The Harper Brothers: All Bets Are Off (Wattpad Version)

Baking with apples

Reese

Rafe and I reported to work at the bakery and gave Nik our schedules. Nik had Brayden show us the equipment and supplies in the kitchen while he figured out our work schedules.

Brayden walked over to a steel door and opened it. "This is the refrigerator, and the freezer is next to it." After latching the door, he opened a wooden door. "This is the pantry with all the dry goods. You'll find the pastry containers on a shelf near the doorway."

"Everything seems easy enough to find." I nodded in agreement.

Rafe glanced at me.

Brayden walked over to a door, opened it, grabbed a crate, carried it to a steel table, and set it down. Okay, so we're working on a container of apples. No big deal. That was until Brayden grabbed more crates and stacked them next to the table. Rafe and I stood in the kitchen and stared at the several boxes of apples.

After stacking the tenth crate, Brayden closed the door and strode over to us. "That should do it for now."

"What do you mean for now?" Rafe asked.

"Dad orders a truckload of apples for the apple festival. We bake all kinds of pastries from pies to strudels," Brayden said.

"I didn't realize there was a high demand for apples," I said.

"Oh, yeah. Next to cherries, apples top the list of fruits that people from Michigan enjoy. Who doesn't enjoy warm apple pie on a fall day?" Brayden asked.

I blew air past my lips as Brayden left Rafe and me in the kitchen with the many crates of apples. Rafe walked over, grabbed a container, and hauled it to the sink. I grabbed a box and brought it to the sink.

"Are you ready to bake all things apple?" Rafe asked me.

"Pie is one thing, but I'm not sure about the other baked goods."

"Well, it depends on what you make. Each item uses fruit in a different consistency."

"How do you know about fruits and their consistency?" I scrunched my nose at Rafe.

"I had to learn about foods in a culinary class. Each class teaches you how to prepare different dishes."

I arched my brow.

Rafe rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm studying to become a chef."

My brows lifted as my jaw dropped. "What?"

Rafe shifted in his spot as his eyes darted from my face to the apples and back. "I hadn't told my family until I told my brothers recently."

I stared at Rafe in disbelief.

Rafe stopped washing apples and turned to me. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm studying to become a pastry chef."

Rafe stared at me with his mouth agape. A smile spread across my face as Rafe closed his mouth and quirked his brow. My smile changed into a grin as Rafe shook his head and laughed.

We returned to cleaning the apples. Once we thoroughly washed the apples, we tossed them into a metal basket with wheels.

"We need some tunes," Rafe suggested, pulling his phone from his pocket, scrolling through his music, and playing I Lay My Love On You by Westlife.

We bobbed our heads to the music as we cleaned the apples and tossed them into the cart. When we finished, I pushed the cart to the electric apple peeler. Once the machine peeled an apple, Rafe took it, set it into a slicer, and pressed a button.