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Something was wrong. The detective was shaking and gasping for breath. Surely a fall couldn’t hurt a grown man that badly. That’s what he thought, until he caught sight of the syringe sticking out from the man’s chest over his heart.

Joy tried to look around him, but Chance held her face against him. His Little girl didn’t need to see that.

Boone entered through the back door. Kneeling by the detective, he checked for a pulse. “Fuck. There’s nothing we can do for him now.”

Trace looked in from the window. “There was nothing you could have done, Chance. He did that to himself.” Chance had no idea how to respond.

He lifted Joy from the chair, arms still bound, and carried her to the waiting truck.

Once he had her in the cab, he checked her arm. How was he supposed to tell if James had dosed her?

“Did that maniac stick the needle of that shot in your skin?” he demanded.

She shook her head. “No, Daddy. I don't think so. I didn't feel anything at all. I think I'm fine.”

"Thinking is not good enough, babygirl.” Flipping on the interior light, he scanned Joy’s skin for anything that looked like a needle mark. He didn’t see anything, but he could have missed a mark that small. Chance raced around the truck to the driver’s seat and spun out, spraying snow in all directions. He redialed the last person who called, which turned out to be Sam. “We're headed back to the lodge. Get Doc Bradford to meet us there, and tell him to bring Narcan, just in case.”

Disconnecting, he turned to Gypsy. “You’re all right, babygirl. We’ll be home soon. I’m gonna take care

Gypsy smiled. “I’m going to be okay.” Then, with wonder in her eyes, she said. “Did you see what Dodger did?”

“You don’t know the half of it, babygirl.”

Come to think of it, where did that wolfdog get off to after he attacked James? He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

CHAPTER 26

Joy’s first thought when she awoke to the soft glow of the light filling the room was, once again, she was in heaven. Glancing to the left, she gazed at the peaceful face of the cowboy angel sleeping beside her and knew her first thought was true. She hadn’t died, but she was absolutely in heaven.

She thought back on the tragic events of the month before, sad that the life of Detective James had been so much less than it could have been. One good thing that had happened as a result was that Eddie’s case had been given to an honest detective who had arrested Eddie after viewing the photograph and hearing her story. It looked like Eddie was going away for a very long time.

With a sigh, she tried to slip out of bed without waking Chance. She should have known it was a wasted effort. Slipping an arm underneath her waist, he pulled her across the bed to spoon him. "And where do you think you're going, little gypsy?"

"I thought I was going to get my Daddy a tray and some of Ruby's yummy biscuits and honey, so we could eat in bed."

With a grin, he opened his eyes, the sunset blue of themstealing her breath. Grinning, he said, "It’s funny you should say that. I was also thinking of eating in bed this morning. But I’ll find my honey without leaving the bed."

You’d think after waking up with him every morning for the past three weeks, she would be used to his pillow talk. The blush heating her cheeks clearly stated you would be wrong. "That's not exactly the honey I was talking about, Daddy."

Rolling on top of her, he slid down on the bed, meeting her eyes before he disappeared beneath the covers. "I don't see why this has to be an either-or situation. Do you remember what I told you would happen the next time you snuck out without giving me my treat first thing in the morning?"

Oh, she remembered all right. She couldn’t meet anyone else in the family in the eye for three whole days. He said some of the wickedest things sometimes. “Daddy, you wouldn't really kiss my princess parts in the kitchen, would you?"

"Gypsy, I will take my treat wherever I find it. If you don't want me eatin’ in front of the others, you should make sure I find my treat in our bed."

Later that morning, after Chance had finished his treat and she had a treat of her own, she snuggled against him.

“I love you, babygirl. Yesterday, when I realized your tracker wasn’t attached to your anklet, I had a vision of what my life was like before I met you. I would have told you I was happy, but that’s only because I didn’t know what real happiness was until I met you.”

Her heart melted with his words. He was indeed her cowboy angel. “I love you, too, Daddy. You’ve given me a family and a home. I never thought I’d have either. There is nothing more I’ll ever need.”

Reaching across her, he pulled out a small box wrapped in glossy red paper. “Well, I guess I’ll have to return this then.”

“For me? Why? I mean, what’s the occasion?”

“Well, I know we have a room for almost everything in this house. But it occurred to me something was missing.”

“If that’s true, I have no idea what it could be. There’s a theatre and bowling room, and you can skate downstairs in the basement. Um… roller skate. Kenzie, Tildi, and I go down there sometimes. Kenzie’s the one who figured out it was the place to roller skate.”