Prologue

      Eight Months Ago

      Heath Murray rushed through the emergency room doors. Yes, he’d used the entrance for the ambulances. Yes, he’d parked his truck next to the building, practically on the sidewalk. And yes, he’d taken advantage of having the Texas Ranger badge he carried.

      What did anyone expect? His three-year-old daughter was there. It was the only thing he knew for sure. The message from his wife had stated only what hospital they were heading to.

      Life was good. Life was perfect. He couldn’t imagine life without his baby girl, Skylar Dawn, in it. He couldn’t imagine life without his wife, Kendall. Six years ago, if you’d asked him if his life would be full of anything except law enforcement, he would have answered no.

      Now?

      Life was full of pink frills and satin sun dresses. Along with brand new ponies—plastic and real. And all the disagreements about whether Skylar Dawn was old enough to own a pony. Yep, life was full, and he was blessed several times over.

      He rushed to his mother-in-law, who stood up from a waiting room chair. Her eyes were red but not swollen. Her old-fashioned handkerchief was twisted and streaked from her mascara. She looked like she’d been pulled straight out of a church service, but Naomi Barlow looked like that every day. And she didn’t go to church.

      “Where is she?”

      “Kendall is with her. She’s going to be fine. It’s not a break that will require surgery.”

      “What kind of an accident were they in?”

      “Accident? Did you think they were in a car accident?” Kendall’s mom asked, then laughed.

      What the hell? Why was she laughing?

      “Where are they?”

      “Oh, honey, you poor thing. Skylar Dawn just fell on the playground at day care. That’s all. She’ll be fine.” Naomi’s eyes darted toward a set of double doors. “Only one person can be in the room with her.”

      He didn’t need her response. What he did need was for the attendant to open the doors from the other side.

      “Excuse me.” He headed straight to the front desk and flipped his badge so the person at the window could see it. “I need to get through.”

      “May I see your credentials?”

      Heath shot his ID through the slot and managed to keep his toes from tapping the linoleum while he waited. “Thanks,” he added politely to the man whose turn he’d interrupted, then paced back to his mother-in-law and handed her his keys. “Give these to the green-faced Texas Ranger who comes inside in a minute. My partner, Slate Thompson will take my truck home.”

      “Here you go, sir. I can buzz you through now.”

      He heard the door lock open and hurried to pull on the handle, but it opened at a snail’s pace on its own. He rushed down the hall, glancing through the small windows. Then he heard her.

      A quiet, polite cry for a child of three.

      He rounded a corner and took a deep breath. Okay, they really are all right. He hadn’t processed that information when Naomi had told him. He couldn’t believe it until he’d seen with his own eyes.

      So he took a second. They’d be upset as it was. He didn’t need to add to the situation by not appearing calm. He shook his shoulders, slowed his racing pulse, became the dad instead of the Ranger who’d driven ninety across Dallas to get here.

      “There they are.” He thought his voice sounded excited to see them, instead of like the frightened-to-death man who’d just had his heart ripped from his chest.

      “See, I told you Daddy was on his way.”

      “Daddy!” Skylar Dawn tried to lift her free arm to him. “I want Daddy.”

      “It’s better if you stay where you are, baby. Mommy’s got you.” He honestly didn’t think his shaking arms could hold her steadily.

      Kendall tilted her cheek up for a kiss. He rubbed Skylar Dawn’s strawberry blond hair. One day it would be as thick as her mother’s and out of the small pigtails.

      “How ’bout I sit down here so you can see me?” He sat on the floor, pulling himself close to his wife and daughter, just about ready to cry from the gratitude he felt at them both being alive and safe.

      There was no tension in Kendall. She seemed far calmer than her message had implied. She mouthed, “Sorry.”

      His wife could probably tell how frantic he was. She’d always been good at picking up on the nuances that gave away his emotions. In fact, she was practically the only person who had ever been able to see through the wall he’d built.

      A wall that had been breached several times over by Skylar Dawn.

      “Let me see.” He leaned closer and puckered his lips for a loud smack without ever touching the skin of her arm. “Does that feel better?”

      Skylar Dawn shook her head. “I broke it, Daddy. Does that mean we have to throw it away?”

      He