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“How hard is it to flip a switch in the fuse box?” he grumbled as he made his way over to me. “Maybe I should go offer to help.”

“I wouldn’t,” I said before filling him in on the details of the quickie dinner party.

“It sounds like each person we meet is worse than the last,” he remarked, setting the bags on the loveseat by the fireplace. “I think I met Blaire, assuming she was the rainbow-haired girl slinking around downstairs. I almost ran straight into her when I came through the front door.”

“Yup, that would be her. I wonder what she was doing downstairs while all the lights are out, though.”

“No idea. She said something about me being the prodigal husband and laughed before turning around and going the opposite direction.”

Well, at least now she knew he was real. Not that it mattered—or at least it shouldn’t have.

“Is Charlene up?” Charles added while crinkling the bags, presumably as he searched through them.

I shook my head, then realizing he couldn’t see me at present, added, “Nope. Not yet.”

“Well, let me see if I can start a fire to give us a little more light.” More crinkling noises followed.

I came over holding up the flashlight to help light the area while he examined the hearth and surrounding area.

He bent down and poked at the wood waiting in the fireplace.“Darn, these logs are fake. I think it’s just meant to be decorative.”

I sighed at this.“Welp, no fire for us. Seems about right, given how everything else has been since we arrived.”

“It’s okay. I can keep you warm,” he growled flirtatiously. He grabbed me in his arms and settled for a not-quite-so-quick kiss.

“Stop it. We have a baby in the room with us, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. We really need to make quick work of finding her mother, huh? Should we wake her up to feed her?”

I nodded, still wrapped in my husband’s embrace. “Probably a good call. Let’s take her and the supplies outside. At least there we have the moonlight.”

“And we can kill two birds with one stone by searching for her mother while we’re out there,” he added before pressing his lips to my forehead and then letting me go.

I scowled at him, illuminated by the bright light of my phone screen.“Charles, you know I hate that expression.”

“Oops. I forgot.” His features pinched in apology. “Guess it totally changes meaning when the birds are friends of yours.”

“It’s okay.” I kept the flashlight trained on him as he grabbed a few supplies and then held them up with a grin.

“Ready when you are,” he said a few seconds later.

I padded over to the bed and tried implementing the same gradual awakening from before, but Charlene was out—just like all the lights. I frowned. “Maybe we should take her to the vet to get looked over. I’m really starting to worry about her.”

“Everything will be closed up for the night by now, but let’s get some food in her and see if she perks up. If not, we can go first thing in the morning,” Charles said from where he waited near the door.

“Good idea.” I leaned down over the bed. “I’m going to pick you up now,” I whispered, then did just that.

Charlene sighed and stretched, offering proof of life, but she still didn’t wake up.

“Let’s go,” I said, balancing the kitten and my phone light as best I could while we made our way to the garden.

Sure enough, it was easier to see outside, but I still needed my light to avoid trampling any of the beautiful flowerbeds by accident. We wove along the trails until we reached the bricked property line, close to the spot where Charles had first discovered the kitten.

“If her mother is going to come back searching for her, she’ll check here first,” I reasoned, shutting off my flashlight and settling myself on the lawn with my legs crossed beneath me.

“Do you think she’ll be back?” Charles whispered, almost as if he were afraid to speak the words.

I placed a hand on Charlene’s back to make sure she was still sleeping and breathing both. When I was certain she hadn’t stirred, I whispered back in answer to my husband’s question. “It’s not looking good,” I admitted with a soft sigh. “But we’ll keep trying. Charlene says she’s been gone a long time, but that could mean anything. It may have only been a couple hours when we found her for all we know.”

“She’s very weak for having only been on her own for a little while,” he pointed out with a sad expression.

“Well, all we can do is try our hardest and hope for the best,” I answered while thoughtfully stroking the smooth black fur.

“I’m going to get her dinner together,” he said after we both sat in silence for a few minutes. “I wasn’t sure how old she is and what she can handle. Plus I remember hearing cats shouldn’t have cow’s milk. Something about them being lactose intolerant. But I found special cat milk and some soft food made specifically for kittens.” He grabbed a pair of small stainless steel bowls and poured the specialized milk into one. “It took a while to find a pet store that was still open, but I managed to sneak into one a few minutes before closing.”