“A greedy one,” she said. “And we can’t let that happen.”

He smiled at her. She had the kindest heart he’d ever known. “We won’t.”

“Have you been able to reach Shiloh’s parents yet?” she asked, changing the subject.

He hated talking about Lois and Graham. Now that he’d made a success of himself, they acted as though they’d always embraced him. They never referred to all the bullshit they’d put him and Shiloh through, but there’d been a period during which her parents’ disapproval and threats to disown her had nearly destroyed their marriage—mainly because he had no contact with his biological family and knew how isolating and lonely losing a family could be. He didn’t want to put her in that position, so he’d pulled away, started walling her out.

Fortunately, she’d called him on it, and they’d gone to counseling, which had helped. He needed to learn how to open up and trust, the therapist said, but emotional intimacy still wasn’t easy for him.

Shiloh had insisted she loved him more than anything and would not leave him no matter what he did. He’d needed her to prove that. It wasn’t fair, but it was the only way he could get beyond his insecurities.

So where did his obligation to her parents end? Now that they felt slighted over his not contacting them immediately, could he just let himself walk away?

That would be easiest. He wished he never had to speak to them again. But he owed Shiloh more than that. And if he was going to be in Silver Springs for the next several months, he was bound to run into them. He preferred those encounters not be unpleasant. “I left them a message,” he told his mother.

“One they haven’t returned?”

“Not yet. They’re probably...busy.”

“They’ve always looked for insult or injury. I don’t know how you managed to build a relationship with them.”

“I got rich,” he said simply.

She opened her mouth as if his response surprised her. He thought she might try to defend them. But she pressed her lips back together.

“They never thought I was good enough for her,” Seth explained. “But once I became well known, they couldn’t tell enough of their friends that their daughter was married to Seth Turner.”

“You’ve done a lot for them.”