He shrugged. “Could’ve been a surge. Compressors cycling at the same time. Old wiring like this? Doesn’t take much.”
She hesitated. “Could someone have turned it off?”
He glanced over his shoulder. “I can’t tell you that. All I know is that it wasn’t damaged. Just … off.”
He flipped the breaker back into place. The lights snapped on overhead, followed by the familiar hum of the refrigerator kicking in.
Mia stared at the panel. No labels. No warnings. Just a metal door she’d never had reason to open before.
“You’ll want to upgrade sooner rather than later,” he added, packing up his tools. “But there’s no sign of tampering.”
She thanked him and walked back into the kitchen. With the lights on, everything looked normal. Ordinary.
Still, she felt unsettled.
The kitchen looked the same as it always had. Clean counters. Quiet corners. Nothing to suggest how close the day had come to falling apart.
The hum of the refrigerator filled the space, reassuring and yet somehow not enough.
The event went well. Guests lingered. The plates came back clean. The client was happy.
Mia should have felt relieved.
Instead, she felt watchful.
She glanced back at the utility room, then looked away.
Work was coming in. Plans were taking shape.
She let out a slow breath.
She was on a roll.
CHAPTER 25
The Foundry was a newly openedfacility just outside the historic district. Mia had catered a fundraiser for the Willow Haven Shelter here a while ago. Today, stripped of twinkling lights or glamour, it was what it needed to be—a wide open space with clean lines and good light that spilled through tall industrial windows. A table had already been set up for the bride’s parents, the mayor’s daughter and her fiancé.
Mia arrived an hour early to set up. Most of the prep had been done that morning at the farmhouse, with final assembly planned here, where she actually had power. She asked Sarah to help but needed another pair of hands and took a chance that Norah wasn’t working. Luck was on her side.
“Hi, Norah,” Mia said, unpacking her pans. The cold food was already in the big industrial refrigerator humming in the background, a sound she found oddly comforting, especially after the past couple of days.
“Mia, hi.” Norah tied an apron around her waist. “What can I do to help?”
“Centerpiece first, then place settings. Sarah’s in the kitchen, prepping.”
Mia looked at the beautiful arrangement that Nicki from Petals to Go had created just for today. Soft and elegant, it was something the bride-to-be could take home afterward. The low arrangement was all soft creams and blush—ranunculus and garden roses tucked into eucalyptus. It was elegant without trying too hard.
Norah nodded and went to work.
An hour later, Josie Langford arrived with her fiancé, Andrew Spencer, and her parents.
“This looks beautiful,” Josie exclaimed, glancing around the table.
“Please make yourselves comfortable,” Mia said with a smile. “I’ll walk you through what you’ll be tasting.”
She nodded to Norah, who stepped forward with a tray of drinks and hors d’oeuvres balanced with practiced ease.
“We’ll start with a small bite to wake up the palate,” Mia said, naming the selections as Norah moved around the table. Her voice was steady even though her pulse ticked up a notch.
