MIRROR IMAGE

CHAPTER NINE

"Are we boring you, Tate?"

Guiltily, he glanced up at his campaign manager. "Sorry." Tate, acknowledging that Eddy had every right to be perturbed with him, cleared his throat and sat up straighter in the leather easy chair. He stopped mindlessly twirling a pencil between his fingers.

They were spending the day at home, holding a powwow to outline campaign strategy for these last few weeks before the primary.

"Exactly where did you drift off?"

"Somewhere between El Paso and Sweetwater," Tate answered.  "Look, Eddy, are you sure that sweep through West Texas is essential?"

"Absolutely essential," Jack chimed in. "With the price of Texas crude where it is, those folks out there need all the pep talks you can give them."

"I'll tell it like it is. You know how I feel about false hopes and empty promises.''

"We understand your position completely, Tate," Nelson said. "But Senator Dekker is partly responsible for the fix the oil business is in. He favored that trade agreement with the Arabs. Those unemployed roughnecks need to be reminded of that."

Tate tossed the pencil onto the conference table and stood up. Sliding his hands into the hip pockets of his jeans, he went to stand in front of the window.

It was a spectacular day. Spring was still a fledgling chick, but redbud trees and daffodils were blooming. Grass in the pastures was gradually turning green.

"You don't  agree  with Nelson's  observation?" Eddy asked.

"I agree wholeheartedly," Tate replied, keeping his back to them. "I know I need to be out there citing Dekker's bad judgment and doling out optimism, but I also need to be here."

"With Carole."

"Yes. And with Mandy."

"I thought Mandy's shrink said all she needed was time, and that after Carole returned home, Mandy would naturally improve," Jack said.

"She did."

"So, whether you're here or not won't matter a whole hell of a lot to Mandy. There's not a thing you can do for Carole, either."

"I can be with her," Tate said impatiently.  Feeling defensive, he turned to face them.

"Doing what? Just standing there and staring at those two big, bruised eyes," Jack said. "Jesus, they give me the creeps."

Tate's face grew taut with anger over his brother's insensitive remark.

"Shut up, Jack," Nelson snapped.

Tate said crisply, "Just standing there staring might be all I can do for her, Jack, but it's still my responsibility to do it. Didn't I make that clear to you weeks ago?"

With a long-suffering sigh, Eddy lowered himself into a chair. "I thought we had all agreed that Carole was better off in that private clinic than here at home."

"We did."

"She's treated like royalty there-better than she was in the hospital," Jack observed.  "She's looking better every day. I was just kidding about her eyes. Once the redness goes away and her hair grows back, she'll look great. So what's the problem?"

"The problem is that she's still recovering from trauma and serious physical injury,'' Tate said testily.

"No one is arguing that point," Nelson said. "But you've got to seize every opportunity, Tate. You've got a responsibility to your campaign that can't be neglected any more than you can neglect your wife."