Break the Silence (Detectives Kane and Alton)

“Great!” Emily grinned. “I’ll help Jenna. Julie will help with the girls.”

“Oh, all right.” Julie waved Anna’s friends toward the corral.

As Jenna followed, holding Anna’s hand, the little girl lifted her big blue eyes to her. “Can I ride with Uncle Dave? My friends can all ride and they’ll be fine on the ponies.”

“Not this time; you’ll be staying inside the corral with your friends.” Kane took Anna’s other hand. “But I’ll walk beside you if you like.”

“I can ride your horse on my own?” Anna’s eyes rounded.

“No need, look.” He pointed to the stables as Atohi led out a magnificent paint pony. “Happy birthday, Anna.”

The little girl’s face lit up with so much joy, tears pricked the backs of Jenna’s eyes. Wolfe moved beside her and she turned to look at his reaction. “I think she likes her present.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her that happy. Thank you. I appreciate it more than you know.” Wolfe rubbed his hands together. “I’ll get the fire going for the barbecue.”

Under the guidance of Julie, Atohi, Rowley, and Sandy, the procession moved off around the corral. Jenna went to stand beside Kane and smiled at the way Duke leaned against his leg, his eyes closed. The kids had worn out the dog already. She mimicked Kane’s pose of one foot on the bottom rung as they watched the little girls. “I knew when I woke up this morning it would be a special day. This is like having a real family.”

“Yeah, it is.” Kane slipped his arm around her waist. “People say you can’t pick your family but I figure ours turned out just fine.”