AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But both wine orders were delivered to The Horseshoe rather than The Filly, so here I was, dropping them off before the bar got busy. Should have figured when they said they were going to dinner that they’d be coming here.
Jessa turned to the rest of them, her shoulders rising and falling with a sigh. I knew Davis—he’d spent a couple of Christmases and other holidays here with Cass, which left the big blond guy.
Henry.
He gave me an amiable smile that for some unknown reason, I hated. It was genuine enough. Maybe a little too pretty. But I had a hard time smiling back and was pretty sure it ended up closer to a sneer. Unfazed, he turned back to the table. And just like that, I was forgotten.
Just as well.
I wheeled my way to the back and unlocked the liquor cage. Jack, the bartender at The Filly, followed me in.
“Thank God you’re here. We’re about out—these fancy folks drink this shit like water. I miss the days when a case of this stuff would last us a year.”
I chuckled, unloading the boxes. “I got another load in the truck, so you should be set for a minute. Red or white?”
“Both.”
I set one of each aside and tore the tops open.
Jack took out a bottle of cabernet and inspected it. “One of ‘em gave me hell because we only had one or the other. He asked for somethin’ I never heard of. Mal-something or another?”
“Malbec?” I guessed, having been traumatized by that wine list.
He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. Sounded more like a place than something you’d drink.”
“They’ll be gone soon enough,” I promised. “Just smile and nod and say you’re sorry.”
“They’re good tippers, at least. Even the cranky ones.”
The swinging door into the kitchen flew open and hit the wall, and through the doorway rushed Brandy, one of our servers, with a worried look on her face and her phone in her hand.
I paused, concerned. “You all right?”
“No,” she answered, her voice watery. “Billy fell off his bike and Mama thinks he broke his arm. We’ve gotta take him to Sevierville.” She was already pulling off her apron and shoving it at me. “I’m sorry, Remy. I’ll make it up to you, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it. Go on—go take care of your boy.”
“Thanks, Remy,” she said through tears, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. “I knew I could count on you.”
“Let us know how he is.”
“I will!” she called on her way out.
I sighed. “Guess I’d better find the boss,” I said, and went in search of the manager.
I found him in the office, working on his laptop. When he looked up, he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Remy. Bring that wine over?”
“Yessir, but you might need to call in another one of your servers. Brandy’s boy broke his arm, and she just took off.”
He hissed a swear and rubbed his face like pizza dough. “I’ll see what I can do. Is the dining room full?”
“Just about.”
Another swear. “You busy?”
My face flattened.
He held out his hands. “I’ll owe you one, I promise. If I can’t get anybody in, we’re gonna have to shut down part of the floor, but I need a little time to sort it out. Just an hour?”
