Just saying the words made her catch her breath in her chest.
It had been a few years, but still, just the thought of it felt like a physical blow.
“A stray bullet came through the window of the ice cream shop and…”
She wasn’t sure she could say the rest.
Noelle closed her eyes and blew out a breath.
She had a strange sensation as if she might just fall off of the bench onto the dirt floor and then it stopped.
She felt something warm and heavy on her hand, anchoring her there.
The weight shifted and her brain started working again.
She didn’t have to look down to know what it was.
McCrae had put his hand on hers.
“T-thanks.”
“No need to thank me,” his hand gave hers a gentle squeeze. “I’m… I’m sorry for your loss. For both of you.”
“Thank you.”
She was breathing easier again.
“I wasn’t the one to see it happen, but just the photos from the crime scene were enough to make me lose it. Still, I wasn’tthe one beside him when it happened. Ciela’s been through enough to last anyone else a life time.”
* * *
DUVAL
He had a feeling that he knew what she was talking about.
While Noelle had been talking about the situation, his memory had kicked in. He’d seen photos of her daughter. Everyone in Texas and probably the country had seen the images on newspapers and websites. The image of a child with her tear-streaked face on the floor beside her father, his shirt stained with blood.
The concept of ‘if it bleeds, it leads,’ had always been something disgusting to him. But the images taken that day by an onlooker had been sold to a number of news organizations.
What made it worse is that the child’s name had been published as well.
Ciela Oliver.
Noelle’s last name was Garcia. Maybe, he wondered, she hadn’t taken the same name as her husband? Or maybe she’d changed it after his death. Either way, he had a feeling she’d done what she could do protect her daughter.
He didn’t want to bring it up.
He didn’t need to know.
He didn’t want to cause her any more pain than what she was already carrying with her.
Duval felt something brush against his hair and he lifted up his free hand.
He came into contact with a whiskered muzzle.
A moment later he felt teeth nip at his palm.
He shook his head and turned his hand so he could give the horse a welcoming rub.
