Page 30 of Stronghold

Sky looks as flustered as I feel.

I raise my hand. "You could have led with pancake breakfast."

He smiles. "I didn't know you could be so easily persuaded."

And now I'm the one feeling my skin heat under my coat. Not to mention other parts of my anatomy.

"Carbs are life." I joke, but after this weekend, I know I definitely need to up my runs. Maybe check if I can afford to join a gym.

Sky's still smiling at me, and I wish I could read his mind and know what he's thinking right now.

"Good. Go explore and meet me here at seven," he says.

I do a salute and leave him to serve his customers. But not before I steal a chunk of bread with maple cream.

"Dessert," I say, walking away.

His laughter stays with me for the rest of the afternoon.

The festival is much bigger than I remember. I guess, as a kid, my sole focus was getting as much maple-flavored stuff in me as possible, so I never noticed the rest.

I end up walking out of the perimeter of the festival. All of the stores in the area have signs indicating that they've entered a contest and we can use the specified QR code to vote for them.

After voting for the ones I found the most interesting, I head back to the main festival area to check out the Craft and Specialty Foods Show.

From the size of the tent, it looks like staying till tomorrow is a good idea.

The place is buzzing with people. There's no discernible path to follow, so I look at the names on each of the stalls and visit the ones that pique my interest.

I think about my call with Spencer and how I can level up my recipes. I have the classic education, but looking at all the stuff on offer at the festival, I suddenly feel very stiff and stuck in the traditional cooking methods.

I pick up leaflets, try samples, take photos, and speak to as many people as I can.

The more I see, the more ideas start bubbling in my head. I almost wish I'd brought a notepad to write everything down.

The rest of the afternoon goes by in a heartbeat, and I have to pick up my pace to get back to Maple Sky by seven.

Sky has everything packed by the time I get to him, and he's ready to go.

"Sorry, am I late? I got distracted talking to someone about the best technique to glaze a large piece of ham."

He smiles, and I can't tell if he finds me amusing or a little weird. Probably a bit of both.

"Come on, Chef. Let's find dinner. I'm hungry," he says.

"Lead the way."

"What are you in the mood for?"

I think about it for a moment. I've already eaten way too much today. "I'm happy with anything as long as there's something light on the menu, like a salad or something."

He narrows his eyebrows.

"What?"

"Nothing… Come on. I know a place that makes really good locally sourced food."

Not surprisingly, there isn't a single item on the menu that doesn't have maple syrup in some form, but the BLT salad with the dressing on the side is definitely a better option for me.