I never told my sister-in-law that I was a Colonel in Army Intelligence!

I tried the lock. The bar held.

I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed the spare key from the kitchen drawer—the one Emily insisted we keep for emergencies—and slid the door open.

“Lily,” I said, kneeling beside her.

She looked up slowly, her eyes glassy. “Daddy,” she rasped. “Aunt Sarah said I have germs. She said I can’t come in.”

Her skin burned with fever. High fever. And she had been sitting in the cold too long—her little body was losing the battle.

I scooped her up, wrapped her in my jacket, and carried her inside.

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