He watched her teasing and playing with their daughter in a soft way and forced himself to remember the day she'd told him of her decision to leave. She'd answered in a near explosion of emotion, accusations, and. fear. He recalled her face and now understood that she had been absolutely terrified by his news. He was completely astonished at this new unplanned disclosure of the perplexing events that night. "Protect us from what?

" he asked, but she was teasing Nikki and did not hear his question. He waved his hand to get her attention, and she blinked up at him, her too-long hair dipping over one eye in...