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to my room and see.”
    Incredibly, O’Brien readily agreed and dashed off after Melissa as though she weren’t a doctor with patients to see. Adam ground his teeth and glared after them.
    Jeff’s laugh was low and entirely too knowing. “Where did you find that one?” he asked, folding his arms.
    Adam’s gaze sliced to his brother’s face. “Never mind where I found her,” he growled. “What the hell do you mean, kissing her hand and—”
    Jeff grinned. “And liking her? She’s the best-looking woman I’ve ever seen.”
    “Leave her alone.”
    Jeff arched one eyebrow. “Shall we discuss this further?”
    “Yes.”
    “Outside?”
    Adam nodded. “Outside.”
    They strode to the front doors and faced each other in the yard, just as they had on a thousand other occasions, throughout the tumultous years of their childhoods.
    They were about evenly matched, equal in size and weight and prowess, and a fight between them, Adam knew, could go either way. At the moment, he didn’t give a damn. Stupid as it seemed, he was ready to tangle with this brother of his, this brother he loved and respected.
    Jeff planted his booted feet wide apart and refolded his arms. “If you feel something for the lady, Adam, why don’t you just say so?”
    Adam didn’t know what he felt, beyond a crazy, consuming sort of desire. He wanted O’Brien—he had since the moment he’d walked into Henderson’s house and seen her—but he wasn’t sure how deep the feeling went, or how permanent it would be. Was it love? He couldn’t answer that question, either, since he’d never truly known what it was to love a woman.
    Jeff grinned. “Well?” he prodded.
    Adam swore. God, how he wanted, needed to throw a hard punch. “I don’t know,” he confessed lamely.
    Jeff whistled, and his blue eyes danced. “Oh, my God, it’s for real. You’re in love!”
    Adam gave a crazy whoop of frustration and turned his back. “No,” he said, after a long silence.
    “No?” Jeff mocked. “This is your brother you’re talking to, Adam. The person who knows you better than anyone else in the world does. I invited the lady to a skating party and kissed her hand, and admit it, you’re ready to cut my throat.”
    Adam lowered his head, and snow gathered, cold, on the back of his neck. Was he losing his mind? He had wanted to hurt Jeff, he still did. Jeff, his brother. His best friend!
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Adam, if you love her, it’s all right. I’ll leave her alone.”
    “I met her last night,” Adam said, drawing deep breaths that did nothing to clear his mind. “Last night How the hell can I be ‘in love’ with her?”
    “Stranger things have happened,” Jeff replied. “Besides, she’s so beautiful— I only met her about five minutes ago, and I’m a little in love myself.”
    Adam whirled, his fists clenched, his reason displaced.
    Jeff laughed and stepped back, holding up both his hands in a conciliatory gesture. “Adam, Adam—for God’s sake, it’s almost Christmas. What will Mama say if she comes home from Olympia and finds me, her favorite son, a mass of bruises and cuts?”
    Adam relaxed his hands. “Am I insane?”
    “Yes,” replied Jeff. “But that’s nothing new. And there isn’t any medicine for the fever you’ve got now, brother—believe me.”
    Adam made a bellowing sound, strode over to the nearest snowbank, and fell into it face first. He was almost surprised that the ground didn’t sizzle.
    Jeff’s laughter rang toward the sky, and then hereached down and helped his brother to his feet and they went into the house, each with an arm around the other.
    *  *  *
    Banner learned much while she was trying on Melissa’s spare skates—with two extra pairs of stockings, they fit her feet perfectly—about the Corbin family.
    There were three brothers, all born within a year of each other, Adam first, Jeff second, and Keith third. The youngest brother had been thirteen when Melissa came along, but