"The phone rang at seven in the morning, which meant bad news. Claire had learned this over the years..."

"The rental car handled the highway well enough, but the dirt roads were another matter. Claire had f..."

"The bedroom was a time capsule.Claire stood in the doorway for a long moment before entering, her ha..."

"By the third night, Claire had a system.She ate dinner early—whatever Sarah had prepared, simple thi..."

"It was Sarah who suggested it, in the careful way she suggested things—not directly, but by leaving..."

"She didn't open the final journal that night.She'd carried it to the house with every intention of r..."

"The good mornings were unpredictable.Sarah had explained this during Claire's first week—that the dy..."

"Claire read through the morning.Sarah brought her coffee without being asked, refilled it once, and..."

"She needed to get out of the house.This was not something Claire admitted easily. She'd been raised..."

"The snow that had started on the highway didn't amount to anything that day.By the time Claire retur..."

"She waited until after the wolves had come and gone.This had become ritual over the past days—the wo..."

"It started just after midnight.Claire had been asleep—the thin, unsatisfying sleep of someone whose..."

"The snow fell through the night and into the morning.Claire woke to a world transformed—not dramatic..."

"The memory came while she was washing dishes.This was two hours after reading the letter, after Ruth..."

"The fever broke completely by mid-afternoon.Sarah confirmed it with the thermometer, with the blood..."

"The light was almost gone when Ruth asked for water.Claire held the cup while her mother sipped—smal..."

"Claire left her mother sleeping and went back upstairs to the journals.It was past ten at night. Sar..."

"Claire found the final journal at the bottom of the box.She'd thought the March 1995 journal was the..."

"She didn't go downstairs right away.After reading her father's final entry, Claire sat at the desk f..."

"They were washing dishes when Sarah asked.This was late afternoon—Ruth had slept through most of the..."

"She woke before dawn with the decision already made.Ruth had slept through the night—Sarah reported..."

"Claire was halfway back to the house when she realized she'd missed something.She stopped on the tra..."

"Claire made it back to the house just before dark.Sarah met her at the door, concern evident in her..."

"Ruth slept for an hour while the wolves maintained their vigil outside. Claire sat in the chair besi..."

"Claire couldn't sleep.It was past midnight. Ruth was resting—Sarah had administered the evening medi..."

"Claire woke at dawn to Sarah's hand on her shoulder.She'd fallen asleep in the chair beside Ruth's b..."