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Ruth nodded. “You’ll need to fill out some paperwork, but it shouldn’t take too long. Just let me know when you want to start.”
“Oh, yes, ma’am.” Peaches gave her another glowing smile. “I’ll do that for sure. I can’t wait to start. Really.”
Judging by her grin, she was telling the truth. And chances were Ruth was probably feeling the same way. The sooner Peaches started, the sooner the load would be off her shoulders.
A few minutes later, Peaches headed out the door, still glowing with happiness. Apparently, leaving the Black Mountain Tavern didn’t give her a moment’s pause, not that it should have.
Ruth was arranging the items in the deli case, getting ready for the late afternoon rush of people who needed bread and salami and provolone for dinner. He still hadn’t seen Carol, but she was probably staying out of sight for her own reasons.
He placed himself in front of Ruth, where she’d pretty much have to look at him. “Have dinner with me.”
She blinked up at him. “What?”
“Have dinner with me. You’ve had a tough day. You need to get off your feet. Have dinner with me and I’ll give you a foot rub, so help me.”
Ruth’s lips curved up in a dry smile. “Tempting though that offer is, I have to feed Carol.”
“Bring her along,” he said recklessly. “I’ll feed you both. But the foot rub is only for you.”
Ruth sighed, leaning forward on the counter. “I’d love a foot rub. But let’s do takeout. We can eat at the house. I’m not up to going out after all this drama.”
“I can do that. Just tell me what you want—pizza? Gyros? Burgers? I might even be able to find something fancier if you’d like.”
She shook her head. “Gyros are fine. With extra tzatziki and some stuffed grape leaves for Carol.” Her expression darkened slightly. “Where is Carol, anyway? I haven’t seen her since this morning. I need to find out what went on in that kitchen before Barbara Jean walked out.”
“I can go look for her. And I’ll get the gyros around six. Agreed?”
She nodded. “Agreed. If you find her, send her home. I can take care of the afternoon rush on my own, and I don’t want to get into a big discussion here. The customers have already had their daily ration of drama.” She gave him a quick smile, which seemed to be all she could manage right now. “Thanks, Liam. You’re a lifesaver.”
He was hoping to be more than that, but he’d take what he could get. It was more than he’d had in a while. “Right.”
He headed out the back door, then down the sloping field to the level patio by the river where Bec had placed a café table a few months ago. As he’d suspected, Carol was sitting by the side of the river, tossing pebbles into the rushing water. She hadn’t gone far. Just far enough to be out of the line of fire.
He dropped down beside her. “So I guess you heard that Barbara Jean’s history.”
Carol nodded. “She blew up while I was making your sandwiches. I figured she was going to do something like that.”
“Was that why you made the sandwiches, to get her to quit?”
Carol shook her head. “I was just mad at her for keeping me out of the kitchen. I mean, it’s my kitchen. My mom owns it and I will, too, someday.”
“Is that what you told her?”
Carol gave him a quick smile. “Well, yeah.”
“I bet that didn’t exactly delight her.”
Carol shrugged. “It’s the truth.”
“I don’t think Barbara Jean saw it that way.”
Carol raised an eyebrow, looking very much like her mother. “Not my problem.”
Liam frowned. Twelve-year-olds weren’t supposed to be throwing their weight around. That struck him as something that could cause all kinds of trouble in the future. But this definitely wasn’t his problem. “Anyway, your mom is hiring my friend Peaches, who’s a great cook and excited about working here.”
Carol’s expression brightened. “See, it all worked out. Just like I said it would. Things happened just the way they were supposed to.”
“Well, it was more a matter of chance than planning. It wasn’t like either of us planned this. Neither of us could have planned it, so far as that goes.”
