Cass walked them to the door and watched the older woman take her grandson’s offered arm so she could safely cross the snowy sidewalk. She did her best with the rest of the Starlight Bread sourdough balls, then covered the bowls in proofing cloths and checked the pile of orders she kept in a cabinet near the phone. As several sheets of paper fell to the floor she had the sudden thought that maybe she should come up with a better system for organizing them, but it was almost 7:30. She was due to meet Brett soon.

Untying her apron, she washed the flour and dough from her hands, and picked up her cell phone. For the third time that day, she tried Charlie’s number, and again, there was no answer. For a moment, Cass’s worry blossomed—and her headache grew stronger. It wasn’t like Charlie to be unavailable all day. She had a busy schedule with the baking show, yes, but she always managed to sneak away to talk to Cass if her sister needed her. And three missed calls should be a sure sign that her sister needed her, right?

Needles of worry jabbed at the edges of her mind as she put on her parka and boots, locking the bakery’s door behind her. I’m on my way she texted Brett, her resolve lengthening her stride as she headed toward his place. She had suggested they meet there because meeting at a restaurant in town, as Brett had suggested, would mean prying eyes. It needed to be a private moment, and it was only fair to Brett to give him time to process. Cass wasn’t ready to talk about this yet with anyone except her sister; even her parents still thought things were going along with Brett just fine.

Her phone notification pinged almost immediately.

I’m running a bit late at this open house, just cleaning up. Meet me here? 24 Ridge Street. See you soon! xo

Cass ignored the sick feeling his upbeat tone and the “xo” at the end of his text ignited in her stomach. That was just Brett. He signed all of his messages with “xo’s.” He was friendly and effusive, which worked well for his real estate business—and had attracted her as a teenager, when most of the other guys she knew were speaking in monosyllables.

Cass and Brett had become good friends in high school, when they discovered during a school trip to a nearby ski resort that they both had an affinity for snowboarding. They got to chatting on the ski lift that afternoon about how the female sports teams at their school didn’t get even a quarter as much attention and funding as the male teams did. Brett had later helped her fundraise for the girls’ high school basketball team jerseys. They had kept it platonic for a while, and then drifted into becoming a couple when all their friends started pairing off. She could barely recall when they’d made it official.