Page 16 of Christmas Homecoming Secrets
Kristy set the baby on his feet, and he went to Sasha and climbed on her back. “Horsey. Go.”
Sasha settled her head between her paws and Bryce thought the dog almost smiled. She loved kids. His sister loved kids.Herkids. A pang hit him. Ever since moving into his sister’s home, his vow to never have children kept slapping him in the face, making him wonder why he and Kristy had turned out to have such different views on their ability to raise children. “Hey, sis, could I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“How come you didn’t have any reservations about getting married and having kids?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?” She wiped the tray down while Bryce tried to think of a way to explain it. “I mean, motherhood comes so naturally to you. You’re nothing like our mother, and I don’t understand how that can be when you had no example of what being a good mother was supposed to look like.”
Kristy blew out a low breath. “But I did have examples.”
“Who?”
“Ladies in the church, people I worked with, friends.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just knew that our parents were the outliers, not the norms. I knew most people loved their kids and wanted the best for them—and I vowed if I ever had kids, I’d be the complete opposite of our parents and I couldn’t go wrong.”
He snorted. “Do the opposite? I suppose that makes sense in some weird way.”
“Of course it does.” She walked over to rescue Sasha’s fur from Liam’s mouth. “And if you ever have kids, you’ll be a great dad.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve watched you come to love my two. And you love your dog.”
“Dogs are easy to love. They don’t talk back.”
“True, but I still don’t think you have anything to worry about when it comes to fatherhood.”
“Well, it’s not like I have to worry about it anytime soon, but what if you’re wrong? What if there’s something lacking in me?”
She sighed and walked over to press a kiss to his head—much like a mother would. “I’m not wrong, but I guess that’s something only you can figure out.”
“That’s not very helpful.”
Kristy smiled. Then frowned. “I hope something turns up today on Frank. I’m worried about him.”
“Same here.”
“Tell Jade I said hi.”
“I will.”
Bryce tapped his thigh and Sasha rose to her feet. She followed him to his SUV, and he let her into the back seat. “Say your prayers, girl. We’ve got a friend to find.”
* * *
When Jade pulled into the parking lot of the shooting range, she was glad to see the Open sign flashing bright red. At the station, she’d written several reports and done some research on Tony Swift, giving him time to open the range before she swooped in to question him.
An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he’d opened the range a little over five years ago. He had no record and appeared to be an upstanding citizen. So why had he run last night?
Jade parked and climbed out of the cruiser, her gaze scanning the area.
The light gray pickup truck sitting in the spot near the door encouraged her to think that Tony was inside. She pushed through the barred glass door and let it shut behind her. Tony looked up from his spot behind the counter and for a moment, she wondered if he was going to take off running. Then he sighed. “What do you need Jade?”
“You hung up on me last night.”
“You called me at three o’clock in the morning!”
“And you left the house shortly thereafter.” Her unruffled responses seemed to worry him. “Wanna tell me why?”
