Mirror Image

haunting question persisted: Did she want the truth to be revealed?
    She had arrived at no definite answer. For the time being, what difference did it make who they perceived her to be? She couldn’t alter fate. She was alive and Carole Rutledge was dead. Some cosmic force had deemed the outcome of that plane crash, not she.
    She had tried desperately, with her severely limited capabilities, to alert everyone to their error, but without success. There was nothing she could do about the consequences of it now. Until she could use a tablet and pencil to communicate, she must remain Carole. While playing that role, she could do some undercover research into a bizarre news story and repay Tate Rutledge for his kindness. If he believed that Mandy would benefit from seeing her “mother,” then Avery would temporarily go along with that. She thought the child might be better off by knowing the truth of her mother’s death right away, but she wasn’t in a position to tell her. Hopefully, her appearance wouldn’t frighten the child so badly that she regressed.
    The nurse adjusted the scarf covering her head, where her hair was still no more than an inch long. “There. Not bad at all,” she said, appraising her handiwork. “In a couple more weeks, that handsome husband of yours won’t be able to take his eyes off you. You know, of course, that all the single nurses, as well as a few married ones,” she amended dryly, “are wildly in love with him.”
    She was moving around the bed, straightening the sheets and fussing with the flowers, pinching off blooms that had already peaked and were withering.
    “You don’t mind, do you?” she asked. “Surely you’re used to other women lusting after him by now. How long have y’all been married? Four years, I believe he said when one of the nurses asked.” She patted Avery’s shoulder. “Dr. Sawyer works miracles. Wait and see. Y’all will be the best-looking couple in Washington.”
    “You’re taking a lot for granted, aren’t you?”
    At the sound of his voice, Avery’s heart fluttered. She looked toward the door to find him filling it. As he came farther into the room, he said to the nurse, “I’m convinced that Dr. Sawyer can work miracles. But are you that sure I’ll win the election?”
    “You’ve got my vote.”
    His laugh was deep and rich and as comfortable as an old, worn blanket. “Good. I’ll need all the votes I can get.”
    “Where’s your little girl?”
    “I left her at the nurses’ station. I’ll get her in a few minutes.”
    Taking his subtle cue for what it was, the nurse smiled down at Avery and winked. “Good luck.”
    As soon as they were alone, Tate moved to Avery’s side. “Hi. You look nice.” He expelled a deep breath. “Well, she’s here. I’m not sure how it’ll go. Don’t be disappointed if she—”
    He broke off as his eyes flickered across her breasts. She didn’t adequately fill the bodice of Carole’s nightgown, modest as it was. Avery saw the puzzlement register on his face and her heart began to pound.
    “Carole?” he said huskily.
    He knew!
    “My God.”
    How could she explain?
    “You’ve lost so much weight,” he whispered. Gently, he pressed his hand against the side of her breast. He looked over her body. Avery’s blood flowed toward the contact of his hand. A small, helpless sound issued out of her throat.
    “I don’t mean to imply that you look bad—just… different. Stands to reason, I guess, that you would lose several pounds.” Their eyes met and held for a moment, then he withdrew his hand. “I’ll go get Mandy.”
    Avery took a deep breath to steady her jangled nerves. Until now she hadn’t realized how unnerving the discovery of the truth was going to be to both of them. Nor had she realized how far her feelings for him had extended. His touch had left her insides as weak as her extremities.
    But she didn’t have the luxury of letting her emotions crumble now. She braced herself for what was to come. She even closed her eyes, dreading the horror she would see on the child’s face when she first looked at her disfigured “mother.” She heard them enter and approach the bed. “Carole?”
    Slowly, Avery opened her eyes. Tate was carrying Mandy against his chest. She was dressed in a white pinafore with a navy blue and white print dress beneath it. Her legs were encased in white stockings and she had on navy leather shoes. There was a cast on her left arm.
    Her hair was dark