Chapter 83

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The closer Christmas got, the more Barry knew he wasn’t ready. The gift idea for his men had proved more complicated than he’d first imagined. Though it irked him, he’d have to give it to them in a partially finished form. But that maybe was a good thing. They’d get a kick out of helping with it.

Things in the kitchen were better organized. Barry had been able to make some items ahead of time, but keeping the men out of the food storage boxes was almost a fulltime job in itself.

To extend the sense of Christmas, he’d begun serving some of his seasonal favorites before Jake’s birthday.

“What are these?” Jimmy said, biting into one of the treats before Barry had even finished setting the plate down.

“Mince pies. Although I guess you’d probably call them mince meat pies,” Barry explained. “I used French flan pastry for the cases, although some people just use regular pastry. The filling is a mixture of dried fruit, spices, brandy and suet.”