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something worth waiting for.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    “Stay away from my family!”
    Zane stepped out of his office, listening for the source of the loud male voice. He’d been hearing low voices rumble from the mayor’s office for the last few minutes, but had tuned them out as he tried to get through some paperwork before everyone else showed up for the day.
    He opened the back door that led into the small offices of the attached building. The mayor’s office and a small city business and tourist info center filled the ancient space. The carpet was thin and patched. The tourist info was sadly sparse. A large forestry map of the southwest corner of Oregon hung crookedly on one wall. There were pamphlets for a struggling winery, jet boats further down the Rogue River, and the animal safari over an hour away. There wasn’t much directly in Solitude to attract tourists and entice them to stay. Including this tourist information center.
    Zane had high hopes but low expectations for Faye O’Rourke’s resort.
    “You know you don’t want this to end!”
    Oh, crap. Katelyn O’Rourke. Zane pushed open the door to the mayor’s office. Sure enough. Stevie’s brother James was face-to-face with Katelyn. She was dressed for yoga. Tight pants, tight top, and a high ponytail.
    If yoga classes were taught in Solitude, Zane hadn’t heard about it.
    “You two are loud for seven in the morning,” Zane announced.
    James looked away, but Katelyn whirled around, her chin up. “This doesn’t involve you.” Faye’s daughter was attractive; that was a fact. But her attitude rarely was.
    “No, it doesn’t. Unless you’re harassing someone, and then it’s my business. Did I hear James tell you to stay away from his family? That sounds like something I might need to be involved in.” He held Katelyn’s gaze.
    James stepped up. Which was a good thing, because Zane’s estimation of James had dropped ten points for every second he’d been in the room. “Katelyn was just leaving.”
    She turned to look at James. “You started this.”
    “No, you started this,” James said. “I made some bad decisions, and I immediately told you months ago this had to stop. I don’t know what your goal is, Katelyn, but you’re simply digging yourself a bigger hole. Go hit on some single guy and stay away from my wife.”
    Katelyn swallowed hard and looked coolly at Zane. “How’s it working out with Stevie, Zane?”
    “Time to focus on someone else, Katelyn.”
    She huffed and strode past him out the door.
    Zane glared at James. “What the fuck did you do?”
    “I didn’t do anything.”
    “Bullshit. You’ve been moping around here for months. Was it Katelyn all this time?”
    James looked away. “This is personal.”
    “Damn right it is. But your sister is my business now, and I care about the people in her family even though I currently want to kick you in the head. How could you do that to Debra?”
    “I didn’t!” James insisted, glowering at Zane. “I kissed Katelyn once. I was drunk. ”
    “Do you know how many times I’ve heard ‘I was drunk’ as an excuse?”
    “It didn’t go further than that. I told her the next day it was a big mistake and apologized. But she keeps coming around. Yesterday she went to my house to ‘drop something off’ for me. She gave Debra a package for me that had her underwear in it. Can you believe that?”
    “Does Debra know what happened?”
    “She does. I told her after dinner at Patsy’s . . . you were there; you saw how upset she was. I came clean, and she forgave me after giving me hell. But Katelyn keeps doing these little things to harass me. It’s giving me an ulcer.” He rubbed at his stomach. “I’m not sure why, but she scares me.”
    “I know what you mean. I go on high alert when she comes in the room,” Zane agreed. “She’s like a starving panther looking for something to eat.”
    “No shit. I admire the man who falls for her one day and manages to keep her