Cold as a dead man’s handshake, fear scuttled up Tessa’s spine and clutched at her throat. Not again. Paralyzed in the face of a child in danger, she felt utterly helpless. She stared at the girl’s mother, but Nora couldn’t hear her daughter through the thunder of her wrath.

Rebecca pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes, and her rosebud mouth contorted in a grimace. She teetered and staggered forward, clinging to her mother’s skirt. “Mamm…my head…”

Spurting venom, Nora shooed away the girl, tore the shawl from her shoulders, and tossed it over a chair.

Rebecca stumbled into the kitchen, squinting in the bright light. “I want my kitty.”

What was Nora doing? Her daughter needed help. Now! Tessa swiveled to Jonas, cracking her head soundly on the edge of the table. Her vision blurred, and she closed her eyes, collapsing onto her heels. The last thing she wanted was to insert herself in the middle of a family crisis. But Nora and Jonas were locked in a battle that had been simmering for years and finally erupted like a geyser. They were blind to Rebecca. Once again, Tessa was on her own.

She choked down her fear and rubbed the new lump on her skull. Pain cleared her foggy brain in an instant. In a moment of crisis, she helped Sam, and she could help Rebecca now. Just stay calm and keep your wits, Meadows. She sucked in a breath and extended a hand. “Rebecca?”

Slumped against the counter, the child swung her gaze to Tessa.

Not even a glimmer of recognition sparked in her eyes. Tessa beckoned. “What’s wrong?”

Rebecca’s eyes went wide, and she clamped a hand over her mouth. With a moan, she doubled over and vomited on the kitchen floor.

Tessa bolted and caught Rebecca in her arms. She held a palm to the child’s forehead and recoiled. Rebecca’s skin was on fire. She stripped the girl’s sweat-soaked bonnet and shawl and fumbled with the buttons of her coat.

Between sobs, Rebecca writhed, clutching her head in her hands.

Nora whirled. “Don’t touch my child!”

Ignoring her, Tessa removed the soiled coat at last and carried Rebecca to the sofa. Just as it did that day at the Softee Freeze, her focus sharpened. The child’s elfin chin, the delicate curve of her ear, and the purple veins pulsing just beneath translucent skin at her temples all came into sharp relief. Tessa had no clue what Rebecca was suffering from, but she knew with absolute certainty it was no common cold. She turned to Jonas. “Rebecca needs a doctor.”

Nora limped to the sofa and shoved between Tessa and her daughter. “She needs her mother.”

Fighting panic, Tessa beckoned Jonas. “I’ve never in my life felt anyone with such a high fever.”