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none of your business.” Nadine sealed her guilt.
    Danika wanted to shake her, but she wasn’t a child. “Is it worth what you’re doing to your own health and those who love you?”
    “You sound like a TV ad for vitamins. Leave me alone, Danika. You and your brat are here eating our food because your loser husband got himself killed doing something stupid.”
    Heat anchored the ire in Danika’s face. Insulting her was one thing, but referring to Tiana and Toby with contempt made her furious. When had Nadine changed from a considerate and lovable young woman to such a . . . She refused to let the descriptor roll around her head. “You and I have always been close. I don’t understand why you’re pushing me away. This doesn’t make sense.”
    “Makes as much sense as you sticking your nose in my life. If I need to talk to someone, it’ll be Lucy.”
    “What gives you the right to upset my daughter?” Jacob’s voice bounced off the walls of the bedroom, dumping a hollow emptiness into Danika’s resolve to support her family.
    With her ears ringing, Danika slowly crossed the room to face Jacob. “The right? Guess I don’t have one.”
* * *
    Alex checked on Jon Barnett before leaving the hospital for the day, or rather the night. Jon slept comfortably while Livi rested in a vinyl chair beside him. She alternated her focus between her husband’s ashen face and the monitors hooked up to his wounded body. He drifted in and out of consciousness and was still in critical condition, but his vitals were good. Alex felt confident of the man’s recovery. Jon lived life hard—worked hard and played hard—and today he fought hard against the damage inflicted on his body.
    Border Patrol agents filtered in and out of the hospital offering support, not just with statements but by putting their words into action. Livi said an agent and his wife offered to stay with the children for the night. Another agent handed Livi a list of families who would be bringing food for the next week. And another agent and his wife planned to spend the night at the hospital. Some volunteers attended the Barnetts’ church, but most of the support came from the Border Patrol family. BPs always rallied together when needed. Alex had learned that most agents stepped into their roles with a desire to serve their country and its citizens. Only after they’d been on active duty for a while did they realize the danger and understand the toll their careers could take on their families.
    “I’ll be calling in to check on Jon,” Alex said. “He’s a fighter.”
    Livi lifted her gaze from the monitors. “So many people have been praying for him and for you. Thanks, Alex.”
    He bent and squeezed her shoulders. “I’ll be here early in the morning.” The few hours’ rest on the cot in his office wasn’t the same as eight solid ones in his own bed. Exhaustion had attacked him in full force, and his body and brain needed downtime to function.
    He rode the elevator to the lobby and spotted Danika Morales entering through the hospital’s double doors. Catching her attention, he waved. “Good evening, Agent Morales.”
    She smiled, and in jeans and a T-shirt, she looked more like a soccer mom than a BP agent. Curly hair hung almost to her shoulders, loose and free. The color reminded him of dark honey.
    “Danika, please,” she said. “Hey, you’ve put in a long day.”
    “Comes with the territory.”
    “I understand. I’m sure Livi is overwhelmed with all of this, and I wanted to check on her before I went home.”
    What a sweet gesture. “She’s a soldier, just like Jon.”
    “Well, I’m going to see about the Barnett boot camp. Have a good evening, Dr. Price.”
    “Alex.”
    “Okay, Alex.” Danika tossed another quick smile and strolled past him.
    I’m an idiot. He didn’t have a single intellectual, stimulating, witty, bachelor-like thing to say. He’d been married to the medical profession far too long. Next time he’d be