Christmas at Candy Cane Lane by Laramie Briscoe

Author:Laramie Briscoe [Briscoe, Laramie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Laramie Briscoe Books

Chapter Nine

Merry

We've been going for hours, and I feel almost drunk. Might as well lean into it. "Do you want a drink? I have beer in my personal fridge."

"You have a personal fridge?" He raises an eyebrow as he leans against one of the prep tables.

I take him in, admiring the way his jeans fit against the muscles of his legs, the t-shirt showing off the strong forearms that have helped me take care of so many items on my to-do lists. "I do, thanks to the increased business with you being here all the time, I've been able to outfit the space off to the side as a small apartment. I know better than I should, once you leave, I'll have to go back to working a lot more than I do right now. Back when I first started, after I closed, I would immediately start prepping for the next day. I had one high schooler who would come help me after she got out, and while she wasn't really good at it, it still helped. I was dying because I was so tired, but I wanted this place to be a success. Absolutely needed this place to be a success since I'd banked everything I had on it. All the savings I'd been able to scrape together, and what I knew would be my first couple years' worth of earnings.

"I have way more than a personal fridge. Back when I started, I couldn't afford to have this place and an apartment. Luckily for me, this one was attached and I was able to save as much money as possible by not only working here, but living here too. It was hard, and there were plenty of nights I cried because there was no separation between work and living. If I lost the bakery, then I would lose my place to live, too. There was so much pressure, and I learned a lot about myself in that first year. I wasn't willing to give up, and there was a lot at stake. This was my little haven when I needed it most, and I keep it here just in case I ever need it."

"Do you stay here very often?" He asks, looking around.

"Only when I'm too tired to go home, or I need to be up super early in order to get things done," I admit. "Not as much as I used to, but it's nice to have the option."

What has always been what I perceived to be a bigger room, is dwarfed with Beckett standing in the middle of it. His large body takes up a lot of space, but at the same time he looks at home in the space. "If I would've known you had this here, I might have stayed here when the power goes out on Candy Cane Lane."

Now I feel bad that I never even thought to offer it to him, but to be fair, I didn't realize power goes out there. "Does it go out a lot?"

He laughs.

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