When he opened his eyes, the vine had wound around his wrist and deposited a small black berry in the palm of his hand.

He touched a fingertip to the piece of fruit. Then he looked around him. “You want me to eat this?”

Wind rustled through the leaves. The heavy black blossoms looked down at him. With a shrug, Kaden popped the strawberry into his mouth. He bit down, and it hit his tongue with a hint of chocolate. He smiled in wonder.

Then all at once, his vision went black. The soil fell out from under him, and he was standing in his own body, staring at Irene.

We sat together on the patchwork couch in the Haywood guesthouse. Irene had claimed it when she and Nate first started dating. Now, sitting with her over a pot of lavender-and-lemon-balm tea and watching her sort through the tatters of her heart, I felt like I was breaking.

“I don’t get it,” Irene said. “I should’ve seen it. A year, Kaden. A fucking year!” She shook her head. “I shouldn’t burden you with this. He’s your brother.”

“And you’re my best friend,” I said, my throat raw.

“How did I miss it?”

“Maybe you didn’t,” I said. “Maybe…”

The world shifted. Kaden blinked but still saw only darkness as his own words played over and over in his head. He tried to stand, but his body wouldn’t listen. The darkness faded, and he found himself standing face-to-face with his brother.

“You’re just like him. You may not have raised a hand to her, but she loved you, Nate.”

“And she’ll love me again,” Nate said. “Give it a couple weeks, she’ll be back on our bourbon, and I can make all of this go away.”

“You didn’t,” I said, stunned.

Nate laughed.

“She deserves better than you,” I said.

Nate’s eyes widened. “You love her.”

Nate’s face disappeared.

Kaden stood in a room he didn’t recognize.

A shelf of barrels lined one wall; bottles—all carefully labeled—lined the other. My mom lounged on a plush leather couch, her hair only just threaded with white. I sat across from her, elbows on my knees and head in my hands.

“We have to put a stop to this, Mom,” I said. “If he was willing to do this to Irene, for a year…”

My mom sighed and shook her head. “Sometimes we do what we have to do, Kaden. I’m sure your brother had his reasons, even if he’s made a mess of things. Family comes first.”

“Irene was going to be family.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Sylvia said.

What had his brother done? Before he could land on an answer, everything shifted again.

Irene pressed her forehead to mine, our lips inches apart. My chest hitched.

“Why did you keep this from me?” she said.