Sadie sucked on her bottom lip. “Because I know you saw Ethan and me have that stupid shouting match. Things haven’t been great here lately.”

Renee stirred cornstarch into the sweet mixture warming on the stovetop before transferring it into the prepared pie shells. She slid four beautiful pies into the oven and quietly closed the door.

“We all lose our tempers sometimes, especially when small kids are thrown into the mix, and no one’s getting anything close to eight hours of sleep,” she said diplomatically. “Marriages are hard work. Do you know what my mother always told me? It’s not fifty-fifty. It’s a hundred-hundred.”

“I think I’ve heard that somewhere, too. And yeah, you’re right. I haven’t slept a solid night in what feels like forever. Is it any wonder I feel like I’m turning into an emotional zombie?” Sadie gave a small laugh. “But…I mean, what’s going to happen to us once we throw this second child into the mix? In some ways, I feel like we’re doomed.”

“You can’t think like that,” Renee said, crossing her toes that everything would work out. She might not believe in fairy tales anymore, but this sweet cottage felt like something out of a storybook…and Ethan was so earnest, Lincoln so lovable, and Sadie so sweet. She wanted so badly for them to have a long happily ever after.

“Who knows? Maybe the new baby is your family’s missing puzzle piece.”

“You think?” Sadie sounded puzzled herself but a little more hopeful.

The two women chatted a while longer, this time about easier, more mundane things, like the weather and Essie Park’s new haircut, before Lincoln ran into the kitchen exclaiming, “Mommy! What dat smell? Is sugar?”

They both giggled at the hopeful note in his tiny voice.

“They’re Renee’s magical blueberry pies and muffins.” Sadie scooped Lincoln into her arms while Renee removed the treats from the oven. “Did you know we live next door to a bona fide superhero?” She turned to Renee with a grateful smile. “I’m serious. You really did save the day.”

“Aw, it was nothing. Really.” Renee set one warm pie in the center of the kitchen island and handed Sadie a fork. “Here. This one is for now.”

Sadie took a step back, “Please don’t tempt me. I gained too much with Lincoln and I only just got rid of the baby weight. I’m not looking forward to ballooning up again.”

“I’m going to stop you right there. Baked goods are food for your soul.” Renee arched her brow, not lowering it a centimeter until Sadie gave in, begrudgingly accepting the fork.

“Fine, fine.” Sadie delicately cut into the flaky crust. She blew on the steaming forkful for a few seconds before taking a nibble. Her eyes widened, and she quickly went for a second and then third bite. “Renee! Holy crap. This is the best thing I’ve ever tasted.”

Renee was chewing a bite of her own. She smiled and nodded. The truth of the matter was she couldn’t cook up romance if her life depended on it, but pie? She could bake a pie blindfolded and with one arm tied behind her back. From the time she was a girl, baking had made Renee feel happy and useful. It had given her a sort of power. She would never forget the first time she put a pie into the oven all by herself at the age of twelve, and the huge smile that had spread across her dad’s face with that very first bite. “Now this is a treat!” he’d gushed.