The New Hire Down the Hall Knew My Name Before HR Did novel · Chapter 23 of 24
Chapter 23: Kolaches
Renee's POV
My mother's kitchen in Wilber had one window, and by ten in the morning the oven had fogged it white.
The whole house smelled of yeast and butter and hot sugar.
Two trays of kolaches were already cooling on the table, poppyseed and apricot, the dough puffed and the centers dark and bright.
"Don't crowd the pan," my mother said.
"I'm not crowding it."
"You're crowding it. Your hands do what they like."
She was sixty-one, small and square, with white hair she cut herself and flour to the elbows.
She had not looked at Kyle once since he came through the back door at eight with his hat in his hand.
She had given him an apron.
Now he stood at the end of the table between my two aunts, in the apron, with his sleeves rolled to the elbow.
He had a ball of dough in his big hands.
"Pinch it," the older aunt said. "Don't squeeze it. You're not choking it."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Thumb in the middle."
He pressed his thumb into the dough.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of The New Hire Down the Hall Knew My Name Before HR Did are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 22 · All chapters · Chapter 24 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend