Page 21 of Sea Breezes at The Beach House Hotel

CHAPTER SEVEN

When I walked into the lobby, I saw Nell greeting guests arriving for the first dinner session. Seeing her chatting with them, I was reminded of the stressed woman who’d arrived a few days earlier. After speaking with Clint, I hoped they would find a healthy solution to their problems, but I wasn’t pleased with his new attitude.

Nell noticed me and came over. “How’s Clint? Has he seen the children?”

“Clint is fine. He’s seen the children and is getting settled now,” I said. “He’s coming by the hotel to say hello to you.”

“Oh, good. I want him to see how much I enjoy helping out here,” said Nell.

I gave her a quick hug and went to the kitchen to see what was happening there. Thanksgiving might be a holiday for other people, but for the staff at the hotel, it was one of the busiest days of the year, if not the busiest.

Being careful to stay out of the way, I watched as the kitchen crew worked together like various sections of a symphony orchestra. As many parts of the meal as possible had been prepared ahead of time.

Annette stood by helping the servers maintain a steady stream of comings and goings from the kitchen, keeping a well-stocked supply of food on display at the buffet stations bordering the dining room walls.

“How’s it going?” I asked her.

“Smoothly,” she replied. “I’m always amazed by how much people eat at these dinners.”

Waving goodbye, I thought of Robbie. He saved up room in his stomach all day so he could enjoy eating as much as he could at the Thanksgiving feast.

I left her to take my turn greeting guests at the dining room door. From there, I would oversee staff seating guests and taking orders for drinks. The attention to detail was worthwhile. We’d had our Thanksgiving meals featured in several local society and tourist magazines and online forums, which boosted dining room sales throughout our high season.

Nell approached me. “I saw Clint, and we’ve agreed to talk alone during this visit. He told me he’s going sailing with Dad tomorrow. I think that’ll be nice for both of them.”

“Oh, I’m glad,” I said, determined not to mention my concern about the way Clint acted around Claudine.

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When Vaughn, Clint, Liana, and all three kids showed up for dinner, I was beginning to feel exhausted by the effort of being on my feet greeting people. But when I saw them, I gave each of them a genuine smile.

Nell took her break to join the family, and I kept an eye on them from a distance as they ate together. Liana had done a nice job of seeing that Bailey and Ned were wearing their holiday “outfits”. They looked adorable.

Some diners approached Vaughn for autographs, but most were kind enough to stay away. Studying him, I remembered how intimidated I’d been by him when we first met. But then, as he was now, he was very kind to all who approached him.

“Looks like another success,” said Rhonda, coming up to me. “One more seating and we’ll be done. I don’t know about you, Annie, but my feet are killing me.”

“Go have a rest in our private spot,” I said. “We have time between the seatings for you to have a break. I’ll join you when I can.”

“Clint looks good. Tired, but fine,” said Rhonda. “And our Nell is adorable in that cute dress as she speaks to diners.”

I loved that Rhonda and I considered all the kids as ours together.

Clint rose from his chair and headed to me, holding his phone. “Ann, is there a place where I can talk privately?”

“You can use my office,” I said. “Follow me.”

“Okay, I’m on my way to a private location,” Clint said into his phone as he walked behind me. “Claudine, I can’t change my plans.”

I showed him into my office and left him there, wondering why Claudine would be calling him on this family holiday.

When I caught up to him later, I said, “Is everything alright?”

He sighed. “Yes. I’m still staying here until Saturday morning.”

I gave him a look of approval. “Great. We’ve all missed your regular week with us.”

“I know,” he said. “It’s been really busy with the project.”