie laughed. “Miles of tulle. Invitations to and replies from over three hundred guests. Enough food to feed the entire state. Frou-frou everywhere. Can you imagine trying to change all that mid-stream? It would be like stopping a runaway train with a yield sign.”
“And they are loving every single minute of it,” Makenna grinned, taking the seat opposite her sister. “Those two women are like two peas in a pod. Any hopes I had of a small wedding evaporated the minute those two heard we set a date. We keep telling them only close family friends, but since both our mothers have a habit of collecting family, it means the list is unending. Just yesterday Mom realized we hadn’t invited our preacher that moved away ten years ago. She put in an emergency phone call this morning, and now we have two more attendees.” She sighed, pushing aside a handful of curls and propping her forehead into her palm.
“Not to mention the dozen or so that plan to come from our most newly acquired set of relatives.”
Makenna brightened immediately. “I know, but isn’t it great? We literally just met our family, but I already like them so much! I can’t believe our uncles want to come to my wedding. And Shayla and her family? She just met me, but she’s willing to pack up her husband and two kids to come down to my wedding. It’s incredible.”
They had spent the weekend in Colorado, meeting their long-lost relatives. The ensemble included three uncles and their wives, seven cousins, four cousin-in-laws, and five children. With the exception of one reserved aunt and her daughter, all of their family had greeted them warmly and without judgment. They had been especially fond of their cousin Shayla, who was almost their exact age.
“It was something, alright,” Kenzie agreed, but her tone was slightly less enthusiastic. She was still overwhelmed with the realization that she now had family. It was no longer just her and her father and that woman; her cold, lonely family had been replaced by a noisy, boisterous clan of welcoming arms. She finally had the family she always craved, but it left her feeling oddly bereft.
Makenna sensed her sister’s mood and placed her hand over Kenzie’s with a little pat. “He’s going to be okay, Ken. He finally got out from under his connection to the mob. Going into WITSEC gives him a second chance at life.”
“Heaven only knows he’s a natural. Assuming a new identity is second nature to him,” Kenzie agreed. She pushed her soggy flakes around without attempting to eat them. “That’s not what worries me. And Lord help me, I thought I was through worrying over him… But seeing him again reminded me that even though he is a genius, he needs someone to watch over him. He’s too smart for his own good. He gets so focused on his work, he glosses over the mundane facts of life, things like eating and taking care of his health and remembering what day it is. For all her faults, at least- at least Ellen was always there for him. Without her, or us, he’s all alone.”
“Being a genius does seem to have its own set of misery. It amazed me how he could be talking normally one moment, then go off onto some deep theoretical tangent the next.”
Kenzie sighed. “Now you understand how difficult it was to have a father-daughter relationship with him growing up.”
“At least you got to see him again. I know that was one of the things that bothered you the most, leaving home without saying goodbye.”
“I finally feel like I have closure. That part of my life is finally done. And with him coming forward and giving testimony, even our part in the trials will be minimal. Now that we know what really happened to our mother, I can finally shut the door on the past and have a sense of peace. I still wish I could remember her, though.”
“Believe me, I understand. But now that the pain and anger have lessened, maybe the good memories will have a chance to come through,” Makenna said, patting her hand again.
“I hope so, for both of us. I’m just thankful the mafia has finally given up. Pretending to have killed our father when they took him into custody was a stroke of genius on the Rangers’ part.”
Makenna nodded. “We were just a stepping-stone to get to our father, so with him supposedly dead, there’s no reason to bother with us any longer. Which means no more looking over our shoulders and no more being followed. No more security detail, thank goodness.”
“Until our grandfather becomes the most powerful man in the United States, of course. I don’t care how much he downplays it, there will be no escaping the media and the Secret Service if he becomes President.”
“From the frying pan into the fire,” Makenna mumbled.
“I can’t believe when I finally get a family, it’s full of politicians!” Kenzie bemoaned.
“You might need to lighten up on Harry, you know. You gave him a pretty hard time this weekend over his Foreign Aid policy.”
“There is so much poverty and need in our own country I simply cannot fathom why we should give away millions of dollars to help people in other countries! We-”
As Kenzie quickly became indignant, Makenna put up a halting hand. “Forget I mentioned it. Save your arguments for the next time you and our grandfather see each other. After all, you two seem to enjoy bickering, almost as much as you and Travis do.”
Makenna regretted her comment immediately. At mention of the absent Texas Ranger, Kenzie’s green eyes turned
murky and her animated face stilled with deadly aplomb.
“Gee, I’m on a roll this morning,” Makenna chastised herself. “I’ve put both feet in my mouth. Just ignore me, I haven’t had enough coffee yet.”
“It’s all right, Makenna. I am fully aware of the fact that Travis has not called me in one week, three days, fourteen hours and eighteen - no, make that nineteen- minutes. He can’t hide behind the undercover case anymore, because that was done weeks ago. By now, it’s obvious that he just doesn’t have time for me.”
“Kenzie, I know he cares about you.”
“I know he does, too. Just obviously not enough.” She blew out a long, sad breath of resignation. Getting to her feet, she pushed her chair under the table with an air of determination. “And you know what? I deserve better. I spent my entire childhood in the background, trying not to be seen, trying to earn love by the things I didn’t do. As an adult, I felt compelled to draw the spotlight. I wanted people to see me, to appreciate me and love me for the things I did do. I tried to be brilliant, I tried to be fun, I tried to be obvious.”
“And now?” Makenna asked softly. “Now that you’re so old and wise, what is it you’re trying to accomplish? You are an amazing person, Kenzie. Smart and talented and warm. You don’t have to work at making people admire you. Or love you. It’s pretty impossible not to, actually. And please don’t give me some silly notion about forcing yourself to fall in love with Craven.”
“No, even I see how foolish that was. And from the looks of it this past weekend, I sensed something brewing between him and our cousin Natalie.”
“Does that upset you?”
“Not really. I do love Craven, but it’s a different kind of love. He’s been a good friend and I wish him happiness, even if it’s with someone I know and happen to be related to.” Kenzie reached for her camera bag and slung it onto her shoulder. There was a light of determination in her eyes, a ring of confidence in her voice as she made her next declaration.