“What?” So much for calming down. Annoyance blazed into something more searing and bright.

“You felt the need to explain me to your mother? Like my reaction to our fight was so crazy that I not only required explanation, but a biological excuse?”

Seeing the look on her face, he studied the floor, unable to meet her gaze. “Please don’t say things like that. You know that isn’t true.”

Her fingers twitched. God, she longed to throw the stupid book at him. But Lincoln was still watching and his little face reminded her she was the adult here. Instead, she spun on her heel and stalked back into the kitchen, opening the trash and dropping the contents of the package inside. The simmering resentment boiled down to one clear idea.

The pie shop.

She wanted to do it. She needed to do it. It was too easy for a woman to forget who she was after becoming a mama, to remember what filled her bucket and made her come alive. She loved being her son’s mother, but she needed a professional life to bring balance. It might not make her serene, but it would make her happier.

“Honey, I need to nap and cool down. Will you take Lincoln for a bit?”

She could tell him about the pie shop right now and be done with it, but the idea was so new, so fragile, that she didn’t want him to burst the bubble with some ill-timed practical questions or concerns on how she’d manage to balance the workload.

Right now she just wanted to…well…want.

“Of course,” he agreed quickly.

Sadie climbed up the stairs, burrowed beneath her comforter, and took a deep breath, feeling calmer than she had in a long time. Before long she fell asleep with visions of sugarplum pies dancing in her head.

* * *

The next morning, at nine o’clock sharp, she knocked on Renee’s cheerful red door.

Eight o’clock was too desperate she had decided the night before. But if she waited until ten, Renee may already be out and about for the day.

“Good morning, Sadie. Hiya, Lincoln.” Renee had her hair tied into a French braid and a smudge of flour on her cheek. “What’s up?”

She shoved Grandma Hester’s recipe book into Renee’s hands. “Let’s do this.” She blew right past all the usual pleasantries. “I know the pie shop is a big leap, but I need it. Heck, we both need it.”

“You’re serious.” Renee’s head whipped back with shock. “Come on in and we’ll chat. I just pulled a batch of scones out of the oven and they need to be eaten.”

Relieved to be invited in and not laughed at for showing up and acting like a crazy woman on a mission, Sadie walked right in.

Renee’s cottage was the definition of adorable. While her own mom had an affinity for trendy, modern art and leather furniture, Renee’s decor had always been warm and sentimental. Every item in her house, from the mismatched plates to the upright piano, had a story.