The Legend of Lollipop

by Lisa Prysock

  “One more very important thing...” Jed interjected.

  “You drive a hard bargain, cowboy!” Logan began to look mildly exasperated while he waited to hear his demands.

  “I can have as many cookies and as much chocolate milk as I want.” Jed paused and then added, “You know, since I’m doing you a huge favor at my personal inconvenience and the expense of my reputation as a wrangler. I mean, some parts of this are going to be downright painful, boss.”

  Logan grinned. “Point noted. Have as many cookies and as much chocolate milk as you want, but on the condition you’ll start today, right after your lunch break.”

  Jed finally relented, allowing a slow smile to spread across his face. They’d arrived at a fair arrangement. “Deal, but not one minute longer than a week unless I’m enjoying the pain, and you have to explain all of this to Buck. I don’t want to be the bearer of news that he’ll be shorthanded when we’re so busy.”

  “Deal.” Logan agreed. They stood and shook hands across the desk firmly. A cowboy’s word and his handshake were worth gold in Jed’s book. Logan handed him the keys to the bakery. Jed strode out of the office, putting his hat back on, wondering what he’d just gotten himself into.

  Chapter 4

  I know all the things you do, and I have opened a door for you that no one can close. You have little strength, yet you obeyed my word and did not deny me. Revelation 3:8, NLT

  “I DON’T KNOW, SIS.” Anastasia bit her lower lip and paced the wood floors in their third floor apartment while holding her cell phone to her ear. “I’m reluctant. The salary sounds fantastic, but do your realize this would be the third time I’ve tried to run a bakery? I’ve lost my confidence. The first two attempts were epic fails. I’m pretty convinced I can bake with the best of them, but when it comes to keeping the books and making business decisions, I flounder every single time. I’m not as gifted as you with business sense.”

  “Look at it this way,” Trisha coaxed, “you’ll be able to do what you love without the burden of start-up and investment costs.”

  “I’m listening.” Anastasia broke out in hives when she thought about her bakery fails. She thought she’d be saving money by starting up her bakery from her mother’s farmhouse kitchen, but she’d only succeeded in taking on too many orders without having the right equipment. Other times, she hadn’t had enough orders. Then there was the problem of delivering each and every one of those orders. Sometimes, by the time she arrived, customers no longer wanted the order. Eventually, her mom had wanted her kitchen back, horrified by the constant flurry of baking activity cluttering up everything.

  “This is a brand new bakery with all new equipment. It’s located on a prime, five star resort only twenty minutes from here. The customers are already there, everything has been provided, and it’s on a ranch. As the manager, you’ll be able to make the majority of the decisions, they’re going to give you an assistant, and there’s a part-time worker there to help out. Talk about perks you didn’t have before! You’ll have McGuire on hand to help you adjust, and the best part, you’ll be able to spend your breaks and lunch hours with beautiful horses on a gorgeous ranch.”

  “You’ve certainly covered all of the selling points.” Anastasia paused from pacing to stare out the window at the bookstore across the street. “Did the owner, this Logan fellow, did he say if I could use my own recipes, or do I have to follow some menu they’ve prepared?”

  “He actually asked if you’d bring your own recipes and prepare a daily menu. He said you could order whatever you need to bake your specialties and favorite sweets. Oh, and they have books in the shop for customers, and sometimes live musicians playing soft guitar music and the like. You know, country western and soft jazz, relaxing stuff so customers can still read if they want or use the internet connection to work from their laptops.”

  “Wow, it sounds wonderful. What about the hours? You know I need time to have a life, and that includes my work with my 4-H group.” Anastasia held her breath, expecting her sister to say it would be a gazillion hours each week.

  “Mr. Haven said it’s up to you to set the schedule and keep it consistent for the customers and staff, but it averages about forty hours a week. There’s overtime pay for anything above the customary forty hours.” Trisha grew quiet for a few seconds. Then she continued. “Listen, I have to find someone for this customer whether you accept the position or not. He’s expecting someone to start tomorrow. As I said, there was some sort of family emergency and the previous manager can’t return to the job. I don’t even think McGuire knows about any of this yet. Do you want to give it a try as a temp-to-perm or not? If not, I have to start calling everyone I have on file with any kind of experience in management. Oh, there’s another call coming in. Let me put you on hold for a minute. I’ll be right back.”

  Trisha’s voice disappeared from the phone and some contemporary music began playing. Considering she’d lost thousands trying to keep her dream alive by renting her own bakery location in town, what did she have to lose if someone else owned the store? At least it wouldn’t be her own thousands if she failed. She could hardly believe they were willing to take a chance on her.

  As a temp, she could try it out and see if she liked it. If not, she could leave the position. It sounded as though the good Lord had provided everything she’d need to be successful in the position. All right, Lord, she prayed silently. You haven’t opened any other doors. This must be the one you want me to take.

  The music disappeared as her sister’s voice returned to the phone. “Sorry about that. It’s been really busy today.”

  Anastasia swung around from the window and nervously wrapped a few strands of her long red curls around a finger. “Trisha, call Logan Haven and tell him I’ll give it a try. If I can find someone to help me with the books and if I try to think strategies through more cohesively, maybe this time will work.”

  “Okay, and one more thing. Logan called back a little while ago to mention he’d have someone to help you become accustomed to the place for the first week. His name is Jed. Logan said he’s a kind of tall, lanky wrangler who doesn’t really know much about baking, but he could help out a little. He also said everyone working full-time hours eats breakfast, lunch and dinner at the main house for free.”

  “So many great perks. Thanks for thinking of me. All I can do is give it my best shot. I’ll see you in a few hours. You didn’t forget we’re having dinner with McGuire and Katie, did you?” Anastasia sighed inwardly. No more interviewing. She’d been looking for a job for about a month and nothing had worked out yet.

  Trisha laughed lightly. “No, I didn’t forget, which is a miracle for as busy as we’ve been today. I’m looking forward to it. McGuire and Katie always cook the best food. See you in a few hours. I’ll just call Logan and tell him you’ll stop by the main office first thing in the morning, eight o’clock sharp. Bring your recipes and be ten minutes early. It’s one of our policies. Remember, you’re a temp for the first ninety days unless they offer you the job sooner and buyout my contract. From everything I’ve heard so far, it sounds like they’re going to need you to hit the ground running.”

  “Okay, I will be ten minutes early, and I’ll bring my recipe book, and a plan,” Anastasia promised. “Bye for now.” She disconnected the call. She could only hope and pray that this time, her dream of running a bakery would flourish. Maybe the other two experiences had merely been practice for where God ultimately wanted her.

  Chapter 5

  “I'm most proud of the blessings that God has bestowed upon me, in my life. He's given me the vision to truly see that you can fall down, but you can still get back up. Hopefully I'll learn from my mistakes and have the opportunity to strengthen and improve the next thing I do.”—Martin Lawrence, actor, producer, writer, comedian, talk show host.

  ANASTASIA’S BRIEF MEETING with Logan and Jill Haven had gone well. She could tell they were busy, but relieved and happy about her arrival. She filled out som
e paperwork and then chatted with them for about fifteen minutes about the bakery and the property. They promised her she could be involved in the selection process for her assistant when the time came to decide about retaining any temps on a long-term basis from candidates Trisha might send over.

  They also took time to explain about the new cabins being constructed on the property and an indoor swimming pool with a miniature water park. The Sweetwater was quickly becoming one of the best attractions Lander had to offer locals and tourists alike. With patrons coming and going for breakfast, they had a host of distractions to contend with, so they gave her their cell numbers in case she had questions later. Shortly after, Logan walked her over to the bakery and introduced her to Jed and the part-time helper, an elderly, dependable lady named Caroline.

  Caroline kept a steady focus on the customers at the register, greeting each one with a smile and taking their orders efficiently. A pleasantly plump lady, she had graying dark hair pulled into a neat bun with silvery curls framing her face. She smiled a lot and wore a long, blue work apron over her jeans with comfortable white tennis shoes.

  Jed was a handsome, tall and lanky cowboy, even with the long, blue work apron on over his jeans, plaid shirt, and cowboy boots. He looked completely out of place and uncomfortable, but she was glad to see him there. They were going to need any help he could offer. His face reminded her of a younger version of Kevin Costner, only with flour on his forehead, one cheek, and in his hair. In spite of the flour, she couldn’t help but notice he had plenty of laid back swagger to go with his good looks as he tossed an eggshell he’d just cracked over the table and into a trashcan as if he’d been working in a bakery for years. He had short, sandy brown hair, an attractive jawline, and thoughtful brown eyes.

  Looking up from a large bowl where he was mixing ingredients together, he picked up the bowl under one arm as if it was a football and crossed the kitchen toward them. “I’m really glad to see you, Anastasia.” He offered to shake her hand, but withdrew when he realized he had flour all over. “Sorry ‘bout that. I’d shake your hand, but I’m a mess.”

  Anastasia giggled. She struggled to prevent herself from agreeing out loud. Instead she said, “I understand. Nice to meet you, Jed.”

  She saw Logan survey the kitchen with a nervous look in his eyes. His eyebrow had gone up when he noticed a stack of dishes piled to the moon in the sink and cluttered prep tables. She definitely had her work cut out for her. The bakery case looked a little low, there were hungry customers in line occupying all of Caroline’s attention, the tables in the dining area required attention, and the floor needed swept. At least there was a self-serve, well-stocked coffee bar and country western music playing on the speakers, keeping the atmosphere relaxed and appealing.

  Logan began backing away. “Let us know if you need anything else. I’ll bring the new assistant over when Trisha finds someone. I believe you’ll find the handbook with the answers to many of your questions on the manager’s desk in the bakery office.”

  “Thanks. I’m sure I’ll have loads of questions. I’ll call you or Jill when I have enough of them to warrant bothering you.” She hated to see him leave so quickly, but she had the feeling he hadn’t worked one day in the bakery to answer any of her questions anyhow.

  When the boss was gone, she tried to ignore the churning in the pit of her stomach as she looked around the place again at the mess, knowing she had a ton of baking to do. First, she decided to take a tour of the kitchen, stock room, and office area in an attempt to familiarize herself with everything. Then she’d roll up her sleeves and begin cleaning.

  Thinking about her plan of attack, she observed Jed muttering to himself as he dumped far too much flour in the mixing bowl. Her mouth dropped open and she almost ran to his side at the long prep table to stop him when he shocked her into silence by shrugging and then throwing in an extra cup for good measure. The cowboy was certainly trying, but she guessed he was probably too nervous to adhere to the technique of following a recipe with precision. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she snapped her mouth shut and continued her tour of the kitchen, all the while thinking about her plan of approach to salvage the bakery.

  She would definitely need to take some time to look over any reports she could find in the office to get an idea of sales volume and then check out the supplies on hand by making a more thorough inspection of the stock room than her initial tour. When she had the kitchen and dining room in order, she’d pull out the list of items she planned to bake, calculate quantity to match sales volume, gather ingredients, and get to baking anything she could on her list with what The Sweetwater had in stock.

  Before she went home, she’d probably need to place an order to increase any supplies for her recipes and discover how long it would take for the order to arrive. With each passing day, she’d try to learn some new crucial aspect to keeping the facility running properly. She had a list of questions forming in her mind and planned to tackle this by putting the list on paper in a notebook she’d brought from home.

  Finding a clean apron on a hook near the back of the kitchen, she put it on over her white button-up work shirt and jeans. Then she began rolling up her sleeves as she slowly walked around the kitchen, taking in details. She was glad she’d worn her red locks pulled back in a messy bun. There’d be no time for dealing with loose hair.

  Meanwhile, she needed to figure out how Jed could best help her. She had the distinct feeling he’d created the entire mess trying to be helpful. Glancing at the contents of his mixing bowl as she neared one of the long, stainless steel, prep tables, she decided he was attempting to make chocolate chip cookies. This was a good thing. It was one of the items on her list, but were those egg shells in his cookie dough?

  ANASTASIA’S TOUR ONLY took about twenty minutes. She was starting to have a pretty good feel for the kitchen. It was a nice-sized space, not too small or too large. However, with it being in such disarray, she could hardly think straight. Returning to the ovens on the wall behind the prep tables, she wanted to discover why one looked like it was pink.

  Opening the oven door, she gasped. The inside was covered with sticky, pink, cake batter. Her mouth fell open again and her hand remained frozen as she gripped the oven handle. She finally found her tongue and managed a question for Jed. “Any idea what happened in here?” Then she turned to see how he might respond.

  Jed cleared his throat and she heard his cowboy boots click on the floor as he sauntered over to lean down a bit and peer inside the oven she held open. “My attempt at my mom’s recipe for triple cherry fudge pound cake exploded yesterday.” He stood up taller and then used his sleeve to wipe some sweat off his forehead.

  “I see. What a disaster! Are all of those baking pans and mixing bowls in the sink from yesterday, too?” She closed the oven door and put her hands on her hips, unable to control her tennis shoe from tapping on the floor.

  He nodded. “Yeah, I was here until about nine o’clock last night trying to whip up something for the front case, but the only thing that turned out were my chocolate chip cookies. They’re a little gooey, but the customers seem to like ‘em.”

  She opened her mouth and heard herself say all of the wrong things with her sternest voice before she could stop herself. “Well, where I come from, we clean up our own messes. I was going to help you wash everything, but I don’t think that will teach you anything about working in a bakery. Not that I think you’ll ever want to do this again, as I understand Logan had to wheel and deal to gain your cooperation. I realize you’re a cowboy first and foremost, and you’re only here as a courtesy to help the Havens through this transition. However, I’ve changed my mind about cleaning all of this up when I have so much baking to do. Jed, what I need you to do to help me most is to stop baking for now, return the ingredients to exactly where you found each item, put the dishes in the sink, wash and sanitize both of these prep tables with really hot water and sanitizer, and then start washing your dishes.” She t
ried to place the importance on the task of washing the dishes. Without mixing bowls, utensils, and baking sheets, she wouldn’t get very far.

  Jed looked surprised. “What do you want me to do with all of this cookie dough?”

  “Throw it out.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Throw it out?” he repeated, his mouth dropping open. “In the trash?”

  “In the trash.” She nodded, pointing at the trash can.

  “What, are my cookies not good enough for you?” Jed sounded offended, and a little angry.

  Anastasia glanced at the large bowl of dough. She really hated throwing out all of his hard work and wasting the ingredients, but she doubted his cookies would meet her standards. “I appreciate your efforts, but I don’t know. These have egg shells in them. We can’t serve things like that. It’d be unprofessional and we’d lose customers.”

  “I removed those. They’re fine. I’ve even had a few compliments on ‘em yesterday. We’re selling some of this recipe right now.” He waved an arm toward the long glass case near the register.

  She sighed. “I guess I’d have to bake some of them to find out.”

  “Yeah, well you do that!” Jed snapped. Then he began doing everything she’d asked, but slamming a few things around in the process.

  She couldn’t help it. He had to know the truth. She was sorry she’d made him angry, but she had to gain some degree of order over the chaos. She saw Caroline glance over her shoulder from the register at them and noticed a few uncomfortable looks appear on the faces of curious customers as Jed continued to slam things around. Great! Upset customers. That’s all she needed on her first day. She’d been angry about the mess Jed had created, but now things were beginning to snowball.

  Remain calm. You’ve got this, she told herself. You have to establish your standards and good practices early on.