Great contest! And a very enjoyable story.

Absolutely LOVED: "We're what?" Jed asked eyes open wide in horror. "Honorary women."

You described the challenges in real fun ways, very descriptively; loved how the men had no idea how to bake a cake and how Heyes outwitted them regarding what kind of tree to chop down.

Boy, you would have thought that Nathan had a better sense of self-preservation. Clever Heyes for realizing that any tree would do and the smaller the better. Lots of fun double-meanings here and I loved the visual of the boys baking in the bunkhouse.

Thanks for this nice after-work gift, Maz. So many amusing lines and situations here, but the part that sticks with me is when the boys are sitting down with Rosalind and Annabelle, enjoying cake and tea. Heyes is so relaxed that he momentarily drops his guard and talks about childhood memories. We've seen Jed on several occasions, when memories rise, and his emotions are raw. But I don't think we've ever seen Heyes talking about his childhood. It's nice to see that he can share happy memories.

This is why Heyes is considered a genius and why it is important to give precise descriptions of what to expect. And Henry may not have been able to help the men, but at least he gave them good advise about the lard instead of axel grease on their cake.

What an awesome afternoon break, Maz! Wonderful visions of Heyes and Jed helping the ladies with the beating, licking, eating, and drinking tea. Only Heyes would come up with a smaller tree. They're lucky they got put on the ladies' team.