Chapter 39

thirty-nine

PAUL

An hour later, I stacked our purchases in the back seat of the truck. Liam was right. The general store had more art supplies than I thought we'd find. Amy had enough paper, pens, and paint to last until the New Year. But, hopefully, we wouldn't be in Sunrise Bay for that long. I needed to go home and start baking cakes. Referring my clients to other bakers was helping my customers but not my business.

"Can we go to the candy store now?" Amy asked.

I closed the truck door. "Sure can."

Liam held Amy's hand as we walked along the icy sidewalk. There were fewer people on the street, but it was still busy with holiday shoppers. Thankfully, Candy Lane wasn't as crowded as it was when we'd arrived.

"Wow," Amy said as she stopped to look in the front window. "Can I have one of those lollipops?"

A silver cone covered in fairy lights and lollipops filled a glass shelf. Each of the lollipops was shaped like Santa, red and glowing under the display lights. "I might have one, too," I said as I held open the door. "What about you, Liam?"

"I'm more of a chocolate fudge kind of guy."

I took a deep breath. The rich, sweet smell of fudge made me sigh. "You're in the right place, then. Working here must be one of the best jobs in the world."

A man about my age looked up from behind the counter. "Hi, Liam. It's great to see you again."

"It's good to be here. Jonathon, this is Paul and Amy. We've come to stock up on Christmas treats."

Jonathon sent us a warm and friendly smile. "Welcome to my candy store. Would you like to try some samples?"

Amy nodded. "I'd like to try everything."

"In that case," Jonathon said with a twinkle in his eyes, "I think you should start with some of our super-duper Christmas marshmallow." Using a pair of tongs, he reached into a glass cabinet and handed Amy a small pink square of confectionery. "This isn't normal marshmallow. There are swirls of raspberry jelly and chocolate chips inside each bar."

Amy took a bite. Her eyes widened. "Yum. This is nice."

Jonathon handed the sample tray to me. "We make the marshmallow in the store. Our customers love it."

"Uncle Paul has customers, too," Amy said proudly. "He makes amazing cakes. Did you know he made a dragon cake for his friend? It had sparkly scales and a big golden egg. Do you want to see a photo of it?"

"I'll show Jonathon the cake another time," I said. "We're here to buy candy."

Jonathon handed the tray to Liam. "I'd love to see the picture. I've tried cake decorating, but it's not something I'm good at."

I found the photo on my cell phone and showed Jonathon. "It was a chocolate fudge cake. The frosting was a mixture of buttercream and fondant. I used candy melts for the wings and the golden egg."

"It's incredible."

"You should show Jonathon the photo of the wedding cake," Amy said excitedly. "The one with the prince and princess on top."

Jonathon smiled when I shook my head. "It's okay. I'd love to see it."

I found the picture. "This is one of Amy's favorite cakes." It had taken three days to complete the individual components. Roses in soft shades of lemon and orange curled around four layers of creamy, vanilla buttermilk cake. On the top layer, a prince and princess danced among rose petals. "I had a photo of what the bride and groom would be wearing and dressed the miniature prince and princess in the same clothes."

"It's gorgeous. Do you decorate cakes for fun or as a part of a business?"

"I started my fantasy cake company a couple of years ago. It mostly fits around our life, but sometimes it's a little hectic. When Amy starts school next year, it'll be easier to focus on my business. If you scroll to your right, there's more photos of the cakes I've made."

Jonathon silently studied the photos on my cell phone. "These cakes are wonderful. How long are you staying in Sunrise Bay?"

I glanced at Liam. "I'm not sure. Probably for another week or two at the most."

"You should come and have coffee with me. I'd love to hear more about your company."

There was nothing I would have liked better, but I didn't know how that would work. "I'm not sure when we'll be in town again."

Jonathon waved my worries away. "I could come and see you. Are you staying at Jacob's house?"

Liam's eyebrows rose. "How did you know?"

"Because you always stay there. Am I right?"

Liam looked at the other customers in the store.

Before he could say anything, Jonathon pointed to a set of doors behind him. "You can tell me later. Come into the kitchen. The coffeepot's hot and I've just finished a batch of salty caramel fudge. You can try my new recipe and tell me what you think."

Amy jumped up and down. "Say yes."

I looked at Liam. "Do we have enough time?"

"Jonathon had me hooked at the mention of fresh fudge."

His smile caught at my heart. "I guess that's a huge yes from us."

Jonathon grinned. "Make yourself at home. I won't be long. I just need to tell Kathleen where I'm going in case she needs me."

As soon as I saw the kitchen, I sighed. The commercial ovens sparkled under the fluorescent lights. A large stainless steel counter ran along the center of the room. Trays of fudge, still in their molds, were stacked beside brightly colored containers.

When Jonathon walked into the kitchen, he opened one of the containers. "This is the fudge."

Liam was the first person to bite into the creamy treat. "Its texture is smoother than some of your other fudge. I like the salty taste. It works well with the sweetness of the caramel."

I agreed. "It's delicious. "

"I'm glad you like it. I try to give my customers something new to try each month."

"The fudge will be an instant hit," I assured him. I touched the edge of the counter. "It must be wonderful working from a purpose-built kitchen. I spend half my time juggling counter space and trying to find ingredients I've stacked in my pantry."

Jonathon took three mugs out of a cupboard. "The building used to be a French bakery."

"Everything looks new."

"The previous owners upgraded the kitchen the year before I bought the building. If it weren't for a family emergency, I don't think the previous owners would have left Sunrise Bay."

If I could have chosen the perfect place to bake, this would be it. The room was spacious, well lit, and had the type of appliances I could only dream about using. "It must be wonderful making your fudge in here."

"Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I started my business from my remodeled garage. I still get goosebumps when I unlock the store's front door each morning." Jonathon opened the refrigerator. "What would you like to drink, Amy? I have homemade lemonade, water, or milk."

"Milk, please. That's my favorite."

Jonathon poured a glass of milk for Amy, then walked across to an open shelf. "I don't often bake, but I made these chocolate chip cookies. They'd be wonderful with a glass of milk."

Amy chose a cookie. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll leave them on the counter in case anyone else wants one." Jonathon handed Liam and me a cup of coffee each. "Tell me about your business, Paul. How many cakes do you make each week? "

"It depends on the design. Sometimes I'll make five or six cakes a week. At other times, I might be lucky to make two. When I made the wedding cake, it was all I did for four days."

Liam chose a cookie. "I can vouch for how good Paul's cakes taste."

Jonathon picked up his coffee cup. "You're baking cakes for people while you're here?"

"Mostly for ourselves. I've had to recommend other bakers for my clients in Milwaukee."

"It isn't easy finding someone to decorate cakes." Jonathon bit his bottom lip. "I'd like to ask you a question. I won't be offended if you say no."

"There isn't much that could offend me," I assured him.

"Okay, but remember that you can say no. Would you be interested in making five more Christmas cakes? I know we've only met, but some of my regular customers want me to bake them cakes. Between creating more candy and my not so great baking abilities, I can't do it."

I would have loved to have helped Jonathon but I didn't know if we'd be in Sunrise Bay for long enough to give him what he wanted. "If we leave next week, I won't get a chance to decorate all of them."

"You wouldn't need to decorate them as much as the wedding cake, and they'll only be seven inches wide. A sheet of white fondant icing with a few Christmas decorations across the top is all they need."

I bit my lip.

"They're willing to pay one hundred dollars for each cake," Jonathon added. "All of that would go to you. If it makes it easier, you can bake and decorate them at Jacob's house. When they're ready, I'll bring them back to Sunrise Bay. "

Liam handed me the container of cookies. "If you'd like to bake the cakes, you should do it."

I looked down at Amy. Five hundred dollars would buy all her school books and clothes. The leftover money would pay other bills. I glanced at Liam to make sure he was okay with me working from Jacob's home.

When he nodded, I turned to Jonathon. "Okay. I'll make the cakes, but I'll decorate them in your bakery. The road down the mountain isn't the best, and I wouldn't want the cakes getting damaged."

Jonathon smiled and held out his hand. "It's a deal. Thank you."

I returned Jonathon's firm handshake. "I should be thanking you. I've been getting withdrawal symptoms from not decorating cakes. This will be fun."