snowboarding, he’d stuck to the cowboy sports of bronc busting and steer wrestling. It hadn’t brought them together much, so by Josh’s grin, he figured the youngest Thalberg had a pretty open opinion of him.
Mr. Thalberg clapped him on the back. “We felt it only right to thank you proper for your help the other day.”
“That’s good of you, sir. I’m sorry about your barn.”
He shrugged. “Insurance will help. I’m just grateful no one was hurt. Not sure you should have risked yourself like that.”
Brooke came into the room, setting a selection of cheese, crackers, and fruit on the coffee table.
Adam gestured toward her with his chin. “As if she weren’t going to do it herself?”
Brooke frowned, Josh grinned, and Nate rolled his eyes.
“How about if we stuff ourselves with cheese and not talk about this anymore?” Brooke asked.
Adam couldn’t agree more. He helped his grandma to sit in a rocker near the fireplace, where she’d be warm. She wasn’t exactly skinny, thank goodness. The elder Mrs. Thalberg came out of the kitchen and joined them. But he couldn’t help glancing again at Brooke near her mom, her face glowing, earrings dangling, the hair around her face bobby-pinned back. She was all made up for the evening, looking very different from the jeans-clad cowgirl of the other day.
He started to fix his grandma a small plate of appetizers when she took it out of his hands.
“Go talk to the young people, Adam,” she said, shaking her head. “Rosemary and I will keep each other company.”
He fixed a plate for himself and went to the bookshelves, turning his head to scan them. He couldn’t miss how the younger Mrs. Thalberg nudged Brooke toward him. He felt an anticipation he hadn’t felt in a long time. Her legs looked long and lean, and her breasts bounced gently as she moved toward him.
“Glad you could come,” she said, handing him a cold bottle of beer.
He accepted it, surprised to feel the touch of her fingers. “Thanks for the invitation.”
Brooke kept to herself that she hadn’t even known about it until an hour ago. Her mom had acted all excited, like it was a big surprise, and maybe it had been. Grandma Thalberg and Mrs. Palmer must have cooked something up together, she thought, trying to hide a smile. That’s what grandmas did when their offspring were unattached.
“How’s your mom?” Adam asked.
Brooke glanced at her, able to tell that she was tired already. “It was hard to keep her out of the kitchen today even though the celebration was for her. She needs a lot more rest.”
“When was she diagnosed?”
“She’s known since Nate was a toddler. Her first husband left her when he found out.”
Adam frowned, his eyes taking on the coldness of winter. “Scum.”
“Yeah. I can’t even imagine dealing with that kind of betrayal. But it had a good outcome. She met my dad, and they fell in love. Dad adopted Nate, and they had me, then Josh. I can’t complain about that.”
“I guess you can’t,” he said, his expression pleasant but not quite smiling. “Will she be in a wheelchair for long?”
“The symptoms come and go. She usually uses a cane, and I’m hoping she can get back to that again.” Her voice trailed off, and she couldn’t help glancing at her mom again. Taking a deep breath, she changed the subject. “I hear you got out of the boardinghouse at last.”
When he focused on her, dark brown eyes intent, she felt again that rush of nervous anticipation. He was wearing jeans and a forest green crewneck sweater that looked really good on him. He’d left the wound on his cheek bare, its long, thin scab healing well.
He smiled faintly. “I’d forgotten how fast news travels around here.”
She shrugged. “People talk about newcomers. It’s even more interesting when someone they know comes home after a long time. So many people leave for the bigger towns and cities.”
“If so, you’d never know it. Valentine looks good, spruced up.”
“A lot of that has to do with our grandmothers. They like to preserve historic buildings and keep out bad businesses—and by that I mean chain stores, nothing else.”
He arched a brow.
“They’re worried about some big department store coming in and forcing La Belle Femme or the Mystic Connection to close.”
“I’m not sure I know what those stores are.”
“A clothing store and a new age store. Your grandma is a major customer of the latter. Haven’t you seen her room yet?”
“I replaced a cracked windowpane. She