This time Bree’s reference to her best friend sunk in. Renee tried to ignore the pang of jealousy. Bree and Renee were close. But what Bree shared with her bestie Jill was something on another level. They finished each other’s sentences. They wandered between their two stores—Castaway Yarn and Chickadee Studios—during the day, each sipping chai tea from Morning Joe’s.

Renee knew Bree would have sworn Jill to secrecy, but still…it hurt to be left out of something that could literally be life or death. It was also yet another painful reminder of Renee’s lack of a friend like Jill. God, she’d perfected the art of evasion, sticking to safe, surface-level friendships most of her adult life.

“Guess my tiny boobs got sick of me complaining about them and decided to try and kill me.” Bree tried to joke.

“Stop.” Renee wasn’t in the mood to smile, much less laugh. “This isn’t funny.”

“Trust me, I know. But sometimes you have to laugh when all you want to do is cry.” She squeezed her sister’s hand. “I didn’t tell you because your worry would have freaked me out even more.”

“What do you mean?”

“That mother hen instinct of yours. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. That’s all,” Bree said quietly. “It was easier to pretend this all wasn’t actually happening.”

Renee nodded. She got it.

“Listen. I’m going to try and sleep. All of this anxiety is exhausting.” She leaned against the oak doorframe. “I was thinking Sadie and Lincoln could sleep in the big room upstairs, the one with the adjoining bath?”

“Good idea.” It was the room with mauve wallpaper and a four-poster bed. There was a big armchair in the corner perfect for Sadie to read to Lincoln by candlelight before the two went to bed. “And Dan?”

“Forget your old room. You two could share the honeymoon suite?” Bree waggled her brows.

The honeymoon suite was an inside joke between the sisters. One of the countless items left behind in their parents’ house had been the infamous waterbed, something the girls had always teased them about. Bree kept the bed in a guest room now, which they’d nicknamed the honeymoon suite.

“Not too tired to have a dirty mind I see.” Renee swatted at her.

After a final hug, Bree retired to her bedroom and Renee returned to the living room.

When she returned to the living room, Lincoln’s eyes were dropping and both Sadie and Dan looked a little worse for wear.

“I’d be happy to show you your rooms,” she told them. “There are plenty of fresh towels in the hall closet and lots of extra blankets. There’s some bottled water in the kitchen if you’d like to wash your faces and whatnot. We should all be very comfortable here tonight.”