Free Salt Water Taffie (Boardwalk Brides Book 1) by Janice Thompson

that tale sounds a little fishy, Mr. C.”
    “Fishy? No way! Salty, sure!” Pop slapped his knee.
    “Would you like to hear the real story now, or are you happy with that rendition?” Taffie asked. “Because there’s a more boring tale, sure to satisfy your curiosity, but certainly not as much fun.”
    “I’m all ears.” Ryan turned her way, and for a moment, her heart kicked into overdrive and she couldn’t think straight. What was it about him that sent her reeling? Best get to the story.
    “Taffy has been sold in Atlantic City since the 1880s,” she explained. “People used to believe that bathing in the sea was good for your health. Doctors would send patients to the seashore for medicinal purposes.”
    “To cure what ailed ’em, eh?” Ryan grinned.
    “Right. Theory being that salt water made you healthy. So adding the words salt water to the candy, which had been around since the 1880s—even without the fishy story—made it sound. . .”
    “Healthy?” Ryan laughed. “So, taffy was billed as health food?”
    “Exactly. Boosted sales. Even back then, smart business owners knew what to do to draw in a crowd.” She sighed. “I guess I have a lot to learn from them.”
    “Taffie is making up that story, I tell you!” her father insisted. “She’s pretty good at stretching the truth.” He pointed at the machine, then smiled. “Get it? Stretching the truth?” He erupted in laughter and Casey joined him.
    “Very funny, Pop.” Taffie released an exaggerated sigh and rolled her eyes. Some jokes she would have to live with forever, it seemed.
    Ryan looked back and forth between Taffie and her father, finally letting his gaze rest on Mr. Carini. “If I have to be completely honest, I think I like his story best. Sorry.”
    “Yeah, me, too,” Casey echoed.
    Taffie shrugged as she responded. “Most people do. It’s the stuff legends are made of.” She gave her pop a wink and he responded with a boyish grin. Then, as she turned to look at Ryan—the hero who’d swept in to fix their machine, the man responsible for getting their business up and running once again—Taffie came to a quick conclusion. . . .
    He was the stuff legends were made of.
     
    ***
     
    Ryan observed the interaction between father and daughter with a sense of wonder passing over him. Someday. . .someday he would have a daughter who looked at him with such love and respect. Right now, he had other things to do. He’d never considered taffy-making but could not escape the inevitable.
    “We’re ready to let the candy cool.” Taffie prepared a large area, then, as the mixture on the stove stopped its bubbling, she poured it out.
    Ryan stared in confusion at the gooey mess. “Doesn’t look like much.”
    “Not yet. Just wait.”
    As the concoction cooled down, they swapped stories about life in Atlantic City. Before long, Taffie checked the taffy and discovered it was just the right temperature. Ryan watched in wonder as she lifted into her arms the block of what now looked like putty, and began to wrestle with it. “How much does that weigh?” he asked.
    “Probably forty pounds or so.” She shrugged. “But I can handle it.”
    “Obviously.” She was definitely strong, no doubt about that.
    “Wow, you’re like Wonder Woman!” Casey interjected.
    “Why, thank you!” Taffie put the somewhat buoyant mixture onto the pulling machine and turned it on. The machine, now running like a champ, stretched the sheer, yellowish blob over and over again. Suddenly it began to change colors, turning a fabulous white color with a terrific sheen.
    “The air circulates, making it softer,” Mr. C. explained. “It’s almost like elastic at this point.”
    “It’s in a continual state of change,” Ryan observed. The parallel between the taffy and his own life hit him squarely between the eyes. I’m in a continual state of change, too. But I’m not as pliable, that’s for sure. I probably need to work on that.
    “Yes and