And the very first recipe that was listed: Grandma Hester’s Whoopie Pies.

Not burned. Not lost. Simply forgotten.

“Mommy! Mommy, I awake!” Lincoln cried out, startling Sadie.

“I’m coming, babe!” she called back, then raised her voice a little louder. “Ethan? I’m ready to come down the ladder now!”

Brushing her hands off on her jeans, Sadie gathered the recipe book and assortment of family photos before Ethan appeared at the bottom of the ladder. He held his arms out as she carefully made her way down, ready to spring into action and catch her should she slip.

“Thanks, honey,” she said with a smile, a warmth in her chest.

“Of course.” He kissed her forehead. “Gotta get back to work.”

Right then.

Her smile fading, she set her findings on the dresser in her bedroom before going to retrieve Lincoln from his.

“Hi sweetie. Did you have a nice nap?” She’d kept Lincoln up too late the night before playing and snuggling and the cranky toddler had definitely needed a little morning snooze.

“Yes. I dream about robots.”

Sadie loved this about Lincoln. He seemed to dream every single time he went to sleep, just like Sadie did (just last night she’d dreamed about being on HGTV’s Design Star and having to fashion a coffee table out of licorice). As Lincoln found his words and started to talk more and more, Sadie was getting to enjoy how he flexed his imagination.

“I love robots.” Sadie widened her eyes. “But guess what I love more? Swimming! After spring comes summer, and that’s when we get to play in the water.”

“Beach?”

“Yep, baby. All beach, all the time.”

Summer was her favorite time in Cranberry Cove. She loved getting to the beach early, setting out a giant umbrella and striped towels, using their large canvas tote as an anchor. Then, they’d build elaborate sandcastles and hold hands as they jumped over waves, laughing hysterically each time they stumbled. They would eat strawberries and peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, washing it all down with lemonade. While Lincoln took an afternoon snooze, Sadie would read a romance novel, the only background noise the roll of the waves and the call of seagulls.

Heaven.

“We go now?” Lincoln asked her excitedly. “Now!”

Sadie shrugged. “Well, okay! But no swimming, buddy. Too cold.”

“Good idea,” Lincoln agreed so seriously, so rationally, it made Sadie giggle.

She plopped a little baseball cap on Lincoln, and a far less adorable one on her own head, before packing the tote with sand toys. They stopped in the doorway of Ethan’s office.

“Lincoln and I are going to walk on the beach. Come with?” she asked brightly.

“Can’t,” Ethan replied absently. He had started to hunch forward as he worked, and she worried about his shoulders and back. “Lincoln, will you bring me back a seashell? A really special one?”

“You come! Come!” Lincoln ordered. “Daddy come!”

“Daddy has to work,” Ethan replied, turning back to his computer screens, his dual monitors looking like a command center. “Sorry, bud.”