“The world of Mason, Kansas,” Adam had said, and they’d laughed together.

He looked around the big house. His parents had built it when he was just a kid and he remembered marveling at it. Lots of wood, lots of stone. The fireplace went to the ceiling and covered most of a wall. Burke’s huge desk and chair were situated so he could see everything: kitchen, living room, dining room, outside to the garage.

As Adam looked around, he thought about what Robbie had said and what he’d said in return.

Vera’s little sister was not someone Adam had thought about much. She’d always been a cute kid with big blue eyes and animals all around her. She’d never been afraid of worms or bugs, or the big animals, either. Last night when she’d brought Xander back, he waved at her through the window. She’d barely moved her chin in recognition.

He didn’t know when their bickering started. She’d always seemed so quiet and complacent that maybe he just wanted to get a reaction out of her. Of course she knew his barbs were all in good fun.

Didn’t she?

For a moment, he thought about his younger brother and Kelly. Robbie was good-looking, rich, adored by women. Was Kelly the one he couldn’t get? The unattainable one? Would Rob think of it as a notch on his bedpost if he could break up Kelly from the man she loved?

For a moment, Adam closed his eyes. Robbie going after Kelly and probably getting her would cause masses of problems between the two families. If Robbie broke Kelly’s heart—which he would, of course—Vera might hold it against Adam. Robbie’s lechery, his insatiable need to conquer, could hurt a lot of people.

He had a vision of Vera flying home from Africa to try to settle the mess her sister was in because of Robbie. On the other hand, maybe Robbie was right about Pauly being a wimp. Sometimes it felt like the marriages in this town were arranged in childhood. He and Vera; Kelly and Paul. They may as well have been betrothed when they were in elementary school.

Adam felt he’d had to admit to Vera that he’d not been faithful, but that wasn’t the whole story.

The young woman had been a social worker from Boston, a bit older than Adam and way more experienced. She was the one who’d said, “Don’t fall in love with me.” He had, at least for a while. He’d been the one whose heart seemed to break when she left. “Go home to your girlfriend,” she’d said. “Go home to Kansas and stay there.”