Kelly laughed. “If she took my classes I’m sure she would be. She’d know the history of every animal back to the Ice Age.”

“But you just know when an animal is feeling bad. Remember the baby foxes you sneaked into your house? I thought your mother was going to take an ax to them.”

“She was scared.”

“Uh-oh.” The sky had opened up to rain. Kelly started to turn back. “Fredericks,” he called over his shoulder and she knew where he meant.

She had on a little sun hat but it wasn’t much protection. She put her head down and went east toward the old homestead. Xander, not liking getting drenched, took off at a racer’s pace. Despite her warning to Adam about running him, it was exhilarating as they sped down the trail.

The old Fredericks house was in bad shape but it still had a fairly good roof, and there was a big shed in the back.

With his head down against the rain, Adam slid off in front of the shed. When the double doors stuck, he kicked them in and his horse hurried inside. He put his arms up for Kelly and lifted her down. Big Xander barely fit through the doors.

It took them a while to get the horses settled. Then Adam said, “Let’s go.”

They ran through the rain and into the house, then through the old kitchen and into the living room. There was a fireplace but it looked to be full of nests. With a clogged chimney, they both knew that a fire would fill the house with smoke.

Against the far wall was a stained mattress and there was spray-painted graffiti on the wall. Henry loves Diane.

“Another Sex Shack,” Kelly said.

“Another one? Where’s the—?” Adam stopped and his face turned red. He realized she meant the place he and Vera used.

Kelly sat down on the mattress.

“You’re soaked,” he said. “I’d offer you dry clothes and a warm drink but...” He shrugged. “It’s Kansas. Any rain that isn’t from a tornado makes me happy.” He was looking around for a place to sit. She nodded toward the other side of the mattress and he sat down a couple of feet from her.

The rain was loud on the roof and Kelly was beginning to feel cold in her wet clothes. The room was dark, with the only light coming from a window that showed the grayness outside. Something about the place made for a kind of intimacy and Kelly desperately wanted to talk to someone, a person who wouldn’t go into a panic, about the disrupted future of everyone in her life.

She looked out the window at the rain and blinked hard at the tears that were coming.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Adam said.

“I think Pauly is breaking up with me,” she said softly.

“What makes you think that?” He sounded surprised.