She let out a sigh, took another sip of cider, and began. “Twenty-nine years ago, I was in my second year of law school, so sure that I had life figured out.”

He nodded. “As we all do when we’re twenty-two.”

She cracked a smile. “I came home for spring break to a crisis. My twin sister Becca was in trouble, again, and my parents were going to rescue her.”

Chip leaned in. It was loud in the tasting room and he didn’t want to miss any details.

Claire continued. “They’d paid for her to stay at a rehabilitation center in Colorado.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Was she an athlete?”

“No, it wasn’t that kind of rehabilitation. Drugs, alcohol…. Becca was troubled.” Claire paused. “Anyway, she threatened to leave and never speak to any of us again unless they came to get her. My parents panicked, as they always did, and my brother-in-law, who was a pilot, borrowed a little plane from a friend. He flew down there with my mom, my dad, and my older sister Holly. They picked Becca up,” she said slowly, “and then crashed into a mountain.”

Chip felt like he’d just crashed into a mountain, too. “I’m sorry, what?”

“No, I’m sorry,” she flashed a pained smile. “I don’t often tell this story anymore because everyone back home, you know, knew it already.” She softened her voice. “There were no survivors.”

Chip felt like his chair had shifted beneath him. “Wow, Claire, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s been a long time.” She let out a breath. “I left law school and adopted my sister’s three daughters – my girls, Lucy, Lillian, and Rose.” Claire smiled and pulled out her cell phone. “Here’s a picture of us from a few months ago.”

They looked like Claire, happy and smiling. He wanted to say that they were beautiful, like her, but it felt too awkward. “That’s…unbelievable. I mean, I do believe you. I’m not trying to scare you again.”

She laughed. “I know, and it gets crazier.” She bit her lip. “Last year, my brother-in-law’s uncle passed away, and it changed everything.”

Chip frowned. “More than the plane crash?”

She looked around the room. “I mean, financially. I went from driving a fifteen-year-old car to buying the hotel.”

“Wow.” Chip realized that his mouth was hanging open. “You weren’t kidding about having a wild story.”

She laughed. “To be honest, I didn’t want anyone at the hotel to know, because I didn’t want them to think that I didn’t know what I was doing. But you already know that I don’t know what I’m doing, so there you go. That’s the truth.”