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Praise

Praise for the novels of Jude Deveraux

“Deveraux spins an intriguing and unorthodox romance… An entertaining page-turner.”

—Kirkus Reviews on Met Her Match

“Vintage Jude Deveraux from start to finish, a joy to read.”

—Fresh Fiction on Met Her Match

“Deveraux’s charming novel has likable characters and life-affirming second chances galore.”

—Publishers Weekly on As You Wish

“Jude Deveraux’s writing is enchanting and exquisite.”

—BookPage

“Deveraux’s touch is gold.”

—Publishers Weekly

“A steamy and delightfully outlandish retelling of a literary classic.”

—Kirkus Reviews on The Girl from Summer Hill

“[A]n irresistibly delicious tale of love, passion, and the unknown.”

—Booklist on The Girl from Summer Hill

“[A] sexy, lighthearted romp.”

—Kirkus Reviews on Ever After

“Thoroughly enjoyable.”

—Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Ever After

About the Author

Jude Deveraux is the author of forty-three New York Times bestsellers, including Sweet Liar, the Nantucket series and A Knight in Shining Armor. She was honored with an RT Book Reviews Pioneer Award in 2013 for her distinguished career. To date, there are more than sixty million copies of her books in print worldwide.

JudeDeveraux.com

Booklist

Also by Jude Deveraux and MIRA

MET HER MATCH

AS YOU WISH

Medlar Mysteries

A WILLING MURDER

A JUSTIFIED MURDER

A FORGOTTEN MURDER

Providence Falls

CHANCE OF A LIFETIME

Look for Jude Deveraux’s next novel in the Providence Falls series
AN IMPOSSIBLE PROMISE
available soon from MIRA.

For additional books by Jude Deveraux,
visit her website, judedeveraux.com.

CHAPTER ONE

Mason, Kansas
May 1972

Adam is back.

Vera Exton couldn’t get that thought out of her head. The man she had always loved, the man who held the keys to her future, was finally home.

She was on the front porch of her family home. As always, she was surrounded by newspapers and magazines. She paid to have the New York Times sent to her. That it arrived three days late didn’t matter. At least she got to see what was going on in the world. The world. Not just Kansas, not just the US, but everywhere.

In college, she’d majored in political science, with a minor in geography. She knew where the Republic of Vanuatu was, where Rajasthan, India, was. She could tell Bhutan from Nepal by a single photo. She’d studied languages on her own and knew a smattering of several. Rhodesia, she thought. Madagascar. She’d send her sister photos of herself with a lemur when she got there. Kelly would like that.

Vera closed her eyes, leaning back in the old chair that her mother had bought at a craft fair. It had been made by someone local, using local materials. That was the difference between them. Her mother and her sister prided themselves on “local,” while Vera could only see the world.

“And now it’s all going to begin,” she whispered, and opened her eyes.

Bending, she began stacking the newspapers and magazines. Her mother complained about the mess that always surrounded Vera. “We can hardly walk through a room,” her mother often said, frowning. Since her husband died two years ago, Nella Exton did little but frown.

If Kelly was around, she helped Vera clean up. Or helped Vera do anything, for Kelly was deeply glad her big sister was there and doing what everyone expected her to do.

When Kelly mentioned her gratitude, their mother just sniffed. “She’s the eldest child, so of course she takes care of things.” Even though the sisters were only ten months apart, to their mother Vera was to take on the family’s responsibilities, so she was doing what she was supposed to do. There was no other choice.

But Kelly didn’t feel that way. In what people tended to call “the drug culture,” many kids ran away, never to be seen again. The idea of “family obligations” was becoming obsolete. But not to Vera.

She had postponed the future she’d dreamed of, had studied for, to give her sister what she wanted and Kelly was ever thankful, grateful and appreciative.

For all her sister’s appreciation, right now all Vera could think of was that Adam’s return meant the ordeal of staying at home was over.

He’d arrived just in time for his father’s funeral, as there’d been delays on the long flight from Africa. Vera had searched the newspapers to find out what was going on in Kenya. During the years he’d been away, Adam’s letters were full of stories of floods and bridges collapsing, infestations and diseases with exotic names. His letters had made her heart pound with excitement. She’d read them to her mother and sister, then was shocked by the horror on their faces. “But doesn’t it sound wonderful?” Vera would ask.

Nella said a flat no, and Kelly would say, “If you like that sort of thing.” Then she’d pick up a few of her animals and feed them or groom them or whatever she did with them.

Vera had seen Adam after the service, but she’d not spoken to him. He was surrounded by people offering condolences. His father, Burke Hatten, had been a big shot in the county. “Ask Burke” was a common catchphrase.

In Vera’s opinion, the man thought he knew much more than he did, which is why he and his eldest son had always butted heads. Burke’s temper and his son’s matching one was why Adam had run off to join the Peace Corps.

Well, that and Vera’s endless talk of how she was joining the second she finished college. She’d begged Adam to go with her, but he’d always said no. He said he’d be waiting for her in Kansas when she grew tired of moving about the world and came home.

Funny how things work out, she thought as she stacked the papers. Adam had the big fight with his dad and had run off to the Peace Corps. Vera had planned to join him, but her father had died suddenly, leaving no one to care for the farm. To Vera, the solution was to sell the farm, but Nella had refused to leave the place. In just a few weeks, everything changed. Vera had agreed to stay behind until Kelly finished veterinary school. The new plan was that as soon as Kelly graduated, Vera would join Adam wherever the Peace Corps had sent him.

Now everything was going to change again. Burke Hatten’s horse threw him and he’d died instantly, so Adam had returned. But this time when he left the country to go back to his job in Africa, Vera wouldn’t be kissing him goodbye. They’d leave together. The goodbyes would be to her mother and sister, to the farm, to her job at the travel agency. Goodbye to the town of Mason. The world she’d been reading about was out there and calling to her.

At last, she was going to answer its call.

She heard Kelly before she saw her. But that had always been the case. Schoolkids tended to call her Pig-Pen after the Peanuts character. But while he was surrounded by dust, Kelly was followed by and covered with animals. Today there was a parrot on her shoulder and some kind of lizard had its tail wrapped around her neck. Three dogs, tails down, were following her. In her hand was a fat textbook that had bird droppings on the cover.

Kelly was almost finished with veterinary school and the “almost” was the key to Vera’s life.

When Kelly was out of the school, Vera could go!

“So where is he?” Kelly asked as she sat down. She removed the lizard from her neck and put it on the porch railing. The bird flew to land on the lizard’s tail. One of the dogs looked longingly at the bird, but Kelly gave the dog a stare that made it lie down, head on paws. Kelly didn’t believe in discourteous animals.

“He’ll be here,” Vera said.

“Sure? I saw Miranda Miller at the funeral. She was eyeing him and she looked good in her miniskirt. I bet she was afraid to sit down or she’d show all.”

Vera didn’t take the bait. For one thing, Kelly didn’t like Adam. She thought he was too full of himself, too bossy. Too much like his father. “I didn’t talk to him, and we didn’t reaffirm our love for each other, if that’s what you’re hinting at. And Miranda Miller is an idiot.”

“Men like dumb girls,” Kelly said.

“Until they marry them,” Vera shot back.

“And that’s when she gets to stop pretending to be stupid.”

Vera laughed.

The bird had flown back to Kelly and she was feeding it something she took from her shirt pocket.

All their lives, they’d heard, “You two are sisters?” said in an incredulous tone. They looked very different. When they were younger, they’d answered truthfully. Vera explained that she took after her father’s family while Kelly was like their mother’s side. As they grew up, they began to play jokes. Kelly was a good actress and she would pretend to be shocked. Sometimes she’d even pull up tears, saying that maybe her father wasn’t really her father. Mac Exton had played along with the joke but his wife had never liked it.

Vera was tall and thin, flat chested, and had an explosion of corkscrew ringlets of light brown hair.

As best she could, she kept her hair pulled back and tightly tied down. Her face was pleasant but not cutesy pretty. Even as a child she’d looked like an adult. Her truly spectacular feature was her legs: long, lean, shapely. Vera in a swimsuit was a sight to behold.

Kelly was the prettiest girl in the county. Big blue eyes, naturally blond hair, a perfect figure eight of a body, and she was inches shorter than her sister. She was so pretty that she surprised everyone by being smart.

Their personalities differed as much as their bodies. Vera was acerbic; Kelly was sweet. When someone annoyed Vera, she told them so. Kelly was the diplomat. Vera wanted to save the world; Kelly wanted to save all the animals in Mason. For her, Kansas City was too big and as far away as she wanted to go.

They were so opposite that they never collided. They were a perfect match.

For minutes they were silent, looking out from the front of the old house. There was a gravel drive shaded by fifty-year-old oak trees. Every sunny spot was filled with flowers, lovingly tended by Nella.

There had been a running joke in their family. Nella took care of the plants, Kelly looked after the animals, Mac took care of the farm. “What about me?” an eight-year-old Vera had asked.

“Honey,” her dad said, “you take care of the world.” Vera had smiled at that. Even then she’d been fascinated by the whole planet.

“You’re going to miss us,” Kelly said softly.

“Of course I will, but I’ll write constantly. Adam and I will send photos and tell you everything. We’ll—”

“You’re sure nothing has changed between you two? Sometimes when high school sweethearts lose touch, they grow apart. He’s been in Africa for years and you’ve been here, and...” Kelly trailed off.

Vera could hear that Kelly was near tears. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I wish I could change what’s inside me. I wish I could find a career or a man, something, that made me...satisfied. Fulfilled me. I’ve always envied you. Since you were born, you’ve known what you wanted to do.” She looked at her sister. “I’m a volcano about to explode. I have to go or I’ll erupt.”

“I know,” Kelly whispered. “We all see it. Mom has done all she can to keep you from spewing up fire but nothing has worked.”

The way Kelly said it was serious, but the image made Vera laugh. “Hasn’t she just! What was that boy’s name? The one she sent to pick me up?”

“Kevin. He was a nice guy. She was just trying to tempt you into staying.”

“To get me away from Adam since he’d left the country. By the way, where was Pauly today?” Vera wanted to get the conversation and the weight of guilt off her. “I haven’t seen him in days.”

“He’s around.”

“Uh-oh. Is there trouble in paradise?”

“Of course not. I see him at the clinic every day.”

Kelly and Paul had been together since elementary school. His stepfather, Dr. Carl, was the local vet and to Kelly that meant Pauly was the crown prince. She’d spent much of her life in the veterinary clinic with the doc. She’d helped deliver her first calf when she was eleven.

As for Pauly, he adored her. He was willing to follow wherever Kelly led. They were inseparable. “So where’s your engagement ring?” Vera asked. “You’re twenty-four. Time to get married and have babies.”

Kelly smiled. Vera was mimicking their mother. “School costs too much for such frivolous things. Maybe later.”

Vera nodded. It had never been said aloud, but the plan was that after she left, Kelly and Paul would marry and live on the Exton farm with Nella. Kelly would work with Dr. Carl and eventually take over his clinic.

“Maybe you should—” Vera began, but halted at the sound of a horse. Thundering down the road, barely visible through the trees, was a black stallion. Vera knew who was riding it.

At the far end of the long drive, Adam drew the big horse to a halt and sat there for a moment, his eyes on Vera.

Adam was tall, lean, broad shouldered and muscled from a life of sports and digging wells and hauling rocks in Africa. Wearing jeans and a denim shirt, broad-brimmed hat down low over his eyes, he was something from the cover of a novel.

As Vera stood up, she felt her whole body vibrating.

Behind her, Kelly snorted. “Really! Does he have to make everything into a drama? He’d better not run Xander or I’ll—”

Adam did just what Kelly said he shouldn’t. The horse, retired from a racetrack, needed only a nudge to take off fast. Gravel and dirt spewed.

Vera’s heart leaped to her throat, pounding in anticipation.

Kelly ran down the porch steps and stood to the side of the path Adam was taking. He and the horse stopped less than a foot from the porch railing.

Kelly ran forward. “If you hurt his mouth I’ll murder you!” she shouted.

Adam’s eyes never left Vera’s as he tossed the reins to Kelly. “He’s fine, kiddo. Give him a bath. My truck is here.” He held out his hand to Vera. She took it and the two of them walked down the drive to where his pickup was parked.

Adam held the door to his truck open as Vera got in, then went to the other side and got behind the wheel. In the distance, Kelly was still yelling that he was a pompous ass and if Xander was harmed she would report Adam to the ASPCA.

“Your baby sister hasn’t changed,” Adam said as he started the truck. “Was that a lizard on the porch?”

“Yes. And a bird and three dogs.”

He glanced at her so hotly that even her ears turned red.

“Miss me?” he asked.

“Madly,” she said.

Smiling, they rode in silence. She knew exactly where they were going. Burke Hatten’s widowed mother had refused to leave the ranch that she and her husband had built. No amount of enticements of travel or city life interested her. But she’d been a quiet woman and she’d needed to get away from her bigger-than-life son and her two energetic grandsons. Burke had built her a cabin about a mile from their main house.

One room and a bath was all she wanted. The windows looked out over the fields with their grazing cattle. After her death, Burke had locked the door and no one used the cabin. Until, as teenagers, Adam and Vera had claimed the place as their own. They’d cleared it of mice and spiders, repaired the leaky roof and used it whenever they could escape their families. If Burke Hatten knew where the teenagers were spending their afternoons, he never let on.

Adam parked to the side of the house. It was a plain little place, with a porch along the front.

They got out, stepped onto the porch, and Adam swept Vera up into his arms. Like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold.

She snuggled her head into his shoulder. So familiar, yet it had been so long that it was almost new.

When he tossed her onto the bed, she gasped, expecting dust to encase her. But it was clean. She raised herself on her arms. The familiar place practically sparkled. The bedsheets felt new. “Is this—?” That was all she said before he fell on top of her.

As they tore at each other’s clothes, Adam said, “Forey,” and she nodded. Fortunata was Vera’s mom’s best friend and she had cleaned the cabin for them.

They made love quickly, waited just minutes, then did so again more slowly. They didn’t say a word until after the second time and Adam fell back on the pillow beside her.

“I should have—” he began.

“Shh,” she said. She knew he meant that he should have used protection. She didn’t want to tell him that she’d started on the Pill weeks ago. She planned to fly to Kenya the minute Kelly graduated and she wanted to be prepared. Since it was barely legal for women to use birth control and the Pill was considered dangerous, she hadn’t told anyone.

Birth control was the last thing she wanted to talk about. What she really wanted to do was jump up and down on the bed and shout, “When do we leave? When do we leave?”

She needed to control herself. She snuggled in his arms, bare bodies pressed together. “How’s Robbie?”

She knew the answer to her question but she wanted to hear Adam’s reply. Actually, she wanted to know what he planned to do about his eighteen-year-old hellion of a brother.

Adam groaned. “I don’t know what Dad was thinking. He created a monster.”

Vera and Adam had a code of honesty between them. They didn’t lie and didn’t hold back. “Your dad blamed himself for your leaving. He told my dad he was too hard on you.”

“So he went soft on Rob?” Adam sounded angry.

“I think so.”

“Dad bought him cars. How many has he wrecked?”

“Two,” Vera said softly. Her hair had come loose. Brushing it aside, she looked at him. “He’s going to college in the fall. Until then he can stay with my mother.” She’d thought a lot about this problem.

“And you think your mother is strong enough to control him? Ha! The way he is now, I wouldn’t want him near your little sister.”

“Kelly will sic a dog on him.” She meant it as a joke but Adam didn’t laugh.

“That won’t work.”

She knew him well enough to know that he had a plan. “What are you going to do?”

He moved her hair aside and kissed her forehead. “I’ve not had time to think about anything much, but I don’t believe Robbie wants to run the farm. He wants to do something in a city. I don’t know what it is, but...” He took a breath. “I need to stay here until he’s in college.” Adam ran his hand through his hair, dark brown but with sun streaks through it. “I need to get back to Kenya. We’re putting in wells and I’ve been teaching classes on crops and—”

She turned to him. “I can help.”

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.”

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