After receiving the cryptic message from his mother, Mac had slept like shit. He’d known something was up since the day before, when that woman showed up at the docks and said something that left his father upset. Between his dad disappearing from the marina right after the woman left and the engagement party for Dan and Kara, Mac hadn’t had a chance to corner his dad for answers.

He’d driven Maddie crazy speculating as to what was going on and why his parents wanted to speak with him and his siblings without their partners present.

“They said it was nothing bad,” Maddie had said between yawns as midnight became one a.m. “You should try to relax and not worry.”

Right. Relax and not worry. Too bad he wasn’t wired that way, which his wife knew all too well. In the last couple of years, his dad had suffered a terrible head injury, Maddie had delivered their daughter at home during a tropical storm, he and two of his brothers had nearly been killed in a boating accident, and then came the latest disaster with Janey’s near-fatal delivery of P.J. And Maddie wondered why he was on edge?

He felt like he was constantly waiting for the next shoe to drop and send his life spinning out of control again. And now this… His mother had said it was nothing to worry about, but he couldn’t recall the last time she’d summoned all five of them—by themselves—to talk about something.

The next morning, Janey pulled up to the house as he got out of his truck, so he waited for her.

“Hey, brat.”

“What’s this all about?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Are you worried about whatever it is?”

“Hell yes. They don’t just summon us like this unless it’s something big.”

“She said it was nothing to worry about.”

“I worried anyway.”

“Yeah,” Janey said, “me, too. I’m kind of afraid to go in there. Part of me doesn’t want to hear whatever it is.”

“I agree.” He unlatched the gate and held it for his sister as she went ahead of him. The scent of his mother’s roses filled the air as he followed Janey into the house, where they were greeted by the smell of coffee and something cooking.

“She’s making food,” Janey said. “This is a big deal.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She always cooks when she’s worked up about something.”

“You don’t think they’re splitting up, do you?” Mac asked.

“That would count as something bad, and they said it wasn’t bad.” She gave him a little shove to move him toward the kitchen.

“Hey, guys,” Linda said when she saw them coming. “Coffee?”

“I’ll have some,” Mac said.

“None for me,” Janey said. “I’m avoiding caffeine while I’m breastfeeding.”