Page 12 of Windward Hearts

They both smiled at him, but there was a tightness in their expressions that gave him a pang of worry.

“Hey, Jared,” Tyler said, his tone a little absent.

“Everything okay?”

The couple exchanged a glance that spoke volumes. Jared wondered what it must be like, to be so in tune with a partner that you could have an entire conversation without actually speaking a word aloud.

“Yeah, we’re okay,” Cadence said with a sigh after a moment. “Izzy’s going through some school stuff, so we’re having more of a strategy lunch than a lunch date.”

“Nothing too bad, I hope,” Jared said, taking care to keep the words neutral. He didn’t want them to feel like they had to share, but he wanted them to know that he was happy to listen if they needed a friendly ear.

Fortunately, Cadence’s next smile came a little easier.

“We have been assured by more experienced parents that it will pass, but it still sticks in your head, you know? You worry.”

“I’m not a parent myself, but that’s the rumor,” Jared said, grinning. “I hear the little cuties keep you totally on your toes.”

“Like a ballerina,” Tyler quipped.

“Well, we have a great dessert today that’s inspired by bananas foster,” Jared told them. “On the house. I’ll have it sent over when you’re done with your meal.”

The Meadows demurred, but Jared insisted. He’d always loved feeding people, as his career indicated, and feeding people he actually knew and cared about was even better.

When the message had been passed along to his wait staff and the Meadows were safely at their table, Jared finally wrapped up his bundle of knives and put them in their proper place so that he could go out shopping for the dinner service.

This was another thing that he loved about owning and operating a smaller restaurant. In the big cities where he had worked, every vendor had to be vetted far in advance, and the sheer quantity of food needed meant that nothing could be done spur of the moment. Now, though, Jared could buy up local produce and other goods from nearby farms and manufacturers based on what looked freshest or most interesting to him. From there, he got to be creative.

At Country Corner Market, he grabbed a cart and waved to the employees, all of whom knew him well. He would likely fill up this cart and start another one before he was done shopping, and they knew that he would be making a large purchase.

Jared couldn’t resist rubbing his hands together as he approached the large wooden containers of produce. He basically felt like a kid at Christmas, only instead of having to wait a year to enjoy the excitement, he got to shop for local produce a few times a week.

Early April in Massachusetts was an interesting culinary puzzle. The heartier winter crops were on their way out, but not completely gone yet, while the first tender spring vegetables were just beginning to make an appearance. He decided that the rhubarb still looked a little early, that it would be too tart for most of his customers even if he turned it into a dessert. He would give that another week or two and then reconsider.

The spring carrots looked great, however. He loaded several armfuls into the reusable bags that he always brought along for grocery trips. The wild leeks and arugula also looked phenomenal, and his mind started racing with ideas for crisp, light salads paired with crumbly, savory goat cheese.

And maybe it made him a little bit of a dork, but Jared outright did a little dance of triumph when he saw the bounty of morels, the first mushroom crop of the new year. Oh, his kingdom for some good mushrooms!

“Find something good there, Jared?”

Jared jolted a little as hearing his name drew him out of his vegetable-created reverie. He turned, feeling a little sheepish, to see Miriam Landers smiling at him.

Miriam and… oh, hey. That was the woman he’d seen the other day! His mother had trained him to be respectful of his elders, however, so he turned to the older lady first.

“Oh, you know me, Miriam,” he said with a grin. “When am I not excited about food?”

“It’s an occupational hazard, I suppose,” she said kindly. “By the way, speaking of restaurants… Jared, this is my granddaughter, Hope.”

The woman behind her gave a little wave. Now that Jared knew about the relationship between them, he could see it. Hope had long chestnut waves to Miriam’s stylish silvery crop, and Hope’s honey eyes were a different color from Miriam’s gray ones. But there was something about the nose that was similar, not to mention the same, slightly lopsided smile.

There were other differences too, of course, but the one that caught Jared’s attention the most was how pretty Hope was. Not that Miriam wasn’t lovely in her own way, of course…

But the way that Jared noticed was definitely different.

“Hope,” he greeted, pleased to now know her name. “Hello.”

Before he could mention that he and Hope had already met, Miriam spoke again.

“Anyway,” she said, “I say ‘speaking of restaurants’ because Hope, sweetie, Jared here owns the fanciest eatery in our own Magnolia Shore.”