Sadie snorted at his judgment-laden tone, her temper joining the inferno. “Well since I no longer have time to shower, I figured I’d multitask and have Lincoln hose me down.”

Ethan stared, completely missing the joke, which only annoyed her more. “Listen. I can’t work with all of this noise. I’m going to my car to finish this call.” He started for the front door.

“Are you serious right now?” Sadie scooped Lincoln off the counter and stalked after him. “That’s the best you can offer the situation?”

He doubled his pace. “You need to calm down.”

Jesus take the wheel.

“You’re really not going to even offer to help me? Stop! Do not run away from this!”

“You think I have time to stand around and listen to you act like a toddler, too?”

Oh, no he didn’t.

As he slipped into his car, Sadie erupted from the porch. “You make me feel like a single mom! I never signed up to do this all alone!”

He turned the keys in the ignition and gunned off down Seashell Lane.

Sadie stared after his sporty Audi, her breathing heavy and unshed tears burning in her eyes. They never used to fight. Now it seemed like there were land mines hidden in every day. What was Ethan going to say when she told him about the second baby? Clearly, he couldn’t even handle a little smoke and water. How was he going to survive another round of 2:00 a.m. feedings, teething tears, and diaper blowouts?

She buried her face in Lincoln’s hair, letting the soft ringlets tickle her cheeks as she tried to calm down. Hopefully seeing fights like this weren’t going to mess him up for life. Her own parents never argued in front of her. The worst she’d seen was them exchange stern looks.

Sadie could see it now, Lincoln at twenty sitting on a trendy sofa in some psychiatrist’s office as he sighed, “I think all of my problems started the night my mom burned the birthday cupcakes.”

Whirling around on her bare feet, she was startled to see Renee Rhodes frowning from across the picket fence.

Oh, perfect.

Not only had her next-door neighbor witnessed her poor excuse for time management at the doctor’s office this morning, she’d nabbed front-row seats to an ugly argument.

Renee cleared her throat. “Everything okay?”

Sadie swallowed hard and forced a brittle smile. “I’m fine, honestly. We’re just, uh, gearing up for Lincoln’s birthday party tomorrow, and things have gotten hectic.”

Oh, God. Had Renee heard the single-mom comment? How rude. She’d almost certainly offended her.

“Why are you wet?” Renee asked.

Sadie glanced down at her soaked yoga pants and sweatshirt. “The cupcakes were burning, and Lincoln tried to extinguish them. And me.”

“Is dessert as soaked as you?”

“You bet. We may have a future Cranberry Cove firefighter on our hands.”

“Yeah! Fireman!” Lincoln cheered, pumping his little fist into the air. “Me!”

Renee tucked her gardening gloves inside her back pocket. “Do you have a backup dessert?”