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be fine—nothing could crack that skull. She didn’t have to fix up that old cabin—she could’ve taken a long cruise or a three-month vacation at a Caribbean resort. I won’t even pretend to know what she’s got socked away, but she’s got a reputation as one of the best estate lawyers in five states. I bet she could’ve bought a small house on a beach. But Marcie loves that old place because it’s where we fell in love. I think Erin did it as much for us as herself. And Erin doesn’t want to be too far away in case the baby comes early.”
    “Funny,” Jack said. “I thought she was kind of hard edged. Maybe I misjudged her.”
    Ian just grinned. “I think you probably got her right, just not all sides of her. It takes a tough woman to bury both her parents, take care of a younger brother and sister when she was a kid herself, get them through the kind of difficult shit those two went through and become a successful lawyer on top of it. Plus, we have a common goal—we’d do anything to make sure Marcie is safe and happy.”
    “So what’s she going to do up here for three months?” Jack wanted to know. “Isn’t this a little backwoods for your sister-in-law?”
    Ian shook his head. “I don’t get it. She says it’s about time she had a vacation. She hasn’t taken more than a day off at a time in ten years. Probably more than ten years. No question, she deserves a vacation more than anyone, but this is really out of character.” He’d been turning a lot of ideas over in his mind without mentioning any of his concerns to Marcie; he didn’t want his pregnant wife all stirred up and worried. But he couldn’t help but wonder why Erin had behaved so radically—remodeling his cabin, committing to a three-month vacation and leave from her law practice, isolating herself like that. Was she sick? Depressed? Was her job in some sort of jeopardy? Was she dealing with something she didn’t feel she could share?
    “Maybe she won’t last a week up here alone. But listen, if there’s ever anything you think I should know about Erin, will you give me a call?”
    “You’re worried,” Jack said. When Ian looked shocked, Jack just shrugged and said, “I’m a bartender. We learn this stuff.”
    “I don’t know if I’m worried,” Ian said. “It’s the kind of thing I’d do…something me and Marcie would do in a second if we could, and love it. But it just isn’t like Erin. She’s not used to downtime. Even on a Saturday in the park or by the pool, her cell phone rings all day long. This is pretty cold turkey.”
    “I’ll keep an eye on her, buddy,” Jack said. “Maybe it’ll be good for her.”

    Ian took home oven-roasted chicken, small red potatoes sprinkled with parsley, green bean casserole covered in baby onion rings—homemade—and frosted brownies. He also stopped by Connie and Ron’s Corner Store for whole milk, eggs, butter, bread, bacon, coffee and a six-pack. Marcie and Ian were only staying overnight, but he was going to have real food for breakfast before getting back on the road.
    After dinner they sat on the deck and watched the sun set over the mountains on the far side of the ridge. Ian reclined on the chaise lounge and Marcie sat between his spread legs. He threaded his arms under hers so he could rub her belly while she leaned back against his chest. Erin sat on the opposite lounge, alone, of course. As the sun lowered, the June night at five thousand feet got chilly and the crickets came out.
    Erin went inside and returned with two throws from the couch, one for her little sister and one to wrap around her own shoulders. She sat back on her chaise and said, “When you were here before, you two, and there was no computer or phone or TV, how did you pass the time? What kinds of things did you do? Besides practice for making junior there.”
    “We were pretty much snowed in,” Marcie said. “And it was a lot of work to cook the bathwater. Ian worked early in the morning,