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 I m not excusing how he behaved. He could have been a better father. We lost our mother just
the same as he did his mate, Daniel said.  I m just trying to let you see him the way I did.
 I can t live with his anger, anymore, Gabriel said.  Nothing is ever good enough for him.
Daniel laughed.  He s always talking about you. How you re twice the man I am. How you re
single-handedly saving the world.
 You ve got to be shitting me! Gabriel exclaimed with surprise.
 Nope, Daniel told him.  I ve come to realize he ll never tell you how proud he is of you, but
he is. You re everything he was too scared to be. He talks about fighting back, about getting revenge,
but that s all he does. Talk.
 He did lose Mom, Gabriel said.  Losing Kenzie would shut me down, too.
 Maybe, eventually. But I can t see you allowing anyone to live if they hurt her, much less took
her from you, Daniel challenged.
 I d rip all their throats out, Gabriel agreed.  I d bathe in their blood and know she was
avenged.
 Exactly, Daniel said.  Dad just curled up and ceased to care about much of anything, including
us.
Gabriel had to admit Daniel was right.
 Dad talks a good game, but he s a coward, Daniel said.  He knows it.
 I don t understand him, Gabriel confessed.
 I doubt you ever will. You re nothing alike.
 You re no coward, either, Gabriel said.
 No, I m not, Daniel said.  I do understand him though, probably better than he understands
himself. I feel sorry for him. So, yeah, I coddle him. I placate and cajole. I smooth things over when
he loses his temper. He s a sad, lonely man.
 By choice, Daniel, Gabriel argued.  You said yourself he could have been different. He made
his choices just like the rest of us.
Daniel sighed.
 What? Gabriel asked, sensing there was more his brother wasn t telling him.
 Do you remember the time he came home and Mom made him take us on a picnic?
 Yeah, Gabriel said. It had been just a few weeks before they d lost her.  He argued it was a
waste of time. Said picnics were for girls, and he had sons.
Daniel laughed.  I d actually forgotten about that. You re right. We went because she wanted to.
We had our picnic, and Mom sent us off to play while she and dad sat on the blanket.
 We played hide and seek, Gabriel said. He d hidden, and it d taken Daniel so long to find
him, Gabriel had finally come out on his own.
 I hid and watched them. I d never seen him that way before.
 What way? Gabriel asked.
 Happy, Daniel said.  I was ready to go find you, and I heard him laugh. So I hid, and I
watched them. The way he looked at her. I can still see it. Every time he yells and berates, I
remember that moment and the way he looked at her.
 Damn it, Daniel, Gabriel said.  You can t make excuses for him. You can t let him get away
with the way he acts.
 So stick around and deal with, Daniel snapped.
 I plan to, Gabriel admitted.
 You re giving up being the Angel?
 No, I think we need the Angel, but I don t need to get myself killed trying to be him. You ve
been telling me for years to slow down, to think more and plan, to let others help me more often than I
do. I think it s time I listened, Gabriel said.
 You should have mated sooner, Daniel teased.  I wouldn t have had to worry so much.
 I m sorry, Gabriel said.  I haven t been the best brother, have I?
 How would I know? Daniel joked, standing and heading toward the pond.  You re the only
one I ve got.
He raced into the water, whooping and hollering about the cold. Gabriel watched for a minute,
laughing, before joining him. They spent the morning as they had so often when they were boys, and
Gabriel realized they needed to spend more mornings like this. The two of them. He d let himself
become closer to Laura since she d arrived, finding it easier to talk to her than to Daniel. Now, he
realized he d been wrong.
Daniel saw Gabriel as the strong one, as having nothing in common with their dad. Gabriel
knew better. His dad had hidden his grief in anger and apparently now in alcohol. Gabriel had hidden
his by leaving, fighting and saving all the ones he could. Still, he and his dad were both motivated by
the same thing their inability to save his mother. Daniel was the strong one, the one who stood his
ground, dealt with his grief, and moved forward with nothing to prove. He was unapologetically who
he was and somehow still managed to see the good in everyone.
They were back at the vehicle, pulling clothes on when Daniel asked about Kenzie.
 So what was the deal with this Nix guy? Daniel questioned.
 What do you make of him? Gabriel asked instead of answering. Daniel was good at reading
people.
 Don t really know much about him. Quiet. Observant. Doesn t draw a lot of attention to
himself, Daniel said.
 He s claiming to be Kenzie s long lost brother, but I m not sure I m buying it. Seems a little too
convenient for me.
 Convenient how? Daniel asked as they got in and began driving back toward town.
 My mate decides to go look for answers, and this guy just shows up with all of them, Gabriel
said.  What s your gut instinct say about him? Would you trust him?
 Not without solid proof to back it up, Daniel admitted.  It would take more than a photo he
could have found anywhere. What was the deal with Clara, anyway?
 Claims the woman in the photo is Elizabeth Walker Blackwell, sister to Thomas and Michael
Walker, Clara s uncle and father.
 Which would make them cousins, but Clara didn t appear to know him, Daniel commented.
 No, she didn t. Said her father never mentioned him. To which Nix blamed Thomas.
 From the things I ve heard, he seems to get the blame for a lot of stuff, Daniel said.  Let me
put it this way. Dad hates everything and everyone.
 Yeah.
 Can you see him not telling us if we had family out there? Cousins or aunts or uncles?
 I can t see him not telling us, Gabriel agreed.
 I get the impression Clara was close to her father. Plus, why would Gideon not know? If
Thomas was so manipulative, seems like he would have wanted to keep an eye on his sister s only
child. Don t you think? Daniel spelled out some of the questions going through Gabriel s mind.
 I think I need to talk to Nix and demand some more answers, and some hard proof of his
claims.
 I can buy that the woman in the picture is Elizabeth Walker Blackwell, Daniel admitted.  I
saw the picture, and there is a resemblance to Clara. I can even buy into Clara and Kenzie being
related now that I think about it. Similar brown eyes in color and shape. The way they both tend to
cock their heads to the right when they re listening. Plus, Clara confirmed she d seen the woman in
pictures that were in with her father s stuff. Were there any of a younger Nix? Only makes sense that
there should be if he s her son.
 That s a good point, too. I should have been focusing more on this last night, Gabriel
confessed.
 You were more concerned with your brother, Daniel said.  I know we haven t been as close
over the last few years. Hell, sometimes I think Laura s more of a sibling to me than you are.
Gabriel burst out laughing. Just couldn t help it.
 What s so funny? Daniel asked.
 I found myself thinking the exact same thing recently, Gabriel admitted.  We re lucky to have
her.
 We are, Daniel agreed.  We re lucky to have one another. Today was fun. We should do it
more often.
 Agreed.
 As for Nix, I d definitely keep my eye on him. Listen to your instincts.
 My instincts are screaming something s off. If you don t mind, I ll drop you off and head back
out to the ranch. I want to talk with Gideon, find out exactly what he saw of Nix in that lab. Then see
the pictures Clara has. He was suddenly uneasy and overwhelmed by a keen desire to head back and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]