Chapter 49

forty-nine

PAUL

A few days later, I straightened my jacket and took a deep breath. It was time to visit my brother.

"It'll be okay," Liam reassured me. "Alex is looking forward to meeting you."

I bit my bottom lip, hoping he was right. Last night, Liam had received a call from the special agent in charge of Alex's case. The danger to everyone had been minimized, and the FBI was confident they'd found most of the people involved in the terrorist threat.

It seemed like years instead of weeks that I'd been waiting for everything to settle down. "What if we've got nothing in common?"

"You won't know until you spend some time with him."

Amy unbuckled her seatbelt. "Are we going inside?"

I looked over my shoulder at my niece. Amy was excited. As soon as she knew we were visiting Alex, she'd drawn him a picture of our Christmas tree. "I guess we are."

I opened the truck door and stepped onto the icy ground. Alex's house was just as beautiful as Jacob's. With its wide wraparound veranda, the two-story home suited the rugged landscape around it.

Liam held out his hand. "Are you ready?"

I took his hand and nodded. "Let's go."

Amy held my other hand and skipped across the yard. We were only halfway to the house when the front door opened. A man in his late thirties walked down the stairs.

My heart pounded. I'd studied the photograph of Alex so many times that I would have known him anywhere. His smile sent a surge of relief through me.

"Hi," I said hesitantly.

Alex's arms opened wide. "You're a lot more handsome than your photos."

I stepped into his embrace. "I like you already." Tears stung my eyes as I wrapped my arms around his waist. I tried to speak, tried putting into words how I felt, but I couldn't form one coherent thought.

When we finally stepped apart, I still didn't know what to say.

Liam stood beside me and extended his hand. "It's good to see you again, Alex. How's the arm?"

"It's healing."

I felt terrible. I'd forgotten about Alex's gunshot wound. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't hurt your arm."

Alex wiped tears from his eyes. "My arm's fine. It's my heart that's beating out of control. I can't believe you're my brother." He looked at Amy, who was hiding behind Liam's legs. "Hello. You must be Amy. I'm your Uncle Alex."

Amy handed him the picture she'd drawn. "This is for you. It's a picture of our Christmas tree."

Alex knelt on the ground. "What an amazing tree. Did you decorate it with Paul? "

Amy nodded. "Liam and Lydia helped, too. Lydia isn't here today. She had to go home."

"It's good that you're able to be here. Do you want to come inside and see my Christmas tree?"

Amy looked up at me. "Is that all right?" she whispered.

I nodded.

"When we're inside, do you want to see Dolly?" Amy asked Alex. "She's asleep in my backpack."

"I'd love to see Dolly." Alex held out his hand. "Dylan made some Christmas cookies. Do you think Dolly would like one?"

Amy's eyes lit up. "Dolly loves cookies. Who's Dylan?"

With laughter in his eyes, Alex glanced at Liam before answering Amy. "Dylan's my boyfriend. He helped me fix the computer program I was developing."

Liam's eyes widened.

I wondered why he seemed so surprised.

"I like fixing things, too," Amy said.

"That's great." Alex walked toward the house and held open the front door. "The kitchen is this way."

As we walked through the living room, I admired the beautiful Christmas tree. Someone had turned on the sound system and Christmas carols drifted toward us, soothing my frazzled nerves.

I sighed when I saw the view of the mountains and snow-covered trees. It was just as spectacular as the view from Jacob's house. "You must enjoy living here. It's so peaceful."

"It's had its moments." Alex walked through a large doorway. An attractive man with light brown hair was in the kitchen, arranging cookies on a plate. "Dylan, this is my brother, Paul, and his niece, Amy. Paul and Amy, this is my boyfriend, Dylan Holmes. And you already know Liam. "

I smiled at Dylan. "I've heard a lot of good things about you."

"Alex is biased," Dylan said with a grin. "Only believe half of what he's said. Would you like something to drink?"

Amy made herself at home on one of the kitchen stools. "Could I please have a hot chocolate?"

I stood behind my niece. "Could you make that two?"

"I sure can. What about you, Liam?" Dylan asked.

"I'll have coffee, thanks."

Alex pointed at the kitchen table. "We can sit here or in the living room. Which would you prefer?"

Liam looked at me.

"Here will be okay," I said. "Thank you for inviting us to your home."

Alex pulled out a stool for me. "You're welcome. I've got to admit that I was really nervous this morning. It's not every day you meet a brother you didn't know you had."

"I felt the same way," I admitted. "I'm just glad we found each other. Imagine if we'd gone through our entire lives not knowing the other person existed."

Dylan handed everyone a drink. "Something good had to come out of what the terrorists were doing."

I studied my brother's serious face. "Are you safe now?"

"As safe as you can ever be when you're working on a sensitive project."

Dylan offered everyone a cookie. "Alex has his own private bodyguard now. I'm not letting him out of my sight."

I was confused. "I thought you were an IT consultant?"

"I am, but I also provide personal protection to some of Bryant Security's most valuable clients. Alex, for all his faults, falls into that category. "

Alex groaned. "I'm supposed to be your boyfriend. You should say nice things about me."

Dylan grinned. "I love you regardless of your faults. Besides, I've got enough issues for both of us."

"You make nice cookies," Amy said from the kitchen stool.

Dylan ruffled Amy's hair. "That's good to know. And who is this beautiful doll?"

"Her name is Dolly. She's special."

"She looks special. How did you find her?"

While Amy chatted to Dylan, I asked Alex about his life. We'd been careful about what we'd said over the telephone in case someone was listening. But here, in the middle of the wilderness, we could share parts of our lives we hadn't spoken about.

The weight of everything that had happened began to lift from my shoulders. I felt at home with Alex, more at peace than I had since my sister and parents' deaths. It wasn't until much later that I realized why.

I wasn't alone anymore. I had a brother.