Ranger Guardian

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 refrained from chuckling. “No, baby girl. The doctors can fix this all up. And you’ll be as good as new.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.” She perfectly imitated her mother.

“I’ve been explaining that her arm isn’t a toy.” Kendall smiled.

“No throwaway arms,” he said.

Skylar Dawn dropped her head to Kendall’s chest. “Just close your eyes for a minute, sweetheart,” said Kendall. “I’ll wake you up when the doctor comes back.”

He placed a hand on Skylar Dawn’s back and could feel when her body relaxed into sleep. Nice to be a kid.

“What took you so long?” Kendall whispered.

He followed suit, whispering back his answer. “We were in west Fort Worth. I did ninety most of the way. Slate thought he was going to puke.”

“I just... I’m sorry about the wild message. The day care called without a lot of details. Then they told me I couldn’t use my cell phone back here. I should have had Mother call with an update. I know it scared you.”

“I’m good. All’s good.”

He listened to the details of Skylar Dawn climbing the section of the playground her age group wasn’t allowed on. One of the older girls—probably about five—had helped her. Skylar Dawn had fallen.

They whispered about the X-ray and doctor’s analysis. Just a hairline fracture, but they could go to the pediatrician for a cast in a couple of days.

The love Kendall had for their daughter radiated like sunshine. How awesome would it be to have another little girl as precious as this one?

The doctor came and went. Heath took Skylar Dawn from Kendall’s arms and cuddled her against his chest. Her head had a special baby smell that he especially noticed when she first fell asleep. It was something he already knew he’d miss whenever she got too big to be rocked.

“Hey, for a couple who never wanted children, I think we’re handling this pretty well.” Kendall smoothed Skylar Dawn’s hair while they waited on their release paperwork.

“Want to have a couple more?” he said, then gulped.

“What?” Kendall’s eyes grew big. “Where does this come from?”

“It was just a thought. I mean...I love you guys. I love our family. And you’re right. I think we’re pretty good at this.”

“I do, too.”

Were those tears?

“Honey, what’s wrong?” He opened his free arm and pulled her in for a hug.

Special Agent Kendall Barlow was full-blown crying, silent tears running down her face. And it took a lot—like the birth of their daughter—to bring them on. Heath never expected his spontaneous suggestion to affect her this way.

“I was... I was...” she tried.

“It’s okay, babe. Everything’s perfect the way it is. Nothing’s wrong with our family.”

“But I was just thinking the same thing, Heath. I’d love another baby.”

He kissed her. As much as he was able to with his arms full of their daughter.

“I am definitely looking forward to getting you home and getting this one in bed.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Kendall dabbed at her eyes. “We can’t start this afternoon, silly. I’m helping Jerry with his cyber-fraud case. It’s going to take weeks. Maybe months.”

“You want to wait?” He was surprised. Seriously surprised. And then an ugly voice shouted in his ear, How many cases will be more important?

“Whisper, please?”

“Sure.” He lowered his voice to match hers. “Why would finishing cases be more important? It’s not like you’ll still be trying to move up the FBI ladder.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Well, if you have another baby, aren’t you quitting?”

The words were there before he could mentally slap himself and stop them from forming. Mistake. It was the wrong thought to let out of his mouth.

“You want me to quit my job and stay home? What? Do you want me barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, too?”

He tucked his bottom lip between his teeth. He wasn’t going to say a word. Not a dad-blasted word. It wasn’t the time. It wasn’t the place.

Then she stiffened and pulled away from his arm.

Dammit.

“Kendall, we thought having any kids in day care whose parents are both in the line of fire wasn’t a good idea. It’s still not a good idea. But two? If you’re pregnant, they’ll call you out of the field anyway. Right?”

“For a few months. Just like last time. But I’m not going to give up my career. You stay home with the kids.”

“I worked hard to be a Texas Ranger.”

“And I worked hard to become an FBI agent.”

It was the loudest whispered arguing they’d ever done. It gave him a bad feeling, like something ominous was about to happen.

“Maybe we should talk about this at home.” He kissed his daughter’s forehead. “When the munchkin is in bed, we can list the pros and cons.”

“Or we could be honest with each other.”