“What if he got to our cottage after we’d left and went out looking for Lincoln and me?”

“We wrote a note, remember? And you texted him.” Renee didn’t admit it, but no matter where Ethan was, she had a sickening gut feeling that he wasn’t safe.

By the time they arrived at the Old Red Mill, the wind was blowing so ferociously, it nearly knocked them to their knees.

“Renee!” Dan shouted, his voice barely discernible through the sound of the thrashing trees. “Branches are going to start falling! This isn’t safe!”

She thought of all the moments she’d cowered in the past, when she’d taken the backseat. When Russ left her, she’d quietly accepted her fate. When she read of fun and interesting career paths, she quickly turned the page, reminding herself how lucky she was to have such a stable and supportive job. When she sat in the audience for countless recitals and performances, when she stayed up late to help with homework despite her own tired eyes and woke up early the next morning despite a tension headache. When she smiled bravely and sent the biggest part of her heart off to California.

Renee was always putting others before herself, always quick to conceal her own feelings and stay out of the limelight.

She was not about to let this hurricane destroy her pie shop.

“It took me too damn long to get to here! I am not losing this dream before it even starts!”

Sadie looked at her in amazement. “You go girl!” she shouted through her laughter. “Like hell we’re letting this storm steal Hester’s from us!”

“You’re crazy! You both are!” Dan yelled, but Renee knew he meant it as a compliment. “Start grabbing plywood!”

Using all their strength, the women held the wood against the doors and windows of the Old Red Mill, as one by one, Dr. Dan secured each with his drill. They wouldn’t be able to secure the breathtaking glass wall in the back, not by a long shot, and they certainly couldn’t begin to protect the second or third stories. But they did manage to board up the historic leaded windows.

The sirens started to blare and just like that they were out of time.

“Come on! We have to go. Now!” Dan motioned toward his SUV, where Moe was barking.

Sadie ran toward the car, but Renee felt locked in place.

What if she lost her cottage and her dream of a pie shop all in one fell swoop? Maybe the universe was gearing up to play another cruel joke on her. Just as her life was finally coming together, here was this painful reminder that it could all so easily fall back apart.