Baking for Keeps by Gilmore Jessica

Author:Gilmore, Jessica
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance
ISBN: 9781945879838
Publisher: Tule Publishing
Published: 2017-02-28T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“If you have any preferences on which bachelor you want you’d better tell me,” Zac murmured as the aunts prowled around the kitchen table looking at the finished pies and whispering to each other. Tilly’s pie had come out perfectly, her crumble neat, her pastry a gorgeous golden brown, but Zac was secretly rather pleased with his effort. Making pie crust pastry was a much more tactile experience than the drudgery of mixing the cookie dough and he’d rather enjoyed feeling it all come together under his fingertips.

He would still have to practice every night and already had planned a few tweaks to the ratio of ginger and syrup but this time, distractions aside, he was confident he could do a lot better than second to last.

Lacey on the other hand had found pie even more of a challenge than cookies and it showed, in both her disgruntled running commentary and in the results. Her pastry was burnt, her crumble topping raw and her blackberry filling both tart and runny. It was a good thing she was prepared to laugh at herself, taking a picture of the aunts’ disgusted faces as they tried her filling. She immediately posted it to the fundraising site. “I have a week,” she said coolly. “Don’t count your chickens yet, Mr. Malone.”

“I’m just using basic probability theory. No chickens in my calculations.”

“Come and try the pies. We’d be interested to know what you think about the flavorings,” Aunt Patty announced and the assorted Hathaways surged forward, plates and forks at the ready. Zac took a few steps back and watched as plates were loaded, pie sampled, and opinions expressed in varying degrees of forcefulness.

“The crust needs more ginger.”

“Less ginger. It’s too strong.”

“I think the crumble topping is too fussy.”

“No, no, it’s perfect. Looks attractive too.”

“Did you say there was maple syrup in these blackberries? I can’t taste it.”

“The maple is lovely and fresh. It makes the blackberries sing.”

Outside of work—and yesterday’s Bake-Off—Zac couldn’t remember the last time he had been in such close proximity to so many people. Even in this large and airy room it was discombobulating—so many voices, so many opinions, and Lacey right in the middle of the hubbub. “Uncle Walter! It isn’t that bad. I’d like to see you do better. I challenge you to make a pie. Next time I’ll do a middle-aged rancher Bake-Off and sign you straight up!”

The noise escalated as the family laughed and Walter loudly accepted the challenge. Zac’s ears rang as the walls began to close in. His chest tightened and he took another step back, slipping out of the kitchen and into the hallway. He leaned thankfully against the wall enjoying the peace. The hallway was so big, so high that it could easily have been a sterile imposing space but the large vases of winter berries, the warm colors on the walls, and the low velvet couch all softened the effect. The double-width staircase ran up one side to connect with a

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