"Congratulations on having your store!" Eve and Ryker had barely opened the door to the cottage.

With a loud pop, Riona and little Liam set off the party poppers in their hands. Confetti and small streamers shot out of the cylindrical, colorful ones and scattered over Eve and Ryker as soon as they stepped through the doorway.

Ri and Liam were both wearing colorful cardboard hats and had even hung a banner in the kitchen that read 'Congratulations! There was no mistaking that Liam had been busy helping out, as there were colorful handprints all over the decoration.

Ryker's face behind Eve inevitably grimaced as bitterly as if a lemon had been shoved into his mouth without warning, and he slapped his hand over his face.

Eve, meanwhile, would have preferred to sink into the floor or turn on her heel. Her shoulders sank instantly, and her smile fell as quickly as an overripe apple from a tree. Suddenly, her face looked as blank as a dust-free pane of glass.

"I ... Sorry ... Maybe I should change my clothes," the young woman pressed out in a rough voice, stroking Liam's mop of hair as she passed and hurried to the stairs that led to the upper floor.

By now, Riona had also picked up the ball and pursed her lips. "Oh damn," she gasped, and her gaze fixed on Ryker, finding in his shake of the head the confirmation she had gleaned from the reaction.

"Aunt Ri...?" Liam asked, and the boy looked up uncomprehendingly at Riona, who was now also moaning and wiping her face. Then she pushed the party hat off her head and squatted down to turn Liam towards her.

"Your mommy didn't get the store, sweetheart," she explained quietly and saw Liam slumping his shoulders.

"Mommy doesn't have to be sad. It's no big deal. As long as we have each other, it's all good." The boy turned his head towards the stairs, and a surprisingly grown-up expression graced his childish features. "I'm going to comfort Mommy," he explained but didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he pulled his hat off his head and was on the first step shortly afterward.

"Are you sure she doesn't need a moment to herself?" Ryker asked thoughtfully, but Ri shook his head.

"I don't think anyone could comfort her better than Liam. I mean, let's be honest, who doesn't he make smile?" Ri said and patted Ryker's shoulder meaningfully. Her gaze wandered thoughtfully to the stairs and then to the door. "Hm... I'm just going into town. We don't have anything to drink in the house and ..."

"No need," Ryker interrupted at that moment and lifted the brown shopping bag where he had stowed the three bottles from the store.

"You're a lifesaver!" exclaimed Riona, smiling gratefully. "Eve doesn't usually drink - good example and all that - but I think we'll make an exception today." Riona opened the cupboard to her right to get out the broom and began to sweep up the confetti. "We'd better get rid of this," she said, pointing to the banner. "Would you take care of that?"

"Sure." Ryker nodded before going straight to the kitchen and placing the bottles in one of the storage cabinets. Then he hurried to remove the banner. Since it was apparent how much effort Ri and Liam had put into it, he folded it neatly and gave it back to Ri, who stowed it away in a drawer of a chest of drawers.

A little later, Eve rejoined them with Liam. Eve's eyes were still red, but a slight smile was on her lips again while Liam jumped around her like Chief just before breakfast.

She had peeled herself out of her partially wet clothes, and after Ryker had done the same, most of the family reunited in the kitchen. Eve immediately set about stirring some kind of dough, and her son held his nose up curiously to catch a glimpse of it.

Riona had sat down on one of the bar stools and preferred to keep her distance. She had no talent for cooking or baking. In fact, it was a miracle that she and her grandmother had survived without Eve's cooking skills. Besides, the kitchen was full enough.

Riona watched for a while as Eve tried to introduce the handyman to baking a little. It was ... an amusing and kind of cute sight. Eve only gave Ryker simple tasks like stirring the dough until there were no more flakes, sifting flour and sugar, or weighing butter and other ingredients. The craftsman hardly seemed to leave Eve's side, and she kept catching Ryker turning his head or looking at her cousin for more extended periods. Whenever he saw Liam, a warm smile crept onto his lips, and his eyes lit up when Eve finally handed him a spoonful to try as well as Liam.

Did they even notice how they reacted to each other?

'No, of course not. And if you said anything, you'd be crazy again,' Ri thought, snorting tonelessly. She would undoubtedly have made a cheeky comment by now if she hadn't noticed the dark clouds still hanging over the mood.

She knew Eve well enough to have recognized one thing in the months since she'd been here: Eve didn't just bake for pleasure. She also did it when something was bothering her. When the tray was finally placed in the oven, Liam leaped upstairs to collect Chief from Edana. Meanwhile, Ryker put on his jacket to take the boy and the dog for a little walk around the house. Liam grinned and begged for stories from Ryker as the door closed behind them.

Riona seized the opportunity at that moment, and her expression inevitably became a little more serious.

"So, what happened?" she asked cautiously, turning to Eve. "I mean, I can guess... Who was the other buyer?"

Riona could see Eve pause in her flushing motion. She was silent for a moment, then answered both questions with one word: "Sally."

"What?" Riona hissed like a cat that had just had its tail stepped on. »What's that goat's problem?« Annoyed, Riona gritted her teeth. »Tell me exactly what happened,« Ri demanded insistently and opened the cupboard where Ryker had kept the spirits so high that the boy would certainly not be able to reach them.

She poured them both a glass of cider and handed Eve the glass of amber-colored liquid. She could see Eve turning the glass back and forth in her hand, hesitating. Not just from drinking... Also, from telling her what was going on.

"Eve," Ri asked again, leaning against the kitchen counter next to her cousin and nudging her gently with her shoulder. "Come on."

Evelyn pressed her lips together, then took a sip and sighed deeply before telling Riona what had happened at the Bluebird.