Walking from Grant’s house toward North Harbor, Adam nodded to a few people he recognized from around town but didn’t stop to talk to anyone. Rather, he stewed over the fact that his brother had seemed so detached and exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept properly in days.

Something was terribly wrong, a realization that filled Adam with anxiety. While he didn't see his siblings as often as he’d like to, he talked to them all frequently and knew them as well as he knew anyone. To see one of them deeply troubled over something and working so hard to hide it from everyone was upsetting.

Of course, Grant had just been through a major trauma and was no doubt still reeling from the close call. From what he’d been able to piece together, his brothers had been asked to fill in as crew members on a Race Week boat captained by a guy named Steve Jacobson when the rest of Jacobson’s crew had been felled by the stomach flu. The sailboat had been on its way back to the island in deep fog when a freighter hit it. Steve had been killed.

Adam’s brothers had spent enough time in the cold Atlantic to suffer from hypothermia. Grant had been hailed for saving the life of his good friend Dan Torrington, who’d been the most seriously injured with broken ribs and a broken arm. Maybe something else had happened that Grant wasn’t able to talk about yet.

He’d keep trying, Adam decided, until he wore down his brother and got him to talk about what was troubling him. With no job to return to in New York, he had nothing but time to give one of the most important people in his life. He’d make a nuisance out of himself until it became easier for Grant to talk to him than to put up with him.

Adam smiled. He liked that plan.

“Mac! Hey, Mac, is that you?”

Adam bit back a groan. All his life he’d been mistaken for his oldest brother. Though Mac was three inches taller than him, Adam couldn’t deny the striking resemblance between them. He turned to see who had made the mistake this time and saw his Aunt Joan chasing after him. You’d think their own aunt would be able to tell them apart!

“Oh, Adam! I’m so sorry! I didn’t hear you were home.”

He hugged his aunt and kissed her cheek. Like his mother, her sister was petite and blonde and still pretty well into her sixties. “Nice to see you, Auntie.”

“You, too, honey. Your mom will be thrilled to have you home, especially after recent events.” Joan shook her head with dismay. “What an awful thing.”

“I can’t even think about it. How’s everyone in your family?”