Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Harper
With Grandma settled into her armchair upstairs with a fresh cup of tea, her knitting, and the television remote, I was back in the dining room with my laptop and my notebook list. Happily, I’d already made quite a bit of progress.
Help wanted ads were posted on local community job boards, looking for part-time serving staff and kitchen help.
I used the same job boards for a head chef, but I also expanded the search to some of the nearby cities.
If we were going to get the type of chef we needed to manage things for Grandma, I knew I’d have to look further afield.
With any luck, I’d get some interest for those who were interested in moving out to the mountains in the middle of winter. Fortunately, Trickle Creek was a popular destination, and I was hopeful we’d get a few quality candidates.
I’d also grabbed a menu and a marker and had started trimming things, which was a harder task than I’d anticipated. It was a balancing act to keep the classics without upsetting the loyal customers—all while keeping things streamlined enough to cut down on food costs.
Satisfied with my progress so far, I clicked open the accounting software I’d had Grandma install a few years back to help with the bookkeeping. It wasn’t my favorite job, but it was important for me to know where things were at and what exactly we were working with.
I clicked over into the vendor invoices and started to scroll.
Most things were pretty normal, but a note under an entry for Trickle Creek Hardware stopped me.
Free delivery as per Grayson Lyons.
A twinge hit low in my belly before I could shove it aside.
Grayson.
High school sweetheart. First love. The boy who kissed me behind the bleachers and made me believe we’d have forever.
Until he changed his mind.
Or was it me?
It didn’t matter anymore. He was the boy who broke my heart, because it turned out he changed his mind.
“Whatever.”
I shut the laptop with a little more force than necessary and reached for my tea.
“Am I interrupting something?”
I looked up to see Erin, Grandma’s longtime restaurant manager, breeze through the front door.
“No.” I shook my head. “I was just looking over the books. But it’s probably time to get into the kitchen and get organized for service.”
Erin laughed.
“What’s so funny?”
“We don’t really call it service here.” She held up her fingers in air quotes. “I know you’re used to fancy restaurants and yachts, but…”
I shrugged. “Just a habit, I guess.”
“Either way, I think we’re going to have a good crowd in here tonight.” Erin moved around the dining room, adjusting chairs. “Word’s out that you’re back in town.”
I smiled wryly. “Of course it is.”
“It’s a good thing.” The older woman laughed.
Erin was the same age my mom would have been had my parents not died in a car crash when I was a toddler.
They grew up together, and Erin would often tell me how I reminded her of my mother at my age.
It used to make me sad, but ever since I moved away and started traveling, she never mentioned the similarities anymore.
I’m not sure what hurt more to think about.
“Everyone’s talking about how you’re going to put your special flair on Willa’s most popular dishes. And last I heard, there’s a bit of a poll going on to see what you’re going to add to the menu.”
I tucked the copy of the menu I’d scribbled my changes on under my laptop. No point telling her I didn’t actually plan to add anything at all, but instead cut our offerings.
“I don’t know if—”
“Don’t worry.” She interrupted me. “I didn’t tell anyone you’re going to be taking over the Whisk.” She winked at me. “Not yet.”
“Well, that’s a good thing.” I gathered up my things. “Because it’s not so much a takeover, but more of a help out.” I could hear the hollowness of my own words. “And I’m definitely not here to burn things down, just make a few tweaks and freshen things up.”
She smirked. “Whatever you do, Harper, I’m sure it’s going to be great. This place is a Trickle Creek staple. The locals all have their usual tables and favorite orders. Change can be a tricky thing in a small town.”
She wasn’t wrong. I knew what I was up against. But if it meant facing the wrath of a few townspeople to make things more manageable for Grandma, I was prepared to do what it took.
At the door, Erin flipped the lock and turned the sign to Open.
Outside, the winter sky was already darkening, and the plaza started to light up with the lights of the nearby shops.
I took a second to look out at the bookstore, Plot Twist, and the brewery that sat next to it, both new since the last time I’d been home.
Most of the shop fronts were fully decorated.
“Do you want me to get someone to put up our decorations?” Erin came up beside me. “The light-up festival is coming up, and you know how Tilley can get if all the shops aren’t ready. I know Grayson—”
“No,” I said, a little too sharply. “I’ll get it done tomorrow. It won’t take me long to hang things.”
“Okay,” Erin said warily. “But Grayson is really helpful and I’m sure he—”
“It’s good.” I cut her off. “I’ve got it.”
I turned away and took a breath.
Grandma was right. In a town this small, it wasn’t a matter of if I ran into Grayson Lyons, but when.
It might be inevitable, but what I didn’t need was anyone opening the door to that meeting before I was ready.
I left Erin out front and headed into the kitchen. The moment I stepped through the swinging door and inhaled the pot of sauce I’d set to simmer earlier, the tension in my neck loosened.
This was where I felt most at home.
Slicing, stirring, measuring, mixing, and creating—the kitchen was my safe place, where I could forget about everything else.
I grabbed the old recipe box Grandma kept on the counter. I took a moment to run my hand over the smooth wood. The box held all her special recipes that had been handed down from her mother and grandmother over the years.
She knew all these recipes by heart, and I knew most of them, too. But whatever chef I hired was going to need to be brought up to speed.
I flipped through the cards to the lasagna she was famous for. Erin was right; the locals all had their favorites. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t tweak things a little bit.
I got to work, adding my own touches to Grandma’s classic recipe, and soon I was lost in the flow of cooking: extra garlic, a pinch of fresh basil instead of dried, and a layer of roasted vegetables between the meat and cheese.
One thing at a time.
Tomorrow I’d get to the decorations, and…everything else.
For the moment, I just needed to cook.
Grayson
“You’re working too hard, brother.” Ethan slid a beer across the bar top toward me. “Do you ever take a day off?”
“You know I don’t.” I lifted the pint glass to my lips and took a sip. I’d reluctantly agreed to one beer before heading back out into the cold. Mostly because my brothers weren’t about to take no for an answer. “Not in this town.”
“I don’t know what happened.” Reid took the seat next to me. “Somewhere along the way, you got labeled the nice, helpful twin while I slipped under the radar.”
I almost choked on my drink. “That’s because up until that sweet wife of yours came along, you were the grumpy twin. And not exactly open to helping out with town activities.” I raised an eyebrow, but Reid only laughed. “It’s not too late to change that, you know?”
“Forget it.” He laughed harder. “I like things the way they are.”
I grumbled under my breath and shook my head. It was true, I’d become the town’s go-to guy, but I didn’t mind. Not usually. I liked to help out where I could. Besides, it wasn’t as if I was filling my days with much else.
“You’ve got to be almost done.” Ethan leaned up against the bar with a beer of his own. “You’ve been out there all day.”
“I only have a few more poles,” I told them. “It won’t take too long to finish them up. That is, unless Tilley unearths some more decorations she forgot about. It’s incredible that there’s even space out there for the things she had in storage.”
I shook my head and relaxed into the warmth of the brewery, my body slowly thawing. The air was thick with the smell of hops and the low hum of conversation. Ethan hadn’t been open very long, but already Peaks & Brews had become a local favorite.
“So,” Ethan said, breaking my moment of quiet. “Have you seen her yet?”
I didn’t need to ask who he meant.
“Nope.” I took a slow sip.
“Not even a glimpse?” Reid pressed, his tone a mix of curiosity and something heavier. “Because I remember the last time you two were in the same room together. Pretty sure you didn’t sleep for a month after she left.”
I shot him a look. “Thanks for the reminder.”
He shrugged. “I’m just saying. It might be easier to get it over with.”
“You’ve got to eat,” Ethan added. “Maybe go grab some dinner before you—”
“Or not.”
“Come on, Gray,” Ethan pushed. “It’s not like you’re going to be able to avoid her forever.”
“Is she here forever?” I challenged each of them in turn. “Do you know something I don’t?” When neither of them spoke up, I set my glass down with more force than necessary. “Exactly,” I said. “Unless she’s here permanently, I don’t have to do anything.”
“It’s going to happen,” Reid said. “Better you do it on your terms instead of—”
“Not going to happen.” I pushed up from the stool. “Besides, I’ve got work to do tonight. Real work.”
“More lights to untangle?”
“No,” I answered my smart-ass brother. “Ollie called earlier and asked me to prepare some extra financial reports for the store.”
That got their attention.
“What’s that all about?”
I shrugged. “No idea. He didn’t say. You know, Ollie, he’s always a little short on details.”
“You think he’s going to sell?” Ethan asked. “If he wants reports, I bet that’s it.”
I agreed with my brother. The kind of reports he wanted led me to believe that’s exactly what he was getting ready to do.
“He should have retired years ago,” Reid said.
He wasn’t wrong. A few years back, when Ollie had broken his hip, I thought he might retire then. Instead, I got a promotion to manager, and he took a big step back. In fact, he continued to step further and further back, and it wasn’t unusual to go entire weeks without seeing him in the store.
But he still took a lot of pride in it, and I knew how much of Ollie’s identity was tied up in his hardware store. Because it was turning out to be the same for me. I’d worked there so long, it was hard for me to imagine doing anything else.
“Have you ever thought of buying it?”
Ethan’s question caught me off guard. Of course, I’d thought about it. A lot. In fact, it’s all I’d been thinking about since he’d asked for the reports.
But I’d never mentioned it to my brothers. After all, there was no point getting my hopes up about something that wasn’t likely to ever happen. There was a big difference in thinking about buying a store and actually doing it.
If I told them what I was thinking, I knew they’d be supportive. But they’d also be overbearing about it. I wasn’t ready to deal with that yet.
So I lied. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I’ve been a little busy, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Reid gave me a strange look. There was a good chance he knew I was full of shit. We never could lie to each other. Thankfully, he didn’t call me on it. Instead, he shrugged and said, “So, you’re going to hide behind spreadsheets instead of facing Harper?”
“Exactly.” I slipped my parka back over my sweater and turned to leave, throwing a wave over my shoulder.
I’d learned long ago that there were things I could control, and things I couldn’t. Harper Bennett and the way she still got to me landed squarely in the second category.