“She looked sad.”

“Or was it fear? If she did tell Adam, she’d be scared to death of you and your temper.”

“I have no temper. Ask the uncles. I get along with everyone.”

“Of course you do.”

Miguel groaned. “I hate when you patronize me. Have you heard that Cooper’s wife is back in town?”

“Are you changing the subject to avoid what’s painful to you?”

He gave a one-sided smile. “She’s beautiful. Cait is very upset about it. Not that she’s said anything, but she is.” He chuckled. “She thinks the two of them are spending the night together in that little trailer.”

“But they’re not?”

He grinned wide. He had managed to get her off the subject of the glory of Adam Hatten. “Coop’s been spending the nights in Cait’s room in my house.”

“But you didn’t tell her?”

“Nope. A little jealousy might light a fire under her.”

“You are a wicked man. So what’s she say about your photography classes?”

“Haven’t told her about them, either.”

She shook her head. “So tell me about this new vet. Kelly likes him a lot. Is he worthy of our Cait?”

Those words were music to him. “Our” Cait. The child they should have had. “I think they’ll get along well. He’s a quiet man and she’s a dynamo. She’ll lead him to where he’s supposed to go in life.”

“Like you and me?”

“Yeah, like us. With you leading us both.”

There was a tone in his reply that made Vera rise up to look at him. “What are you saying?”

“I... Uh...”

“Yes?” She lay back down.

“I want my daughter to become independent of me because...” He took a breath. “I might go with you.”

Vera was silent. It wasn’t until he felt her tears on his bare skin that he knew she was crying. His arms tightened around her.

“I’ve been alone since Joe died,” she whispered. “I’ve tried to replace him but I wear them out. When they leave, they like to tell me off. Their favorite thing to say is that I’m not really a woman. I’m—”

He didn’t let her finish, but kissed her to silence.

They made love sweetly and with all the depth of feeling they’d had for many years.

It was later, as they dug into the bags of food that Vera had brought, that she gave him the gift. It was wrapped in blue paper with a silver ribbon.

Inside was a box containing a Nikon F5 with a 20-35 f2.8 lens.

“This camera isn’t on the market yet, so it’s the absolute latest. I got it from a friend. He didn’t want to part with it, but I reminded him that I got him his first job with Reuters and persuaded National Geographic to hire him and—”