“What is it?” Judith asked.
“He’s wearing my ring.”
“How can it be your ring?”
Trey shook his head. “It’s a ring with my family’s crest.” He peered closer at the unconscious man. Moving the long hair out of his face, Trey studied him until familiarity sneaked upon him.
Good heavens! It couldn’t be.
Emotion lodged in his throat as he gently rolled the man to his side so Trey could look at his back. When the old bullet wound just under his shoulder blade caught Trey’s eye, he gasped. “It’s Tristan.”
Judith fell to her knees and hiccupped a sob as she covered her mouth.
Nic’s eyes grew misty and he shook his head. “How is that possible?”
Trey rolled the man back toward him and swiped the hair away from his face again, studying him closer. Tears built in Trey’s eyes, but it was his heart that told him this was really hisbrother. “Tristan!” Trey’s voice cracked as he gently shook his brother. “Open your eyes and look at me.”
With tender prodding, Tristan finally blinked. When he met Trey’s stare, he smiled. “Trey,” he rasped.
Trey’s chest tightened and tears leaked down his cheeks. He gathered his brother in his arms and hugged him. “I cannot believe you are alive.”
Tristan sniffed. “I remember now. Thank God, I remember!”
Trey pulled away and cupped his brother’s face. “Where have you been?”
“I don’t know. I have drifted from one place to another. Nothing was in my memory. Not even my name.” He looked to Judith. “Until I saw her. Somehow I knew her.”
Crying, she leaned forward and hugged him.
“When she yelled your name,” Tristan told Trey, “another memory hit me. I knew you were my brother.”
Laughing with happiness, Trey wiped his moist eyes. “I…we all thought you were dead.”
Tristan looked on the other side of him at Nic and smiled. “Hawthorne, old man. How are you?”
Nic chuckled and gave him a bear hug.
Trey couldn’t believe the waves of emotion he’d experienced in one day, but the happiness flowing through him was worth every ache and sorrow he’d suffered. “Let’s get you home and cleaned up, Tristan. You look awful.”
Everyone laughed.
Judith scooted next to Trey and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer. He winked and kissed her on the mouth.
“Tristan,” Trey said as he looked back at his brother. “I want to introduce you to my fiancée.”
His brother’s weak hand lifted toward Judith and she grasped it with both of her hands. He kissed her knuckles and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Again.”
As Trey helped his brother stand, his attention moved to the motionless body still on the road. “Nic? Did you kill him?”
“Yes.”
“Splendid. If you hadn’t, I would have.”
Trey’s heart sang with joy. Never did he think he’d feel this elated, especially after he thought Tristan had died, and again today when he thought the love of his life had left him. His chest still tightened, but there was a cleansing emotion spreading through him.
Smiling, he looked up at the darkened sky. If his father was gazing down from heaven—or up from hell—Trey hoped he knew how happy the prospect of marriage and family made him. He’d never follow in his father’s footsteps again.
*
