Page 35 of Reunion at Mistletoe Lodge
“I can wait,” Barb said, leading him to the living room. “I was just about to start the fire.”
“Let me,” Liam offered and went to work. “I thought I’d come to see you before I brought my brotherover.” Within a few minutes, he had the fire roaring to life. “We need to talk.”
He got up and sat beside her on the sofa, which suddenly felt too small.
“What’s this about?” Barb asked curiously.
“You asked me about Trevor,” Liam said, and he pulled out his phone. “I haven’t asked my brother yet, but I found this.” He scrolled through something on his phone and handed it to Barb. “Do you recognize anyone?”
Barb took the phone, and her eyes widened. Her heart hit her rib cage like it was trying to bang open a locked door. “That… that's Trevor!” Her head shot around, and she looked at Liam. “Where is this?” She breathed. “Where is he?”
“Barb, you need to keep a level head,” Liam advised. “I’m not even sure it is Trevor. It could be someone who looks like him.”
“No!” Barb shook her head, expanding the photo so she could see his face. “Do you think someonewho would look like Trevor would have an identical scar on his cheek?” She handed the phone back to Liam. “ThatisTrevor!”
He took his phone back and looked at the scar on the man in the picture’s face. Liam had seen that scar nearly every day. It was where a perp’s pocket knife had sliced Trevor.
“I agree. It looks a lot like the scar Trevor had on his face,” Liam agreed. “But it still could be a coincidence.”
“Who are the other people in the photo?” Barb couldn’t help but ask, especially after seeing a wedding ring on the man that could be Trevor’s finger.
“The man in the middle is an astrophysicist, and the woman on the other side of the younger man is Trevor's wife,” Liam told her. “I believe they were married seven or eight years ago.”
“How do you know this?” Barb asked Liam, searching his eyes as if trying to pull the answers from his head. “Do… do they have children?”
Liam looked at her with something like panic in his eyes for a fleeting second before it was gone, and he shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
Barb frowned as she was sure he was lying for some reason. “If it is Trevor, don’t you think he has the right to know about Oscar?”
“I think he might already know,” Liam told her. “I have reason to believe that someone close to me has been keeping him updated.”
Barb’s brows shot up. “Zac!” she guessed.
Liam nodded, staring at his phone, before switching it off and pocketing it. “I’m afraid my brother is full of surprises.”
Barb looked at Liam in disbelief. “So your brother knew that Trevor was alive all this time?”
“If it is Trevor, yes,” Liam said with a nod. “Do you know a Professor Jackson who works between Boulder and Keckin Hawaii?”
“My father's younger brother was a professor of…” Her eyes widened. “He, too, was an astrophysicist.” She looked at the pocket where Liam had put his phone. “Trevor also has a PhD in Astrophysics. That photo of him, Trevor, was at Keck in Hawaii, wasn’t he?”
“Your uncle, was he ever in protective custody?” Liam asked her.
“They wanted him to go into protection with us, but my uncle refused,” Barb told him. “He said that he could do more good and help the FBI and U. S. Marshals being on the outside.”
“Do you think he helps relocate witnesses?” Liam’s brows drew together.
“I don’t know,” Barb said with a shrug. “I haven’t spoken to him in years. I lost touch when my parents and I were put into the program.”
“I believe your uncle helped my brother get Trevor into witness protection,” Liam explained. “Your uncle has also helped get many other people into witness protection.”
“Really?” Barb smiled. “Is he okay? My uncle?”
It sounded like something her uncle would do based on what she remembered of him. He was such a strong, kind, and giving type of person. He’d taught Barb all about the stars.
“I believe so,” Liam said with a smile. “My brother speaks very highly of him, and before you ask, my brother was lucid, and I think his memories are slowly returning.”
“Oh!” Barb said, her heart jolting once again as she stared at Liam. Confusion coursed through her. “If they’re coming back, does that mean he’ll soon remember us?”
