Page 22 of Fire and Icing

“That baking contest.”

I shake my head. “I can’t enter. I already told you. They require a non-baking spouse, committed boyfriend or girlfriend or life partner to enter as your other half. They won’t budge on that requirement.”

Sydney waves a hand. “A minor technicality.”

I narrow my eyes at her. She just smiles back.

“You’re scaring me,” I say slowly. “You’ve got that look in your eyes.”

Sydney’s eyes widen in mock innocence. “What look?”

“The one you get when you’re cooking up a plan that’s going to make me question all my life choices.”

Chapter 6

Dustin

I'm just doing my job, ma'am.

~ Ghosts of Mississippi

“Daytwo of mission Grovel to the Town Baker,” Cody laughs around a bite of donut.

“Ha ha,” I say, grabbing the blueberry-lemon before anyone else takes it.

There are other flavors I like, but none measures up to this one.

“What did Emberleigh say when you used the line on her?” Patrick asks, brushing a bit of powdered sugar off his station uniform shirt.

“The line?” I ask before my brain fully engages.

The guys chant in unison, “I’m truly sorry I manhandled you like an oaf, Emberleigh.”

They burst into collective laughter.

“Yeah. It didn’t go over as well today.”

“Details. We need details,” Greyson says. He’s so neutral, he could be auditioning to be one of those automated voicesyou hear when you call customer service and can’t reach a real human.

He’s not eating a donut. He’s in one of the recliners lined up along the wall of the dining area with his face buried in his laptop.

“As soon as half the sentence was out of my mouth, her eyes narrowed and she placed her hands on her hips.”

All eyes in the room are on me except Greyson’s. Cody’s suppressing a smirk. Patrick’s not even trying to subdue his amusement. Captain’s face is a mask of seriousness, but something tells me he’s as deeply entertained as the rest of the crew.

“That woman has spunk,” Patrick says.

“What’d she do next?” Greyson asks without looking up.

“She cut me off before I even said her name. She said, ‘Last time I thought you meant it. Now I’m pretty sure this is just a dare those boys at the station put you up to. And it can stop. You can tell them their donut supply hinges on how they decide to handle this.’”

I look each of the men in the room in the eyes, hoping they don’t mess up the donut situation. I really, really like Emberleigh’s donuts. For some reason, I like her too, even though she’s done nothing but tell me off and give me sideways looks since I got here.

“Fiery redhead,” Patrick says.

“Her hair’s got nothing to do with it,” Cody corrects him.

“She’s not always fiery,” Captain David says. “Only when she’s provoked.”

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