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“Oh.” His forehead furrowed slightly. “I don’t think she really meant to run Barbara Jean off. I think that was a surprise to everybody, probably including Barbara Jean.”
“Doesn’t matter. She knew she wasn’t supposed to go into the kitchen while Barbara Jean was there. Barbara Jean’s attitude sucked, but I was still trying to work with her. Carol blew that all to hell when she didn’t need to. I was just lucky that Peaches happened to be there.” She paused, her forehead wrinkling. “I don’t even know Peaches’s last name.”
“Guidry,” he said quickly. “She’s from Texas—Houston, I think. And she’s very excited about working for you.”
“Well, if she hadn’t been there, I’d have been up a creek. Thank God you chose today to come to lunch.”
Liam looked slightly guilty all of a sudden. “Well, about that…it wasn’t exactly by chance that I brought Peaches there. I knew you were having problems with Barbara Jean, and I knew Peaches wasn’t happy at the tavern. I thought I’d bring her to lunch so she could see the place just in case you found yourself looking for a cook somewhere down the road.”
“So she knew I wanted a new cook?” Ruth had a thrill of alarm. Peaches had seemed so delighted when she heard about the opening. She hated to think that was all an act.
“No, Peaches didn’t know anything about it.” Liam sighed. “I’m not explaining this very well. See, I’ve been listening to Peaches complain about not being able to bake and about how Stanton won’t spend money on ingredients. Meanwhile, she’s been turning out great food with all the second-rate stuff that Stanton buys. Then I saw you were struggling with Barbara Jean, who had great ingredients available and didn’t know what to do with them. I sort of wanted to be a matchmaker. I didn’t mention this matchmaking to either of you since I had no idea how it was going to work out. Today was as much of a shock to me as it was to everybody else. I’m just glad it worked.”
“Matchmaking?” Ruth narrowed her eyes.
“In a culinary sense. You needed a good cook. Peaches needed a good boss, and she needed to get clear of Black Mountain Tavern before it goes belly up. Karma.” Liam gave her a half smile, then began pulling gyros out of the bag.
Ruth confined herself to finding plates. As long as she got a new cook out of whatever had happened, she was willing to let the whole thing go.
“Is Carol coming down to eat, or did you send her to bed without supper?” He placed the container of tzatziki in the center of the table, handing her a carton of stuffed grape leaves.
She shook her head. “Making kids hungry isn’t a great punishment. I’ve cut her off from the ’net for a week—her iPad’s in my custody.”
He grimaced. “Reminds me of when my mom would unplug my Nintendo. Horrible punishment.”
Five years younger, Ruth. She managed to kick that thought to the side. “She doesn’t have a cell phone of her own and I take my laptop to work with me. She’s going to be out of luck for a week. Maybe she’ll even read a book.”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “Sounds brutal.”
She sighed. “No, that’s not fair, and I know it. Carol’s not a couch potato. She reads all the time, and she knows the hills better than I do, given the way she hikes around. She plays field hockey when school’s in session, and she snowboards in the winter.”
Liam gave her a dry grin. “I’m more of a couch potato than she is, believe me.”
“But taking away her iPad is the best I can do. Sooner or later she’s going to have to learn that she doesn’t know as much as she thinks she does.” Ruth took another swallow of wine. It occurred to her that she’d better eat some of her gyro before she drank much more. She was already slightly light-headed.
Which might possibly also have something to do with Liam being directly across the table from her. That seductive smile of his was back in force. She took a bite, trying not to lose her cool by dripping tzatziki down her front. “You think you’ll have any problems with Tim Stanton over Peaches leaving?”
