AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I pressed my lips against a laugh. “Everything all right out here? No call outs for tonight?”
Esther hurried over to the front desk for the clipboard. She flipped through a few pages of reservations to the dining room assignments. “Just one. We should be able to cover without Penny.” She handed me the clipboard
I took it and skimmed the reservations. Healthy list for a week night. The warmer temperatures were luring people out to sit by the water. “Not like Penny to call out.”
Stef grabbed an apron from the cabinet under the front desk. “She won tickets to a show in the city. I can’t blame her. Harry Styles calls, and I’m going as well no matter how busy we are.”
Esther snickered. “You wish.”
“I damn well do.” He tied his apron around his waist. “What section am I in tonight?”
I flipped to the schedule. “You have the patio, and half of Penny’s section on the main floor—section five.”
“On it.” He pulled out a card with his name on it from the box tucked under the shelf. A tray of pagers was being charged for the evening rush, and beside the tray were twelve mini tablets we used for orders. He swiped his card to log it out and it would be the same card he used at the bar.
I’d made sure to upgrade our system when we’d done the last remodel. Pouring money into The Mason Jar had been a gamble, but I was glad Xavier believed in us—and didn’t micromanage.
I was in the know about some of the inner workings of his business dealings due to our friendship. There was one thing he and his friends cared about—and that was keeping Crescent Cove a community and out of Maitland Enterprises’ hands.
That was why he’d helped me in the first place. Xavier Hastings had more money than he knew what to do with. Instead of just acquiring money for the sake of it, he wanted to invest in a thriving town that attracted people to move here and to build on the businesses with a like-minded agenda.
Exactly what I’d been searching for all this time. It still surprised me that I’d had to come home to find it.
“What’s up with you, boss? You’ve been off all day.”
I glanced down at Esther. I’d stolen her from the police station earlier this year and my brother still gave me grief about it. She, Rami, and Gillian knew me better than most.
“Just annoyed that I don’t have a solid lead on someone for the MJ2.”
“The pregnant hottie didn’t get the job? I thought she was a shoe-in. Or, rather, a boat in since she decided to have her little girl make a grand entrance right here on our lake.”
“Yeah, well…she just had a baby. I have a full May and June slated already. I think she’s a little preoccupied with a new person in her life.”
“True. But I have a feeling about her.”
“Don’t start with your feelings.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m off to see my dad for a bit. I’ll be back before the rush.”
“Got it.” She gave me a snappy salute, making the blue streaks that surrounded her elfin face dance.
I hustled back toward the kitchen, waving and nodding to a few regulars, but I didn’t stop to chat. Jackie, in her infinite wisdom and speed, had packed a pair of to-go insulated bags for me.
“Thanks, Jack.”
“Hope she likes it.”
I paused with my fingers around the handles. “Who says it’s for a she?”
Jackie shot a look over her shoulder then went back to scraping down the grill. “Because you gotta go take it to the new mom. It’s what you do.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Now you’re getting defensive so I know it’s for the chick.”
I swiped the bags off the stainless steel tabletop. “It’s not every day that a baby is born on the premises.”
“Sure, boss. Hope she likes it. Find out the name of the baby, will ya? The whole place has been asking.”
I strode down the hall and grabbed my keys and wallet from my office before ducking out the back to my truck.
