“Nora,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “What is going on?”

Leo tugged at my jeans, his small fingers pinching the denim. “Mommy, your hand is shaking.”

I picked him up and held him tight against my chest, feeling his little heart beating rapidly.

“Marlene, please watch him for a few minutes,” I said, keeping my voice as steady as possible. “I have to walk down the road.”

Marlene looked at the glowing phone screen, then back up at me with wide, frightened eyes.

“He will ruin us, won’t he?” she asked.

“Not if I can help it,” I said, setting Leo down on the wooden stool behind the counter. “I will be right back, sweetheart. Stay with Marlene.”

I grabbed my heavy winter coat from the hook by the door and stepped out into the freezing wind.

The snow was falling faster now, thick white flakes blurring the outlines of the pine trees along the harbor.

My boots crunched on the icy gravel as I walked the three blocks toward the Copper Harbor Lodge.

Damon’s black SUVs were idling in the driveway, their exhaust pipes sending thick plumes of white steam into the gray sky.