Jessica Beck - Donut Shop 17 - Old Fashioned Crooks Read Online Free PDF

how long that will last before the reality of what happened starts
to sink in.”
    “We both know
that Emma is tough deep down where it counts.   She’ll find her way through this if
anyone can,” I said.
    “I hope you’re
right.   So, do I take off my jacket,
or do I go back home?”
    I suddenly
realized that I was pretty far behind in my morning chores.   Emma and I hadn’t finished cleaning up
the night before, given all that had happened, and I hadn’t spent much time yet
that morning washing dishes.   In
fact, I’d added to the mess by making the cake donuts first, working around the
dirty pots and pans in the sink and on the counter in back.   I was planning to get to them later, but
I wasn’t exactly sure when that would be.
    “That
depends.   Do you honestly mean your
offer to help, or are you just following your daughter’s wishes?” I asked her
with a grin.
    “Go on.   Put me to work,” she said with a
smile.   “I’m sure that you must have
a mound of dishes that you haven’t had time to deal with yet, especially since
you were open last night.”
    “I’ll be honest
with you; it’s a train wreck back there,” I admitted.   “I’d love to have you, and I’m more than
happy to put you on the payroll, but only if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
    “Suzanne, I’ll do
whatever you need me to do, but I won’t take a dime for any of it,” Sharon
said.
    “Then we have a
problem, because I can’t let you work for free,” I said with a frown.
    “Well, it’s not
exactly free,” she said with the hint of a grin.   “What I’d really like you to do is to
pay Emma instead of me.”
    “I appreciate the
gesture, but that’s nonsense.   She’ll get her standard pay, and so will you.”   It would mean cutting things a little
closer to the bone than I usually liked for the next several days, but that
didn’t matter to me at the moment.   Besides, Grace had taken care of my current shortfall I’d incurred from
my donation the night before, so why not use my profits the way I liked?
    It was Sharon’s
turn to smile at my gesture.   “Suzanne, don’t kid yourself; we both know how thin your profit margin is
around here.   I won’t have you
losing money because of the Blake girls.”
    “You let me worry
about that,” I said.   “I had a
healthy donation last night that’s fattened my bottom line unexpectedly, and I
can’t think of a better use for it than this.   Now, if you’re sure that you don’t mind,
I’d greatly appreciate it if you’d take off your coat, grab an apron, and dive
in.   I need to ice the cake donuts
and get the yeast dough ready for proofing.”
    “Trust me, I know
the routine,” Sharon said as she walked into the back with me.

 
    By the time we
were ready for our first break, the kitchen was immaculate again, and
everything was in its place.   “Do
you and Emma go outside for your breaks when you’re running Donut Hearts for
me?” I asked Sharon as I set the portable timer that told me when the dough
would be ready for its next step.
    “You bet we do, rain
or shine, hot or cold,” Sharon replied.   “Emma insisted that we do it that way from the very start, and to be
honest with you, I’ve really grown to enjoy it.”
    “Then let’s
bundle up and head outside,” I said as I grabbed the timer so we’d know when our
break was over and the dough would be ready for its next phase.
    I zipped up my
jacket as we walked outside of the donut shop and into the darkness.   It was getting chillier with the passing
of each day and night, and I wondered how soon the snow might start
flying.   April Springs got a
smattering of the white stuff every year, usually two or three snowfalls
annually that were mostly melted by noon, but every now and then we got
hammered with the mother of all snowstorms, and the entire town shut down when
that happened.
    To be more exact,
everyone but the town maintenance crew that ran the snowplows, and my