Grant closed the door to Dan’s house. Outside, he watched Dan cast longing glances at his Porsche, which he’d be unable to drive for quite some time yet. “Cal Maitland. Apparently, that’s over. Life in Texas didn’t agree with her.”

“Is that right?”

Grant held the door to his car for Dan and waited while his friend moved slowly and painfully into the passenger seat. “That’s what I heard.”

When they were on their way, Dan said, “So what do you think of Adam being with her?”

“It’s been over between us for a long time, but it’s still kind of weird to think of my own brother dating her, you know?”

“My brother and I dated the same girl once.”

Since Dan rarely talked about the brother he’d lost in Afghanistan, Grant was instantly curious. “How did that happen?”

“She was his high school girlfriend. They broke up senior year, and I worked with her a couple of summers later. We went out a few times, but it was making things weird with Dylan, so I broke it off with her. I figured it wasn’t going anywhere with her, so why put strain between me and him, you know?”

“Sounds like a good call.”

“Will this put strain between you and Adam?”

“If it does, it’ll also put strain between me and Steph, because she’ll think I’m jealous, which I’m not.”

“True,” Dan said with a chuckle that came out more like a grimace thanks to his injuries. “Puts you between a rock and a hard place, huh?”

“Seriously.”

“So it’s just you and me here. How do you really feel about it?”

“I don’t know exactly. I guess if I were being completely honest, I’d say I wish he were ‘hanging out’ with someone else.”

“That’s fair enough. I can certainly understand why you’d prefer that.”

“But the fact is, he’s seeing her, and I have to keep my mouth shut about it or cause trouble I don’t need with Steph. She’s had so many disappointments and catastrophes in her life. I refuse to be one of them, and I don’t want to trigger all her insecurities. She’s worked so hard to overcome them and to have faith in me—and in us. I can’t screw that up. She means too damned much to me to let that happen.”

“Aaah, Grant. Look at us. All grown up at last.”

“I know, right? Sucks, doesn’t it?”

“Don’t make me laugh. I beg of you.”

“Sorry.”

Grant parked outside his parents’ home just as Mac arrived in one of the marina trucks and Evan pulled up on Mac’s old motorcycle. Another bike pulled into the driveway, which turned out to be Adam.

Standing beside the passenger door to help Dan, Grant called out to his brother. “Where’d you get that bike?”