Page 47 of Their Wicked Games

SUNDAY, THE FOLLOWING WEEK

It had been another busy week, tying up loose ends in the murder case. Bill Ripley’s bolts had traces of Zoe Ward’s DNA, and after being confronted by the information and Davis’ confession, Ripley made a deal to give evidence against his friend and Jimmy Two Cents. It seemed that Jimmy Two Cents would be losing his inmate trustee privileges and be charged with his involvement in the crimes.

To everyone’s relief, Rowley was home from a week stay in the hospital. He would be remaining at home for five weeks to recover before he started physical therapy. To make sure he was mentally okay, Jenna had asked Jo to go and see him, to have a talk about what had happened rather than send him for a psych test. She’d reported back that, in her opinion, he hadn’t suffered mentally during his ordeal and mentioned how well Kane had prepared him for the situation. Kane being Kane had hired Rowley a ranch hand for six months to help out. The young man was looking for work between rodeos, so it worked out fine for everyone.

Sunday at home was a luxury Jenna enjoyed. It was their time together. They went riding or just lazed around watching TV, but this time, Jenna sat beside Kane as they roared up the highway to visit the res and their good friend Atohi Blackhawk. The talk of puppies was a hot topic and they weighed the pros and cons of taking one home. When they arrived at the res and made their way to Blackhawk’s cabin, Jenna noticed a boy sitting on the steps playing with a toy truck. She bent to smile at him. “Hello, I’m Jenna. Is Atohi at home?”

The boy looked up at her and his golden eyes startled her. It was like looking into the eyes of an eagle.

“He’ll be along soon. He said you’d be coming.” The little boy slipped his hand into hers and smiled. “Are you my mommy?”

Before she could reply, Blackhawk walked onto the stoop. She smiled at him. “Morning. It’s good to see you again.”

Beside her Duke went into his happy dance at seeing Blackhawk. The dog’s entire back half wiggled and his thick tail windmilled with excitement. When Blackhawk bent to pat him, Duke licked his cheek, something she’d only ever seen him do to Kane.

“Are you my daddy?” The little boy looked up at Kane and grinned. “You are big and strong like a bear. I think you must belong to me. I am big and strong.”

“You are indeed.” Kane ruffled his hair and grinned at him. “That’s a fine truck you have there.”

“This is Tauri.” Blackhawk looked straight at Jenna and his dark brown eyes twinkled as if he was carrying a secret. “His eyes are remarkable, don’t you agree? His name means ‘young eagle.’ He has only recently arrived and is staying with me.” He indicated to an outbuilding. “The pups are in the barn.”

The small hand was warm and dry against her palm as Tauri led her to the barn. His hair was dark brown with streaks of gold like sunlight through a forest. The child mesmerized her and she caught Kane staring at him. She wondered why he’d asked about his parents but didn’t like to ask Blackhawk. It wasn’t her place to pry. As they stepped inside the barn, the smell of fresh straw, horses, and puppies greeted her. She moved closer and, in a rush of wet noses and wiggling fat bodies, the puppies rushed to the edge of the stall. The mother, still heavy with milk, stood and looked up at her and yawned. Jenna lifted up Tauri so he could see. “Oh, they are beautiful.”

“Will the bitch see Duke as a threat?” Kane picked up Duke and let him see the puppies.

“Nope.” Blackhawk smiled. “They are good friends. Before you decide on a pup, come inside, I would like to talk with you. I have fresh coffee brewing.”

Concerned something might be wrong, Jenna nodded. “Sure.” She followed Blackhawk back to the house.

Inside, Blackhawk’s mother smiled at them and hurried out the door, taking Tauri with her. Jenna sat at the kitchen table as Blackhawk poured coffee. She exchanged a glance with Kane, who shrugged. She hoped all was well. “Is something wrong?”

“Not exactly.” Blackhawk sat at the table and met her gaze. “It’s Tauri. He doesn’t want to be here. He says we’re not his people, but it’s obvious he carries our blood. He has a mysterious background and was delivered here by a social worker as his last hope. He has no parents and has been tossed from one foster home to the other since birth. He looks six but is only four. He can use a computer, and videocall on a smartphone. He is way ahead of any child I’ve ever seen. He insists his parents are coming here today.” He indicated to a calendar on the refrigerator with days crossed out. “He started that when he arrived.” He sighed. “This morning he packed his backpack and has been sitting on the steps watching the road.”

“Where did he come from?” Kane frowned. “What’s his background?”

“His mother identified as white. She gave birth at home and died shortly after. She had no ID and was buried as a Jane Doe.” Atohi frowned. “No one claimed him. It took them four years to discover the mother owned artifacts from our tribe, but we don’t know of her family. Her line is untraceable but a neighbor said she wore a silver bangle many years old and went by the name of Laura. After the birth, she must have known she was dying and laid the bangle in his crib. It had the name Tauri engraved inside and that is what they called him. When they came to us, they made it clear, we take him or he faces a life in foster care. His father is unknown to us, but we used his DNA to conduct a search. We have discovered a name, her father was in the military, and I understand Wolfe has connections and perhaps Carter. You might be able to convince them to help us find his family?”

Jenna nodded. “Of course, we’ll help. What information do you have?”

“Only one name on a family tree database but our search ended there. It is a very distant relative.” Atohi slid a piece of paper across the table. “Annie Parkes. This lady was searching for her family tree. She opened an account in DC and then vanished. I found an obituary for her last week. She was our only hope. The boy refuses to settle here or accept us as his family.”

Shocked, Jenna stared at Kane, who stood and walked out of the room. The name scrawled on the scrap of paper was the name of Kane’s wife who’d died in a car bombing along with his unborn son. There could be no doubt. Blackhawk had listed her parents and grandparents.

“Oh, I have upset you.” Blackhawk covered her hand. “It was not my intention.” He glanced at the door. “Dave is acting strange too. Do you know this woman?”

Jenna shook her head. “Me? No. I’ve never met her.” She swallowed the shock. She needed to speak to Kane. “Dave might have but he was injured in a gunfight last week. He probably just needs to stretch his legs. I’ll go talk to him.”

When she walked outside. Kane was sitting with Tauri and then he picked him up and showed him the Beast. When he was through, he placed the little boy into Blackhawk’s mother’s arms and walked toward the barn with Jenna. She looked at his face. His expression was a mixture of confusion and joy. “Talk to me, Dave.”

“Annie’s folks are dead. I’m her only living next of kin. There’s no one else, Jenna.” Kane rested his hands on her shoulders. “That boy is the only living part of her left on this earth. It may be from a hundred years ago, who knows, but with all the woo-woo you believe in, don’t you think that the planets aligned or something to bring us here today to meet that child?”

Jenna swallowed hard. “You want to adopt him? You’re not saying this because you figure he’ll replace the son Annie was carrying, are you?”

“No, not at all.” Kane pushed a hand through his hair and then cupped her cheek. “I know you want our baby but maybe someone up there has given us a compromise. That little boy needs a home and we desperately want a child. We’d need to foster him first and go through the hoops before they’ll allow us to adopt him, but being law enforcement officers I think we’ll be okay. We also have Atohi to assist us regarding his cultural heritage. I’m sure he’ll want to be involved.” He gave her a long look. “Just think about it, okay? No pressure.” He turned and walked away.

Jenna stood leaning against the stall, with the puppies snuffling behind her. She’d come for a puppy and was now contemplating adopting a son. She shook her head.Contemplatingwas the word. Usually so decisive, she stared out the door as Kane disappeared inside the house. She walked across the dusty yard and took the steps. A small hand slipped into her own and she held it gently and looked into intelligent eagle eyes. Her heart swelled as if she’d made an unbreakable connection. “I guess we’d better go inside.”

In the kitchen, she nodded to Kane and he leaned forward and kissed her. She sat at the kitchen table pulling Tauri onto her lap. The little boy leaned into her as if he belonged. She bent to smell his hair. The scents of sunshine and the forest filled her nostrils. She looked at Blackhawk, whose eyes danced with happiness, and smiled. “I think Tauri belongs to us.”

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