Cass paused, but then felt relief course through her—and something else, too: a surge of exhilaration at the idea of getting out of Starlight Peak. She felt the tension from the night draining away. She had wished for an escape, and now Charlie was offering her one. “Deal.”

“Really? Okay. Thank you. How about first thing in the morning? Can you make it for four? That should give us enough time.”

“In Upland, at the Flying J station just off the San Bernardino freeway,” Cass said, amazed at how easily she was going along with this, but too caught up in the moment to slow herself down. “You know the one?”

“Sure do. Where we always used to stop for snacks when we’d take family trips into the city as kids.”

Cass stood still, feeling the connection of her shared history with her sister wash over her, along with the cool, fresh mountain air she’d be saying goodbye to for a while. “See you in the morning,” she said before hanging up and picking up her speed, eager to get home and pack, before she changed her mind.

3

Cass

Tuesday: 11 Days to Christmas . . .

Los Angeles

The GPS in her sister’s Prius chirped out directions as Cass drove. “Turn left on Ocean Avenue . . .” Cass ignored it and turned right instead, toward the Santa Monica Pier, where the morning sun was still just a glimmer over the gentle ocean waves. Cass marveled at how different her daily view was from Charlie’s.

She needed to get to Charlie’s place to unpack the few things she’d brought with her—so she wouldn’t be late for the morning start on Sweet & Salty’s soundstage—but the pull of the pier was hard to resist. At least they had hair, makeup, and wardrobe on set—that would save her trying to replicate her sister’s glamorous television looks. Though she didn’t have a lot of time, she decided a few minutes at the beach would be okay; she could shower and be out the door in fifteen minutes flat.

Cass pulled into a beachside parking lot and turned off the car. The pier was basically empty, its only occupants a couple of early morning joggers and a few pigeons looking for breakfast scraps. But Cass remembered many days spent there with Charlie when they were younger. The two of them, sun-kissed streaks in their dark blond hair, running up and down the wooden planks, their faces smeared with powdered sugar from the donuts they’d buy by the bagful while their parents lounged on a blanket on the warm sand below.

Charlie and Cass’s paternal grandparents had lived nearby, their father having grown up on a surfboard and with his feet in the sand. Thomas Goodwin, a celebrated Cordon Bleu chef at a successful restaurant, was living in Santa Monica when he met Helen Woodburn, who was on a spring break vacation with some friends. The two had swiftly fallen in love, and Thomas had given up his L.A. lifestyle and career, moving to Starlight Peak to run Woodburn Breads with Helen. Their dad always said it had been the easiest and best decision of his life.