Chapter 1

one

PAUL

"Remember your jacket," I told Amy as I picked up her backpack. "It's cold outside."

Amy raced out of the kitchen. "Got it," she yelled from the living room.

Sometimes, I forgot my niece was only five years old. Amy was a fiercely independent little girl who wanted to be part of everything. And today, that included delivering a birthday cake to one of my friends.

She ran back into the kitchen, dragging her jacket behind her. "I need Dolly."

Dolly was a red-headed rag doll that my sister had bought Amy before she was born. It didn't matter how many times I stitched Dolly's seams or carefully hand-washed her cotton body; nothing would make her last forever.

"Put on your jacket and I'll find Dolly." I ran upstairs and found the rag doll tucked under Amy's blankets. I took the quick find as a good sign. Sometimes Dolly ended up in the oddest places, making any exit from the house a lot longer than it should have been .

With Dolly in one hand and Amy holding the other, I made my way toward the garage.

November in Milwaukee wasn't for the fainthearted. Bitter nor'westers blew across the yard, creating flurries of fresh snowflakes. Today was so cold that I could taste the ice on Lake Michigan. It mingled with the smoky scent of pine, oak, and spruce coming from my neighbors' chimneys. It was the Milwaukee I remembered. The city I loved.

With Christmas not far away, I had an enormous amount of work to get through. After two years, my fantasy cake business was finally taking off. But, with only myself to fill the orders, life could get hectic very quickly. Especially with a five-year-old running around the house.

I buckled Amy into her seat and ran to the other side of the car. "Are we ready?"

Amy waved Dolly in the air. "We ready!"

With a two-tier dragon cake sitting in the trunk and an excited little girl in the back seat, I reversed out of the garage. As a Bob Dylan song played on the radio and Amy cuddled Dolly, I smiled. Life didn't get much sweeter than this.