“Now is not the time for that discussion, cousin.” Cambridge Sinclair arrived next. “Hello, Katie.” He laid a hand on her head briefly. “Are you well, darling?”
“I-I am, just cold. But he is shot and now unconscious.”
Wolf took his scarf off and wound it round her neck several times until it reached her ears.
“Sinclairs courting trouble once more,” James said, reaching them with his brother Max Huntington at his side.
“Indeed, there is never a dull moment with this family,” Nicholas added.
“No!”
The word was torn from Max as he dropped to his haunches on the other side of Rory. “Rory!” The hand he reached out was shaking as he touched the man’s cheek. “Is he…?”
“No, he has just fainted,” Kate said quickly, hearing the desperation in his voice. “Who is he, Max?”
“My brother.”
“Good lord, and Kate found him on our beach,” Cam said. “Interesting though this development is, we need to get him warm and tended to by Essie with some expediency.”
“How bad is he hurt?” Max had eyes just like Rory’s, Kate realized.
“I think it’s a bullet wound to his shoulder,” Kate said. “But I could not see if it passed through.”
“Lord, let’s hope so. I helped fish one out of you, Max, and have no wish to do so again,” Cam added. “Of course, he’s a big brute like you also, so it will take all of us to get him up the cliff and back to Oak’s Knoll.”
With a loud woof, Rory’s dog ran to Max.
“Bran?”
Clearly they knew each other, as the shaggy beast pressed his face into Max’s.
“He was a pup when I left.”
“He remembers you.” Kate swallowed the lump in her throat as Max closed his eyes briefly. She knew nothing about his family, only that he’d been searching for them.
“So this is my other brother,” James said, now crouched behind Rory’s head.
“The reunion can wait. We must get him back quickly. He’s chilled and in grave danger,” Kate said.
They worked together to carry him up, Dev, James, Max, and Wolf doing most of the work, with Cam issuing orders and Nicholas there should he be required.
“Your family has lead in their blood,” Cam said as finally they reached the top. “He’s as heavy as you, Max.”
“And you’d know this how?” Dev grunted.
“I can see how hard you’re breathing.”
Kate kept her eyes on Rory; he had yet to open his.
“I-I don’t know how long he was there, but he’s cold, and there is a lot of blood on his shirt.”
“It’s all right, we’re here now.” Cam wrapped an arm around her. “Still your fears and let us help him.”
“But why was he there, Cam? And bound hand and foot, left to die.”
Tall like all the men in her family, Cam carried no spare weight and had boundless energy and a constant need to eat. He was also kind, although he hid that behind words and teasing.
“I don’t know yet, Kate, but we will. For now we care for him and for Max.”
