A Family Homecoming by Laurie Paige Page A

she concluded hotly.
    â€œI’m with the FBI,” Kyle said quietly.
    â€œWell, the FBI,” Lily Mae said, obviously flabbergasted at this piece of news. “Well, I never. The FBI.”
    Danielle clenched her hands together in her lap.She was mortified by her outburst. A large hand closed over hers and squeezed gently. She glanced at Kyle. He withdrew his hand, but his eyes stayed on her.
    His gaze roamed her face like a summer breeze, caressing her sweetly, conveying his thanks for her defense. The tension oozed out of her. She looked down, embarrassed but somehow glad…and maybe a little proud.
    â€œAre you working on the kidnapping case?” Lily Mae demanded, recovering.
    â€œI think that’s in good hands,” Kyle responded. “Shane McBride and Rafe Rawlings are on top of it. I’m home on an extended vacation.”
    Lily Mae’s face lit up. “Rafe Rawlings. Now there’s a story. Did you know he was called Wolf Boy because he was found in the woods when he was just a tadpole? Turns out he belonged to Lexine Baxter. Illegitimate, of course. She abandoned him, poor thing. But he was adopted by a local rancher, so it turned out all right in the end.”
    She continued the tale of how another rancher had been accused but acquitted of killing the man who had been Rafe’s father. Turned out Lexine had done that, too, although that had probably been an accident. And then there was the case of Clint Calloway who, it was finally discovered, was the illegitimate son of that old scalawag, Jeremiah Kincaid.
    Kyle frowned. “So how did Jenny McCallum get to be the Kincaid heir?”
    â€œOh, she was another of Jeremiah’s bas…” Lily Mae glanced at Sara, who had lost interest in the grown-up talk and was busy loading her fries withketchup. “She belonged to Jeremiah, too. Her mother died bringing the child to him. That’s how come Jessica and Sterling adopted her. Lexine tried to get rid of Jenny, too.”
    â€œMy heavens, she must have been the most terrible person in the world,” Danielle said, shocked.
    â€œBelieve me, there are others just as bad,” Kyle told her, his expression becoming harsh and forbidding.
    â€œLike the case you were on?” she asked, reminded again of his long absence.
    â€œYes, like that.”
    Danielle was aware of Lily Mae hanging on their every word and glance. No telling what stories the woman would be spreading about them after lunch.
    Not that it mattered, she reminded herself. This was but an interlude. Soon he would be gone again, out of her life forever. Except to visit Sara. When he had time. And that was the way she wanted it. It was.
    Lily Mae regaled them with other stories after that. Danielle only half listened, but Kyle asked questions and wanted to know about everyone in town. He was looking for clues, she realized after a while, as he encouraged the town gossip to divulge more.
    After the meal, Kyle drove Danielle and Sara to the grocery. Forcing a lightness he didn’t feel, he and Sara joined forces to buy every treat in sight. Danielle kept saying no. She gave in to chocolate cake, though.
    â€œMommy always had a weakness for chocolate,” he confided to Sara.
    Sara gave a little giggle.
    Danielle stopped dead in the aisle. Tears sprang into her eyes.
    â€œWhat?” he asked, alarmed.
    â€œIt’s Sara,” she whispered, watching as the child scampered ahead of them. “She laughed. It’s the first sound I’ve heard from her since she returned home.”
    â€œThat’s a good sign, isn’t it?”
    â€œOh, yes!”
    His heart contracted at the glow in her eyes. Once she had looked at him like that. Each time he came home, Dani had made him feel like a king. Suddenly he remembered something he wanted to do.
    Clearing his throat, he said, “Thanks for defending me at the café. That was kind.”
    Her retort was keen as a blade.