Daddy's Christmas Miracle. Rebecca Winters

eyed Colt’s flushed-faced daughter. “You look fully recovered from your flu.”

      “I feel great!”

      “That makes me very happy.”

      Her brown eyes glowed. “Your being here for Dad’s party is perfect!”

      “Jake took the day off from his work so my sister could fly us here this morning for a talk with your father. When I realized we would be arriving on his birthday, I brought a present that I thought you and Matt could give him along with your other gifts. It’s guaranteed to be a hit. I’ll get it.”

      Allie picked up a shopping bag full of presents and followed her to the guest bedroom.

      “Here. Take this one in your other hand.” Kathryn handed her the framed, gift-wrapped poster. “I’ll bring my other presents.” After putting the rolled-up posters beneath her arms, she said, “Let’s go before your father gets too impatient.”

      They started down the stairs. “He’s going to have a cow when he sees all this!”

      Kathryn tried to keep a straight face. “Is that good or bad?”

      “Definitely good,” Colt answered for his daughter. There was nothing wrong with his hearing. He stood in the foyer with Matt. His eyes locked with Kathryn’s. She couldn’t read what was behind that enigmatic gaze. If he feared she was hoping for a repeat performance of what had happened in the storeroom, he didn’t need to worry. His grateful tribute had cured her.

      Matt rocked on his cowboy boots. “Noreen’s got everything ready.”

      They proceeded to the dining room. It was growing darker out. The addition of a lovely cloth, candlelight and a decorated chocolate cake forming the centerpiece provided the magical touches to the birthday feast. Kathryn read, “Happy 36, Dad.”

      “Here. Let me.” Ed, the older, dark blond rancher now free of his cast, helped Allie spread her packages around the pile already visible on the hunt board. Both he and Colt gave Allie a curious stare as he lifted the framed poster and rested it against the wall.

      While Matt helped Kathryn to the table, Colt helped his daughter. Noreen brought the ribs from the kitchen. Ed said grace and they were ready to eat.

      For the next half hour, conversation centered around the twins and their latest activities. Kathryn mostly listened, only now and then asking a question. Throughout the delicious meal she avoided looking at Colt.

      Once they’d sung “Happy Birthday” and had eaten cake, Matt and Allie took turns giving their dad a present to open. Every gift appeared to be a winner: a robe, sweats, cologne, socks, a Western shirt, leather gloves, ski gloves, new ski goggles, a couple of T-shirts … everything for the well-dressed rancher.

      Kathryn finally dared to smile at Colt. “That’s quite a haul. I think it’s time somebody else around here got a present.” Five pairs of eyes blinked in surprise. “Matt? Will you hand one of those cylinders to Noreen and Ed? Then give one to Allie and take one for yourself.”

      While everyone started unwrapping their gifts, Colt stared at Kathryn with a bemused expression on his rugged face.

      The responses were everything she could have hoped for. Cries of “Dad! Colt!” resounded as they unraveled the posters of the beloved man seated at the head of the table. “Oh, my gosh! You look so young!”

      Allie ran over to Kathryn. “Where did you get this?” she cried out with tears in her eyes. “I love it! I can’t wait to show all my friends! They’re going to die!”

      “You’re so awesome, Dad!” Matt’s voice croaked. “Rich has got to see this!” He stood in the corner of the room examining it.

      Noreen and Ed’s eyes grew misty as they handed their poster of the legendary rodeo champion to Colt for him to see. Ed handed him a pen. “I want your autograph. This could be worth a fortune someday.”

      Kathryn understood everyone’s joy because she felt it herself, but it was time to make her exit. Otherwise she might never be able to pry herself away.

      “Happy birthday, Colt.” She got up from the table. “Thanks to all of you for letting me be part of this celebration. Noreen? The food was out of this world, but now I’m afraid I have to leave.”

      Allie looked stricken. “Where are you going?”

      “Back to my motel in Bozeman.”

      “Motel?” the twins moaned together.

      “Yes. While you people have a whole night of celebrating ahead of you, I need to accomplish a day’s worth of foundation work plus some business for Jake before tomorrow morning.”

      “But you can’t go yet!”

      “Kathryn said she had to leave,” Colt reminded his daughter in a voice of understated authority. “She flew here from Salt Lake to help us find your mother, remember? Let’s let her get on with her jobs. Matt? Would you bring down her suitcase, please?”

      “Sure.”

      “Don’t bother to go up, Matt. I left it at the motel.” Avoiding Colt’s piercing gaze, she looked at Allie. “I think there’s one more gift your father hasn’t opened yet. Right?”

      “Yes,” the girl whispered.

      “Then have fun. I’ll see myself out.”

      Kathryn hurried through the house to the back room, where she grabbed her purse and parka. Within a minute, she’d reached the car and was headed for town.

      Colt didn’t want her getting any more attached to his children and was glad she’d done the right thing by leaving. That was why he hadn’t tried to stop her. Any goodbye had been said in the storeroom behind the kitchen.

      Her pain went too deep for tears. Frozen-faced, she drove straight to her motel needing to talk to Maggie.

      Maybe her sister had radar because the second she closed the door to the room, her cell phone rang. She pulled it from her purse and checked the caller ID. It was Donna.

      Her stomach knotted because her assistant wouldn’t call this late at night unless she had important news.

      “Hello?”

      “Kathryn?”

      Just the way Donna said her name, she knew what she was about to say. “That body was Whitney’s, wasn’t it?”

      “Yes.”

      Hot tears spurted from her eyes. “I have to get off the phone now and call my parents. Thank you for letting me know.”

      “Of course.”

      But the second Kathryn hung up, she threw herself across the bed and sobbed because a miracle hadn’t happened for that little girl’s family. She sobbed for all the helpless kidnapped children who this very night were being molested or killed somewhere in the world. Not even everything the McFarland Foundation could do had prevented this crime against Whitney.

      Beyond heartsick, she lay there for a long time in such a deep sorrow, she didn’t realize her phone was ringing. Finally stirring, she sat up and looked at the caller ID. It was her sister. She clicked on.

      “Maggie?”

      “I’ve been on the phone with the folks. Did you hear about Whitney?”

      “Yes. I just got off the phone with Donna.”

      Neither of them spoke for a minute. There were no platitudes they could say to comfort each other. Another tragedy had befallen another child. Yet next to her grief lay her guilt for thinking of Colt right now and how incomprehensible it would have been if Allie had been lost to him forever.

      “How was the birthday party?” her sister ventured. “You know what I mean.”

      “The surprise was everything I could have hoped for. Allie and Matt