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Dan regarded him with arched eyebrows. “You were fifteen when he died. Was that the kind of relationship you had with him? Would he have shared something so intimate?”
Gary stilled. “No, I don’t think he would. We were always close, but….” He gazed at Dan, and the hope Dan saw there made his heart ache. “I don’t suppose you know who they were?”
“I don’t have a name, if that’s what you’re asking. But I do know one thing about them.” He smiled. “They were male.”
Gary’s jaw dropped. “Brad was gay?”
“Ah, I thought that might be news to you. It isn’t something I’ve ever heard you mention.” He nodded. “Brad was most definitely gay.” He replaced the ring in the drawer, then wandered over to the bookshelf, peering at the titles on the spines. “He liked to read.”
Gary chuckled. “Brad always had his nose in a book. He loved horrors and thrillers, and Mom used to say she couldn’t understand why anyone would read those kinds of books.”
One title caught his eye. “Why does this one ring a bell?” he murmured. Dan brushed his fingers down the spine, and a jolt of… something lanced through him.
Don’t pick it up.
He’d gotten this far, and far louder voices in his head were telling him to do exactly that. He plucked it from the shelf, then dropped it almost instantly to the rug, where it bounced, landing cover side down. Dan nursed his hand against his chest, wincing at the sensation.
It was as if the book’s surface had burned him.
“What’s wrong?” Gary’s hand was at his back in a heartbeat.
“I’m sensing really strong emotions, only they’re not Brad’s.” He shivered again, but this time there was no pleasure connected to the reaction.
Far from it.
Gary bent down and picked the book up. He turned it over to reveal the cover. “John D. MacDonald. The Executioners.” His eyes widened. “Have you seen this before? Was it in a dream? Or a vision?”
Dan was asking himself the same question.
“You told me Brad knew his killer.” Gary held the book up. “Did this belong to them?”
Dan steeled himself and took it from him with a shudder. He peered inside. “I was hoping for a name at least.” Just as quickly, he closed it and handed it back to Gary.
“I could have it dusted for fingerprints,” Gary suggested.
Dan shook his head. “Who knows how many people have handled it?”
“It might have belonged to someone at college. Or high school.”
“Possibly.” Dan didn’t want to think any more about the book. His senses recoiled at the prospect of touching it again. “But wehavelearned something important. Your brother was gay.” He gazed at his surroundings. “There is so much love in this room: Brad’s love for you, for your parents.” He couldn’t hold back the sigh that escaped him. He’d picked up on something else as well—Gary’s mom’s despair, her sorrow, her hope.
“After so long, you’ve givenmehope too,” Gary murmured.
It was only then that Dan realized he’d spoken out loud. He held his arms wide. “Come here.” Gary walked into them without a second’s hesitation, and Dan held him, feeling the pounding of Gary’s heart.
So much emotion barely contained below the surface….
He cupped Gary’s bearded chin and looked him in the eye. “This could be a marathon, not a sprint. You know that, right?”
Gary nodded. “And I can deal with that, as long as I have you.”
Dan pulled him in closer, and their lips met in a gentle kiss, only to break the embrace with a start when he heard a gasp.
Gary’s mom gaped at them.
“I think you two have got some explaining to do.”
Chapter Eighteen
