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CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

A fter her shower, Alyssa slipped on a new T-shirt and yesterday’s jeans, then added the cardigan to stave off the chill. Her hair was dry, her makeup applied, as she reclined on the twin bed where she’d slept the night before, checking her email. Nothing important, but she liked to clean it out every day, just in case.

The quilt covering the bed looked handmade—by Callan’s mother, no doubt. The fabric squares Alyssa had moved to the sewing table added splashes of color. The walls were decorated with old photographs of the Templeton family—Callan’s parents on their wedding day, Callan and Hannah jumping off the dock into the lake.

It was cozy and safe, the perfect place to hide until it was time to leave. She was hiding, not trusting herself to have a conversation with Callan. Every time she thought of his rejection the night before, it stung. Yes, she understood he needed to focus on Peri. Of course he did. But that truth didn’t heal the wound.

If he didn’t want a relationship with her, then he shouldn’t have given her that mind-blowing kiss. He shouldn’t have led her to believe he cared about her. That there might be a future for them.

It didn’t matter. She just needed to avoid him.

A knock sounded. Solid, forceful.

Callan.

She was tempted to tell him to go away, but the last thing she wanted was for him to know how hurt she felt. She swung the door open.

“Can we talk?”

His words had her defenses rising.

He must’ve seen something in her expression, because he added, “We need to go over the plan and figure out how to…” He turned his gaze toward Peri’s room, lowering his voice. “She’s going to have to come with us, so?—”

“What? She’s coming?”

“Shh.” Again, his gaze flicked away. “I don’t have another option.” He ran his hand over his blond hair. “It’s not ideal.”

To put it mildly.

Alyssa wasn’t about to invite him into the bedroom, so she shoved her feet into her shoes and then led the way past Peri’s closed door and down the stairs. She snatched her jacket off a chair where she’d draped it the night before and stepped outside, where Peri wouldn’t overhear.

It was supposed to warm into the seventies later, which would be perfect for her grandparents’ anniversary party.

Now, it was in the low fifties. Sunshine dripped through the tall trees all around, sparkling on the puddles left over from yesterday’s rain. New spring leaves were bright green against the darker pines. Birds chattered, squirrels hopped branch to branch.

Alyssa turned toward the side of the house, wanting to see the lake that had been nothing but a dark expanse the night before. Her bedroom was on the front side of the house, so the view from her window had shown only forest.

Through the woods, she glimpsed the neighboring house, which was probably a hundred yards distant.

She zipped her jacket as Callan fell into step beside her.

“I’m trying to figure out how to do this,” he said. “You and I have to sell the idea that we’re engaged, but with Peri?—”

“What?” She froze and faced him. “We’re not telling my family we’re engaged.”

“Ghazi will be watching. Not personally—at least there’s been no indication that he’s left the Brookline house. But he’ll have people there.”

“This is my family . I’m not lying to them.”

“We have no choice?—”

“You didn’t lie to your family.” As the words left her mouth, she remembered that he almost had. She’d stopped him from introducing her as his fiancée.

“I would have,” he said. “If not for Peri, if not for Dad’s heart attack, I would have. We have to stay in character. But… I mean, you’re right. I didn’t. I thought they had enough to deal with, and since Ghazi doesn’t know who I am…”

“Right. And who cares about my family?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying?—”

“I thought you were a Christian.” He’d prayed a couple of times for them. Didn’t that mean something? “I don’t know what church you go to, but at ours we’re taught not to lie.”

His expression hardened. “In my line of work—the line of work you wanted to be in—sometimes lying is part of the job.”

She knew that. But this was different. This was her family.

“We have no choice, Alyssa.” His words were softer now, gentle as the breeze. “I know it’s awful. I get that it could do damage to your relationships. I get it.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Do you think I want to do this? To let my daughter think I abandoned her so I could be off dating and falling in love?”

They both knew that part wasn’t true.

“We told Ghazi we were going to announce our engagement at the party,” Callan said. “We can’t give him any reason to believe we lied.”

“You shouldn’t have told him we were engaged.” All her emotions escaped in her voice and sounded like anger. “There had to be a better way.”

The thought of facing her sisters, her mother, her father… The thought of telling them she was engaged when they hadn’t even known she was dating somebody. They’d be furious.

No. They’d be hurt.

And her grandparents and cousins would be there, so her betrayal—and what else could she call it?—would be witnessed by everyone in her entire family.

She couldn’t do it.

“You’re probably right.” Callan sounded defeated. “I just… It was instinct.”

“To kiss me? That was instinct?”

He winced. “To pretend we were together. It seemed like the easiest way.”

Right. Because her feelings were irrelevant. Her family was irrelevant.

“This is my life you’re messing with.”

His expression, kind and maybe even apologetic before, hardened. “I know that, Alyssa. That’s what all of this has been about. Your life. Keeping you alive . I didn’t have to get involved at all.”

Now it was her turn to wince.

He’d insinuated himself into her dinner for her sake, not his. He was trying to protect her.

Didn’t change anything. Didn’t change that he’d made her believe he had feelings for her and then rejected her. Didn’t change that he was asking her to lie to her family. And then, what? Come back in a week and say, “Just kidding. Sorry I ruined Gram and Pop’s anniversary party. It was all just an elaborate ruse”?

How could she do that? How could she do any of this?

“Can’t we just pretend to be dating?”

“Sorry.” He started walking again, so she did too.

They rounded the corner of the house, and the lake came into view.

The clear water was calm, the trees that ringed it reflecting off the surface like a mirror.

The grassy backyard led to a sandy beach bordered on both sides by trees that rimmed the lake like sentinels. A giant boulder marked one end of the beach. On the other end, a dock extended over the water, a fishing boat bobbing alongside.

The property was small and secluded and charming. It was perfect. It was so contrary to how she felt that she struggled to understand how this peace could exist in the same place and time as her own turmoil.

“I know it’s not ideal.”

Pretending to be engaged.

Lying to her family.

As if she hadn’t already alienated herself from them enough.

“They’ll understand,” Callan continued. “When you explain, they’ll forgive you.”

Maybe. But it would only drive the wedge between her and them deeper. That wedge was her fault. She’d avoided them. Feeling like a failure, feeling like she had to succeed in order to matter, she’d kept her distance. Now, more of her failure would be evident. Her foolishness, getting involved with a terrorist.

“There’s got to be a better?—”

“Fine. You tell me what we should do.” He halted in the middle of the yard. Arms crossed. Scowl on his face. “Please, give me your plan B. Because I have zero ideas. I can tell Malcolm you’re calling the whole thing off. You didn’t want to go into hiding before. Are you willing to now?”

“I can’t?—”

“And even if you did, Ghazi knows who you are. He knows your family. Do you think he’ll leave them alone? Do you think he’s too nice to use your sisters to get what he wants? Or your mother?”

His words were darts, and she felt the sting of each one.

“This isn’t a game of Scrabble, Alyssa. You can’t just walk away. It’s too late for that.”

“I know that. Just…shut up and let me think.” She started walking again. “Malcolm could just take Ghazi into custody. That’s what Michael thinks he should do.”

“I’ll pass that along.” Callan deadpanned the words. “I’m sure Malcolm will be very open to your cousin’s advice.”

“He knows what he’s doing.” Didn’t he? Michael was a good agent, a great agent. As far as she knew, anyway. Not that she’d have any way to know.

“He’s not unbiased.” Callan softened his tone. “Not only does he love you and want you to be protected, he has a personal vendetta against Ghazi. He wants to stop the terrorist. Malcolm wants to know—needs to know—the bigger picture.”

“Okay, then. You and Peri stay here. I’ll go to the party myself, and?—”

“I’m not leaving you alone. Forget it.”

He would soon enough, though. When this was over, he’d leave her alone again. Which should be fine. She’d been alone before he’d barged into her life.

But the thought of it left her feeling bereft.

And admitting that made her feel like some frivolous heroine from a sappy British romance.

“I’ll be with my family. I’ll tell them all about my boyfriend and how he was going to come, but his father had a heart attack.” Her feet squished into the damp grass, then sank in the sand until she reached the wooden dock. She hopped onto it, then marched to the end. “I’ll be fine.”

Callan followed, his footfalls heavy on the boards behind her.

All she wanted was to get out of this situation. She wanted to get back to where she’d been a week before. Safe and happy.

Well, safe, anyway. And lonely, though she hadn’t realized it at the time.

She reached the end of the dock, and Callan stopped beside her, looking out at the water.

“Ghazi’s men will be there. Anything we do outside what’s expected puts you and your family at risk.”

“I could call him and tell him…” Was she really going to call her terrorist employer and make up a story? What would that sound like? Maybe she could sell it, but that was a big maybe. And in calling, she’d indicate to him that she feared she was being watched, tipping her hand.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, then Ghazi would have every reason to expect her back in Boston immediately. Then she’d have to make up another lie, and every conversation they had increased the possibility that he’d see right through her.

Callan stared out at the water, handsome and strong and beautiful in a way she couldn’t articulate. This was a place he’d probably stood a thousand times. This dock, this lake. This property and all the peace that surrounded it.

He’d brought Alyssa here, to his sanctuary, to keep her safe. He was doing all of this to keep her safe.

His gaze flicked to her, catching her staring. He squinted the slightest, as if he was trying to figure her out. As if she were the confusing one. “I wish there was another way.”

She looked away, knowing the truth. There wasn’t another way, not one that didn’t put her and her family in danger.

“Peri has to come with us? There’s nobody else?”

“Mom doesn’t want her here.” He shook his head. “That’s not fair. I shouldn’t… Mom’s done so much, and Hannah has some important event this weekend at the university.”

“How will you explain to Peri the fake engagement?”

“Yeah. More importantly, how do we keep Ghazi’s men from realizing she’s my daughter? How do we keep her out of danger?”

Alyssa turned and faced the house where they’d left the innocent little girl.

“We’re going to Brooklynn’s house first so I can borrow a dress. We can all drive together. Maybe it’ll look like Peri’s with her.”

“Okay.” He pressed his lips together, seeming to have trouble holding Alyssa’s eye contact. “I know it’s unfair, but do you think there’s a way Peri could be gone when we announce the engagement? I just…I don’t want to lie to her.”

Peri was only a child, a wounded, grieving child. She deserved their protection from all of this.

“I can tell Brooklynn the truth, and she?—”

“No. We can’t tell anybody.”

Alyssa stifled a sigh. “Okay, then the truth. The other truth. We tell my family that we were going to tell your parents but your dad had a heart attack, so…so I’ll tell Brooklynn about the engagement and ask her to take Peri for a walk while we make the announcement.”

“Will she do it?”

“I don’t see why not.” Except for the obvious, that Brooklynn was going to be furious with her. Or disappointed, which would be even worse.

But this was the price Alyssa paid for doing business with a terrorist. This was the cost of keeping her family safe. It would be worth it, even if they never forgave her.

* * *

“It’s just down the hill,” Alyssa said.

Callan rode the Mustang’s brake, following the traffic toward the coast in downtown Shadow Cove.

“Ooh, it’s so pretty!” Peri said from the backseat. “Look at the pink house!”

The “pink house” was actually an office building. The first floor contained a real estate company. Alyssa used to get her teeth cleaned on the second.

She’d grown up just a couple of miles from here, and when she’d been young, she hadn’t thought there was anything special about her little town—all the old houses-turned-businesses. Back in the eighties, before she was born, somebody had started a revitalization effort in town, hoping to attract tourists. One of the woman’s inspired ideas had been to paint all the downtown buildings bright colors. To hear old-timers tell it, there was a lot of pushback from locals, but their failing businesses had them grudgingly agreeing, with the caveat that they could paint everything white again if it flopped.

It didn’t flop.

Shadow Cove was not only delightfully attractive and charming, as were most Maine towns on the coast—at least the ones tourists frequented. But it was unique. York and Kittery, Boothbay and Bar Harbor. They were lovely, but similar.

None of them had this. It was the best little town in Maine.

Maybe, she was the teeniest bit biased.

They passed souvenir shops, restaurants, coffee shops, and ice cream parlors. Some of the businesses were new, but most had been there as long as she could remember. The arcade, where they used to drop their weekly allowance in video game slots, back when they were a quarter. The pizza parlor, owned by third-generation Greek immigrants. The popular restaurant overlooking the coast, which served everything from local seafood to Canada’s famed poutine.

“I wanna go there.” Peri pointed at the new bookstore in an old building that had been completely remodeled. A bay window boasted a Winnie-the-Pooh display featuring the Hundred Acre Wood behind giant stuffed animals—Pooh Bear, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore.

“That building used to be the library,” Alyssa said. “I borrowed every Nancy Drew mystery they had when I was little.”

“I love Nancy Drew! Can we go, Daddy?”

“Maybe later.”

As delighted as his daughter seemed, tension wafted off of Callan. And Alyssa got it. They were walking back into the lion’s den. Callan was certain that Ghazi would have people at the country club, watching. The thought of getting themselves—and more than that, Peri—anywhere near the terrorist sent her anxiety spiking.

She wished he’d stayed home, stayed far away from this. Maybe it would put her in more danger, but better that than the sweet eight-year-old who’d already survived so much tragedy.

“Are we getting close?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just ahead.” Alyssa pointed to the gallery Brooklynn had opened a few years back. The original rotting wooden siding had been replaced with teal-colored aluminum. Brooklynn had painted the shutters bright white and added a fancy sign in the front, making the place look cheerful and inviting, a perfect reflection of her personality. “Take a left right after it.”

Callan turned onto a street that was no more than an alley separating Brooklynn’s gallery from the souvenir shop next door. There was a parking lot, but it looked full, even though the summer season didn’t officially start until after Memorial Day, more than a month away.

“Park behind Brooklynn’s truck.” Alyssa indicated the spot, and Callan maneuvered the Mustang into the tiny space between the orange Bronco and the crumbling asphalt that separated her driveway from the parking lot. An outdoor stairway rose to the third floor.

“Your sister lives here?” Peri asked.

Climbing out of the car, Alyssa said, “Above her store. She’s a photographer, and she sells her pictures downstairs.”

“That’s so cool.”

It was pretty cool, actually. Brooklynn had taken her lifelong love of photography and turned it into a business.

“Can we see it?”

“There’s probably not enough time today,” Alyssa said, “but another time. I know she’d love to show you around.”

The second-floor door opened, and Brooklynn stepped onto the landing and leaned over the railing, waving. “Come on up.”

They took the metal stairs and stepped into her apartment.

“Come in, come in.” Brooklynn closed the door behind them, her cheerful smile wide. She was party-ready, with her curled dark brown hair falling in waves halfway down her back. She wore a bright pink dress with white polka dots and pink kitten heels with a white sparkly bow. If Alyssa had to guess, her sister would have a purse that matched the outfit perfectly.

Suddenly, it occurred to Alyssa that her sister would have a closet filled with bright-colored dresses covered with daisies and sunflowers.

Maybe she should’ve borrowed from Cici instead.

“Brooklynn, I’d like you to meet Cal?—”

“Caleb.” He stuck out his hand to shake. “It’s great to meet you. This is my daughter, Peri.”

“Peri.” Brooklynn’s smile widened when she focused on the child. “That’s a fabulous name.”

Peri started to say something, then closed her mouth, looking confused.

“It’s a nickname, right?” Alyssa said quickly. “Tell my sister your real name. She’ll love it.”

“Persephone,” Peri said. “After the goddess of springtime.”

Brooklynn gasped and slapped her hand to her chest. “That is literally the coolest name I’ve ever heard. You are so lucky!”

Peri’s grin was shy but authentic.

“You guys need something to eat or drink?” Brooklynn asked. “Water, soda?”

Peri shot an eager look at Callan, Caleb , who said, “Water, if it’s no trouble.” To his daughter, he added, “I’m sure you’ll get your fill of treats at the party.”

“Oh, she will.” Brooklynn winked at Peri. “I promise.” She waved toward the living room to one side of the door. “Make yourselves at home.” She hooked her arm through Alyssa’s. “Come on, sis. You can help.”

Not that Brooklynn needed help getting two whole glasses of water, but she followed her into the kitchen.

Brooklynn’s photography adorned the walls, of course. One in the kitchen was new. Brooklynn had captured the sun peeking over the horizon, casting the waves in shades of red and bronze. In the background, the rocky spit of land that edged the south end of the cove was snow-covered. “That’s breathtaking.”

Brooklynn smirked at the photo. “It’s okay. It’s not what I was going for. I’m trying to get a specific shot, and I just can’t seem to get it right. It’s frustrating.”

Alyssa imagined her sister setting the shot up in the dark, waiting for the sun to rise. Waiting for the perfect wave. Snapping, snapping. Then trying again another day.

And then, she saw it differently. “You take someone with you, right? You don’t go out by yourself in the dark.”

“This is Shadow Cove, not Boston. It’s not exactly the crime-capital of the world.”

Facing Brooklynn, Alyssa crossed her arms. “Didn’t you read about the college student who was raped and murdered? Evil people exist everywhere. You need to protect yourself.”

Brooklynn started to argue, then grinned, eyes bright with curiosity. “Trying to distract me?”

“I’m serious. You need to?—”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me.” Brooklynn’s gaze flicked toward the living room. “Except maybe the vapors.” Fanning her face, she affected a Southern accent. “Where’d you find that tall drink of water?”

“Ebay.” Alyssa grabbed two glasses from the open shelves. “I need to talk to you about him.”

“Ooh, what is it?” Brooklynn stepped closer. “I heard there was a secret?”

“You heard? From…?” She knew the answer. Telephone, telegraph… “Frannie called you.”

“She said she ran into you a couple of days ago—at a hotel with a hottie.”

“We were talking in a courtyard.” Sheesh. The gossipy woman had made it sound like they’d been caught in the act or something.

“I know.” Brooklynn’s smile froze in the corners. “She was just excited for you. So, tell me about him.”

This was going to hurt. She hated it. Hated lying. Hated…all of it.

“He and I…” Didn’t go to school together. She needed to remember the pretend story. “We met years ago, but we recently reconnected, and uh… This is going to be surprising, so try to temper your reaction.”

Brooklynn’s expression dimmed. “What?”

“We’re engaged.”

And now…Brooklynn’s smile was gone. “You’re engaged. To a total stranger?”

“He’s not a stranger to?—”

“You’ve never said a word about him to anyone. Except Frannie, I guess. Does she know?” She must’ve read Alyssa’s expression, because she said, “Great. Frannie knew before me.”

“Caleb didn’t realize… He’s excited to start telling people.”

“Unlike you, I guess. We saw you last weekend. Could you really not… Wait. Did you at least tell Mom? Please tell me Mom knows.”

“No, I?—”

“Does Kenzie know?”

“Nobody knows.” It said something about Alyssa’s relationship with her sister that she didn’t question the truth of it. She wasn’t suspicious. She fully believed that Alyssa would start dating, fall in love, and get engaged, and never say a word. “It’s brand new. You’re the first to know. We haven’t even told Peri.”

Brooklynn’s gaze dropped to Alyssa’s left hand. No ring, of course.

“I’ll start wearing it after everybody knows,” Alyssa lied. So many lies. “Like I said, it happened really fast. We were going to tell his parents and Peri, but his dad had a heart attack yesterday. He’s still in the hospital. It wasn’t the right time.”

“He’s okay? His dad?”

“Yeah. But it was a scare.”

“Hmm.”

There was nothing to do but keep going. “We want to tell Mom and Dad and everyone else today, so I might need your help. We don’t know what to do with Peri.”

“I see.” Brooklynn took the glasses and filled them with ice. After the rumble of the ice machine and the clinking, she faced Alyssa again. “You’re telling me now not because I’m your sister and you want to confide in me, but because you need my help.”

“I mean, of course I want to confide?—”

“It’s fine. Congratulations, by the way. I’m happy for you. It’s good to know there’s somebody in your life you love enough to talk to.”

“It’s not… Brooklynn, I’m sorry. I’m not so good at?—”

“It’s fine.”

It wasn’t.

“It doesn’t matter.”

It did.

But Alyssa had no idea how to fix it, how to make it right.

Brooklynn added water to the glasses. “Eliza’s bringing a babysitter to entertain Levi. Maybe you can ask if Peri can join them.”

Eliza was their cousin Sam’s wife. “How did you know?—?”

“I see Eliza. We chat sometimes. We’re family, you know. That’s what families do. Talk. You should try it. Or at least, when people want to talk to you, maybe answer your phone.”

Right. Brooklynn had called her...was it yesterday? She should’ve called her back. She could remind her that she’d lost her phone, but she had one now, but wouldn’t be able to explain why she couldn’t share her number.

It was all so convoluted. And frankly, even if Alyssa had had her phone, she wouldn’t have called. “I’m sorry.”

Brooklynn took a breath, then smiled, though nobody who knew her would buy it. “I am happy for you. I just wish things were different. But it doesn’t?—”

“It does matter.” Alyssa took the glasses, set them on the counter, and pulled her sister into a hug. “It does matter, and you’re right about all of it. You’re right, and I’m sorry.”

For being a terrible sister. For letting her relationships with them grow so distant.

For taking advantage of her kindness while lying to her.

Tears pricked her eyes. How could she do this? How could she hurt the only people in the world who loved her?

Brooklynn’s return hug was reluctant at best.

Alyssa stepped back, taking her sister’s hands. “There’s a very long story here, and I want to tell you everything. I just can’t today, okay? But I do want to confide in you. I miss you.”

She realized as she said the words that they were true. That as much as she’d avoided her family in the last few years, she longed for them. She longed to have sisters who were best friends again.

Maybe Brooklynn read the emotion in her eyes, because the hardness in her expression softened. “I forgive you. I look forward to hearing your story.” She pulled her hands away, swiped her fingers beneath her eyes. “You’re gonna make me ruin my makeup.” The trademark smile filled her face as she swiveled and returned to the living room. “Here we go!” Her voice was perfectly chipper as she set the drinks on her coffee table in front of Callan. “Peri, you want to come help us pick out a dress for Alyssa?”

“Sure! Can I, Daddy?”

“If you want.” He sat back and crossed an ankle on the opposite knee. “If you like all that frilly girl stuff.”

Peri propped her fists on her hips. “I am a girl.”

“Oh, yeah. I always forget.”

“Silly.”

“Come on, then.” Brooklynn beckoned her toward the hallway and her bedroom, and Peri followed.

Callan gave Alyssa a raised-eyebrows look.

She kept her voice low. “I’ve got it under control.” She hoped, anyway. She’d text Eliza as soon as she got the chance.

* * *

A few minutes later, Alyssa stared at her image in her sister’s full-length mirror.

“You’re so pretty.” Peri sounded awed.

“She’s all right, I guess.” Brooklynn added, “I’m only a little annoyed that you look better in my clothes than I do.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Brooklynn’s curves would fill out the dress better than Alyssa’s stick-straight body.

As she’d feared, her sister didn’t own a single little black dress. Nope. They were all colorful, many multicolored. Stripes and polka dots and weird geometric designs. There was even a bright yellow one covered with daisies.

Alyssa was not wearing a daisy dress.

Brooklynn had given her a choice of two solid-color options that would work with an outdoor afternoon event. One was royal blue—with sequins, an old bridesmaid gown nobody would wear in public on purpose unless they had no choice—meaning they’d made the mistake of becoming friends with a woman who had rotten taste.

The other choice was…this.

A sleek, one-shoulder number in pale lavender. It was meant to hit mid-calf, but Alyssa was taller than her sister, so it ended just below her knees. It might be considered modest if not for the slit that rose to mid-thigh.

“It’s just a little… Maybe I should try the daisy one.” How desperate was she? But this dress made her look like she was trying to stand out. To attract attention. To attract a man.

That was the very last thing she wanted anyone to think. Especially Callan.

“The purple one is way better than the daisies!” Peri said.

“I agree.” Brooklynn propped her chin on her hand and tapped her lips as if seriously considering the problem. She walked around Alyssa, giving her assessing looks. “I don’t think you’ll look good in daisies. Now, if I had an orange dress with birds-of-paradise…”

Alyssa gave her a squinty-eyed shut-it look, which made Brooklynn laugh.

“I think you’re right, Peri. This is as good as it gets. Ooh, and I have a little purse that matches it perfectly!”

Of course she did.

Before Alyssa could come up with a reason to change into something less…well, something else, Brooklynn and Peri practically shoved her into the bathroom.

“I’m going to grab a chair.” Brooklynn focused on Peri. “You look through my top drawer and pick out a pretty eye shadow.”

“Wait! I don’t need…”

But Brooklynn wasn’t listening to her.

Her punishment for not telling her sister she had a boyfriend was to be painted like a plastic doll.

Thirty minutes later, she was plastered with so much makeup she was afraid to smile.

Brooklynn had curled her blond hair and pinned it up at the back of her head, leaving pretty curled tendrils to float around her face.

And then, with Callan’s permission, Brooklynn had curled Peri’s hair while both sisters exclaimed about how lovely it was.

It was, too. Thick and luxurious, just like Megan’s had been.

Peri wore a white dress with pink and purple flowers that she’d gotten from her grandmother for Easter. Brooklynn pulled the front of her hair back and tied it with a purple ribbon—of course she had a purple ribbon—on top of her head.

“You are gorgeous!” Alyssa said.

Peri’s smile was as wide as Alyssa had ever seen it. “We match!”

Alyssa looked at their reflections in the mirror. Sure enough, their dresses were color-coordinated, as if they’d planned it.

“We’re going to be late if we don’t hustle.” Brooklynn swept all of her makeup back into the drawer, a mishmash of tubes and cylinders and palettes with zero regard for organization or tidiness. Typical.

She and Peri hurried out of the bedroom while Alyssa took a deep breath, trying to summon her courage.

She wasn’t ready for this, for any of it. But she was out of time.