“The camera’s off,” Charlie said. Sharon relaxed her posture and stopped pouting her lips. Her voice was somewhat more normal—but filled with disdain—when she said, “You know, you think you can have everything, Cass Goodwin. It’s just not fair.”

“Please, Sharon. I don’t have the energy for whatever drama you’re trying to stir up this morning. We’re not in high school anymore. Can you just tell me what you want, I’ll give it to you, and you can go?” She tried to sound blasé, but in reality she was freaking out about the possibility that she had livestreamed her argument with Brett. How could she have been so careless and not remembered to turn off Live.Li when she got back from her hike with Jake?

“Excellent customer service, Cass. It’s like you don’t even want customers.” Sharon shot one last look at the starter before marching toward the door. “I’ve lost my appetite for Woodburn Breads,” she said over her shoulder as she pulled on her winter hat. “I think you’ll find the rest of the town feels the same, after the things you said to Brett. Who is a lovely man and did not deserve that!” The bells chimed as she threw open the door and then slammed it harder than was necessary.

Charlie groaned, then cleared the papers away from the laptop. Though she really didn’t want to, she knew she had to do it. She clicked “review past broadcast” and watched as an image of the bakery appeared on-screen. Then she hit play—but was interrupted by the tinkling of the doorbells again. Not immediately looking up from the screen she said, “Sharon, you made your point—”

Then she saw who it was and smiled with relief. It was Faye Christie, not Sharon back for another round of berating Charlie—and her heart skipped a beat, because for a brief moment she hoped Jake might just be parking the car and be right behind his grandmother. But Faye was alone. Charlie hit pause on the video, thankful for the reprieve.

“Good morning,” Faye said, pulling the door closed behind her. “Phew! It’s a frosty one. And a bit icy out there, too.” She had a cane—it was hot pink and shiny—and she shook it at Charlie but in a friendly way. “Good thing I have my cane with me to keep me steady. Jake wouldn’t like that I had ventured out on my own in this, but he’s working a double shift again because one of the other firefighters called in sick, and a lady needs her treats. So, here I am.”

“Well, you have the first pick of them today,” Charlie said, going behind the counter and fetching a box. “Take a few extra on the house.”

“I insist on paying. And just two squares today, please. Best not to keep too many in the house because that fool dog of Jake’s always finds a way to eat them.” Charlie chuckled as she put lemon squares in a small box, adding one extra without Faye noticing, as well as two eclairs because she knew Jake had a soft spot for those. “There you go, Faye.”