Sugar Plums for Dry Creek & At Home in Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad Read Free Book Online Page B

room. He’d ordered the mittens from the back of the seed cat a log, and he’d since wished he’d got ten three pairs for each of them in stead of only two.
    â€œI’m afraid that might be my fault,” Lizette said as she followed them in side and closed the door be hind her self. “I told them they could have a dough nut after class today.”
    â€œWe didn’t want to get our mittens dirty,” Bobby explained. “The dough nuts have sugar on them.”
    â€œYou don’t need to give them dough nuts,” Judd said, even though he could smell the dough nuts and didn’t blame the kids for leaving their mittens off. The ballet practice room smelled of home. The only smell they usually had in his kitchen was the aroma of his morning coffee. Everything else was canned or microwaved or put between slices of bread in a sandwich. Judd didn’t know much about cooking, and he’d never met any one who actually baked. Even Linda at the café didn’t do that kind of baking.
    â€œOf course she needs to give us dough nuts.” Charley joined them from his perch on one of the chairs spaced around a work table. “I had to drive up to the Elkton ranch to borrow that Dutch oven. I would have driven further for home made dough nuts. I mean to have one if it’s offered.”
    â€œDid any one see you borrow the Dutch oven?” Jake asked.
    â€œOf course they saw me!” Charley said indignantly. “I didn’t steal it.”
    â€œI mean, did any of the ranch hands see you borrow it? Or did you just talk to the cook?”
    â€œPete Denning saw me. He told the cook not to give it to me—said I’d be using the thing to soak my feet! I told him we were using it to make doughnuts.”
    Jake’s worse fears were con firmed. “I don’t suppose you told him the dough nuts weren’t going to be any thing more exciting than flap jacks.”
    â€œNow, why would I do that?”
    â€œTo avoid a stampede.”
    â€œOh,” Charley said as he considered the matter. “I didn’t think of that.”
    Both men looked down the road.
    â€œI don’t see any one though,” Charley said. “Maybe Pete for got.”
    â€œNot likely.”
    â€œMaybe we should eat our dough nuts now,” Bobby said. He’d been standing be side Judd.
    â€œAnd I’m sure you don’t need to worry about someone else coming for dough nuts,” Lizette added. “There are plenty of dough nuts to share with a few other people.”
    Judd grunted. Maybe they were all right. Maybe he didn’t need to worry about a stampede of cowboys coming for dough nuts. They probably thought Charley was doing the cooking any way, and Charley wasn’t known for his skills in the kitchen.
    Lizette came back with a platter of dough nuts and some white paper napkins. There were powdered dough nuts and maple dough nuts. Twisted cruller dough nuts and apple dough nuts. Even jelly doughnuts.
    Lizette tucked a napkin into the neck line ofAmanda’s dress and then put one into Bobby’s shirt be fore spreading white napkins on the table in front of each of them.
    â€œYou made these?” Judd asked. He felt as wide-eyed as those cow boys he was worried about. He knew Lizette had said she made dough nuts, but he’d never expected that she could make dough nuts like these. He’d expected something more like biscuits. But these dough nuts were so perfect they glistened.
    â€œI used to work in a bakery,” Lizette said as she held the platter out to Charley. “Part of that time as a baker.”
    â€œThere must be two dozen dough nuts here,” the older man marveled as he took a jelly dough nut and eyed the rest longingly. “Maybe three dozen.”
    â€œWell, if you’re making dough nuts, you can’t just make a few.” Lizette passed the platter to the children next. “The recipes all make about