Red Hood

32. Winner?

Jason stared intensely at the pie in the oven, watching the filling bubble and steam, the crust beginning to golden. It was smelling wonderful in the short amount of time it had been in there, but he couldn't help but be anxious.

Although he didn't show it on the outside, of course.

Only a few minutes were left on the baking timer, meaning there would only be a split-second of time left before the bakers would have to stop their work and display their desserts.

"On three," Danny gripped the oven handles tightly, knuckles turning white, "and when I say 'go', pull it out and put it on the counter."

"Got it," Jason nodded.

"We'll only have a few seconds to pull this off," she blew a strand of blond hair from her face, "Okay, here we go."

"One, two, three," Danny yanked on the handles, oven doors swinging open as Jason darted in and out, sliding the pie onto the counter just as time was called.

"Good job," Jason high-fived her with his mitted hands, sliding them off after Don finished speaking.

One by one the teams brought up their desserts, Team Livery with a peach cobbler sitting on the left, Team Oranges with an orange-cinnamon cake and bourbon icing in the middle.

"Looks good," Danny mumbled nervously, following Jason as they placed their pie on the right.

Gazing upon the entries, Don and Mayor Eliza studied them for a moment, taking notes and not saying a word, tasting each component of each different dish.

Jason had to admit, Team Orange was doing a really good job, "Yeah."

Inhaling softly, he took a deep breath before squeezing her arm as the judges finished their evaluations and taste-testing.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mayor Eliza stood, clapping her hands, "may I say that it has been a great pleasure watching all of you bake today. But, as we all know, there can only be one winner!"

Jason's heart beat fast, arms crossed over his chest as Danny closed her eyes. She didn't think they would win, especially considering the beautiful orange and bourbon cake, thinking back to how their pie didn't have any decoration besides its crumb topping.

"Jason and Danny!"

Danny's eyes shot open, brain not quite registering how in the world it happened. Jason shouted, pulling her into a hug before lifting her onto his shoulder, "We did it! We actually did it!"

Danny couldn't help but laugh with tears in her eyes at the fact that her father's recipe had won them Festival Day 2. He would've been thrilled that his buttery salted caramel apple pie won.

My little girl is doing amazing, she heard her father's voice, imagining his smile, his tan skin crinkling around his eyes and mouth.

Really, Daddy? her 6-year-old self laughed, the sweet memory of making that exact recipe years ago with her dad had come to mind, I almost burnt the apples!

And I almost burnt the crumb topping, he snickered, key word if almost, kiddo.

Daddy, she giggled.

"Danny?"

Looking down at Jason's smiling face as she sat on his shoulders, she wrapped her arms around his head in a semi-hug, laughing at the awkward position, "Yeah?"

"We did it."

"Sure did, cowboy," she whispered, knowing their smiles would last all day, "we sure did."