AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jacob was busily making notes in his small, electronic tablet when Maybelle added, “And I’m talkin’ to Tuck tonight, as a matter of fact! My youngest ended up marryin’ his son and they’re due to have a baby soon, so Tuck and I wanted to throw a little Cajun-style shower for them. Wait till I tell him I ran into you, Josie! He’ll be pleased as punch that you’re doin’ so well.”
Maybelle kept walking, but Josie stopped. So did Jacob, watching her.
She put a hand to her throat, teasing the gold chain she wore bearing one small medallion of some sort. “He probably won’t even remember me, Maybelle. I’d just leave it alone.”
“Not remember you?” Maybelle dismissed that quickly. “He told me that the stupidest thing he did was let Big Bobby tempt you away, and he won’t be a bit surprised that you’ve done well up here. He always knew you would.”
* * *
They’d talked about her.
And if Maybelle meant what she said, they’d be talking again tonight. Except that Tuck was one of the few people who knew about Addie. Oh, he didn’t know details, but he knew she’d gotten pregnant…and how…and knew she’d signed away her rights. He’d been a father figure to her in the midst of crazy, and what if he said anything to Maybelle when they talked?
“Are you all right?”
She wasn’t one bit all right, but she had to pretend…and then go on pretending. “Yes.” She moved forward, but not with the ease she’d felt moments before.
What were the odds that Carrington would hire the one kitchen designer with a direct line to her past? And why didn’t she consider that a Southern-based company would pull in the best design people from the Southern circuit?
They talked methods, habits and placement, crew access, cooler needs and wood-fired ovens. And when they were done, Maybelle slipped her little notebook into a generous-size purse and called the meeting over. “I’ve got what I need,” she declared. She patted the large leather bag. “I’m going back to the temporary office up the road to put this together with my software. Jacob.” She turned to him. “I’ll have plans to you by noon tomorrow. I know we need to get on top of this, so I’ll include an equipment list for anything we don’t have documented from Josie’s kitchen. In the meantime, if you get the crew on developing the covered smoker area outside the west bay, you should be able to jump on the idea for your take-out shack within a week. Hook up the roasting oven, the portable catering warmers, the slicer and the bun warmer.”
He typed quickly as she spoke.
“Anything else, Josie?”
“If we’ve got a smoker, we can do ribs,” she added. “My slathering sauce can be made off-site and put in the warmers.”
“Adding ribs.” He typed that into his electronic notebook. “If you think of anything else, Maybelle, text me. Or email it. Whatever works for you. And I’ll have the foreman assign a crew to create the covered area out here.”
“No flat roof,” Josie warned him. “If we get a bad winter, a flat roof on this side of the building is going to pile up snow. Prevailing winds will transform the hotel into a pricey snow fence, and the snow will dump in drifts right here.” She pointed to the present configuration of roofline and lake.
“I wouldn’t have thought of that.” Jacob made another note. “Thanks, Josie. That could’ve been a costly mistake.”
“I’m out.” Maybelle patted Jacob’s shoulder, but she reached out and hugged Josie. “It is a pleasure to see you doing so well, and I can’t wait to tell Tuck. He’ll be so pleased!”
She’d have to call her old boss and warn him off. Ask him to stay quiet.
She knew Tuck, he had a good heart, but he liked to talk, and when it came to things like this, talk was dangerous.
Worry didn’t snake up her spine. It leaped, with cat feet. She clenched her shoulders, then her neck and the ensuing headache was a warning that she needed to relax, but how could she?
She’d started something. She had to see it through, but when a small bus pulled up to the loop and dropped Addie off just then, the far-reaching consequences of her choices hit her anew.
