It wasn’t like Cadence to be late to a team meeting, and when she walked in, about five minutes after the time he’d planned to start, Aaron could tell something was bothering her. She mouthed “sorry” at him, and he smiled at her reassuringly. The room was crowded, and a lot of people were still chatting. Already an hour behind the time he’d planned to leave, part of him wanted to make them all shut up so he could get on with it, but the expression on his wife’s face also made him want to tell them all they needed a few more minutes.

“Jamie will be here in a...