Cassie exhaled; she’d held her breath for what seemed like forever. Seeing that the “mystery man” was a young guy only a few years older than she was, and had a cool smile, put her in a better mood fast. For the first time in five days, she felt the whole farm thing could be like... not awful.

Meg and Pete relaxed too. They said, “Hi!” “It’s good to meet you. We’re so happy you’re here!”

“Let’s stand on the porch,” said Shane as they huddled away from the headlight beams. “Homer told me you’d be coming in tonight, so I thought I’d check on you ’cause the whole area’s lost power.” Looking at the dark sky, he said, “I’m sorry the weather’s turned bad but it’ll clear up soon. These storms don’t last long.” He looked toward the garage, “That’s my truck parked over there. I heard you honking when I was in the well house. I got the generator going so you’d have water, and...” looking at the shivering dogs next to the house, he said, “I got a rope. These dogs have to be moved or they won’t make it.”

Meg and Pete were impressed by Shane’s ingenuity. Cassie was impressed with everything else. No longer worried by yelping dogs or a rainstorm, Cassie smiled, “Don’tcha just love the rain?”

“If it’s outside, and I’m inside,” Shane replied with a grin.

Nodding his head toward the dogs, “They want to be inside too. That’s Norton and Rebel. They’re pretty old. We’d better get ’em out of that cold water. Mr. Cassidy had an extra run set up for surprises like this. I’ll put ’em over there.”

Meg turned to Cassie and Pete. “Get the duffel bags, Pete, and take Duchess inside. Give Cassie the flashlight.” She turned to Cassie, “Look for some kerosene lamps. Light as many as you can find; there should be matches by the fireplace. And try to get a fire going – we’ll need the heat.” Meg, the nurse, was in emergency-room mode. Before Cassie went inside, Meg pulled her closer. “And you might want to take off the tiara.”

Cassie had forgotten about the tiara. She tried to pull it out of her matted wig, but it got tangled and wouldn’t let go.