Pushing through the pain, he drew closer and saw Jenna’s car clearly. Interior lights shined out the open doors and multiple figures were wrestling in the falling snow. At least one was screaming. Others were shouting.

  Jenna and Lucy on either side of the central figures were flung away like limp rags. Muzzle flash sliced through the night air showing a bullet traveling skyward. Dakota instantly leaped for the arm holding the gun and deflected a second shot.

  Right behind him, Daniel shouted, “Hands up! You’re under arrest. It’s over.”

  Fighting on, Brandon Murray kept hold of Catherine’s wrist and braced against the patrol car while Dakota struggled to pull him down.

  Daniel reached for the revolver in the attacker’s hand and tore it away just as one of the car doors was flung open and knocked Brandon to his knees.

  Recovering themselves, Jenna and Lucy dived on top of him while Dakota continued to bite his arm and he screeched like a demented hawk.

  “Out!” Daniel commanded Dakota, aiming his own firearm at Brandon to give the female officers a chance to handcuff him.

  Aurora was out of the car and grinning as she embraced Catherine. Watching the two women he loved most in the world expressing affection brought unshed tears to his already freezing lashes.

  He keyed his radio. “We’ve got Brandon Murray in custody and hostages are safe. You can all stand down.”

  Beaming proudly, the older woman sidled up to embrace him as soon as he’d holstered his gun. Aurora was right behind her. “Is that it?” she asked. “Or are there more crooks you’d like us to help you catch?”

  Scowling down at them, he wanted to deliver a lecture, to berate her and Catherine for risking their lives. He didn’t do it. Couldn’t do it. Not when he was so overjoyed to see them both alive and well.

  And speaking of Joy. Daniel’s heart swelled with love and thanksgiving as he led everyone closer to the police car and scooped up the toddler.

  “Good Doo-dah,” she chortled, clapping her hands the way she’d seen her great grandmother celebrate.

  “Yes, good Dakota,” Aurora said, smiling through tears. “She came out of nowhere and saved us.”

  Daniel was abashed to recall how he had almost ignored his K-9 partner’s signals. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

  * * *

  As other officers led the handcuffed man away and Jenna drove off with Lucy, Daniel carefully dried Dakota’s wet, icy paws in the rear of his SUV before removing her working vest and offering her favorite toy as a reward for a job well done.

  There was no safe way to haul everyone he wanted to keep with him so he radioed Jack to see if he was almost finished at the warehouse.

  “Affirmative. CSIs will be taking this place apart for the rest of the night. I can shake loose. Why?”

  “I need to trade cars so I have seating for all my passengers. You can follow us back to the station with Dakota and Beau.”

  “Good thing they’re pals,” Jack said. “Come to think of it, it’s a good thing you and I are too. I don’t let just anybody drive my special-issue wheels.”

  “Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome. Actually, you kind of surprise me. I’d have thought you’d want to be alone with a certain lady.”

  Heaving a noisy sigh, Daniel looked over at Aurora. She and Catherine were both cuddling Joy, sharing love and warmth. The sight of them together was an image he’d never forget.

  Daniel lowered his voice for privacy. “I want to do it right. Woman expect the perfect proposal.”

  Jack laughed so raucously Daniel figured he must have caught everyone’s attention. “You’re joking, right?”

  “No. Not at all.”

  “Okay. Have it your way. But if it was me, I’d stop finding excuses and ask her now, when she’s still thinking of you as her hero.”

  Eye contact with Aurora showed Daniel that she’d overheard enough to get the gist of their conversation. He keyed the mic. “Just get over here with those keys before we freeze to death.”

  Catherine took possession of Joy and said, “We’ll warm up in your car with Dakota while you take care of business.”

  That left little room for stalling. Nevertheless, Daniel wasn’t sure his friend was right. He wanted his marriage to last for a lifetime and assumed getting the proper start would make a difference.

  Facing Aurora, he spread his hands, palms up, and shrugged. “Well, I don’t know what to say next.”

  “Neither do I,” she said quietly, approaching him until they stood mere inches apart. “None of my plans seem to fit what’s going on here.”

  “Us, you mean?”

  “Uh-huh. Confusing, isn’t it?”

  “Very,” he said softly.

  A blush heightened the already rosy color of her cheeks beneath the sides of her hood while tendrils of golden hair blew across her face. Daniel whisked them away with one finger before leaning in for a kiss.

  “Um, nice. That helps,” Aurora said moments later. “But we need to be sensible. We’ll have a lot of changes to make. Can you do that?”

  “Can you?” he asked, holding his breath until she answered.

  “It will be a pleasure.” She started to smile. “Probably not easy all the time but definitely doable.”

  “I think so too,” Daniel said, cupping her cheeks and tilting her face up for another kiss. “Aurora Martin, will you marry me?”

  As soon as she started to nod, he pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her again.

  When they came up for air, he heard her whisper, “Yes,” against his cheek and he began to understand what it meant to be part of a true family.

  EPILOGUE

  Aromas of roasting turkey, sage dressing and apple pie filled the kitchen and wafted into the dining room of the Slater home. Aurora would have been nervous hosting Daniel’s DGTF team for Thanksgiving if Catherine hadn’t taken charge of preparing most of the food.

  Jack arrived early with Beau and unofficially appointed himself to doggy duty by welcoming arriving K-9s to the enclosed garage and supervising play for the dogs who were known to get along socially.

  West Cole and Trish brought their son, Gabriel, who was about eight months younger than Joy. Aurora helped Trish set up a play area for the younger children, including the three-year-old Graves twins, Beacon and Austin, who arrived with Kenyon Graves and his new bride, Raina McCord. Lucy Lopez’s little girl, Annalise, who was four going on fourteen, appointed herself activities director and was trying to convince the younger children to play games her way. It was a happy bedlam and Raina McCord, who was now the twins’ official mother, kept an eye on her boys.

  Following Catherine’s suggestion after seeing the guest list, Aurora had set up the dining table as a buffet. The children would eat at the kitchen table with a few of the adults while others could choose seating on chairs or sofas in the open living areas. It was the best she could do with so many to feed.

  Daniel came up behind her as she was fussing over an arrangement of cutlery on the linen tablecloth. “If they run out of forks, they can use their fingers,” he quipped. “The kids will, anyway.”

  “You’ve been hanging around dogs too long,” she countered. “Some of us are actually civilized.”

  He laughed, warming her heart. The mere sight of him made her heart speed. Hearing and seeing him so happy, so content, Aurora was thrilled to her core. “Are they all here?”

  “Not quite,” he said. “Isabella and Liam texted they’re on their way. Zach and Eden will be a little late too. He says Eden’s moving slower and slower with their baby due so soon.”

  “What about Jenna? I haven’t seen her since the night at the warehouse.”

  “She had to go back to work in Cold River now that the gun traffickers have been taken down, so she and Clay Miller are celebrating on his ranch.”

  “I’m glad they’re happy.” She met Daniel’s gaze. “I’d feel guilty if we were the only ones.” As she’d intended, that made him laugh again.

  “The ones who aren’t happy are Ingrid and Brandon,” Daniel said, sobering as he spoke. “It’s hard to believe we brought down the whole organization but it looks like we did just that. Justice is served and the charges are sure to put them away for a long time.”

  “I know. I’m so proud of you.” She looked around at the crowd. “All of you.”

  “And our K-9s,” Daniel added. “They’re very special.”

  “Yes, they are. I still get the shivers when I picture Dakota leaping on Brandon. She practically disarmed him single-handedly.”

  “If she had thumbs and could work handcuffs, she could have made the arrest,” Daniel said. “You weren’t so bad yourself. When you shoved that car door into him and he hit the ground, it was all over.”

  “You’d have managed without me. I just had a strong urge to do something. I don’t plan to make a practice of interfering.” Aurora stepped into his embrace and laid her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart and reveling in the knowledge she was loved so totally.

  “Good to hear.” Daniel checked his watch, then raised his arm and made an announcement. “Listen up, people. Gather around the laptop on the coffee table. Our very own technical guru Cheyenne Chen has worked one of her computer tricks to keep their location secret and I have a special surprise for you.”

  Daniel had told Aurora what was coming and because she had never met Cameron Holmes, or whatever his current WITSEC name was, she backed off to leave room for the others behind and next to him. Two grinning faces appeared on his screen. Someone gasped. “Gracie!”

  “That’s right,” Daniel said. “Lorelei, Gracie’s the US marshal who was with our team before your assignment here. She and Cameron are in witness protection together now.”

  Lorelei Danvers leaned over Daniel’s shoulder to wave. “Hi, Gracie. I’m sorry you had to leave the DGTF but I’m glad I got to be part of this super group.”

  “Cam and I are happy here so it all worked out.” She giggled. “Never mind where here happens to be. Marriage agrees with us.”

  “Obviously.”

  Gracie was grinning and so was her rancher husband. “I was surprised to hear from you guys,” she said. “They tell me the Jones gang’s been stopped for good. Are you all going your separate ways or is the team staying together?”

  Daniel answered. “It depends. We’ll all go back to our regular jobs for now. If another special assignment comes up, I know where to find the best of the best.”

  “That you do.” She raised her hands into view of the camera and applauded. “Great job.”

  “On behalf of all of us, thanks,” Daniel said. “Remember Joy, the toddler we found the month before you left? I’m adopting her.”

  “Terrific.”

  “And getting married,” Catherine called out from the kitchen.

  Daniel chuckled. “Yup. And getting married. There’s a lot of that kind of thing going around. Lucy and Micah Landon are engaged, Zach and Eden Kelcey are back together, and the FBI agent, Liam Barringer. Remember him? He eloped with forensic artist Isabella Whitmore.”

  At Gracie’s “Good grief,” the group gathered for the video call laughed.

  “I know, I know. Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

  He paused, apparently thinking, while Aurora grinned from ear to ear, delighted to be a part of the romantic plague taking over Plains City and beyond.

  “Oh, and remember Kenyon Graves? He’s not dead. He had amnesia and has recovered enough to join us for the wrap-up of this case.”

  “What about his boys? Twins, weren’t they?”

  Kenyon leaned forward to explain, “Growing like weeds. My friend Raina is their legal mother now that we’re married.”

  “I’m delighted for all of you,” Gracie said. “Cam and I both are thrilled, even if that isn’t his name anymore.” She laughed again. “You have no idea how hard it is to take on a totally new persona and remember all the details when people ask about your personal history.”

  “I’m sure leaving the past behind is hard,” Daniel said. He glanced over his shoulder at Aurora. “But sometimes that’s the only way to go forward.”

  “Amen to that,” Jack shouted from across the room.

  Bathed in laughter and surrounded by the people who had been virtual strangers mere months ago, Aurora grinned. As part of her healing, she had phoned her father and invited him to join their current celebration. Although he had made other plans for that particular day, he had promised to visit soon—and to bring the woman he was currently dating. To Aurora’s surprise she was looking forward to their reunion and hadn’t felt more than a tiny twinge of concern about his inclusive suggestion. The only other thing she wished was that Daniel’s father was here so they too could make their peace.

  Daniel ended the video call, closed the laptop and stood. “Okay. Who would like to say the blessing on the meal? I’m starving and I imagine you all are too.”

  West Cole spoke up. “I’ll do it. And while I’m at it, I want to give thanks for something else too.” He grinned at Trish who was balancing little Gabriel on one hip. “We’re going to have a playmate for our son in the spring.”

  Amid congratulations, Aurora found her way to Daniel’s side and slipped an arm around his waist. Despite danger and loss and unavoidable change, they had found each other. Without the influence from the problems that had seemed so overwhelming, perhaps they would have gone on with their solitary, lonely lives, never dreaming that such happiness and well-being waited just out of reach.

  As West bowed his head and blessed the food, Aurora added a silent prayer of her own, thanking God for her life, her future husband and the darling little girl she would soon call her own. She also thanked Him for the selfless sacrifices of Serena who had practically set it up, in more ways than one, when she’d brought joy into their lives. The name she had chosen fit perfectly. Joy. A gift beyond words.

  * * * * *

  If you enjoyed Daniel’s story, don’t miss Cheyenne’s

  and Lorelai’s stories next! Check out Christmas K-9 Patrol

  and the rest of the Dakota K-9 Unit series!

  Chasing a Kidnapper

  by Laura Scott, April 2025

  Deadly Badlands Pursuit

  by Sharee Stover, May 2025

  Standing Watch

  by Terri Reed, June 2025

  Cold Case Peril

  by Maggie K. Black, July 2025

  Tracing Killer Evidence

  by Jodie Bailey, August 2025

  Threat of Revenge

  by Jessica R. Patch, September 2025

  Double Protection Duty

  by Sharon Dunn, October 2025

  Final Showdown

  by Valerie Hansen, November 2025

  Christmas K-9 Patrol

  by Lynette Eason and Lenora Worth, December 2025

  Available only from Love Inspired Suspense

  Discover more at LoveInspired.com

  Keep reading for an excerpt from Texas Christmas Cover-Up by Terri Reed.

  Dear Reader,

  When I was asked to write Book 8 in this series and deal with events surrounding hospice care, I didn’t know that a dear friend was going to leave this earth the same way before I had finished the manuscript. I actually lost two very good friends at almost the same time. It shook me. Then I remembered my personal conviction that God is in the details and nothing happens without His influence; not my writing successes, my family, my growing circle of friends, nothing. Not even loss.

  The expressions of faith and simple approaches Aurora used to explain life and death from a Christian perspective are not new concepts to me. I used them with my very young nephews when their grandpa, my father, died, and have extensive experience with kindergartners. Because I was a classroom aide and not a teacher, I was able to take extra time to comfort grieving little ones. To cry with them. To let them be themselves and work through their pain, one step at a time.

  That’s what we all must do. There is no right or wrong way to grieve and no time limit for healing. Each person we love takes a part of us with them when they go. The future changes. We change. It’s inevitable. But once we step across that black abyss of sorrow and put a foot on the path to the rest of our lives, we give ourselves a chance to find out what else is in store for us.

  The rest of our days don’t have to be mournful. We’ll never forget or stop loving the ones who have gone ahead of course, but I think we owe it to them to live the best life possible. Until we all meet again.

  Blessings,

  Valerie Hansen

  Val@ValerieHansen.com

  Courage. Danger. Faith.

  Find strength and determination in stories of faith and love in the face of danger.

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  One

  “This was a bad idea,” FBI Special Agent Kara Evans-Mitchell muttered as she brought the rental car to a halt in the driveway of her childhood home. The two-story house was located in a residential neighborhood north of the city center of South Padre Island, Texas.

  For some reason, the fine hairs at her nape quivered with tension.

  There was no cause for her to be spooked. She shook off the sensation and studied the scene before her.

  It was the only house on the block without festive, bright Christmas lights. Instead, it stood dark against the moonlit night except for the glow of a single porch light, illuminating the teal-blue of the exterior, a color synonymous with the island.

  She wasn’t sure what she’d expected—maybe the grass to be overgrown by weeds and the paint chipped from neglect. But the home where she’d grown up looked, at least in the dark, well cared for. Maintained.

  Why had her mother bothered when she’d been adamant she could never return?

  And now never would.

  Sadness tightened the corners of Kara’s eyes as she blinked back the tears. Her mother had passed peacefully at home two weeks ago under the care of a private nurse. Kara had held her mother’s hand as she’d left this earthly life. Per her mother’s wishes, there was no service. Her mother had wanted to be laid to rest without a fuss.