the X-ray. “Rib’s bruised but not broken, and she took a good knock on the head. But I think she’s going to be fine.”
“Thank you,” he whispered. Relief poured through him. With a hand that was still shaking, he stroked Julia’s hair. “You think this is gonna get you out of dish duty?”
A grin twisted her lips, but her eyes stayed closed. “I have to get a cast. I don’t think they let you get it wet.”
“No way,” the doctor said behind her. “You’re on the injured list, miss.”
Ryan reached for Julia’s good hand, brought it to his mouth, and kissed her fingers. “Scared me, baby.”
“Scared me too,” she whispered. Her lashes fluttered open. “Mom drives a mean car.”
The muscles in his chest squeezed tight when he looked into the depths of her green eyes, so much like her mother’s. Hope sprang to life at the term of endearment. “She does?”
Julia nodded. “Where is she?”
“I’m right here,” Kate said behind Ryan.
He moved to the side, making room. With her hand still clutching Ryan’s, Julia reached for Kate, locking the three of them together.
Warmth encircled Ryan’s fingers. He watched emotions flow over Kate as she looked down at their daughter, hands clasping each other. This was what he wanted. Just this for the rest of his life. His family.
That tightness gripped his chest with the ferocity of a lion. He needed to tell Kate what he suspected about her disappearance. If she found out before he had a chance to tell her himself, he wasn’t sure what she’d say or do.
His eyes slid shut, and he tightened his hold on both of them. A few more days. If he didn’t hear from his private investigator by then, he’d tell her regardless.
No matter what, though, he had to keep them safe. For reasons he’d never understand, he’d been given a second chance. He wasn’t about to blow it now.
***
Kate flipped a page, made a mark with her pen, and rested her chin on her hand. Lifting her knees from where she was stretched out on the floor, she propped her elbow on her leg and kept reading.
Julia shifted on the couch behind her. “What are you looking at?”
“An article for work.” Kate pushed her glasses back up her nose.
“What’s it called?”
Julia’s curiosity brought Kate’s head up. The girl’s bruises had faded to yellow, but she was still obviously sore from the accident. At the moment, she was lying on the couch, reading a book. The fact she even wanted to be in the same room with Kate brought a smile to Kate’s lips.
“‘Microseismic Investigation of Rock Fracture and its Application in Rock and Petroleum Engineering.’” Kate raised her brows, a smirk tugging at her mouth. No way that would interest the girl.
“Petroleum’s like oil, right?”
“Yep.”
“Uncle Mitch would probably like that article.”
Kate smiled. “Yeah, he probably would.”
Julia levered herself off the couch.
“You need something?” Kate sat up to help her.
“No. I want to show you something.”
With a sigh, Kate set the papers on the coffee table. She slipped off her glasses and waited. Julia had opted to stay home with her today instead of going shopping with the grandmas, instead of going to a baseball game with Reed and the grandpas. Ryan was at the office for a few hours. It was just the two of them.
And that little fact made Kate shift nervously on the floor. She was probably foolish in getting her hopes up that she and Julia had finally found common ground. But she wanted to think that more than anything.
Julia stepped back into the room and handed Kate a magazine.
“What’s this?”
“Page seventeen. ‘Tertiary Western Cascade Magnetic Arc.’” With slow movements, Julia climbed up on the couch again and laid her hot-pink cast across her middle. When Kate lifted her brows, she shrugged. “The Cascade magnetic arc is the major structural element in the Juan de Fuca-North American plate boundary.”
“How do you know that?” Confusion ran through Kate, followed by amazement Julia would even know how to pronounce those words.
“I read it.”
“You did?”
“Yeah. My mom wrote it.”
Kate swallowed as she looked down at the journal in her hand. On page seventeen, the by-line read, Anne Harrison, PhD.
“Daddy said you drilled that definition into his brain when you were writing it.”
“Did he?” Tears stung Kate’s eyes. Had she really written the article? “I wish I remembered.”
Julia was silent behind her. And then she said, “I remember a lot of things.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. Like how you used to take me to your office