Kansas City Christmas

About the Author USA TODAY bestselling author Julie Miller writes breathtaking romantic suspense. She has sold millions of copies of her books worldwide, and has earned a National Readers Choice Award, two Daphne du Maurier prizes and an RT BookReviews Career Achievement Award. She is a multiple finalist for the prestigious RITA Award. For a complete list of her books and more, go to www.juliemiller.org Product Description SHE SOUGHT SOLACE IN A SILENT KNIGHT IN ORDER TO SAVE HER CITY AT CHRISTMAS A detective with no badge, Edward Kincaids brooding nature scared medical examiner Holly Masterson, but couldnt dim her holiday spirit. It was when she attracted a stalker that the most wonderful time of the year turned into the most frightening.Working together to reveal a conspiracy too many people had died covering up, Holly found Edwards protectionand powerful embracehard to resist. Now, as new clues surfaced, could she bust the case wide open and give her silent knight the Christmas miracle he deserved? Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. April And I will sleep in peace until you come to me.I hope you find peace, Dad. Edward Kincaid turned away from the funeral service in the distance and limped back up the sloping hill of Mt. Washington Cemetery to his own hell. It wasnt the first time hed been to a ceremony to bury a fellow cop. But it was the first time hed shown up for one without wearing his own uniform or badge. And it was the first time hed shown up to bury his own father. I dont know how. But I hope you do.Edward couldnt feel the cold rain seeping through his hair and running down his scalp. But he felt the chill of the April day down in his knitted bones. He could barely make out the lyrics of the song his youngest brother, Holden, was singing. But he felt the mournful melody deep in his soul.His mother and brothers, colleagues from the KCPD and more family friends than he could count were gathered on the opposite side of the copse of evergreens and ash trees to his back. But here were the only two people he wanted to be with right now. With his cane sinking into the mud, he awkwardly knelt down in front of the pink marble gravestone and wiped the rain away from the words carved there.Beloved Wife. Beloved Daughter.Cara and Melinda Kincaid. He should be in the ground beside them. Instead of them.Tears burned in his eyes, but he didnt shed them. He was all cried out months ago.He heard the minister talking. Hed gotten this far. If he was going to do this thing, if he was going to face those mourners, hed better get moving.I cant stay today, girls, he whispered. The thick, moist air swallowed up the gravelly rasp of his voice. But I wanted I wanted you to know that Im sober today. Im doing it for Dad. I wish Id been strong enough to get my act together for you. Im going to do right by himby you, too. I threw out the bottles the night I got the call abouthis murder. Thats five days sober. Im going to make it one more. One day at a time was what his AA sponsor kept telling him. One day was about all he had in him anymore. I promise.Melinda would have jumped up and thrown herself into his arms to congratulate him. Despite her young age and her disability, his daughter had always been intuitive about moods. She knew when her daddy needed a hug, when he needed to be left alone, and when he needed someone to cheer him on and make him smile.Five days without a drink wasnt much for a man whod been trying to numb his brain and heart since Christmas Eve, the first anniversary of their deaths. But Melindas pure love would have made him feel as though five days was the entire world. Cara would have been a little more lowkey about the whole thing, saying something that would keep him from getting a big head about his accomplishment. And later, shed find a way to congratulate him privately, personallyand very thoroughly. His two girls would have