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larger black and white photograph of the three of them as boys. It was an outdoor shot of them all piled into an inner tube floating on a river. She guessed they must have been in about first grade because they were all missing their front teeth. Their hair was wet and standing up in spikes, and all their toothless grins were a mile wide. The little boys looked like they were having the time of their lives.
    Adam came up behind her. “Rose Marie took that picture on the Guadalupe River when our parents took us camping in New Braunfels. They let us have a tent all to ourselves. We swore we’d stay up all night, and our

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    parents said we could if we wanted to. We were on the river all day, had a cookout that night, and we were all sound asleep by eight o’clock. The sun had barely even set.
    “Did you notice we were all missing our front teeth? They all started getting loose about the same time, and we wiggled and worked them until they were barely hanging on. Then one afternoon on a dare, we pulled them all out at the same time. Our parents told us the tooth fairy was gonna go broke.” He chuckled. “Ready to go?”
    “Yes,” she replied in a daze.
    Listening to him tell that story in that deep voice of his, she felt like she was there watching it happen. His voice drew her in and had a sort of hypnotic effect on her. Her confusion over her earlier feelings for Jack and Ethan increased, and she was troubled by the way she was now responding to Adam as well. She should feel nervous about being alone with him, but she wasn’t. She wanted to stay and listen to him tell more stories.
    She took one last look at the photograph, then turned to find him gazing down at her. “You know, it meant a lot to Jack that you came today. I noticed he never let go of your hand. He was right. You have a very sweet spirit.” He leaned down and inhaled as he kissed her cheek.
    Surprised, all she could do was stand there and blush. Was he saying these things to test her reaction? His kiss felt like so much more than just a peck on the cheek. It felt intimate. If he was testing her reaction, he certainly was getting one because her cheeks were flaming and her panties were damp.
    “He said you blush easily. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I just wanted you to know we appreciate you, you know? You look very pretty in that outfit.” His voice sent a pleasurable shiver up her spine.
    “Thank you. I’m just not used to people paying so much attention to me and saying such nice things. It’s not that I’m mistreated or anything, I’m just…not used to it.”
    Owen was so out of there. She was too mistreated.
    “Well, be that as it may, what I said was true and not just flattery. Let’s get on over to your house and see what I can do about the AC.”
    She followed him out, feeling all warm and fuzzy.
    She cringed when she turned onto her street and saw Owen was home, his beater truck parked in the driveway. She pulled up to the curb, and 32

    Adam parked behind her. She got out of her car and noticed the grim look on Adam’s face as he climbed out and opened the toolbox on the utility camper.
    She wondered if Jack told Adam what he had seen of Owen’s behavior that day in the store when he’d come in asking for money. She felt embarrassed and ashamed that Adam was probably going to meet Owen when he was at his worst—hungover and mean. She gathered her purse and led Adam into the house.
    Owen must have been home for hours because the house looked it.
    Where he’d gotten the money for pizza she didn’t know, but the remains of one were scattered across the coffee table. He was lying back in the recliner scratching himself when she walked into the living room. He grunted when she introduced Adam and said he was there to check the AC.
    “About fuckin’ time. It’s hot as hell in here. I was about to leave and go somewhere cooler.”
    She bit her tongue and showed Adam where the thermostat was. He went outside to