“I warned her about the storm. I warned her about Dylan. I told her…Jamie is missing.” Tears leaked from the corners of Rae’s eyes. “Poor Jamie. Where is she?”

Max returned at a run, a sports drink in his hand. Together Kellen and Max lifted Rae and poured the bottle down her throat.

Rae drank thirstily. Her body knew what it needed—but had they been quick enough?

They could only wait.

The sun set in a violent gasp of red, pink and purple as deep as a bruise.

Night descended. The storm began its true assault. The wind howled. Rain slammed at the mansion. Max and Kellen took turns lifting Rae to her feet and walking her, back and forth.

Kellen put her into the shower and got in with her. She washed her hair and helped her bathe.

When they came out, Max was sitting on the floor with Luna, picking the grass seeds and thorns out of her paws, covering them with cortisone and wrapping them in gauze. “Luna’s nails need to be trimmed,” he said. “When this is over, we need to take her to the groomer.”

Rae dropped on the floor beside her dog and placed her head on Luna’s back, and for long, wrenching moments, she sobbed her apologies to them all.

Luna put her paws on Rae’s shoulders, licked her face, cried with her if a dog could be said to cry.

Max and Kellen returned to walking Rae back and forth, to pouring sports drinks down her throat, to talking to her in the hopes of bringing her out of her madness and back to normalcy.

Finally Rae begged to be allowed to rest, and Max and Kellen couldn’t stand to torment her anymore. They let her recline on her bed.

For one moment, Rae’s gaze cleared, and she said to Max, “Daddy, I’m sorry. I was wrong.”

Then she was gone, unconscious.

Max checked her pulse in her neck. Kellen checked it in her wrist.

“She’s asleep. Maybe that’s what she needs.” Max sounded more hopeful than sure.

Kellen grasped his hand. “What are we going to do?”

He looked out at the black shiny glass window, streaked with rain. “The storm should lessen…soon. As soon as it’s light, we’ll take the boat. We’ll take Rae to the mainland.”

“You’ll take the boat. You’ll take her to the mainland.”

“Kellen, I can’t leave you here with her. With Mara.”

“You’ve got to get Rae to a hospital, and you can’t do that if I’m along. Even if the storm gets better, the seas are going to be massive. To get Rae to the California coast, you’ll need the motor and the sail.” Kellen was calm, matter-of-fact. “You can’t have both if I’m with you, weighing down the boat.”