Although she could have dismissed her discomfort, attributing it to the unusual circumstances of it being his retirement party, she felt this wasn’t the true source of her disquiet. Something about Marshall, something beyond his slightly off manner, had unsettled her, and she couldn’t shake off the feeling.

  Judith knew Marshall well, and she had always admired his ability to govern the town. It appeared effortless for him. But she knew he practiced appearing to be everyone’s best friend. And as he got older, it became easier for Marshall to pull it off because now he looked like everyone’s father or even grandfather.

  With his prominent belly and thick beard, Marshall could easily blend into any group of men over fifty. Judith often mused over this resemblance. She wondered if men intentionally adopted similar appearances, or if this uniformity was unintentional. Perhaps they weren’t even aware of their collective likeness.

  Despite priding herself on her keen observational skills, Judith found these resemblances puzzling. Often, she had to give a man a second glance to be sure she had recognized him correctly.

  She thought Marshall chose that look on purpose, to both blend in and look warm and friendly. But in all the years she had known him, and that had been a long time, she never fully bought into his “everyone-is-my-friend” act.

  She had met Marshall when she was a teenager. She had been trying to figure out what she wanted to do and be in life. Marshall had been mayor for four years, and everyone was already talking about how much he had done for the town, and it inspired her to be like him.

  So in her senior year of high school, she applied for and was accepted as an intern in his office. She stayed for three years. The last two years, while she went to the community college, she worked part time as an assistant to his assistant.

  From Marshall, she had learned how to pay attention to details while always having the big picture in view. It was Marshall who had taught her how important it was to remain aware of everything that was going on in town.

  That skill had kept him in office for forty years. Later, when she applied what she had learned from him to her business, it had thrived. Marshall had also taught her how to deal with conflict. He said there was always a solution that would leave most people, if not happy with the outcome, satisfied enough to agree to move on.

  Even though she respected him, Judith had always harbored doubts about Marshall’s true intentions. Beneath his facade of being everyone’s friend, she suspected there lurked a self-serving motive. But as long as the town prospered, and no harm was done, she had chosen not to dwell on it.

  Besides, as of tonight, Marshall was now retired. Were his past motivations really relevant?

  As she adjusted the mattress pad’s heat to a higher setting and cuddled up to Bruce, Judith pushed away her lingering concerns about Marshall’s behavior at his retirement party. It is probably nothing, she assured herself. And even if it wasn’t, it could certainly wait until morning.

  Three

  Pedro Santiago heard a clunk as he pushed the wide broom across the floor. Looking down, he saw something glittering. It was a black and gold cufflink with a symbol on it he didn’t recognize.

  The other crew members gathered around to look at what he had found, but quickly dismissed it as not important. All they wanted to do was finish cleaning the room so they could have the rest of Sunday to themselves.

  Pedro absentmindedly put the cufflink in his pocket while sweeping up the inches of confetti that covered the floor. He thought it must have been quite a celebration. There had been enough balloons to cover the ceiling, and the remnants of the abundance of food were still on the table.

  Although the caterer had taken home the unserved food, they had left the dishes behind to be cleaned of food and then stacked. They would pick them up later.

  As Pedro cleaned, he couldn’t help but resent the wastefulness he was witnessing. He worked two jobs to feed his family, yet here was enough food to sustain them for a week, carelessly left behind by the town’s more fortunate residents.

  The inequality of it made him mad when he allowed himself to think about it. The company he worked for cared nothing about them. If they made any kind of mistake, or had to take a day off for family or health reasons, they were at risk of being fired.

  And the town’s disregard for its less fortunate members extended beyond waste. Many of his friends and families, including his own, were now being forced out of their homes to make way for a new, upscale housing development. No one seemed to care where the current residents would go.

  He eyed the left-over food, considering packing some into his lunch box to take home to his family. However, the risk of getting caught and losing his job was too high a price to pay.

  He continued his work, the mystery cufflink in his pocket forgotten for now, his mind too occupied with worrying about where he would be living in just a few months.

  “That was an amazing party, wasn’t it?” Bree asked Booker.

  “It was. And uneventful,” he answered, stretching his long legs out under the kitchen table, waiting for the breakfast that Bree was making. When they were at her house, she cooked; at his house he cooked or he ordered in. He had to admit they ordered in more than he cooked, but Bree said she didn’t mind.

  “Uneventful?” Bree laughed. “With all those people there pretending to be the best of friends, all the food, all the alcohol? Plus, all the gossip floating around the room. It was uneventful?”

  Bree was teasing. She knew what Booker had meant. There had been no trouble that he, as sheriff of Spring Falls, would have had to step in to handle. Although Booker had been officially off duty, she knew that to him off duty only meant he wasn’t getting paid. Booker was always on alert. Even last night when he was supposed to let himself relax a little and enjoy himself.

  And they had. They had eaten far too much and drank multiple glasses of flavored sparkling water. Booker never drank alcohol because he believed that his job meant he could be called out at any moment. And Bree never drank because of the memories of her mother’s drinking.

  Bree and Booker had chatted with almost everyone. And like everyone else there, they had thanked the mayor for his service. Forty years was a long time, and during that time, the town had prospered. Something Marshall let no one forget. He was always subtle about it. Even so, he made sure people remembered it was him who had renewed Spring Falls.

  And, like Booker who was always on guard and paying attention, Bree was also always paying attention. But not for the same reason. She was watching for ideas, for stories.

  Bree observed how people behaved and what they said. She listened for stories that could end up being in a book she was writing or inspire another plot line. Bree always disguised the stories enough that no one recognized them officially, but it helped her books feel more real to people.

  Last night’s party had supplied her with a few ideas, which she had jotted down on the slips of paper she always kept with her. She had learned that she needed to write ideas down as soon as they came to her, because otherwise she’d forget all about them. Instead, she would be left with a nagging feeling that there was something she should be remembering.

  At the party, she had to stuff the papers into the tiny sparkling bag she was carrying. Her regular purse would not have fit in with the gown she was wearing. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been so dressed up and wondered if she would ever be again. But at least I’ll have a dress to wear, if I do, Bree thought.

  Now she was in sweatpants and a long sweatshirt that said “Writer” on it. It was a gift from the Ruby Sisters after her last book was published. They always celebrated with her. Knowing how quickly life could change, they made it a practice to celebrate even the smallest of victories.

  Given that it was Sunday and Booker was off duty, she was taking a day off from writing. They planned on spending the entire day together. Maybe doing nothing. So far, it was going that way. Outside it was spitting snow, but it wasn’t enough for either of them to have to get up and shovel.

  Addie, Booker’s dog, was curled up under the table, lying on Booker’s feet. Addie was getting old and sometimes Bree worried how Booker would handle Addie not being around anymore. She hoped that wouldn’t be for a few more years, anyway.

  But today, they were warm and happy together, and Bree didn’t feel like bringing up her nagging feeling that something was going on with Marshall. She knew he was leaving for a vacation today as a gift to himself, and she hoped the snow wouldn’t keep the planes on the ground.

  Marshall definitely deserved a vacation. As far as Bree knew, he hadn’t taken more than a day off in all the years he was the town’s mayor.

  However, Bree felt strangely uneasy when she thought about Marshall. Something had been different last night. But she decided that it wasn’t worth worrying about. Today was a day of rest and she was going to take it.

  Four

  Booker and Bree were not the only ones who had chosen to make Sunday a day of rest. Every Ruby sister was doing just that in her own way.

  At the Ruby House, Marsha Martin was doing what she most loved to do every Sunday morning. Make plans. Because although Sunday mornings were a day of rest from teaching, they weren’t a day of rest for Marsha’s mind.

  She loved the open day, with nothing to do so she could plan. So while April slept in, she sat at the kitchen table with her tablet and made lists.

  She didn’t love lists for lists’ sake the way Bree and Judith seemed to, especially Bree, whose lists of things to do took her breath away. Marsha had no idea how Bree managed to get everything done on her list. If she had a list like that, it would make her crazy.

  Marsha’s lists were more circular. Having recently discovered a mind mapping app and the joy of using the colors available on her tablet, Marsha’s lists now swirled around the page, much like a dance.

  She couldn’t wait for April to wake up so she could talk about her plans for the Ruby House. Dance and drama lessons were going well, along with her daily yoga classes. But sooner or later, she was going to need to hire someone to help her.

  But that would be a decision that she and April would need to make together. Plus, Marsha knew that April was going to need more space if she wanted to expand her design business. Perhaps they could put a building up in the backyard?

  Marsha was full of ideas and was ready to do something about them. She needed April to wake up so they could talk about it.

  But April Zane wasn’t sleeping. Lying in bed, she was reliving the trip she had taken with her son, Robert. Having seen so many beautiful places, the trip had re-inspired her desire to make beautiful spaces for people, and now she had a new client.

  Last night at Marshall’s retirement party, Marshall had asked her if she would redesign his house now that he would spend more time at it. He had asked her to come by after he returned from vacation.

  April had been in his house before and already had ideas about what she could do. She had asked him if he knew what he wanted, and he had said no. He would follow her direction. Redoing the Mayor’s home was a dream come true. She couldn’t wait to get started.

  Cindy was trying to figure out how to talk to Daniel about him moving in with her.

  Despite their relationship being only a few months old, she felt that the time had come for a deeper commitment. After all, they had endured numerous tests, including the revelation that she was the artist behind the paintings that had brought fame to Daniel’s father, Cedric Jacobs.

  They survived the storm of Steven’s arrest for giving deadly drugs that led to Daniel’s father’s death and Steven’s failure to ask for help when Cedric collapsed. Now Cindy felt a sense of inevitability about taking the next step—moving in together. It was only a matter of deciding when it would happen.

  Cindy thought that the time was now, although the change for her would be profound. She had been accustomed to solitude her entire life, while cherishing the dream of sharing a relationship like the one she now had with Daniel. However, she had surrendered that dream at one point, resigning herself to a life of independent loneliness.

  Yet, life had a surprise in store for her, transforming her dream into a reality. Now she craved a deeper connection, longing to start each day with Daniel by her side, making their relationship part of her everyday life. She knew that Daniel shared her desire for this new level of companionship.

  However, she knew that Daniel, like her, had always lived a solitary life. She knew that transitioning from their respective lives of solitude to a shared life would require adjustments and patience. The prospect of being together all day, every day, was something she wanted, and yet she wasn’t sure if they could adjust to that new way of life.

  Cindy had thought about suggesting that they do what Booker and Bree and Bruce and Judith were doing, and keep separate homes. But she knew that’s not what she wanted. So today was the day she was going to suggest that he give up his apartment and move in. They’d figure out a way for Daniel to have his own space. Besides, she was at the studio almost every day, so he’d have the house to himself.

  But she was worried that he might not like the quiet of Spring Falls after living in New York City his whole life.

  What Cindy didn’t know was that Daniel had already thought through what it would be like living with Cindy. He wanted to, but he knew himself well enough to know he needed his own space. And although he loved Spring Falls, Cindy was right. He also loved the excitement of New York.

  He thought he had a solution to the problem. Today was the day he was going to bring it up and see what Cindy thought. He was fairly sure that she would like his suggestion. Still, it was a risk, and he was stalling.

  So now they were in the living room, sitting side by side on the plushy maroon couch that faced the front window watching the snow fall, both of them wondering how to talk about what was on their minds. In the end, it was Cindy who brought up the subject, not able to contain it any longer.

  Daniel’s solution was so perfect that Cindy got up and danced around the living room, her blond hair, now laced with strands of gray that she was letting alone—proud now of who she had become—flying behind her.

  As he watched Cindy spin around the living room, Daniel remembered the first time he had seen her. She was twenty, and he had been ten. She was his father’s student, caught up in his web of lies.

  Now they were both free. His father was dead. Her teacher’s lies had been revealed. And Cindy had become what she had always dreamed of being. She was a recognized artist. Daniel smiled, happy that Cindy had liked his solution. Not just liked it, loved it.

  He would represent her in the art world, which meant he would need to spend some time in New York. Steven, who was out of jail for what had happened between him and his father, could show him the ropes. That way, he could still have New York, but his home would be here in Spring Falls with Cindy.

  Cindy danced over to him, pulled him to his feet and together they flew around the living room, finally collapsing onto the couch together, laughing with happiness, thinking that they deserved it and from now on life would only get better.

  For a fleeting moment, Cindy thought about Marshall and wondered where he had hung the painting she had recently painted for him. She had added one tiny touch to it, one that only he would notice because he had asked her to put it there. It was a symbol he had shown her on a piece of paper. She didn’t know what it meant, but he said it was important to him, so she had agreed.

  Last night at his retirement party, Marshall had once again expressed his gratitude to Cindy for the painting and extended an invitation to her to visit and see where he had hung it once he returned from his vacation. Cindy wondered whether that would be when Marshall would unravel the meaning behind the mysterious symbol.

  But of course, Cindy, like everyone else, was unaware that Marshall never intended to return from his vacation.

  Now settling back into the couch, coffee cups in hand, watching the snow fall, Daniel by her side, Cindy hoped Marshall had made it out of town before the snow, and was already heading towards his vacation in a warm sunny place.

  She didn’t know that not only was Marshall not in a warm sunny place. Instead, he was very, very cold.

  Five

  On Monday morning, Judith carried on with her usual routine, starting with meeting Cindy at the coffee shop where she found her beaming with happiness. As soon as they had their coffee, Cindy poured out her exciting news. Daniel would move in with her but would also keep his apartment in New York so he could handle the sale of her paintings.

  “It’s the perfect solution,” Cindy said, and Judith nodded and smiled in agreement, thinking Cindy’s news was the perfect start of the week. Then they moved on to discussing Marshall’s party.

  “It was like everyone who runs the town was there,” Cindy said, and again Judith nodded in agreement. She didn’t mention that she had thought Marshall had been acting strangely, not wanting to mar Cindy’s happiness. Besides, she didn’t even know what she meant by acting strangely.

  A few minutes later, Daniel arrived, looking as happy as Cindy. Judith motioned for him to come sit with them, congratulated and hugged them both, and then left them there to work out the logistics of their decision.

  Leaving the coffee shop, Judith pulled her winter coat close around her. She kept her head bowed down against the blast of winter wind that whipped through the streets along with a smattering of wet snow while smiling into the scarf wrapped around the lower half of her face. All the Ruby Sisters were happy. Life was good, although, at the moment, very cold.