reporter.
----
It was past ten that night when Tyler finally picked up the phone to call his brother. He knew it wasn’t too late to call. Mark bad always been a night owl. Catch him in the morning, and he was a grumpy bear. But, after nine o’clock at night, he was ready to party -- at least in the old days. Mark’s life had changed drastically since the car accident a month earlier.
Tyler could still remember getting the call. He’d been in a hotel room in London, covering a summit meeting. The phone had rung in the middle of the night and he’d known, even before he answered it, that bad news was coming. Those first words had stopped his heart: Your brother has been in an accident. You should come as soon as possible.
His immediate reaction had been a silent, desperate prayer: Please let him be all right. Then he’d asked about Mark’s eight-year-old daughter, Amelia, and Mark’s wife, Susan. Amelia had made it. Susan had died on the way to the hospital. And Mark was in surgery to save his life.
The time it took to get from London to San Antonio, Texas, had been the longest hours of Tyler’s life. He’d made a million promises to God along the way, using every bargaining chip he could think of to plead for his brother’s life. Amelia would need her father to help her get over the tragedy of her mother’s death. Mark had to survive to take care of his child. And Tyler couldn’t lose his brother. Not when they’d just begun to get close again. So he’d begged God for a miracle and promised he would do anything and everything he could to protect Mark and Amelia from any further pain. He would make himself responsible for them. He hadn’t known then just how far that promise would take him.
“Hello?” Mark said, his voice corning over the phone.
“How’s it going, little brother?” Tyler deliberately put a cheerful note in his voice, trying to sound casual, as if this was any other conversation they’d had over the years.
“Not so good,” Mark replied, making no effort to aid in the pretense of normalcy.
“What’s wrong?”
“What isn’t wrong? Do you have any news? Shelly said you found the McKenna sisters. Did you talk to any of them?”
“Yes, I spoke to two of them, Kate, the oldest, and Caroline, the youngest. Kate runs a bookstore and appears to run the family, too. She’s smart, responsible, wary, doesn’t let her thoughts show. Caroline is a firecracker, impulsive, headstrong, wants to be taken seriously and doesn’t like big sister calling the shots. I still have to track down Ashley.”
“Did they tell you anything?”
“Not yet. They’re not particularly interested in a follow-up story. In fact, they’re more secretive than I expected. I also met their father, Duncan. He was bombed out of his mind. Kate was called to take care of him, and I got the feeling this was definitely not the first time. I think it’s likely he has a drinking problem.”
“He’s not important. I don’t care about him. Its his daughters. One of them…” Mark’s voice caught on a sob of emotion. “Amelia is all I have left. I promised Susan. She was dying, Tyler, and she knew it. I can still see the fear in her eyes. She was afraid, not for herself but for me and for Amelia.”
“I know,” Tyler said tightly. “You won’t lose Amelia. Trust me.”
“I do trust you. But it’s a hell of a big problem even for you, big brother.”
And he’d been a hell of a big brother, Tyler thought, as a shaft of pain ran through him. He’d missed a lot of years of his brother’s life. “Go to sleep,” he said gruffly. “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything. And I won’t give up. No matter what the McKenna sisters throw in my path.
Chapter Four
Kate stared at the blanket tossed haphazardly on the living room floor. Her father was gone. She’d planned on offering him a cup of coffee, some breakfast, and a stern warning not to speak to Tyler Jamison. But Duncan had already left.
----
It was past ten that night when Tyler finally picked up the phone to call his brother. He knew it wasn’t too late to call. Mark bad always been a night owl. Catch him in the morning, and he was a grumpy bear. But, after nine o’clock at night, he was ready to party -- at least in the old days. Mark’s life had changed drastically since the car accident a month earlier.
Tyler could still remember getting the call. He’d been in a hotel room in London, covering a summit meeting. The phone had rung in the middle of the night and he’d known, even before he answered it, that bad news was coming. Those first words had stopped his heart: Your brother has been in an accident. You should come as soon as possible.
His immediate reaction had been a silent, desperate prayer: Please let him be all right. Then he’d asked about Mark’s eight-year-old daughter, Amelia, and Mark’s wife, Susan. Amelia had made it. Susan had died on the way to the hospital. And Mark was in surgery to save his life.
The time it took to get from London to San Antonio, Texas, had been the longest hours of Tyler’s life. He’d made a million promises to God along the way, using every bargaining chip he could think of to plead for his brother’s life. Amelia would need her father to help her get over the tragedy of her mother’s death. Mark had to survive to take care of his child. And Tyler couldn’t lose his brother. Not when they’d just begun to get close again. So he’d begged God for a miracle and promised he would do anything and everything he could to protect Mark and Amelia from any further pain. He would make himself responsible for them. He hadn’t known then just how far that promise would take him.
“Hello?” Mark said, his voice corning over the phone.
“How’s it going, little brother?” Tyler deliberately put a cheerful note in his voice, trying to sound casual, as if this was any other conversation they’d had over the years.
“Not so good,” Mark replied, making no effort to aid in the pretense of normalcy.
“What’s wrong?”
“What isn’t wrong? Do you have any news? Shelly said you found the McKenna sisters. Did you talk to any of them?”
“Yes, I spoke to two of them, Kate, the oldest, and Caroline, the youngest. Kate runs a bookstore and appears to run the family, too. She’s smart, responsible, wary, doesn’t let her thoughts show. Caroline is a firecracker, impulsive, headstrong, wants to be taken seriously and doesn’t like big sister calling the shots. I still have to track down Ashley.”
“Did they tell you anything?”
“Not yet. They’re not particularly interested in a follow-up story. In fact, they’re more secretive than I expected. I also met their father, Duncan. He was bombed out of his mind. Kate was called to take care of him, and I got the feeling this was definitely not the first time. I think it’s likely he has a drinking problem.”
“He’s not important. I don’t care about him. Its his daughters. One of them…” Mark’s voice caught on a sob of emotion. “Amelia is all I have left. I promised Susan. She was dying, Tyler, and she knew it. I can still see the fear in her eyes. She was afraid, not for herself but for me and for Amelia.”
“I know,” Tyler said tightly. “You won’t lose Amelia. Trust me.”
“I do trust you. But it’s a hell of a big problem even for you, big brother.”
And he’d been a hell of a big brother, Tyler thought, as a shaft of pain ran through him. He’d missed a lot of years of his brother’s life. “Go to sleep,” he said gruffly. “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything. And I won’t give up. No matter what the McKenna sisters throw in my path.
Chapter Four
Kate stared at the blanket tossed haphazardly on the living room floor. Her father was gone. She’d planned on offering him a cup of coffee, some breakfast, and a stern warning not to speak to Tyler Jamison. But Duncan had already left.
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