“Liam, wait!” he shouted again, for Liam was about to board the streetcar, and Patrick doubled his speed. He was breathless by the time he got to Liam’s side. “I changed my mind. Let’s leave for Pittsburgh as soon as we can.”

This might be the only thing he could ever do for Gwen, and he wouldn’t hesitate again.

Gwen was writing invitations for Friday’s soiree when the perfect thought struck. She would invite Patrick! She hadn’t realized he was so sensitive about how they’d been meeting on his fire escape, and having him attend one of her weekly gatherings would let him know that she was proud to be seen with him.

She’d always assumed she would someday marry another Blackstone College professor. It wasn’t that she objected to men in other lines of work. She simply thought it would be easiest to marry someone who already belonged here.

That was before she met Patrick. An involuntary thrill triggered inside her when she thought of his face, rough with affection as he gazed at her. Patrick was everything a woman could want in a man. Kind and giving and intelligent, but also a man of raw strength and a rock-solid foundation. She remembered the first night they’d kissed, when he spoke of the vows he would someday make to his wife. “They will be carved in stone to last for all time,” he had said.

The doorbell interrupted the quiet of the evening. When she opened the front door to see Patrick standing on her front porch, it felt like her dreams had magically brought him to her.

“Hello, Mrs. K.”

She beamed in reply. “Good evening, Patrick.”

“Can I come inside? I had an interesting conversation with Liam Malone today.”

The haze of infatuation vanished, and her hand tightened around the doorknob. In the past few weeks, she’d managed to consign the disquieting man to the back of her mind. Uncle Oscar’s detectives hadn’t finished their report on Liam Malone, but she had already decided his physical resemblance to her father was a mere coincidence.

She sat on the padded chair beside the fireplace while Patrick sat on the hearth, only inches away, cradling her hand as he spoke. She felt sick as he relayed the conversation he had with Liam Malone, who claimed there were rumors and unanswered questions about his early years that might point to the chance that he could be Willy Blackstone.

Her gaze strayed to the Hansel and Gretel painting in the dining nook. Liam Malone was so crass and aggressive. Boorish. Not at all like she expected her older brother to be.

But she had to know.

“I’m going to Pittsburgh with him to search for proof,” Patrick said. “It may take a few days, but if he’s your brother, I’ll find out.”

Her heart swelled in her chest. “You would really do that for me?”