Alecia took a long sip of her hazelnut coffee as Ryder stood from the breakfast table, clenching his plate that contained a few scraps from the Colby cheese and pepper omelet her mother made earlier. He copied her sister and placed it in the sink before he looked her way; their eyes connecting, sending a warmth through her. From the corner of her eye, she saw a smile stretch across her father’s face. Ryder left the kitchen, to get ready before they took their annual trip to Durham to get a Christmas tree.

Once the door swung closed, she turned to her father, buried behind a newspaper. “So you like...