A new day dawned, bringing with it new hope. Victory Cupcakes was still in Lind’s loving hands, and business was up. The flow of customers through the dinging door was particularly high on the weekends.

Polly double-checked the numbers she had kept. Not in terms of foot-traffic through the door. She was in the kitchen and didn’t see them. The numbers she crunched that lovely, hopeful morning were based on the number of cupcakes she made, and how many were left at the end of ...