He kissed her. “I want to plan for you, too. I’ve told everyone about you. Showed them your photo.”

Vera began to relax again. Everything was still on. Everything was going to be all right.

“Let me figure this out,” he said. “I’ll get Robbie settled, then...” He took a deep breath. “I think the best thing would be for me to sell the farm.”

“Yes,” Vera said. “Cut your ties.”

“I’ll give Robbie half the money. Then you and I can start a life somewhere else.”

“We can help people in the world.”

“Yes, exactly.”

They were silent for a moment. He rolled over to face her. “I bet I know something you don’t.”

“Not from around here, you don’t. I have been here, remember?”

“Yeah, well, this just happened.”

She waited. “Go on. Tell me.”

“Miguel is back. Remember how the three of us ran around during the summer?”

“I remember that summer when we were eleven years old and you decided to jump out of the top of the barn. You broke your leg and were in a cast.”

“Oh, right. I forgot that bit. But I remember us as a threesome.”

“That’s because Miguel and I entertained you.”

“I don’t remember any dancing or singing.”

“You don’t remember us pushing you in the wheelchair?” she asked. “Helping you master crutches?”

“Only vaguely.”

“Kelly helped, too,” Vera said. “She brought you a parrot. Noisy critter.”

“And a rabbit and a fox cub. I thought it was a puppy. Dad was the one who knew what it was.” There was sadness in his voice. She knew that later they would talk about his father. But not yet.

“I was always glad when she didn’t show up with a bear cub,” Vera said. “With the mother ten feet behind her.”

“Kelly would have charmed the mother.”

“Probably so.”

Adam lay back down. “I’m glad you remember Miguel.”

“I would never forget him.” Her mind wandered to that summer. It was before sex came into their minds and spoiled everything. With Adam down with a broken leg, there was no one to preach sense to her and Miguel. No one to declare that rotten logs across a stream were too dangerous to cross. Or that a tree was too tall to climb. Miguel was as fearless as Vera. They ran and climbed. They sneaked through the grasses to see the fields full of illegally growing marijuana. They—

“Hey! Come back to me.”

“I’m here. I was just remembering the carefree days of summer as a kid. So Miguel is back at his uncle Rafe’s house.”

“Yeah. I talked to him for a few minutes. Miguel said that right after he graduated from college, Rafe sent a letter to his family asking if one of their boys could help out this summer. Miguel said that an hour later he was packed and driving east. Goodbye New Mexico.”