Grace closed her eyes and savored the moment, storing it for future reference.

Suddenly the warmth disappeared. Cold air surrounded her. Had a summer storm cropped up, bringing rain with it? she wondered. She opened her eyes, intending to suggest to Dean they go inside before the storm hit, but Dean wasn't there. Where had he gone?

"Daddy?" she called, but received no answer.

She couldn't see her father. Couldn't see Emma Lynn. And where was Belle Foret? Where had her family and her home gone? What was happening? She cried Dean's name repeatedly, but he didn't respond.

Had she fallen asleep and was now dreaming? Surely that was it. Wake up, Grace, she told herself. End this nightmare. End it right this minute, do you hear me?

"Mrs. Beaumont?" a pleasant voice spoke to her and a gentle hand touched her face.

Grace's eyelids fluttered open. She looked up at a middle-aged woman with a kind face. When Grace opened her mouth to speak, she realized she couldn't. Something prevented her from fully opening her mouth. She tried to lift her hand to touch her face, but her arm felt as if it weighed a ton.

"It's all right, Mrs. Beaumont. You can't speak because your mouth is wired shut, but you'll be able to speak again soon. For now, just blink your eyes once for the word yes and twice for the word no. Do you understand?"

She blinked twice. No, she did not understand at all. Only a few minutes ago she had been at home with Dean and Emma Lynn and her father. Where was she now? How had she gotten here? And where was her family?

"You understood to blink," the woman said. "What is it that you don't understand? Are you confused about where you are?"

Grace blinked once.

"You're in St. Camille Hospital. You were in an automobile accident. Don't you remember?"

Grace blinked twice.

The woman sighed. "I'm Andrea Woods, your special duty nurse. Your cousin Joy Loring hired me. You've been in the hospital for two weeks now and just this morning they moved you from intensive care and I came on duty. You've been coming in and out of consciousness for several days now. Don't you remember Dr. Drummond explaining to you what happened?"