December draped Evergreen Hollow in snow and fairy-light silence. The rink across the street glowed every night like a heart that refused to stop beating, and inside the Kane house, the new rhythm had settled into something soft and lovely.

Lily was coming home for winter break in four days. Her first college semester grades had arrived (3.9 GPA, Dean’s List, and a handwritten note from her entrepreneurship professor that read, “Lily Kane is the future of ethical business. Keep her.”) ...