Page 1 of One More Yule Log
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“Iswear to God, Alice, if I see one more Yule log, I’m gonna puke.” Gray Carrol put the finishing touches on a nontraditional Yule log that looked like a sparkly pink tree branch with teal mushrooms. The interior held rainbow swirl cake. He was proud of it, but man, he was ready for the holiday season to be over, and he still had a good bit of time to go. Okay, it had just started, hadn’t it?
Alice put her forefingers against the outside corners of her lips. “Smile, boss.”
He wanted to snap at her, but he didn’t because she was a dear friend, a nice person, and she’d been pulling double shifts since Rafe had quit last week. Who quit their job just over a month before Christmas?
At a bakery.
Baring his teeth, Gray growled as much like a rabid dog as he could.
“It looks amazing, huh? I’ll put it in the cooler.” Alice grabbed the tray, and he knew she’d treat that silly cake like a glass baby.
“Thanks.” He pulled out the clipboard where he kept his orders. With Rafe’s departure, he’d lost the one person who knew how to work the computer ordering system, so he was back to analog recordkeeping. He scribbled a note to call the customer, then marked the job as completed.
“So, what’s next?” Alice asked when she came out of the walk-in.
“Cupcakes for the tree lighting.” The city wanted two hundred Christmas-tree cupcakes. Vanilla cake with a spiral of green frosting and multicolored piped lights. His wrist ached already.
“Don’t sound so down. It’s good to have more business than you can handle.” She patted his back like she would one of her kids’.
“Sorry.” She was right. He was busier than a one-legged buttkicker, and he was truly proud. Somehow this year he was just also really tired.Maybe he was too old for this shit.
“Okay. So. Cupcakes. Anything I need to do for the case first?”
Gray had a different clipboard for that. “Um, how about chocolate chip and hot chocolate cookies? There’s a dance at the VFW tonight, so we’ll stay open until eight.”
“Gotcha.” She hustled to the back, where he heard the mixer begin its thud and flap dance. Alice was so efficient, and he was lucky to have her. Truly.
The bell over the door jangled, so he did what Alice had suggested and put a smile on his face. “Welcome to Piece of Cake. How can I help you?”
When he saw the customers, he immediately thought cupcakes. The adult was a lady who was probably twenty years older than his thirty-five, with long graying hair pulled back into a bun. She wore a rainbow caftan and a stack of jangly bracelets. The little girl with her had chin-length brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a serious expression.
“Go ahead, Liv,” the lady said, giving the girl a nudge.
The girl named Liv nodded. “Okay. Hello. I need help.”
Well, that was unexpected. They didn’t have a public restroom, but if she was desperate…
“What are you looking for, hon?”
“A Yule Log.”
Oh, God. Gray fought not to roll his eyes. “Well, we do those, for sure.”
“Yes, sir. I did my research. I want to learn to make one for my daddy. You give cake classes.”
Blinking, he opened his mouth, then closed it. Gray didn’t want to snarl at what? A ten-year-old? So he took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I’m not giving classes right now. The holiday season is super busy for us.”
She scowled at him. “But I can pay for it. I broke my piggy bank!” She held up a Ziploc bag full of coins and bills.
Oh, God, that was cute.
The older lady smiled at him wryly over Liv’s head. “This is Olivia. What’s your name?”
“Gray Carrol. I’m the owner.”
“I see. Well, my name is Fran. Olivia really wants to make her own Yule log cake, you see. She and I have tried it a couple of times in the last few weeks, and it’s been nothing but a disaster.”
