She was surprised that Tyler and Trent were just finishing up their lunches when she and Trey walked up to the patio area.

“So?” Tyler glanced up at them.

“They’re sending a car up to the address now. They said they’d give me a call when they know something.” Trey sat down and grabbed a fry from his brother’s plate.

They ordered sandwiches and the four of them sat around until Trey’s phone chimed.

She listened as he talked to the police. When he hung up, she knew the trip there hadn’t done any good.

“The place was emptied out. They said it looked like he’d been staying there but had moved out sometime during the night.” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, a move the three of them did often.

“What do we do now?” Trent asked.

Trey glanced over at her. “Now Dylan and I go on our hike, and we all regroup when we get home tonight.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Tyler glanced at his watch. “I promised Kristen I’d watch Timothy so she and her mother could do some shopping.”

“I’ve got to go with Addy to her mother’s place, help her move a few heavy things,” Trent told them. “We’ll have to regroup after. How about the Dancing Moose around eight?”

“See you then.” Trey tossed down some cash to pay for their meal.

Dylan watched the landscape pass by her outside the truck windows. Dopey was fast asleep in the back seat and Trey was quiet as he drove.

“We’ll find him,” she assured him.

“Yeah. It kills me knowing he might be the one who caused all this mess.”

“Who else could it be?” She’d thought long and hard about it. “I mean, you said that he was skilled in explosives. He was the last person I saw before leaving the office that day. You caught him on camera blowing up the trailer. Who else would have reasons to start the fire? To kill the lawyer?”

“Lots of people,” Trey answered. “We haven’t heard from our usual suspects. Darla’s been quiet since your brother left town. No one has seen Dennis in weeks, since after he was brought in for questioning. Still, no one can prove he was the one who rented the car they found Rice in.” He turned off the main road and pulled into the parking area of the hiking trail.

“How is that possible?” she asked as they got out. Dopey jumped out, excited to see dirt and trees surrounding them.

“The rental place says that someone picked up the car using a code that allows you into the vehicle. The man who called it in put the rental under Dennis’ name but paid with a disposable credit card. For all we know, Rice could have rented the car himself.”

“And shot himself in the head and threw the gun away?” she asked.

“Right.” They started walking up the trail. He’d thrown the backpack with their water over his shoulder. “Still, they had found Rice in the passenger seat. That means someone else drove him up there.”

“Someone who wanted everyone to think it was Dennis Rodgers.” She glanced over at Trey. “Is Dennis a smart man?”

He thought about it before answering her. “He wasn’t smart enough to remove Kristen’s shoe from the back of his truck after he kidnapped her.”

She nodded. “Still, he did walk free after that.”

“Yeah.” Trey sounded disgusted. “Maybe he’s smarter than we all were led to believe.”

“He’s worth looking into. I’m sure the police have done so.”

“He’s still a free man,” Trey reminded her.

“Right. Still, maybe he killed Rice long before the explosion. Set a timer of sorts, then showed up at his ex’s just as everything went down.”

Trey was silent for a while. “It’s worth considering.” He took her hand. “Later.” He nodded to the view.

They hiked up the hill, quiet as they made their way. She was huffing and puffing by the time they reached the first peak.

“I don’t think I could ever get tired of these views.” She sighed and smiled as she looked out over the valley. A crystal lake sat down in the basin surrounded by green hills and blue skies with only a few puffy clouds overhead.

When Dylan turned around to smile at Trey, he shocked her by bending down to one knee.

“I know we’ve already done this, but I needed to do it properly. Someplace like here.” He smiled at the view. “Dylan McCaw, I can’t imagine a day without waking up beside you, watching you sleep. I love you more than I ever imagined loving someone.” Her heart did a little jump and tears filled her eyes when he pulled a small box from the backpack pocket. “This time, let’s make it official. Will you marry me?”

He slid open the box and she gasped at the beauty of the white gold ring. There was a beautiful blue diamond and several smaller diamonds around it. It sparkled in the sunlight. She’d never seen anything like it.

“Yes, a million times, for the rest of our lives, yes.” She chuckled as he slipped the ring on her finger. “Get up here.” She pulled him into her arms. The kiss was just as powerful as the first one he’d given her and that amazing kiss he’d given her after the explosion. His arms around her was the best feeling she’d ever experienced. She couldn’t believe she’d been lucky enough to find someone like him and to know that for the rest of her life, she would enjoy him, like this.

“Now that we’ve made it official, there’s just one more thing I have to ask you.” He smiled down at her.

“Anything,” she said, smiling back up at him.

“Can we stop for ice cream on the way back?”

She laughed. “I was hoping you’d ask me that. Let’s go. I’m already hungry again.” Dopey let out a playful bark and raced around them.

Going downhill was a lost faster than going up. Dopey kept tugging on her arm, so Trey took his leash and helped her when the path got too steep.

“Next time we go hiking, I get to pick the path,” she joked after tripping over a stone.

When they arrived back at the truck, his cell phone chimed. “We must have been out of range.” He frowned at the messages that kept coming.

“We have to go.” He tossed the bag into the back and snapped Dopey into his harness.

“What’s up?” she asked, strapping her seatbelt on quickly.

“Family meeting has been moved up. Here.” He handed her his phone. “Read the rest of the messages out loud as I drive.”

The first message was from Tyler.

-We made it back to Haven and ran into Dennis. The man was acting pissed and strange.

The next one was from Trent.

-Man, you’d better come back to town. It looks like they are going to bring in Dennis. They found more evidence in the car.

Tyler messaged again.

-Dennis is on the run. No one knows where he is. Word got out that the police had evidence. I’m not sure it’s true, we’re heading down to the station now. I’ll keep you posted. p.s. I hope Dylan likes the rock you picked out.

She looked over at him. “I love it,” she said. He smiled over at her and took her hand as he hit the highway.

“Your mother texted you next.” She read the text out loud.

-We’re all down at the station. They want us all down here for our own safety. Where are you?

“Call her,” Trey broke in.

Dylan hit redial and speaker. When his mother picked up, Trey spoke up.

“Mom, we’re coming back into town. We should be there in about half an hour. What’s going on?”

“Okay, sweetie. Well, we’ll go over everything once you get here. We’re heading over to the Dancing Moose now with Tony and Tom. We’ll be there until you arrive. Keep your eyes peeled and drive safe.”

“Will do, tell everyone we’re on our way,” he added before she hung up.

“What is going on?” Dylan asked, unable to believe that things could take such a turn so quickly.

“I’m not sure. Looks like we’ll find out when we get there.” She let him focus on driving as she continued to scan his family’s text messages. There were a few other messages, all about meeting with the police. A new message popped up and she read it for Trey. This one was from Mike.

-If you see either Dennis or Carl, do not engage. Call or text us immediately.

“Reply back and tell him we’ll be in town in about”—he glanced down at the clock—“twenty minutes.”

She texted a quick message back. She noticed then that her fingers were shaking.

“Hey.” Trey reached over and took her hand. “It’s okay. I’m sure they just found more proof that Dennis had something to do with Rice’s murder.”

“Yeah, that’s not what worries me. The fact that the police are worried for your family, that’s what worries me.”

The thought of something bad happening to any of the people she’d grown to love in the past few months was unbearable.

“Hey, we McGowans are made of tougher stuff than that.” He smiled over at her. “We’ve survived fire, being blown up, and being frozen.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

“Yes, but this is different.”

“I know,” he said softly. “We’ll get through this. I promise.”

* * *

Trey parked next to his brother’s truck. Dopey was fast asleep in the back seat, and he decided to let the dog enjoy the sleep. The dog barely opened an eye as they got out.

“He should be okay.” He had walked over to help Dylan out of the truck and assured her as she glanced in the dog’s direction. “I think we wore him out with that walk.”

“Him and me. My legs are going to be sore tomorrow.” They were halfway across the parking lot when a sound caused him to turn around.

He had less than a second to push Dylan from his side. She went face first into the asphalt parking lot, catching herself on her hands and knees. A second later, the sedan slammed into his hip, and he flew across the parking lot.

His shirt was torn away as he skidded across asphalt. The sting of his skin tearing was instant.

Before he could recover fully, he was staring down the barrel of a gun.

“You had to ruin everything by surviving the trailer fire and that the blast. No one should have been able to survive the blasts.” Dennis Rodgers stood over him, the weapon aimed directly at Trey’s heart.

One part of his mind heard Dylan scream and the sound of several people running. He was sure that before his family reached him, he’d have a bullet through his chest.

He was sprawled out on the black asphalt, bleeding from his new scrapes and cuts.

“Dennis.” He blinked a few times. What could he say? How could he stall the man? “What’s this all about? At least show me the decency of telling me why I deserve to die.”

The older man’s eyes narrowed. “You still don’t know.” The man chuckled, the weapon never wavering from its mark. “I can’t believe he never told you.”

“Told me what? Who?” he asked, trying to see out of the corner of the eye if help was on its way.

Too late, Dennis noticed the group gathering around him. “Stay back,” he called out, his gun moving closer to Trey’s chest. “Get back,” he said again. Trey could hear more footfalls, this time as everyone moved away.

Trey prayed that Dylan was safe. He could hear her crying and begging for his life.

“No, Rice never told us anything. Why don’t you tell me now?”

“Not Rice,” Dennis screamed, spit flying from his mouth. The man looked thinner than the last time Trey had seen him. There were dark circles under his eyes and he had a wild look as he stared directly at Trey. The man’s eyes never wavered from him.

“Who then?” Trey asked, as he tried to steady his heart rate. It wouldn’t do him any good to freak out, so he tried to take a few deep breaths, even knowing they may be his last.

“The McGowans with their stupid family rules. Who the hell makes it so that the youngest son gets all the rewards?”

“I don’t understand.” Trey settled on his butt, so now he was sitting facing the man. “Maybe you can enlighten me.”

“Three sons. For three generations there’s been three sons,” Dennis spat at him.

“My brothers…” He wasn’t making any sense, and Trey was having a hard time trying to stall him further.

“No!” he shouted, interrupting him as he pointed directly between Trey’s eyes. Trey heard several cries from behind him. “I’m not talking about you three brats. I’m talking about me.”

“You?” Trey took a breath.

“I’m the third.” The man laughed. “Which means, I should have gotten the name, the inheritance. I should be in control of everything.”

Everything was silent for a moment. Dennis’s last words hung in the air.

“You… you’re a McGowan?”

“Finally! It’s funny, you and your stupid brothers were too dumb to see it. But not your old man, no, my dearly departed brother caught on early on. It’s the eyes.” Dennis sneered, the gun wavering between Trey’s chest and his head.

Trey looked beyond the barrel pointed at him to Dennis’s eyes. Sure enough, for the first time in his life, he saw the resemblance between Dennis, Carl, and his father.

“You’re the youngest?” Trey asked.

“Your grandfather, Thurston the first fell in love with my mother, Norine. He was in the process of leaving his wife, June, when he died in that crash. He never got to acknowledge my birth, but someone did.” Dennis smiled. “Someone did.”

“Denny.” A new voice broke into fold.

Trey glanced over as Uncle Carl stepped forward. Seeing the two men standing side by side, Trey wondered how no one in town or in his family had ever suspected it before.

“Denny, this isn’t the way. The kid can’t give you what you want.” Carl McGowan looked so frail, Trey wondered how the man was standing up. His hands were out as he continued to walk towards them.

“Of course, he can. Rice filed the new will. When he’s gone, we finally have a chance again.”

“Not like this, we never planned this,” Carl said.

“Maybe you didn’t.” Dennis chuckled. “Of course, you were all gung-ho when it’s blowing up an empty trailer or skinning a few animals, but I knew you’d never get your hands dirty. I’m the one that had to stop the deal between McGowan and JB Holding. I’m the one who had to snatch and feed that bitch in the cave.” Dennis was screaming at this point. Trey heard a few gasps behind him, but his eyes didn’t move from the gun pointing at him. “I’m the one who had to break in and try to delete those emails that Rice sent, but the new bitch secretary had changed Rea’s passwords, I’m the one who had the balls to try it. I’ve always been prepared to go the distance. I’m the one who’s suffered the most. I lost everything.”

“Denny, it can’t end like this. I never meant any harm to the boys.” Carl was almost standing between them, when Dennis shouted.

“Stop making excuses!” The gun moved for a moment to Carl. “You can’t fix this like you’ve been doing all these years. I can’t keep hiding who I am. I’m a McGowan!”

It happened so quickly, yet the next few seconds seemed to stretch on forever.

Dennis’s arm turned, the gun sliding between Carl and Trey. Trey’s eyes focused on the barrel as it pointed directly at his chest. Dennis’ fingers twitched, and he saw a slight puff of air burst as the bullet flew out of the muzzle.

He’d been so focused on the gun that he hadn’t seen the old man throw his body in front of his to shield him. Carl landed on top of him, knocking him back to the asphalt as he flew back and caught the man. Trey instantly recognized the warmth from Carl’s blood flowing from the hole in his chest as it washed over him. All sound had ceased to exist until after he had caught his breath.

“Carl?” He held the man close to him. It was too late, the man stared back at him with empty eyes that eerily matched his own, his father’s, and those of his other uncle, Dennis.

Several people tackled Dennis. His brothers held the man down, and the gun was kicked away. They waited for the other police to arrive.

“Trey!” Dylan broke free from someone’s hold and rushed over to him. She knelt beside him, tears rolling down her face.

“He…saved me.” He looked over at her. Understanding finally catching him.

“Trey,” Dylan cried again, her hands running over his body, mixing in Carl’s blood. “Are you hurt?”

“No,” he answered without really knowing if it was the truth. “He jumped in front of me and saved me.” Trey looked down at the old man who he and his brothers had spent so many years fearing and hating. “Why?” he asked. “Why?” He shook his head.

“Hey.”

Trey looked over as his brother’s face came into view. Tyler gently moved Carl’s body from his own.

“Why?” he asked again, this time pointing the question to his brother.

“I don’t know, but we need to check you out.” Tyler’s hands ran over him. Trey hissed when they found a tender spot in his side.

“Yeah, thought so. You may be fire, explosive, and freezer proof, but you’re not bullet proof.” Tyler turned and waved at someone. “Over here, he’s been shot.”

“No, I haven’t.” He frowned down at his blood-soaked shirt. “Well, look at that.” He chuckled, then met Dylan’s eyes. “I’ve been shot.” Then everything went dark.