Heather stood in the center of a circle comprised entirely of her sisters. It was the night before her wedding, and she was supposed to be having a bachelorette party, but they’d voted instead to watch movies and talk. So far, no movies had been put into the VCR.

Heather finally decided to broach the subject that had been bothering her for months. “Do you guys remember when Dad called us all over to the house to look at his new cell phone? And when the power went out? Did anyone else feel . . . well . . . changed after that outage?”

“I did!” Jessica said. “Weird stuff has been happening to me ever since. I keep having dreams that stuff is happening, and then I find out it happened at the exact moment I dreamed it!”

Heather grinned. “I can look at two people and tell if they’re meant to be together or if they should leave each other alone.”

“That’s so cool!” Gaylynn said. “I’ve gotten to the point that when people tell me stories in counseling sessions—or any other time for that matter—I can picture what they’re saying . . . like, I see a playback of whatever they’re talking about. And if they’re lying, I see what’s really happening!”

“Oh, that’s neat!” Heather said.

“I can touch someone and know exactly what’s wrong with them,” Rebekah said. “It’s so weird!”

“I can touch things and know what’s wrong with them!” Tracy said. “If someone brings the dealership a used car, I can touch it and know how much the repair costs are going to be. It’s coming in really handy!”

“That would be great for your job!” Heather shook her head. “We all changed, didn’t we?”

Candice bit her lip. “I can sense the weather. Like, I can tell you exactly what weather is going to happen for the next week.” She grinned at Heather. “Don’t worry, it’s not going to rain on your wedding day.”

“That’s not what the weatherman said!” Heather frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I’m so much better than a weatherman. I’m always right!”

All of the sisters turned their attentions to Marti then. The baby of the family, who had always been coddled. What was her power?

“I know when things will happen. I’ve looked it up, and they call me a precognitive. It’s crazy, but I know so many different things. I mean, I’m not shown everything, but I’m shown enough that I feel safe to say I’m a precog.”

Heather shook her head. “Has anyone told Mom and Dad?”

There was a chorus of nos. “Do you think we should?” Heather asked. “I mean, those things happen in our family. No one would be terribly surprised, especially since there are seven of us.”

Marti frowned. “I like having it just our secret, you know? It feels good that we have this special thing bonding all of us together as sisters.”

Jessica nodded. “I agree. I think it should just be us knowing . . . at least for now. If we need to tell the parents and the rest of the family at some point, we will, but for now . . . I feel good knowing that it’s just us.”

Heather looked around, seeing that all of her sisters were nodding. “Well, I did tell Michael, just so you all know. I knew we were meant to be together from the moment I set eyes on him.”

“As long as the rest of us can borrow that power from you when we need it, I think that’s perfectly fine,” Gaylynn said with a wink.

They all laughed. When they’d quieted down, Heather said, “I want you to know how much it means to me that all of you are here for my wedding. That you’re all standing up with me. I know it’s going to be the biggest wedding party in the history of wedding parties, but I don’t care, because my sisters will be there with me.”

Marti yelled, “Group hug!” and they all swarmed around Heather, hugging her at the center of their enormous hug.

“I feel squished!” Heather finally complained.

“Such a tender moment, and she ruins it,” Jessica said, shaking her head.

“Well, would you want to be squished?” Tracy asked.

“I wouldn’t,” Candice said.

“Me neither!” Rebekah agreed. “I think we all need to not squish our sister before her wedding day.”

“Are you nervous?” Marti asked softly.

Heather shook her head. “I know he’s the right man for me. I know I belong with him, and his family is amazing. I mean, I hate to leave Texas, because I have always been here with the people I love, but now there are new people I love.” She took a deep breath. “What I’m trying to say is I’m going to miss you all terribly, but I’ll still visit and y’all can visit.” She brushed away a tear. “I love you guys.”

This time Marti didn’t have to call for the group hug. It was spontaneous.