Free Cold Hollow (Cold Hollow Mysteries Book 1) by Emilie J. Howard Page B

were already lining up outside the bakery doors, and it was only seven in the morning. Sophia and Myrna put the rest of the toppings on the muffins and brought them to the display cases.
    Layla tightened her apron and eyed her mother. “I’m going to get a workout today!”
    Sophia laughed, “You bet! Just be sure to warn Myrna and me if we get low on any one particular item, so we can scoot in the back and throw more of it in the oven.”
    The three women went to open the bakery doors. Angus and Liam were in line and said they were “reporting for duty.” Sophia ushered them in the back room, where they immediately picked up push brooms. The townsfolk piled in; some placed their orders at the counter to go while others sat down and waited for Layla to take their orders. Myrna handled the to-go orders with phenomenal swiftness, and Sophia helped Layla take orders and serve. Espresso flew out the doors and all the customers whispered comments about how much energy the sugar content in the goods would give them. They would be able to work hard and make the till. The Carlisle sisters showed up and immediately ordered ice-cold glasses of milk and cinnamon buns. Sophia was currently being put to test. She hoped her buns were just as good as Ma’s had been .
    Two teenage boys showed up and ordered milk and oatmeal cookies with raisins. Layla served them and curiously watched as they bit into the cookies, pulled the raisins out, and placed them on their napkins. When they checked out, she saw them bundle up the raisins and jam them in their pants pocket before hotfooting it out of the shop.
    Artie Lavoie showed up and ordered a cherry turnover and a coffee. He devoured it in nanoseconds and ordered another.
    Wally and Alice Dumont arrived and ordered maple-walnut muffins. Sophia would have thought they’d had enough of maple syrup merchandise, but apparently she was wrong. They scoffed down two each and took four to go.
    Nazar did not show up, but approximately one hour later the crowd dispersed and went to their jobs. There were a few who wandered in afterward, but they took their time and were busy conversing more than anything. Sophia turned and looked at her display cases to find them nearly cleaned out.
    She pointed at Myrna and saw her hair disheveled and her cheeks flushed behind the counter. She was breathing hard, and Sophia let a hearty laugh loose. She said, “I think we better get cooking, because I heard a lot of them saying they would be back for lunch.”
    Myrna swallowed hard and went to the cash register. She pulled out two twenties and told Sophia she would be right back; she had to run to the bank to get more change.
    Layla was handling the stragglers, so Sophia went to the back to begin the long process all over again. The goods would change for the lunch crowd. She would make ham-and-cheese croissants and more lunch items, along with a few desserts. The men were in the back and had finally finished scouring down the kitchen, only to have Sophia come in and mess it up again.
    Angus kissed her cheek in congratulations and said he was going to go to the bank to open their joint account. Sophia narrowed her eyes at him and whispered, “Remember what I told you about the out-of-state accounts?” He nodded, placed his fingers to his lips, and pretended to turn a key.
    Ten minutes later, Myrna blew back into the shop and plopped down on a stool at the prepping station in the back room. She looked at Sophia and said, “I have to eat something before I begin cooking again.” Sophia slid two hot croissants in front of her with a hot cup of coffee. Liam sat beside her, gnawing and savoring his chocolate-chip cookie, a reward for cleaning and for finishing his own lunch.
    Layla came in the back room and sat with the bunch. She emptied her tips into the jug that the three women would split. Sophia slid Layla’s lunch to her and watched her daughter dig in. She had already cleaned down the tables and refilled the