by Lisa Prysock
“It’s a comprehensive menu. I think customers will like it.” Jed picked up the list and studied it for a moment.
Did he read books, she wondered? The dude appeared to have an impressive vocabulary. She kept going, but she tucked the observation away in her memory banks. “I’ve worked hard on it to come up with a daily menu from some of my very own recipes. Every twenty-four hours, at the close of day, we’ll dispense with what’s left and put fresh items out in the display case again for the next morning. We’ll be baking a certain quantity of each of these daily. The only recipes among these items which will vary a little will be the sugar cookies and donuts. They can be seasonally adapted to help boost sales.”
“Understood.” He nodded, appearing to listen carefully with his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the counter behind him.
“We’ll also have some weekly specialty items. There will always be at least one specialty cake or cupcakes, one pie flavor, one specialty bread or muffins, and one pastry each week. We’ll make these items available daily in limited quantities. I’ll write the specialties on the chalk board I brought into the dining entrance area. We’ll also have a selection of lollipops, taffy, caramels, and specialty candy items. I have a head start on cupcakes. I made a ton of those this morning and added them to the case.”
“I like it. An organized approach, so we don’t drown trying to keep up.” Jed offered approval, probably in an attempt to be cordial.
She really didn’t care if he approved or not, but she figured his responses indicated he was willing to go along with her plan. He probably didn’t give a hoot about the menu, especially since he’d be returning to his wrangler’s position when the week ended.
“I also want to add some cakes to the case because I have this feeling we’re going to be really busy and sell out of the cupcakes, so I’m going to start with a recipe for a three-layer lemon cake and move on from there. I worked late yesterday and prepared seven cherry pies, five loaves of apple cinnamon bread, and five dozen blueberry turnovers. After all that, I was too exhausted to bake these cakes though. Would you like to watch me mix up a batch large enough for four cakes, and then you can try the same recipe to make four more on the table beside me?” She motioned toward the twelve round cake pans she had on the stainless steel prep table where she was standing.
“You’re going to let me bake?” Jed sounded surprised.
“Sure, as long as you follow the recipe and the techniques I share exactly.” She paused and then added, “And try keep things tidy as you go so we don’t have too much clean up.”
“I’ll give it my best shot.” He raked a hand through his hair and stepped closer to the end of the prep table. He appeared to be looking over the items she’d set out.
“Here, you can begin by reading this recipe.” She slid the recipe book closer to him so he could check it out.
Anastasia remembered she needed a special flour sifter and stepped around the prep table to retrieve it from the wide shelf underneath the table on the other side. As she came around the table, she caught sight of the large newspaper photo of two horses—two horses looking mighty familiar to her. “What’s this?” She paused and picked up the paper for a better look.
A flood of memories rushed through her mind as she stared at the photo in her hands. Those were her horses all right. Well, she called Bridie Jane and the filly hers. Scanning the headline and brief article about the horse trainer, she grew pale and a sigh escaped her mouth. She felt as though she was going to start hyperventilating and covered her mouth with the back of her hand. She attempted to calm herself, but she couldn’t stop the tears from welling up in her eyes. They couldn’t take her beloved horses. She couldn’t let them take her horses captive. She loved them and considered them hers.
“Are you all right?” Jed stepped to her side and caught her in his arms as she nearly passed out. “Breathe. That’s better. Again. Good. Take another breath.”
She grasped his strong arms as the room started to spin, thankful he was there to steady her. “I’m so-sorry,” she managed to choke out. “I feel so dizzy all of a sudden.”
“It’s all right.” He stood still to support her. “Just don’t pass out. We can’t run this place without you. Take several shallow breaths and keep doing that until you feel better.”
She did as he instructed until the color returned to her face. Her breathing returned to normal and the room stopped spinning. “I must have been holding my breath when I read this.” She was still clutching the paper under one arm.
“You’re the second person to read that paper this morning and have a strong, visible reaction. May I see that?” Jed accepted the newspaper from her to have a look at the photo and the headline. Then she stepped away from his grasp to lean on the prep table and watched him read the article while she continued to regain her composure. She could almost see the questions forming in his mind.
“No wonder Landon left us at breakfast. The media are on his tail.” Jed muttered as he shook his head and then looked up from the paper at her. “Do you know these horses?”
“Yes, I do. I have a special connection to Bridie Jane and her filly. I had a similar reaction when the newspapers across the state carried an article about them two years ago.” Anastasia struggled to keep her breathing under control as Jed placed the paper on the prep table where they could both view the photo at the same time. “I’ve been looking for them on and off ever since, whenever I’ve had the time.”
She took another deep breath. Then she pointed to the mare and continued the story. “See those white sock markings on Bridie Jane and the white heart on her forehead? She’s the only chestnut mare except for her filly with those unmistakable features. I met them when Lollipop wasn’t even a year old.”
“Lollipop?” Jed repeated.
“I named the filly Lollipop.” She smiled, remembering the special moment. “It had been a difficult time in my life at the point when I met them. All of my close friends had moved on. It was after being in England on the mission field with my parents and family for several years.”
“Go on,” he encouraged.
“I was devastated to have returned to our home here in Wyoming that summer to find I didn’t have many friends left. They’d all grown up and moved away. Some had gone off to college; others had developed new friendships and careers. They didn’t know me anymore, and I no longer knew them. I’d been gone too long. I was praying and asking the Lord to help me through the miserable time when He sent these horses my way. They made it a wonderful, memorable time for me instead of a horrible time. I remember sitting in the middle of the woods near my father’s ranch, sketching them for hours on end while I sorted out all of my feelings, and they let me. Bridie Jane let me ride her once. I still have the sketches I made. I care about them, not this silly legend the papers keep going on about.”
“Wow, that’s really amazing. It’s not often a wild horse will let anyone near them.” He obviously knew about horses from ranching. She could tell by the look in his caring brown eyes that he understood most of what she was explaining.
“I’m sorry.” She brushed a tear away. “I shouldn’t be acting like this. We’ve got so much to do today. I guess it’s just the idea of anyone else having those horses other than me. I know this might not make a whole lot of sense to some folks, but I can’t help feeling as if God gave them to me as a kind of consolation after the sacrifices I’d made for Him with my family. Don’t get me wrong, I’d do it all again for Him in a heartbeat, but I really value those horses.”
Jed nodded. “I can understand why you’d feel that way. I have become seriously attached to many animal friends over the years.”
“Well, there’s nothing I can do about it right now. I guess I’ll have to look for them in the evenings whenever I can.” She hoped she could find the time, but already, she felt overwhelmed by the needs of the bakery. Then she remembered the assistant would soon be hired and there’d be someone to work some of
the evening and weekend shifts.
“Maybe I can help you look for the horses sometime,” he offered.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to spend any time after work with the wrangler, but it was nice he’d offered. Shaking it off for the time being, she quickly changed the subject. They had to remain focused. Pulling herself together, she folded up the newspaper. “May I keep this?”
“Sure, you can have it, as long as you don’t hold it against me that I’m terrible at working in a bakery. I’m like a fish out of water in here.” He grinned at her. There was that handsome smile again, winning her over.
She laughed and nodded, hoping her smile told him she understood. “You’ve got a deal, cowboy. I shouldn’t have been so hard on you yesterday. It was my first day and the place was falling apart. I had to do something.”
He nodded. “I know. Deep down, Caroline, Logan, Jill, everyone, we’re all glad you’re here to save us.”
She laughed and set the newspaper aside. “Thanks.” Now to shift gears to the issues of the day before them. “Oh, and we have another problem. I guess the former bakery manager scheduled a guitar player from eleven to four for the rest of this week. The guitar guy left a message on the bakery voicemail saying he won’t be able to make it here this week. Something about having the flu.”
Jed stared at her, opened his mouth as if he had been about to say something, and then snapped it shut again.
“What? Your wheels are turning.” She studied his face as Caroline arrived and began putting her apron on. “Good morning, Caroline. I was just going over our new menu with Jed. Nothing we didn’t talk about yesterday before your shift ended, so you haven’t missed anything.”
“Good morning. Did you all know there’s a line forming outside? News travels fast. They’re excited to try your new baked goods.” Caroline smiled at them and set her purse down on the counter by the newspaper.
Anastasia stared at Jed, waiting on whatever it was he was going to suggest.
“Naw,” he shook his head and turned to glance out the window at the customers waiting for them to open. “It’s probably a bad idea.”
“What’s a bad idea?” Anastasia began greasing the cake pans. She’d already washed her hands and wore plastic baking gloves to scoop out the vegetable shortening. She wished he’d share his idea. She didn’t have much time to figure out a replacement. Pretty soon a steady stream of customers would want cookies, cake, pie, and other sweets. She had no time to lose.
She’d accomplished a lot yesterday, finishing everything on her first day’s list except for the specialty items, but simply figuring out how to open the safe, prepare the bank deposit from yesterday’s sales, set up a clean cash drawer, and check the voicemails early that morning had been challenging enough for one day. She’d already been at work an hour longer than both of them and figured for the first week or two, she’d probably be there an hour later, too. It was time to get down to business and bake, the part of the job she enjoyed most. C’mon Jed, spill your idea, she wanted to say as she continued to grease the cake pans, keeping a close eye on the clock since it was almost nine o’clock and time to unlock the doors.
Caroline clucked her tongue and tossed Jed a motherly look as she went to wash her hands at the employee sink. “Jed Dalton, tell Anastasia the truth.”
“Uh, I don’t know, Caroline. I’m not that good.” Jed shrugged and followed her to the employee sink.
“You play guitar and rather well I gather, don’t you?” Anastasia could feel her ponytail swing around to land over her shoulder when she looked up and craned her neck to see Jed’s face.
“Put it this way, he missed his true calling.” Caroline wiped her hands dry on a paper towel from the dispenser and checked to be sure her hair was in place in the small mirror above the sink. “He’s as good as any country western musician on the radio I’ve ever heard.”
“Jed, will you please play for our customers later this morning?” Anastasia asked. “They’re going to be so disappointed about our scheduled guest not showing up.”
Jed’s face turned a little red and he hemmed and hawed by pacing a few steps back and forth. Was there a shy streak of humility in the cowboy who’d so quickly told her off yesterday when faced with cleaning up his hurricane mess? At least that’s what her mother, Mary Halston, would’ve called it.
There were tornado messes, and then there were hurricanes. She was sure her mother would’ve classified it a category three. The only thing he hadn’t done was stand back and flip batter and dough onto the walls, but in his defense, he’d at least tried to help. She was certain his heart had been in the right place. He reminded her of any boy next door with his friendly smile and good, clean-cut appearance.
Caroline went right up to Jed with her five-foot frame and gave him her opinion, whether he wanted it or not. “You can do it, Jed, and our customers will love you for it. Besides, you don’t want to be stuck doing dishes all day, do you?”
Chapter 8
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”—Harriet Tubman
ANASTASIA COULDN’T help but chuckle as she finished greasing the pans and began dusting them with a light sprinkling of flour using the sifter with a screen that let her move across all twelve pans in seconds.
“I guess you’ve got a point there,” Jed replied reluctantly. He looked surprised to find the sweet, elderly Caroline giving him a piece of her mind. “I’ll have to go up to the bunkhouse and get my guitar, though.”
“Well what are you waiting for, cowboy?” Anastasia teased, waving him along. “Off to the bunkhouse with you. I’ll bake the cakes, and I’m thinking I should have added croissants to the menu, so I’m definitely going to need you to take breaks to help me in the kitchen from time to time. Just try and hurry, okay? We need you.”
Jed winked and held up his key to the bakery. “Croissants sound good. I’ll hurry, and I’ll unlock the doors on my way out since it’s about time to open.”
Anastasia looked at her wristwatch nervously as she reached for the large stainless steel mixing bowl. She saw Caroline had already started the coffee and taken her place at the front register. Thank goodness some of the coffee machines were automatic. In addition to Columbian coffee, they made things like hot chocolate, frothy lattes, and cappuccinos as long as they kept the special coffee mixtures and other ingredients stocked. She didn’t understand those machines yet, but thankfully Caroline did and had tended to all of it.
“Oh, it is time to open, isn’t it? That’d be great. Thanks, Jed.” Then she glanced at Caroline as he headed for the front doors. “Everything in the front case is labeled and the new price sheet is by the register.”
“Wow, you must have worked really late.” Caroline found the price sheet in the protective clear plastic cover and gave it a quick glance over. Then she turned toward Anastasia with a wide grin. “You’re really on top of things. I see the prices went up a little, but I can see why after looking at these items. Everything looks absolutely delicious and our glass case is completely full.”
“You have some of everything ready to serve inside the case from on that price sheet list, except for the cake and the candy items. Within a few hours, you’ll have those, too,” Anastasia explained.
“Ready ladies?” Jed asked, standing poised at the front doors with his key in the lock. “The line is all the way down to the pizzeria. I’ve never seen anything like this before except maybe on television in one of those fancy baking shows. I’ll stop at the office and see if Logan or Jill can help at the register. This looks kinda crazy. Like who put an ad in the paper? Oh, and looks like a bus just pulled up.”
“A bus? Get ready to be slammed. Now that I think about it, maybe Carl mentioned he was going to put an ad in the paper. Anyhow, we’ll just have to work through it calmly. By the way Miss Anastasia, I really like the chalkboard at the entrance listing our wee
kly specials. Customers will love that. It’s a nice touch.” The cashier put her best smile on and faced the front. “I’m ready if you are. Prepare to die, everyone.”
Nervous laughter escaped Anastasia’s throat at hearing Caroline’s remarks. “I’m ready. It’s a good thing I made extra of most everything. Go ahead and let ‘em inside, Jed.” Anastasia prayed silently, please bring Jed back with his guitar and extra cashiers quickly and let everything run smoothly, Lord.
Then she remembered she’d made five dozen each of extra snickerdoodles and chocolate chip cookies yesterday before baking any of the other items, stocking them in the cooler. Her prayers and knowing there were more cookies prepared were somehow comforting.
She watched the flurry of customers flock to the counter and realized she’d better help Caroline now and finish whipping up the lemon cake batter later.
A SEA OF FACES SWARMED the counter, but soon they formed a line and customers approached her in small groups or one at a time. Anastasia filled the orders and sent them on down the line to pay for the items with Caroline at the register. She lost track of how many minutes went by, but she was never so happy to see Logan and Jill squeeze their way toward the front counter.
“We saw the bus pull in and knew you’d need help. We also passed Jed on the way. Where would you like us to help?” Jill blurted out quickly, stepping behind the glass case and talking to Anastasia as she filled an order.
“Could you please spread out here behind the bakery case and help me take orders and fill them? I’ve been giving them their items and sending them to Caroline to collect the money.” She added two chocolate chip cookies to the bag for the customer in front of her and handed him the order. He stepped down to the register to pay for the items with Caroline. “It seems to be going pretty quickly this way. Watch me handle a few and then jump in and copy my technique if you will.” Logan and Jill both leaned in to hear her over the crowd noise. After observing her take a few orders, they jumped in as she requested. Apparently, the summer when she was fifteen and employed as a cashier at a fast food burger restaurant was going to come in handy. She’d handled dozens of buses that summer.
