Buzzkill (Pecan Bayou Series) Read Online Free PDF Page A

as long as nothing comes out
of the bayou.”
    Yancey plastered
on a smile, showing a glittering gold bicuspid. “Shall we discuss payment
options?”
     
    ******
     
    Cal Carter, a
baker approved by Mr. Andre, slid out two plates with several tiny pieces of
cake on them.
    “Just try these,
folks. I can guarantee you’re going to have a hard time choosing which one to
use for your wedding day.”
    “Mmm,
delicious,” I said as a mouth watering white mango cake melted in my mouth.
Both boys took a bite of the cake and rolled their eyes in delight.
    “Oooh, try this
one,” Leo said, spooning some dark chocolate into my mouth. Gulping down the
previous cake, I tried to clear my palate enough to taste the chocolate. It
didn’t take long until the cocoa hit my taste buds. Zach and Tyler followed
suit. Leo had switched over to the white mango.
    “I had no idea
getting married could be so fun,” he said, licking his lips.
    “And I thought
cake meant chocolate or vanilla.” Tyler said, a bit of chocolate icing still on
the corner of his mouth.
    “Folks, if you
keep eating all my samples I’ll have to charge you for a whole cake,” Cal said.
“Now I can always do the wedding cake in white and groom’s cake in chocolate.”
    “Groom’s cake?”
said Leo.
    “Sure, it’s a
wedding tradition to have a groom’s cake at the reception.”
    “For double the
price,” Leo said as Cal smiled.
    “The groom’s
cake has a lot less work to it. We only charge half.”
    Looking at the
prices in Cal’s cake book, half could still make a person gag enough to need a
glass of milk to wash it down.
    “It all seems
delicious to me. Leo, you decide.” I said.
    “Okay,” he said,
sure of himself when it came to cake. “Mango on the wedding cake, dark
chocolate on the groom’s cake.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Most
definitely.”
    “That was easy,”
I said.
    “Wonderful,” Cal
said, taking out an order form from behind the counter. “We’ll be happy to set
you up. What day is your wedding?”
    “February 14th,”
I replied.
    “As in
Valentine’s Day, February 14th?”
    “That’s the
one.”
    Cal took out his
order pad and started figuring. “That is one of our busiest days of the year
here. I already have several special orders in place. I’m afraid I’ll have to
hire some extra help to get your wedding cake out.”
    Leo and I looked
at each other as we could hear the cash register ringing in the baker’s head.
“I’m going to have to add an additional fifty dollars for holiday pay.”
    “Holiday pay?
Last time I checked, Valentine’s Day is not really a big cake-eating holiday,”
I said.
    “Are you kidding
me? We make cookies, truffles, cupcakes. Not everybody likes flowers and candy
you know,” he said. “Fifty more.” Cal, who had seemed so nice when we came in,
wasn’t budging.
    Leo and I
searched each other’s eyes for agreement as he cut in again. “We take credit
cards.”
    “This is much
tougher than we ever thought it would be,” I said.
    “You’re not the
first bride to say that. Just take your time and think about who is going to be
at your wedding. This cake needs to be for you, but it also needs to be for
your guests. Think of your wedding cake the same way you thought of your
bouquets of flowers for your bridesmaids. You wouldn’t pick a bouquet of
flowers that you knew a bridesmaid was allergic to, right?”
    “Don’t confuse
us. The flower guy is another exciting Saturday for us,” Leo said.
    Cal laughed as
he removed the cake plate from the counter.
    “Have you done
any new weddings with Lenny Stokes?” I asked. “He’s got a bit of a reputation
for being hard to work with, but he has some beautiful flowers.”
    “Lenny Stokes?”
said Cal. “I’m probably not the right man to be asking about Mr. Stokes.”
    “Why is that?”
    “Well, let’s
just say Lenny and I don’t always get along, and it’s not just at weddings that
we find ourselves disagreeing,” he said.