Page 32 of The Great Maple Mistake

Charlie shrugs in typical teenager fashion, but he answers her politely. “Good. I’m helping with the calendar shoot.” He eyes the desserts on the table. “Is that banana bread?”

Eleanor smiles widely at him. “It is! Would you like some?”

“Yes, please.” Charlie looks back at me.

I grin, trying to convey that he’s fine to order whatever he wants. “I’m buying, Eleanor. For him and Cody.”

She winks at me and hands Charlie a slice of banana bread.

Cody steps up and peruses the offerings. “I like banana bread.”

“You can’t have it.” We all stop and stare at Rae. “There’s a maple glaze on it. You’ll die.”

His brows furrow. “I promise I won’t die.”

She looks affronted. “Don’t be so cavalier about something so serious.”

Before Cody can say anything else, Lydia cuts in. “Rae told us all about your allergy so we’d be cautious when selling you any of the treats. She said you’d try to fluff off your allergy, but Rae’s right, that’s nothing to treat lightly.”

“But I’m not—”

Celia rolls her eyes and shoves a baggie at him. “Here.” It looks like chocolate chip cookies. “We made a few things without maple, just for you.”

Cody’s expression softens, and he takes the bag of cookies. “Thank you.” His tone is soft, and he blinks a few times, obviously touched by the thoughtful gesture. “You didn’t have to.”

Lydia nods. “Yes, we did. We didn’t want you to feel left out or neglected.”

His cheeks pink and he lets the allergy mistake go. I’m pretty sure it’s just for now, though. “Thank you.”

I turn to Charlie. “You want something else?” He’s already consumed the banana bread.

“Nah. You don’t have to feed me.” He eyes the table again.

“Go on. Get a few things.” I nudge him. “Seriously. I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it.”

Charlie gives me a small smile. “Thanks.”

He turns back to the table and Agnes tells him all about each dessert. Rae, looking like she’s won the lottery, interrupts Agnes’s recitation to point out all the desserts that are maple free. When Agnes gets to the lemon pound cake, and Rae verifiesit has zero maple in it, Cody’s eyes light up. “I’ll have a slice of that, please.”

Rae nods approvingly. “It’s my family recipe. Loads better than that preservative-filled version at Starbucks.” She hands him a small plate with a slice of pound cake, and he takes a bite, moaning dramatically as he chews.

“Rae, this is spectacular.”

She beams and pats his arm. “Thank you. Now, Alex, honey, what do you want?”

“I’ll have a cupcake please. Yellow cake and vanilla frosting are my favorite.” She hands me a cupcake, and I give her a twenty. When she offers me my change, I wave it away. “It’s for charity. Just put it back in the till.”

She winks at me. “Such a good boy.”

Cody, Charlie, and I turn and walk back toward the engine bay, where we’re conducting the shoot. Charlie glances at Cody, a frown on his face. “I thought you weren’t really allergic to maple.”

The sigh that Cody makes is exasperated and exhausted. “I’m not. And I keep trying to tell them that. But they insist that I’m not taking my allergy seriously or I’m playing it down.”

Charlie’s expression clears, and he grins ruefully. “Yeah, they’re a bit—” He tries to find a polite way of saying overbearing. Or at least that’s the word I’d be searching for. “Nice but bossy?”

Cody and I both stare at Charlie and then burst into laughter. Cody waves his lemon cake at Charlie. “Exactly!” He takes another bite. “But they mean well. I get that. I just hope they aren’t angry with me when they find out I’m not actually allergic to maple. Especially since they’ve gone out of their way to make stuff without it just for me.”

“Okay, guys, eat up. We have the rest of this shoot to finish.” I glance at Charlie. “Who’s up next?”

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