Her Baby's Protector. Margaret Daley

       ONE

      Kate Forster lunged to the right then the left, loosening her muscles before her run. “Are you ready, Jamie?” She bent down and looked under the canopy on the three-wheel, jogging stroller.

      Her fifteen-month-old son grinned. “Go, Mama.”

      “Okay, hang on tight.” Kate gripped the handle and started down her favorite route in the large park.

      In the Remington Nature Reserve, the path took her through the woods and along the lake. The beautiful dose of God’s beauty renewed her after a long day as an Oklahoma family court judge, trying to figure out what was the best decision for the parents and children who ended up before her.

      She needed the reminder the Lord was in control, especially after the day she’d had. She hated having to take a child away from a parent, but in this case she’d had no other choice. Not when a little girl’s life was in danger. The wails from the mother still rang in her mind.

      Kate shook the memory from her mind and focused on her son giggling and urging her with, “Fatter. Fatter.” His word for faster.

      Kate nodded at a couple who passed her going the opposite way. She often saw them here.

      The breeze from the south cooled her as she headed into the wooded part of the reserve. The sounds of birds chirping blended with Jamie’s laughter. Both wonderful to hear.

      A large man with jet-black hair—another frequent runner at Remington—overtook her and went around them, giving her a smile and a nod. His gleaming gray eyes stood out against his tan complexion and dark hair. She’d seen him a couple of times at the courthouse too. Was he an attorney?

      As she rounded a curve in the path, she slowed. A tree trunk had fallen across the trail, probably from the thunderstorm and high winds last night. She’d need to lift the stroller over it if she wanted to continue. She came to a stop and decided to let Jamie out of the stroller while she hoisted it over the downed tree. She still felt wound up after her stressful day.

      She picked her son up, his dark brown eyes—the same color as hers—widening.

      He began to wiggle. “Down.”

      Maybe she would let him play a little here then run back toward her car. She stood him on the path then eased down onto a lower branch of the tree trunk. The second she sat, exhaustion invaded her body. “You can play for a few minutes then we’ll head back.”

      “No back.”

      Her mistake was to stop and take a seat. “Sorry, honey, but it’s been a long day. Mommy is tired.”

      “Me not.” He picked up a stick and poked it into the ground. It broke. He looked up at her, a pout tugging at his mouth.

      She heard the scrunch of footsteps coming from the other side of the tree trunk. As she rose, she turned to see who it was. Her gaze zeroed in on a thin man about six and a half feet tall, wearing a ski mask—definitely not what someone would have on in April while exercising. When he saw that she’d spotted him, he leaped off the ground and vaulted over the log at the same time Kate whirled and raced toward her son a few feet away.

      She scooped Jamie up in her arms as the man landed less than a yard from them. Her gaze connected with his dark one. She shivered at the piercing stare. He grabbed for her son, grasping his legs.

      A scream erupted from Kate as the assailant tugged Jamie toward him. His scent of sweat and cigarettes nauseated her, making her want to get away from him. But she couldn’t let go. Her toddler wailed while clinging to her. She kicked out and connected with the kidnapper’s leg. He stumbled back, letting go of Jamie’s legs.

      “Help, help! Someone’s taking my baby,” she yelled as she clutched Jamie against her chest and scrambled as fast as she could backward.

      Her son’s cries reverberated through her mind. Her attacker stalked toward her, reaching for Jamie again. Caught between the kidnapper and the fallen tree’s trunk, she spun to the side, shielding her child with her body as she tried to clamber over the wooden barrier.

      The accoster clasped her shoulder, his fingers digging into her flesh while he yanked her back.

      Another scream came from the depth of her being. Did anyone hear it? Would anyone come to help?

      * * *

      Detective Chase Walker lengthened his strides as he chewed up the distance to Remington’s lake. He’d spent all day hunting down a burglar, finally catching him and then interrogating him, and now he relished the feel of the fresh air and the pounding of his feet against the earth.

      Peace. Calm. Two things he longed to have that always seemed just out of reach. After fighting in the Middle East, all he wanted to do was put those memories behind him. But each night they haunted his dreams. For three years.

      A scream pierced the air.

      He halted.

      A cry for help followed.

      He spun around and raced in the direction of the sound, going around a long curve