“Now who’s up for a little liquid courage? Sorry, Sade. I brought you a sparkling water.” Renee began to distribute the cups, filling each with a generous pour.

Bree shook her head.

“Huh?” Renee paused, frowning. “You love sangria.”

“Not in the mood.” Bree did a sort of one-shouldered shrug and turned away.

That “something’s not right” feeling shuddered around her like a cold blanket. Trying and failing to catch her sister’s eyes, she sighed under her breath. “Well, okay then.”

She’d get to the bottom of whatever was going on, but prodding in a roomful of neighbors wasn’t going to get Bree to open up.

After a failed attempt at Chutes and Ladders, the group resigned themselves to staring forlornly at the screen, where newscasters stood in the driving rain and hollered updates for the camera. The wind howled like some sort of ravenous animal, and the five of them huddled near the center of Bree’s living room, away from all the windows should any debris come crashing through.

“Is that a Hoosier?” Sadie asked during a commercial, nodding toward the antique cabinet in the corner. Bree had all sorts of family photos displayed on its surface, including a few taken at Renee’s cottage.

“Uh-huh. I found it in Burlington.”

“It’s lovely.”

Bree only nodded blankly, so Renee added, “It needed quite a bit of refinishing, but Bree has the magic touch. Give this woman a sander and some chalk paint, and she’s unstoppable.”

And then, with a sad sort of sigh, the power went off.

Lincoln began to whimper all over again.

“Surprised that didn’t happen sooner,” Dan said. “Bree, where did you put the candles? I’ll light them.”

They all stared at their hostess, who didn’t seem to be quite with it.

“Candles?” she repeated, shaking her head a few times. “Right. Candles. Um, there are some in the drawers of the china cabinet. The one in the dining room? You should find a few packs of matches in there, too.”

Dan thanked her and disappeared through the arched doorway.

Bree took a quick glance at her watch. “It’s getting late, and I’m not feeling great. If you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to crash. There are guest rooms for everyone, and please feel free to use whatever you find in the bathrooms. Renee? You can have your old room. Also, um, can you make sure everyone gets settled?”

Even though it was only eight o’clock, Renee watched as her sister tossed away the quilt she’d been wrapped in and headed for the stairs. Quickly, she followed after her. She took a shortcut through the kitchen’s back stairs—grabbing the stack of unopened mail en route—and caught Bree before she slipped into her bedroom.