AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I groaned. “Steve swore they’d be ripe after I complained last time. I think it’s time to look for a new berry distributor.”
“Where’s the coffee?”
Natalie, who managed the waitstaff at The Moose, was in the process of glaring individually at the kitchen staff when I walked over to her.
“Nat, the coffee is your job,” I reminded her.
“I told you I’m covering as a server this week. I’m down two people. I can’t wait tables and keep up with the coffee.”
She was good at organizing the staff, but no one liked Natalie because she was so...Natalie.
“Just because you said you wanted us to do something doesn’t mean we agreed to do it,” I said. “Now get out, we’re swamped.”
She huffed and grabbed a bag of coffee grounds, tearing it open. “You’re swamped? Yeah, so are we, but we have to deal with the complaining customers. And you know what helps a whole lot? Coffee. It’s not too much to ask—”
I drowned her out as I walked over to survey the incoming tickets. Every summer morning at The Moose was busy, but the weekends were particularly brutal.
“That gets a mint garnish,” I called to a passing server.
“Eggs, Chef,” Nina called, plating the perfectly prepared poached eggs.
“Perfect, thank you,” I said, still carrying my pan of sauce and whisking it to keep it fresh.
“These have to go out within thirty seconds!” I called as I poured sauce onto each plate. “How much longer on those biscuits?”
“Three minutes, Chef,” a summer intern named Marcus said.
“Get the baskets prepped so you can load the biscuits into them as soon as they come out,” I said.
“Yes, Chef.”
He was a college student, eager to learn everything he could here. During our busy times, I didn’t have time to teach anyone, but I always made time after the breakfast and lunch rushes.
“Shea,” Natalie called, “The Lord wants to see you.”
I groaned inwardly. I didn’t have time to chat with Keller Strauss, the ultrarich Beard resident the kitchen and waitstaff here referred to as The Lord. He was treated like a divine presence everywhere he went, but he also poured millions into our little community, so I guessed he deserved it.
Busy or not, when The Lord called, we ran.
“Got this?” I asked Nina.
“Yes, Chef.”
She’d been my sous-chef for two years now, and I adored her. Nina wasn’t just an excellent chef. She knew all my quirks and was the best support person I could ask for. We weren’t just coworkers but friends.
I took off my apron and hung it on a hook near the door before heading out to the huge dining hall. The ceiling was vaulted and covered with cedar planks, and the wall looking out to Lake Karlsson was all windows. It was a sunny day, and light sparkled on the gently lapping waves.
Keller always sat at the same table, and I smiled when I got close and saw who was there with him this morning.
“Who’s in charge around here?” my brother Grady asked, looking gruff. “My toast was burned.”
“You get what you deserve,” I said lightly.
“Hey,” my brother’s fiancée Avon said, standing up to hug me. “Everything was amazing as usual.”
Grady, Avon and Keller all wore casual summer clothes—T-shirts and shorts for Grady and Avon and a polo and shorts for Keller. Keller spent a lot of time here in the summer, but when we were neck-deep in snow during the winter, he often went to one of his homes in a warmer climate.
“The biscuits were especially good today,” he said.
