Page 93 of Guess Again

Lake Morikawa, Wisconsin Tuesday, August 5, 2025

MADDIE SCREAMED AS THE GLOCK HIT THE GRAVEL.

AS SHE SPUN around she saw Kai standing behind her.

He raised his hands in fright when she shrieked.

“Kai! Oh my God.

I’m sorry.”

“No,”

Kai said, yelling over the roar of the pouring rain.

“I didn’t mean to startle you.

I called your name, but you couldn’t hear me.

I decided to see how you were doing when the power went out.”

“Thanks for checking on me.

Ethan’s not back yet.”

“Can I help with the generator?”

“That would be great, thanks.”

Kai bent over the generator and fooled with the gauges for a moment before pulling the ripcord.

The engine hummed to life and the cabin’s lights came back on.

“The tank is full,”

Kai said.

“Should get you through the night, no problem.

Might have to gas up tomorrow if the storm doesn’t break, but the worst should be through by midnight.

No telling how long it will take to restore the power, though.”

Maddie crouched down and retrieved her Glock.

“Sorry about that.”

“No worries,”

Kai said.

“Do you want me to stay until Ethan gets back?”

“No,”

Maddie said over the echoing rain.

“Get home to your family.

Ethan will be back soon.”

“I’ll check on you both in the morning.”

“Thanks, Kai.

Be careful.”

Maddie watched Kai hurry off into the storm, running through the rain and to the front of the cabin.

She wheeled the generator back into the crawlspace to protect it from the rain and opened the hatch to allow the fumes to escape.

She walked into the cabin and shut the back door, happy to be out of the storm.

She placed her Glock on the counter by the back door.

Opening the door just momentarily allowed the horizontal rain to come around the carport and soak the floor inside the door. She grabbed a towel to clean up the mess.

Her clothes were drenched, so she headed upstairs to change.

She paused at the front door long enough to see Kai back his pickup truck out of the driveway and pull away.

Maddie turned from the window and jogged up the steps before a Range Rover pulled into the driveway.