“To college?” Will’s hand paused mid-stroke, then started again. “Did you get in?”

  Serena closed her eyes. She still remembered when the letter came, that thick envelope. She’d stood holding it, unmoving, till the Bakers’ truck blew by and roused her from her shock.

  “I did,” she said. “I read the acceptance packet—I read it through twice. Then I jammed it in Dad’s shredder and tried to forget I ever saw it.”

  “Why’d you do that?”

  Serena bit her lip. She wasn’t sure she could explain it, not in any way that’d make sense to someone like Will. “I guess I didn’t want to ruin it,” she said. “It sounded so perfect—the dorms, the classes, the cafeteria menu. There was even this quiz to help them pick your perfect roommate.” She swallowed thickly, past the lump in her throat. “I saw myself showing Ma all that, and her laughing in my face, telling me Jack was my future, and a house and kids.”

  “As long as you never showed her, she’d never break your heart?”

  “Something like that.” Serena choked back a sniffle. “She’s happy with Dad. They’ve got a great life. I guess I can’t blame her for wanting the same for me.”

  “Wanting happiness, sure, but what makes you happy?” Will tilted up her chin to look her in the eye. “What’d you apply for? Like, what major?”

  “Hospitality,” said Serena. “Not exactly rocket science, but it felt right.”

  “Like Muffin Tum’s?” Will’s smile turned impish. “Not to harp on it, or anything, but I love that name. Who wouldn’t want a muffin in their tum?”

  Serena chuckled. She probably would use that name, if she opened her bakery for real. She still had that old bear, with the muffin patch on its belly—a little threadbare, but cuddly as ever.

  “It isn’t too late,” said Will. “You could still take the leap. Though, the way everyone gobbled your cookies, I don’t see much risk.” A smile tugged at his lips. “Did I mention my dad’s still grumbling he never got to try one? Juniper saved him a tin, but the kids scarfed the lot.”

  “Aw, your poor dad! I’ll bake him his own batch. He can have all he wants.”

  “You open that bakery, you’ll have a line out the door.” Will leaned in and kissed her, slow and lazy this time. Serena basked in it, and in his praise. Will believed in her, smart Will, who’d done what she hadn’t dared. Will, who’d gone to college and come back so strong. He never gave up, never backed down from a challenge. Anyone could see that from the way he ran his clinic.

  Anything’s possible, he’d said, and he’d stolen their first kiss.

  Maybe her childhood fantasy wasn’t so farfetched after all.

  12

  “Was that my last appointment?” Will leaned on Serena’s desk as the fat pug waddled out, its round little backside wobbling to and fro.

  “Your last for today. But you’ve got two new ones tomorrow. Business is picking up.”

  Will grabbed a chair from the waiting area and pulled it up by Serena’s. “I thought, since there’s time, I’d give you a crash course on Quickbooks.” He paused with his hand hovering over the mouse. “Is that a new perfume?”

  “Not unless someone sprayed me when I wasn’t looking.” Serena sniffed at her sleeve. “No, that’s vanilla from the kids’ breakfast.”

  “Yeah? What’d you make them?”

  “Vanilla French toast.” She tipped him a wink. “Maybe if you’re nice to me, I’ll make some for you.”

  “When am I not—” Will slapped at the back of his neck. Something had smacked him, something cold and wet. Something—

  “Ew. What is that?” Serena was squinting at the ceiling. A horrible brown patch was spreading across the tiles, heavy drops of water gathering along the seams. A fat drop streaked down and splatted on her desk. Serena grabbed her pencil holder and thrust it under the leak.

  “That’s not going to cut it.” Will jerked back just in time to avoid a stream of grubby water. “It’s just my kitchen up there. I don’t see how—”

  “Weren’t you up there at lunch? Putting in a load of—”

  “Laundry!” Will took off running, dashing for the stairs. He flung the door open and Luna flew out, all wet and bedraggled, ears flattened back. Serena caught her and held her, stroking her soapy scruff.

  “Looks like your outflow burst.”

  “All over the place.” Will stared at his floor, swimming in suds. He wanted to punch something, or maybe just yell. He took a deep breath instead and kicked off his shoes. “I should get mopping,” he said. “Could you call for a plumber?”

  “Already on it.” Serena held up her phone, faint on-hold music drifting from the speaker. “Should I take Luna downstairs? Get her cleaned up?”

  “Yeah. That’d be great.” Will padded across his flooded kitchen. Chilly gray water soaked through his socks. He flinched as it squelched between his toes. This was a disaster, an unmitigated disaster. He’d hoped to save money, leaving renovations on the upstairs till the downstairs was done. Instead, he’d flooded his kitchen—and was it his imagination, or did those floorboards feel spongy? He toed at them, scowled, and cursed under his breath. The whole floor was sagging around the washing machine. That would need to be torn up, and new flooring put in—two thousand for that, probably, then four for the plumbing. A few bucks for the ceiling tiles down in the office. He’d need a new washing machine, and a dryer to match. A new bag of dog food—even that was all wet.

  Will caught himself on the counter, suddenly lightheaded. Six, seven thousand. He didn’t have that to spare. He didn’t have that much credit left, or—

  “Will?” Serena was hovering in the doorway, Luna at her heels. “Luna’s drying nicely, and the plumber’s on his way. How’s things up here?”

  Will straightened up with an effort. Serena was smiling, all sweet and cheery. She trusted him, and why shouldn’t she? He’d promised she could.

  But the way things are headed, her paychecks will start bouncing any day now.

  Will cleared his throat. “I have wet feet,” he said. “And my laundry’s half washed.” He tried to smile and only grimaced. How could he tell her this little flood might drown him—and wash away the job she’d come to count on?

  “You need help mopping up?”

  “No. I think I’ve got it.” Will gripped his mop like a lifeline, white-knuckle tense. “Listen, it’s three o’clock, anyway. Why don’t you head home?”

  “What about Luna?”

  “She can wait in my bedroom. The floor’s dry in there.” Will whistled for Luna and pointed at the bedroom. She hesitated a moment, then minced across the kitchen, shaking her paws off after each sodden step.

  “I know it looks bad,” said Serena. “But it’ll work out. You’ll see. These things always do.” Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she fished it out. “Huh...private number. Maybe the plumber. Hello?”

  Serena’s brow creased as she listened, and she turned away.

  “You what? I don’t—look, I’m busy. We’ll talk later, okay?” She hung up abruptly and jammed her phone in her pocket.

  “Everything all right?”

  “Hmm?” Serena jerked to attention, like she’d forgotten Will was there. Then she smiled a tight-lipped smile that made her look angry. “It’s fine,” she said. “But I ought to get home. Give me a kiss before I go?”

  Will came up and kissed her, and at first, her kiss felt as tight as her smile. Then she relaxed into it, and she shivered in his arms.

  “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Mm-hmm.” She nodded into his shoulder, her breath tickling his neck. For a moment, she hugged him painfully tight, and then she was gone, hurrying down the steps.

  Will stood and watched her as she jogged to her car. It’ll work out, she’d said. He wanted to believe her, but he couldn’t see how. He could see himself moving back to the ranch, back to his old room, down the hall from his dad’s—that first family breakfast, his first morning back. Everyone would be sweet with him, not a word of his failure. Juniper would make flapjacks. Dad would share his paper. But it’d be there, unspoken—Will was a burden now. A stray mouth to feed.

  “Not to mention my mountain of debt.” He slumped in the doorframe, deflated. He had to do something, but what? What was left?

  Serena pulled up outside Mrs. Brown’s. She could see the kids’ shoes outside, lined up by the doormat—Julie’s new pink ones, Nathan’s well-loved Nikes. Inside, they’d be playing, maybe watching TV.

  What do I tell them? What is there to tell?

  She got out her phone and peeked at the screen. Jack had texted back, and not just once.

  c’mon hun. we need to talk.

  come ON. we’re adults. you can’t doge me forever.

  *dodge

  ducking autocarrot. CALL ME!!!!

  Serena snorted at the autocarrot, but her stomach had gone sour. Bad enough her parents were flying in for Christmas. Now Jack was, as well? She took a deep breath and pecked out her reply: picking up the kids rn. Text you back LATER.

  Serena felt queasy. Jack must’ve got dumped. Why else would he come home, now of all times? He’d gloated so hard over his big Christmas in Hawaii, him and his girlfriend at some fancy resort. Sherry must’ve got sick of him, and no surprise—but what had made Jack think he could scurry back home?

  “Hiya, Serena!” Mrs. Brown stepped onto her porch, waving enthusiastically. She had oven mitts on, cheery checkered ones, and Serena had to laugh. She tucked her phone away and started up the path.

  “Hey, Mrs. Brown. Doing some baking?”

  “We made Christmas brownies!” Julie darted out past her, her apron daubed with chocolate. Serena’s smile faded as understanding sank in.

  “The ones for your bake sale?”

  “Uh-huh.” Julie beamed proudly. “We did your new recipe, with the candy cane frosting.”

  Serena wanted to cry. She’d forgotten Julie’s bake sale, forgotten completely. But Julie was bouncing, bursting with pride.

  “They smell amazing,” said Serena. She bent to hug Julie, chocolate and all. “But why didn’t you remind me? We could have baked them together.”

  “I’m sorry. That’s my fault.” Mrs. Brown’s kind eyes had gone wide and worried. “It’s just, Julie had your recipe, and she seemed so excited. I had the ingredients, so I said, let’s try them.”

  “No, no, don’t blame yourself. You were sweet to help out.” Serena blinked hard, willing herself not to cry. This was Julie’s moment, and a triumphant one at that. She couldn’t spoil it just because she’d missed out. She’d dropped the ball, not Julie or Mrs. Brown.

  “I thought we could have some for dessert,” said Julie. “Then you won’t have to make any. You can put your feet up.”

  “And I’ll do the dishes,” said Nathan, plopping down on the porch to lace up his shoes. “You’ve been working so hard lately, and I’ve been such a brat. You deserve a night off, or at least a dessert.”

  Serena’s heart shattered. Had they planned this, Nathan and Julie together? She was the mom—she was supposed to worry about them. This was backwards, all wrong, her kids worrying about her. She cleared her throat harshly so her voice wouldn’t crack.

  “That sounds lovely,” she said. “In case I haven’t told you lately, you two are the best.”

  “We know,” said Nathan, and he flashed a bright smile. Serena beamed back at him through a film of tears.

  “Let me just grab the brownies,” said Mrs. Brown. “Back in a jiff.”

  Serena stood awkwardly as Mrs. Brown bustled off. Nathan and Julie were chatting away, giggling over some in-joke Serena had missed. Time was, she’d have got that. She’d known all the twins’ references, every joke, every secret. What else had escaped her, now she’d joined the workforce?

  “Here you go.” Mrs. Brown thrust two boxes at her, still warm on the bottoms. Serena took them carefully, inhaling their rich aroma. That was her recipe, all right, and from the smell of things, they’d nailed it.

  The kids ran ahead down the block, and by the time Serena got home, they were camped out by the TV. Serena opened her mouth to tell them chores first, but she didn’t have the heart. She headed upstairs instead and flopped down on her bed. Jack had texted back—when’s later?????—but she swiped him away and dialed Lydia instead. Lydia answered on the third ring, huffing like a draft horse.

  “Lydia? You okay?”

  “I’m in spin class. Or I was.” She let out a loud whew. “So, anyway, what’s new? It feels like forever since we’ve done girls’ night.”

  “What’s new?” Serena choked back a groan. Since when had that become such a loaded question? “Oh, just my kids breaking my heart.”

  “Aw, honey...”

  Serena bit her lip. “Does Darren ever do something so sweet for you, and you don’t deserve it at all?”

  “Only every day.” Lydia chuckled, light and breathless. “It’s all part of what I call the Single Mom Experience.”

  “What, crushing guilt?”

  “And exhaustion, frustration, forgetting your own head ’cause guess what? It’s not screwed on.”

  Serena laughed without humor. “I hate that I know exactly what you mean.”

  “But we do our best, right? And we keep our kids happy.”

  “Yeah...” Serena stared at the ceiling, eyes prickling anew. “Jack called,” she said. “I think he might want to try again.”

  Lydia inhaled sharply but said nothing at all. Serena could hear her breathing, huffing from her workout.

  “He keeps texting,” she said. “He wants to come home for Christmas. He says it’s for the kids, but...”

  “But if it was, he’d have planned it all along.” Lydia made a tutting sound. “Answer this: do you want him back?”

  Serena tried to picture that: Jack back in her life. Jack at the breakfast table, eating pancakes with the kids. Jack in the back yard, cooking on the grill. Jack in her bed, in his striped pajamas. A wave of nausea ran through her, and she tasted bile.

  “I’m not sure he’d fit,” she said. “We’ve got a new rhythm now, a life without him.” She closed her eyes, feeling tired. “Can I call you back later? I left the kids watching TV.”

  “You better,” said Lydia. “And, hey. You stay strong.”

  Serena hung up. A weight had settled on her heart, guilt and shame, responsibility. Life would be easier with Jack back home. He’d start paying the bills again, buying things for the kids. Serena could quit scrambling to buy him out of the house. She could be Supermom again, always there for the kids—never miss another bake sale, never let them down again.

  But Will...but the clinic...

  She stood up so quickly stars danced in her eyes. Jack wasn’t today’s problem, and neither was Will. Serena was a mom first, and she'd crapped out on Julie. The rest could wait till she’d made up for that, starting with Julie’s favorite dinner.

  13

  “—and then I remembered we had that geography test, so I borrowed Mike’s notes, but they were covered in doodles, and I never studied at all. But I still got an A, and Mr. Bannister said—”

  “Whoa, son. Slow down.” Jack steered Nathan to the kitchen, and into a chair. “An A, though, that’s great. Your mom must be proud.”

  “I am,” said Serena. “Now, kids—”

  “I have homework,” said Julie. “I’m going upstairs.”

  “Don’t you want your present?” Jack held up a gift bag stamped Golden Ferns Resort. Julie regarded it balefully, but she stayed where she was.

  “You can’t buy me off,” she said. “I’ll take your present, but you’re still a cheater and a liar.”

  “Julie!” Serena started toward her, but Jack waved her down.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I know that’s how it looks from where you’re standing. And I know it’ll be a long road to put the past in the past. But I saw this in the gift shop, and it screamed Julie’s name.” He held up a velvet box tied with a ribbon. Julie stared for a long moment, then she reached out and took it. She cracked it open, and though she tried to hide it, her eyes lit up.

  “What’d your daddy get you?” Serena peered over her shoulder.

  “It’s a charm bracelet,” said Jack. “But not just any charm bracelet. Every charm on there is an endangered animal, and every time you add a new one, the jewelry company donates to keep that animal alive.”

  Julie pressed her lips together. Serena thought she might cry, but she just closed the box and stuffed it in her pocket.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said. “Thank you, Daddy.”

  “What about my gift?” Nathan stood on tiptoe, trying to peek over Jack’s shoulder. Jack grinned and pinched his bag shut.

  “Well, what’d you beg me for, when I said I was going to Hawaii?”

  Nathan’s eyes went wide, and he bounced on the balls of his feet. “One of those big shells you blow on, like on TV?”

  “Here you go, champ.” Jack pulled out the biggest conch shell Serena had ever seen. Nathan grabbed it with a whoop and ran round the room with it, holding it over his head. Serena massaged her temples, fighting the beginnings of a headache. Jack caught Nathan as he ran by and mussed up his hair.

  “Why don’t you kids go watch TV? I need to talk to your mom.”

  Serena bristled at that, Jack taking charge like he was still the man of the house. But she kept her silence as the kids filed out. She waited till she heard She-Ra start up, then sat down at the table.

  “Okay. Let’s have it.”

  “What?”

  Serena’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t pull that innocent act, like you don’t know what I’m talking about. What are you doing here, and why aren’t you in Hawai’i?”

  “Why? You gonna gloat?” Jack gave a rueful chuckle. “You can if you want. Get it out of your system.”

  Serena clenched her teeth. “I’m not going to gloat. Just, what’s going on?”