Page 79 of Hot Pursuit

Butter.

Ooh, lots of butter.

Cinnamon.

No, better—cinnamon-sugar.

And, yes, a tangy hint of salt.

She was instantly transported back in time, to those long-ago days when her mother would take her to the mall at the end of summer, right before school was back in session. They’d try on all sorts of clothes. Buy a new backpack for the school year. New sets of colorful pens. New notebooks. A special outfit for the first day, a dress, shoes, fun socks, a headband, everything. And at the end, when the exhaustion was ripe and they needed that extra little punch to get home, they’d make a final stop, at the pretzel shop near the exit. Jo would squeeze her mother’s hand, tugging with her enthusiasm, practically jumping up and down as they neared. And then they’d split a cup of nuggets, pinky-swearing in an unbreakable mother-daughter pact that neither of them would tell Father when they got home.

She hadn’t seen one of those places in ten years.

Not since they moved to the island.

Oh, please. Please. Please!

It was just what she needed to get through what she already knew would be a horrible flight, a horrible day, a horrible conversation waiting when she got home.

Jo spun on her heels, slow, trying not to get too excited, but she couldn’t help the squeal that slipped through her lips as her gaze landed on the shop tucked all the way in the back corner of the food court—Auntie Anne’s.

Jo made a beeline. The world faded. Everything was blurry aside from that bright, gleaming, oversized image of a soft pretzel hanging from the wall. All she could think was,Cinnamon-sugar? Or original? Or cinnamon-sugar? Or original?

Both excellent choices.

She couldn’treallygo wrong.

Hmm…

Jo was still torn when she stepped up to the counter. “Can I please get a cup of cinnamon-sugar nuggets?”

“Su—”

“No, wait! Original. A cup of original nuggets.” She bit her lip.Yeah, that’s the right choice. That’s…

“O—”

“No, cinnamon-sugar. Definitely cinnamon-sugar.”

The guy behind the counter was doing that customer service glare—the one where he was trying to be pleasant, but his nostrils were slightly flared and his lips a little flat, and fire was shooting from his eyes. Yeah, he was doing that. “You sure, miss?”

Was she?

Was she sure?

Did she know anything anymore?

Okay, why is this starting to feel like maybe, it’s not about the pretzels…?

The guy lifted a brow, waiting. The woman behind her in line coughed. Jo tossed a glare—a real one—over her shoulder.

“Yes, I’m sure.” She nodded emphatically and pulled out her wallet. “Only…could you maybe put one original nugget on top? Just a little taster?”

He paused to swallow what she was sure would have been a highly frowned upon though probably epic retort. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Five minutes later, Jo stood by her gate, waiting for first class to be called as she munched on her nuggets. Her unnamed new best friend had given her an assortment of original and cinnamon-sugar, and the salty-sweet mixture was pure perfection to her taste buds. Jo pulled out her phone, eager for a distraction as she waited with the growing horde for boarding to begin, and snapped a pic of her nuggets.

@TheBakingBandit: Try not to be too jealous…