Free Licking His Cane by Viola Grace Page B

circulating and moving toward the counter in an orderly manner.
    Bel shifted toward one of the staff members, and she waved to get her attention.
    The woman looked at her, nodded and let out a sharp whistle. “Rex, here boy!”
    A wave of anticipation ran through the room, and out of the back strode a man wearing a flour-spattered black shirt and jeans that were officially what Bel wanted to see on him every Christmas.
    Reluctantly, she dragged her gaze up to the sleet-grey eyes that were smiling as he brushed a streak of flour away from his forehead. The silver and black hair was braided back the same way that Bel’s was.
    He followed the gesture from the woman at the counter to Bel. “May I help you?”
    “Sweet Repairs, at your service.” Bel inclined her head.
    He looked startled and relieved. “Thank goodness you showed up. We ran out of candy canes last night, and then, the machine sheered one of the pins on the rollers.”
    She looked around at the audience that was smiling foolishly at Rex. “Um, lead the way?”
    He nodded and turned. She followed the defined vee of his back and hips through the back of the shop, over the glossy floor and to a cordoned-off area draped with plastic in a weird kind of clean room setup.
    “Do you always make candy and bake in the same shop?”
    Rex shook his head. “No, we subcontract the gingerbread out to a local bakery, but they had a heat problem in their ovens, and we needed to get the components together for our own orders. Our oven is just fine for small batches, but I have been working on this for hours. We can’t do any chocolate in here because it is too hot right now, and I don’t want to fall behind any more than we already are.”
    “Well, I will take a look at the wounded roller and see what I can do.” She smiled.
    He led her through a prudent three layers of plastic. The layers kept the flour from contaminating the candy roller.
    Bel took a look at the machine and nearly wept. It was an antique in beautiful shape with the exception of the dangling roller. “Oh, my darling. Where have you been all my life?”
    Rex chuckled. “You seem to have a connection with the roller. I will just leave you two alone.”
    She nodded and ran her hand over the roller, waiting until Rex had left her alone with it to heave it out of its setting and put it on the worktable. It was natural wear that brought it to this sad state, and when she pulled the remains of the pin free of the machine, she realized she had forgotten to lock it out.
    “Damn it!” She quickly set everything aside and found the cable that connected it to the power in the bench, and she put a locking cap on the plug, just to be sure no one tried to plug it in.
    It was a foolish mistake, and it could have cost her her hand.
    With everything back to her normally safe arrangements, she took a look at the roller and assessed what was needed to make it roll again.
    The pin was fused in the roller, and it was going to take welding to get in back into a workable position. To do that, she was going to have to haul it outside.
    Now, there were two ways that she could get the roller out of the building. She could carry it herself, or she could ask for help.
    It would be unlikely that a human woman could carry the weight, so she would have to ask for help.
    She took the rod fragment and slipped it into her pocket, making her way through the curtains to find Rex again. He was her best option.
    “Excuse me, Rex?”
    He was rolling out gingerbread dough on a sheeter. “Yes? I am sorry. What was your name?”
    “Bel. I was wondering if you would be able to help me get the roller to my truck. I have a welding kit in there, and I can manage the repairs that are needed.”
    “Sure, Bel. Just give me a moment to get these into the oven.”
    He wielded a large knife and expertly cut out the front, back and sides of a gingerbread house, as well as a wide base. He slid them onto a pan without warping them and tucked a few