Harrison jumped from his chair and ran to her, but Kate pushed him away. Simon stood, looking helpless.

“Mommy, what’s wrong. Are you sick?” Annabelle looked close to tears.

“It’s all right, Annabelle. Come with me. I want to show you something,” Hilda said, leading her from the room.

Blaire went to Kate and drew her into her arms. She could feel Kate’s heartbeat pounding against her as she held her, the extreme sharpness of her shoulder blades under Blaire’s hands. “It’s okay. I’m sure you’re right. It’s some sort of mistake. We’ll get to the bottom of this,” Blaire said.

It was just like the Kate of that long-ago summer, when she had slid into that deep dark place. If this reign of terror didn’t end, Blaire wasn’t sure Kate could come back this time.

Kate had gone to lie down before Christmas dinner. Blaire had stayed in her bedroom with her until she fell asleep. The others too were napping, and Simon was just coming up the stairs as Blaire was headed down.

“How is she?” he asked, civil for a change.

“She’s sleeping.”

“Good. I’m going to read awhile before dinner.” Simon continued to the landing.

Blaire returned to the family room, where the presents had been neatly stacked under the tree. Someone must have straightened up. She stretched out on the sofa and checked her phone, disappointed to see that she hadn’t had a call from Daniel yet. She’d tried him earlier, but it had gone directly to voice mail. She called him now, but again had no luck. They’d probably gone to church in the morning and were now in the middle of getting everything ready for dinner. Blaire had always helped his mother with the cooking, feeling like part of the family.

Daniel had grown up in Forest Glen, a beautiful suburb of Chicago. His mother was an English professor at Loyola University, and his dad a successful ad executive. The first time Daniel took Blaire to meet them and spend the weekend, they’d immediately made her feel welcome. Barbara, his mother, had enveloped her in a warm hug, taken her hand, and pulled her into the kitchen so they could “get to know each other better.” At first Blaire had thought Barbara wanted to grill her, but she relaxed when she saw how open and friendly she was. His parents were affectionate with each other and with Daniel, and it was apparent that they shared a great relationship. She could tell by the way Daniel and his family interacted that they really enjoyed being together, and it reminded her of Kate’s family and all the good times she’d shared with them.