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The morning sun streamed through the windows of Leeside, casting a warm glow on the hardwood floors. Ariel was already up and at it, moving from room to room, checking in on the guests who had opened their doors and making sure they had everything they needed. It wasn’t long before Darcy was by her side, following her every move and taking notes on the morning processes.
When she looked over her shoulder to find the tall, dark-haired sous chef hanging on her explanation of the local attractions to one of their guests, she laughed and waved him back. On their way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, she asked, “Was this what you thought I had in mind when I asked if you wanted to take on more responsibility?”
“It wasn’t? Isn’t? I mean, someday, I’d love to open a place of my own. I should know all the parts of it—not just how to make chocolate torte, right?”
Ariel nodded. “Of course. I had no idea that was your goal—but I think you’d be great at running your own place, Darcy.”
As Ariel approached the front desk, she saw a couple waiting on breakfast. She smiled at them and introduced Darcy as the sous chef and new front desk assistant. The couple seemed impressed and asked Darcy a few questions about breakfast and the café dinner menu. He answered smoothly, and then offered to bring them coffee on the porch while breakfast was prepped. Ariel nodded approvingly, happy to see Darcy taking to his new role so well.
Ariel and Darcy made it to the kitchen, where prep for breakfast got quickly under way. They started by preparing the main course, a hearty frittata filled with sautéed onions, peppers, and spinach, and sprinkled with crumbled feta cheese. They made two large pans of the frittata to ensure there was enough for everyone. They also cooked up a batch of crispy bacon and savory sausage links, which sizzled in the pan and filled the kitchen with mouth-watering aromas. These would be kept warm in a chafing dish on the buffet line.
Next, they moved on to the side dishes. They warmed a batch of flaky croissants and set out a variety of spreads, including butter, honey, whipped cream cheese, and homemade raspberry jam. They also cooked up a batch of fluffy pancakes, studded with blueberries and drizzled with maple syrup. For those guests who preferred a lighter meal, they set out a selection of cereals and milk, along with bowls of creamy yogurt and crunchy granola.
As a special treat, they brewed three pots of rich, aromatic cinnamon-laced coffee and set out pitchers of freshly squeezed orange juice. They also made a refreshing pitcher of cucumber and mint-infused water to help guests stay cool on the warm summer morning.
By the time the guests arrived for breakfast, the dining room of the Seaside was set with an array of delicious dishes, and the aroma of fresh coffee, frittata, and breakfast meats filled the air. Ariel and Darcy smiled as they watched their guests enjoy the meal they had prepared with love and care. She noticed that Emily, however, was absent, and it piqued her curiosity.
Connor came bustling in next, sliding up next to Darcy and Ariel and watching the dining room for a moment.
“Good morning, Connor,” Ariel said, studying the young man’s face for any sign of anxiousness or upset. “Everything okay?”
Connor’s smile was small and nervous. “Miss Hawthorne, can I talk to you—alone?”
Ariel’s heart leapt into her throat. “Sure, hon.” She shot Darcy a look, and he nodded, waving them away. Ariel walked with Connor to the front porch, far out of earshot of any of the guests dining in the east wing. Once they were out on the porch, Ariel could hear the slow, steady grinding of machine gears, and she groaned.
“Yeah, my dad is starting up early today,” Connor said, his tone apologetic. “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about…”
Ariel nodded. “Go ahead. Whatever you have to say, it’s okay, Connor.”
“My”—he took in a deep breath as if to break bad news—“my dad wants me to work at the hotel build this summer. I know you were counting on my help here at Leeside, and if it were up to me, I would stay here. But my dad said I can only keep one job, and he thinks it would look bad around town if I chose the B and B over his jobsite.”
Her heart almost broke over the stricken look on Connor’s face. He was really conflicted, and that tugged at her heartstrings. “I understand, honey. You have to do what you have to do,” she said, putting a reassuring hand on his arm.
Connor turned to Ariel. “I know my dad hasn’t always been the nicest, but there are reasons. Not excuses, but things that happened that made him the way he is now. He wasn’t always like this—so ruthless. He used to be nice. He used to care about things.”
“Until what?” Ariel asked gently. Coming back to Leeside had taught her a lot of things, but one of those lessons had been that the truth of things wasn’t always apparent on the surface.
Connor shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t know why I said that. Can you—can you please explain to Katie? I tried to last night, but after the argument upstairs, it was the last thing she wanted to hear.”
Ah, so that had been what they’d gone outside to talk about after dinner service,Ariel thought. “I’ll talk to her.”
With a curt nod—and, Ariel noted, a shine in his eyes that betrayed his level of upset—Connor added, “And, Miss Ariel, I think you should know. My dad doesn’t always do things right. But he is still my dad.”
With that odd comment, Connor jogged off the porch and headed across the clearing to the construction site.
Ariel thought of how upset Katie would be, having Connor just across the field, working for his dad and against what they were trying to grow here at Leeside.
Ariel checked her watch—it was still early, but she hadn’t seen or heard from Katie. Not even a text from bed begging for waffles to be brought to her room so she could sulk in solitude. Their conversation from last night echoed in Ariel’s mind, and she made a mental note to pull Katie aside before the busyness of the day to check in with her and find some way to break the news about Connor.
She returned to the kitchen, where Darcy was finishing his inventory from last night. Ariel washed her hands, donned a clean apron, and began getting out the onions that would need to be chopped and caramelized for the house special tonight. Darcy finished marking his paper and came to stand beside her, grabbing another cutting board and knife to chop beside her.
But as they worked, the noise from the construction next door grew louder and more disruptive. Ariel couldn't concentrate on the tasks at hand, and she could tell Darcy was struggling too. What must the guests think—it was barely breakfast!
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "Darcy, can you take care of things here for a bit? I need to step out and make some phone calls about this racket."
"Sure thing, Ariel," Darcy said with a smile. "I've got this."
Ariel quickly made her way outside and searched for a quiet spot where she could make some phone calls without being interrupted by the construction noise. She called the local zoning office and asked about the noise restrictions for the area.
