Robbie was still talking. “People are going to be disappointed to hear that you’re off the market. Where’s your ring?”

“Being resized. I have to go.” She put the Jeep in Reverse, turned it around and left the Hatten farm. The slip about the engagement was bad, but maybe she’d said it on purpose. She didn’t want to admit that Pauly had maybe dumped her. After he left town, she could tell everyone she had broken up with him. She was smiling. She’d started the day feeling very bad. She still had the same problems, but Adam had made her feel better. He’d made her believe there was a way to solve everything.

CHAPTER FIVE

Adam went back into the barn. He thought about sneaking out and getting cleaned up, but that would mean leaving Xander wet. As he started rubbing, he braced himself for the ridicule of his little brother.

Robbie didn’t disappoint. He looked at his brother, his chest coated in horse manure, and said, “What the hell happened to you?”

“I fell.”

“And kept your hands clean? No, it looks like you had a pile thrown on you. It was Kelly, wasn’t it? I heard her yelling at you. What did you do to her?”

Adam held out his towel. “Here, you finish this.”

Robbie didn’t take the towel. “I don’t want to go to town smelling like horse.”

“Then rub carefully. I need to go take a shower.”

Robbie still didn’t take the towel. “When Xander comes down with pneumonia, I’ll tell Kelly it was your fault.”

With a groan, Adam kept wiping.

“What did you do to her to make her do that to you? I know she dislikes you, but this is the worst yet.”

“Dislikes me? Kelly is going to be my sister-in-law. I’ve known her all her life. We’re friends.”

“Kelly can’t stand you. Everyone knows that.”

“Because Vera is going to leave with me?”

“No. Because you’re a know-it-all who thinks he owns the town. You’re a clone of Dad, but without his love of the place.”

Adam stopped rubbing and stared at his brother. “That’s not true. Dad lived in his own world. He was oblivious to anything outside it.”

“Just like you.” Rob was grinning, seeming to be glad that he’d upset his brother. “I gotta go. There’s no food in the house but I guess you’re too good to go to a grocery. The Great Hatten Heir. King on the football field, ruler of the basketball court, saving Africa, engaged to a girl who plans to change the world. It’s a wonder you don’t wear a cape and fly over us.”

The hostility behind his brother’s words left Adam speechless. He felt like he’d been hit with a baseball bat.

“See you at dinner. Maybe.” With a smile, Rob turned and left.