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Carol glowered. “Everybody’s leaving.”
“People move on. It’s a business. And Bec hasn’t left, she’s just cutting back.” Ruth gestured toward the deli cases. “Get your apron on. You can run the counter.” Although, given Carol’s current bout of attitude, having her run the counter was probably not the best move. But nobody else was available.
Carol’s lower lip jutted out. “I want to make cheese.”
“Not today. Today I need you in here.” Ruth nodded at their single waitress, currently hopping between three tables. “Sue can’t handle the deli side and wait tables, too. Besides, you know the stock better than she does.”
A little flattery never hurt. In this case, the flattery happened to be true.
Carol grimaced. “I hate the counter.”
Ruth gritted her teeth. “Everybody has to pitch in, kid. Including me. Tough times need tough people.”
“I don’t like being tough.” But she headed toward the rack where her apron was hanging. With any luck, she wouldn’t insult anyone, and they’d make it through another day.
Ruth ran a hand over her hair, then reached for her cap. Time to head back to the cheese room. Until she could hire another assistant, she’d be working overtime to produce enough for their usual sales, now that she could no longer depend on Bec full time. So much for expanding their market.
The bell over the door jangled again, and she looked up out of habit. Liam Dempsey stood in the doorway, watching her with knowing eyes.
Ruth took a quick breath. She’d avoided him for a few days, and she’d thought he’d been avoiding her, too. She’d thought she’d gotten through the whole wild-night-with-Liam thing without having to have any conversations about it. Apparently, she’d been wrong.
Well, shit. How could this day get any worse?
…
Liam stood in the doorway, doing a quick survey of the Salty Goat. Ruth had turned the former dry goods building into a funky delicatessen that fronted her goat cheese operation. She was mostly running the place herself, making cheese and managing the small deli with its display cases. Most of the café tables were full, some with locals he recognized. The place did good business at lunchtime, although it was too small to handle many customers.
Ruth stood on the other side of the room in her white cheese-maker’s outfit. Her short, dark hair was pulled back, and her eyes were wary.
He’d deliberately stayed away from her for a few days. Their tryst in the brewery had been memorable—way too memorable. They both needed time to cool down a little. Surely a few days were enough of a cooling-off period.
It was all the cooling-off time he could spare. He wanted to get together with her again. The sooner, the better. After all, he didn’t have that much time left in Antero, and he’d like to spend at least some of it with Ruth. The evening in the brewery was among his top ten evenings in recent memory. Maybe even top three.
Hell, he might as well be honest. It was number one.
He grinned in Ruth’s direction, trying for non-threatening. He wasn’t sure why she looked wary, but he’d do his best to convince her he wasn’t the intimidating type.
Ruth’s expression went from wary to suspicious. Which seemed even less necessary. Offhand, he couldn’t think of any reason for suspicion. They were both adults. Neither of them had any attachments. And they’d had a good time. A damn good time, now that he thought about it.
Both of them.
Maybe he hadn’t exactly outlined the fact that he was leaving in a month, but it hadn’t come up. Or anyway, he hadn’t brought it up. Besides, they could have a good time in a month, couldn’t they?
He walked across the room, dodging a busy waitress. “Hi.”
Ruth arched an eyebrow. “Hi, yourself. Taking a break?”
“Yeah. It’s the lunch crowd. Not too much business at the tavern for the bartender.” Not too many tips, either. Locals took their burgers back to their offices. Tourists sat in the booths at the back and saved their tips for their server.
“What brings you here?” She didn’t look any less suspicious.
Maybe he should back off a bit. “I thought maybe we could grab some lunch. I was going to pick up a gyro at Selig’s.”
