Free A Family Homecoming by Laurie Paige

having a girl?” Kyle asked.
    â€œYes. We saw her on the sonogram.”
    Kyle frowned. “Did you have one of those?” he asked, his deep-blue gaze on Danielle.
    She nodded.
    â€œWhy didn’t I know about it?”
    â€œYou were on a case, remember? It was the time you went to the Pentagon to talk to someone about the quasi-military group that had bought a place up in the mountains.”
    â€œDid you know Sara was a girl?”
    â€œYes. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help looking while the doctor checked her out. She was sucking her thumb. I have a picture of it. I didn’t show it to you when you got home because…”
    â€œBecause?” he said, his voice dropping to a deep, quiet level that caused a hitch in her heartbeat.
    â€œWell, I didn’t think men were interested in things like that.”
    â€œI think men are more interested than you women give us credit for,” Shane told her. “We just have to be careful and act like we’re not impressed, else yougals might think we’re mushy and wimpy and all that.”
    That drew another laugh. The conversation moved on to other topics like the town and the weather after that. Later, when everyone was relaxing over coffee in the living room, Sara came and sat in Danielle’s lap. Jenny sat beside her father.
    â€œI came here for the peace and quiet of the town,” Angela said when Kyle asked about her coming to Whitehorn. “Little did I know.” She shook her head and glanced at Sara.
    â€œThe two men in the parking lot wanted to know about some money your…uh…late husband had?” Kyle asked.
    â€œThey wanted to know where the money was. They said Tom had it and I had better hand it over. I can’t imagine what they were talking about. The business was nearly broke, I discovered after his death. I don’t know what he was mixed up in, but those men…well, they scared me.”
    â€œYou didn’t recognize either of them?”
    â€œNo, they wore ski masks over their faces. They were dressed in jeans and winter coats. I have no idea who they were. Maybe I was a case of mistaken identity, too, the way Sara was because she was wearing Jennifer’s coat.”
    Shane took her hand when she sighed, her face puzzled and troubled by the strange happenings.
    Danielle felt Sara stiffen slightly. Glancing down, she saw the child wasn’t asleep as she’d thought, but was watching Angela, her blue eyes filled with fear. Danielle experienced once again the helplessness she’d felt upon learning Sara had been kidnapped.Not even the gun in her purse—and yes, she was licensed to carry it—offered her any comfort. What chance did a lone woman and child stand against two hardened criminals?
    Sometimes, usually late at night when she couldn’t sleep, she doubted herself as a woman and a mother. Her husband had essentially abandoned her and their child, putting his case before their happiness. She couldn’t seem to break through her daughter’s fear and get her to talk. Maybe it would never happen.
    Kyle laid his hand on her arm for a second, then moved on to Sara. The five-year-old’s hand looked so tiny in his. She watched as Sara hesitated, then closed her fist around his thumb and held on, her manner slightly wary, but at the same time, trusting. She saw Kyle swallow hard and blink the sudden sheen from his eyes.
    Her own smile trembled as she welcomed this first, tiny gesture of confidence toward a male that Sara had displayed since the kidnapping. Danielle turned her attention back to the conversation, which was still on the scuffle in the parking lot that occurred prior to the men grabbing Sara.
    â€œI’ve wondered whether Tom’s partner had anything to do with those men,” Angela was saying. “He disappeared after Tom’s accident, leaving me to straighten out the mess at the office and close the business