The Legend (62 page)

"You have not yet asked me
his name," she murmured to her husband.

He looked confused. "I
thought we agreed on Christian?"

"We did, and I fully
intended to call him by that name," the blankets fell away, giving Alec a
tantalizing view of chubby little arms. "But the very moment he was born,
I gazed upon him and suddenly, I couldn't name him Christian. He.... he did not
look like a Christian."

"He did not
look
like
a Christian?" Alec repeated. "I do not understand."

She gazed up at him before the
final wrap fell away. The tears in her eyes had found their way down her cheeks
and her smiling lips trembled.

"You will."

The last of the swaddling fell
away and Alec felt his limbs grow weak. Peyton held the babe up for display, a
chubby, round, perfect little boy with his father's handsome features, his
mother's sapphire blue eyes and red-gold hair - Uncle Peter's hair.          Alec
stared, fascinated, unaware of tears that had found their way onto his cheeks.

"Peter," he whispered.

Peyton laughed softly, placing
the little boy in his father's arms. Celine protested softly, packing blankets
around the babe to protect him from the cold armor.

"Peter Albert Brian
Summerlin," Peyton said softly, touching the tiny red head. "There
was simply no other name for him, my love. I can see that you agree."

Little Peter stared at his
father, his big blue eyes crossed and out of focus. Alec gazed at the tiny
infant, feeling more love and contentment than he ever thought possible. After
a moment, he grasped his wife's hand and kissed it tenderly.

"Thank you," he
whispered.

She smiled, touching his cropped
blond hair, relishing the feel of her husband underneath her palm. He was
whole, returned, and gazing upon the result of their consuming love. The babe
in his arms was the outcome of adoration that spanned the ages.

But to Alec, it was more than
that. Suddenly, he found himself staring into the evidence of his brother's
spiritual existence. God had not only forgiven him his most heinous offense, he
had bestowed him with unimaginable blessings.

As Alec had taken away, so had he
given back. Tiny Peter Summerlin was living proof that Alec had the power of
life as well as death and he knew, without a doubt, that his brother was still
with him. The circle of life continued.

The Legend was immortal.