Snow Blind
Page 25
"Daddy!"
Her high-pitched voice boomed across the open space. Dozens of people turned to look at her, momentarily distracted from staring at their phones. She tore across the terminal, her arms wide, her tiny Paw Patrol backpack bouncing around on her shoulders as she ran. The bedraggled-but-still-beautiful Inessa took a more calm approach.
Layne dropped to one knee and wrapped his arms around his daughter as she folded into him. Her warmth against his skin was something he'd craved for over a week, and he experienced a feeling of fullness, like the weight of a meal. The little girl pushed her head against his chest, and he clutched her, as hard as he could, given the state of his battered body.
Inessa came to a stop, and she sat her rolling bag up straight as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you bandaged?” she asked in her choppy and accusatory Russian accent. “Your hands."
Layne looked down at the two bandages covering his palms, the last remnant of the fight on Keats Island. A slash from Z's sword.
"Daddy, you have an ouchie,” Cameron said, inspecting the bandages.
Layne shook his head. "It's nothing, little one. Just got a bit hurt when I was at work."
“Work,” Inessa said, musing. “I know of few people who go to work and come home with bullet wounds they refuse to explain.” She shrugged as Layne tossed her a cutting glare.
"It's none of my business anymore,” she said.
Layne agreed with her, but he didn't say anything. No need to start a fight here in the terminal. Instead, he offered the stuffed animal to Cameron and the smoothie to Inessa. The two primary women in his life took their gifts, but Cameron seemed much more excited about hers.
The little girl squeezed the stuffed animal, giggling as she stroked its fur. Inessa sipped her smoothie, which bought Layne a few precious seconds of silence to interact with his daughter.
“What are you going to name him?” Layne asked.
“Floffy.”
“Floffy?” he said. “Sure, that sounds like a great name for a wolf.”
"Daddy? Did you have a good day?”
He nodded.
Cameron frowned at him, her little eyes probing. “Are you sad?”
He shook his head. “No, little one. I'm great."
"Are you sure? You look sad.”
Layne broke out a wide grin and kissed his daughter’s cheek. “Not anymore."
Sequel
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A NOTE TO READERS
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Books by Jim Heskett
For a full list of all Jim Heskett’s books, please visit www.RoyalArchBooks.com
If you like thrillers, you’ll want to take a gander at my Micah Reed series. It’s where Layne Parrish got his start, actually. In particular, Micah Reed book #7, Shock Collar, serves as a “prequel” of sorts to the Layne Parrish solo series. See how a dog walk ending in bloodshed sends Micah on a quest for truth, and Layne on a path to reclaim his past and future.
About the Author
Jim Heskett was born in the wilds of Oklahoma and raised by a pack of wolves with a station wagon and a membership card to the local public swimming pool. Just like the man in the John Denver song, he moved to Colorado in the summer of his twenty-seventh year and never looked back. Aside from an extended break traveling the world, he hasn’t let the Flatirons out of his sight.
He fell in love with writing at the age of fourteen with a copy of Stephen King’s The Shining. Poetry became his first outlet for teen angst, then later some terrible screenplays, and eventually short and long fiction. In between, he worked a few careers that never quite tickled his creative toes, and he never forgot about Stephen King. You can find him currently huddled over a laptop in an undisclosed location in Colorado, dreaming up ways to kill beloved characters.
He believes the huckleberry is the king of berries and refuses to be persuaded in any other direction. If you’d like to ask a question or just to say hi, stop by at www.jimheskett.com/about and fill out the contact form.
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