Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
S ophie stared around the empty restaurant. Then, after taking a notebook she kept under the counter, she sat down. Opening the notebook, she scanned through the figures she had tallied for her expenditures. She flipped the pages until she came to the end tally. She had a whopping fifty dollars left.
Crying, she buried her face in her hands just as the bell rang over the door, indicating a customer’s arrival.
When she lifted her face, her jaw dropped at seeing a group of men walking inside. Stunned at the sight, she sat motionless as they filed in, filling the large round table in the middle of the restaurant. Closing the notebook, she turned her face from gawking at the men to wipe the tears from her face.
She recognized one of the faces as she approached the table but focused on the one who seemed to be the oldest, who was staring at her with a comforting gaze.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, I have to close for the day. I don’t have a cook.”
“We’re working at the housing development not far from here. We’re putting up a fence around the development. Ma’am, we’re thirsty and hungry. My brothers are used to eating anything you put in front of us. They could make the drinks for us, if you could find it in your heart to find something to eat.”
“I can do that.”
Sophie found herself in the kitchen, staring wonderingly at what she was doing. Before the men had shown up, she was about to call one of the realtors in town.
Sighing, she opened the door of the refrigerator. She had plenty of hamburger meat. She pulled some out, turned on the grill, and started putting the patties on. Then she turned on the fryer and went to the freezer to take out a bag of fries. Waiting until the burgers were done on one side, she flipped them then dropped a basket of fries into the hot oil.
She wasn’t a great cook, but she knew how to prepare the staples. If she thought George could be able to waitress, she would have taken over the kitchen and let him serve, but her skills were mediocre at best. She needed an exceptional cook if she was going to make this restaurant work.
Her mother was an exceptional cook. She just needed time for her parents to get here.
Opening the pack of buns, she placed them down on the grill to warm them. Marty might have been a terrible father, but he had taught her how to make hamburgers and fries.
Pulling the fries out of the oil, she seasoned them under the warming lights, then took the buns off the grill and started to assemble the hamburgers before placing them on plates. Once she was done, she added a hefty portion of fries to each plate.
She was about to carry two plates out to the men after placing three in the window when she saw Jody remove the three plates.
“I thought you could use some help,” he said with a grin.
With the window empty, she placed the two she was holding there before picking up the last three. As she carried them through the kitchen door, she saw another man taking the ones from the window.
Jody met her halfway, taking the two plates she was holding on one arm.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
He set one of the plates down in front of the man who was sitting next to his empty chair. Then Jody sat down at the table.
“Can I get any of you some more drinks?”
The older man, who had convinced her to make them something to eat, motioned to one of the men. “Jacob topped all our drinks off already. Please, sit with us as we eat.”
One of the other men motioned to a wedged-in empty chair next to the man who seemed to be the spokesman for the family.
Since there was no one else in the restaurant, she sat down with the group of men, telling herself that she needed to be friendly with her customers if she was going to make a living out of the restaurant, conveniently forgetting she had decided to sell the restaurant before the men had arrived.
“You must think we’re heathens for not introducing ourselves.” The oldest one smiled at her. “I’m Silas Coleman, and these are my brothers, Matthew, Isaac, Jody—whom I believe you’ve already met—Jacob, Moses, and Ezra.”
Sophie stared around the table as Silas pointed at each brother as he introduced them.
“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m Sophie.”
Jody stared pointedly at her nametag. “I knew the name on your uniform didn’t fit.”
“I found the top out back. I ordered a nametag; it hasn’t come yet.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Silas responded then frowned down at the food in front of him.
“Is something wrong with the food?” She bit her lip, noticing he hadn’t touched his.
Silas’ frown cleared. “Not at all, ma’am. It’s just … I seem to have lost my appetite. Here.” He slid his plate in front of her. “You mind joining us for lunch? I’ll just grab a cup of coffee, if you don’t mind.”
“I can—” Sophie started to get up, but Silas placed a hand on her shoulder. “I can get it myself. Eat the burger before it gets cold.”
Hearing the command in his voice, she picked up the hamburger as Silas got up from the table. The men didn’t start eating until she picked up hers.
Across the table, her eyes met Jody’s. She blushed and lowered her eyes to the burger as she took a bite.
All she had eaten yesterday was ramen noodles, sick to her stomach at how the day had gone. Today, she had meant to eat some toast but didn’t have the stomach for it, knowing she was going to have to fire George.
Silas resumed his seat, holding a cup of coffee. “Everyone in town has been anxious for the diner to reopen,” he told her. “King makes a good steak, but his hamburgers are too thick, and he doesn’t open for breakfast.”
Sophie swallowed her bite of food. “I won’t be able to, either, until I can find a cook. No one else has applied. I can cook a few things, like hamburgers and fries. But most of the things people want to eat here are country cooking. I’ve worked in restaurants before, but they’ve been mainly fast food places. I was so anxious to open the restaurant that I didn’t think it through,” she revealed without knowing why she was confiding to a group of strangers. Their sympathetic gazes had her continuing.
“My mother can cook anything. Her mom had a restaurant, and she used to own one when she was married to Marty. When she comes to town, she and my stepfather will be able to help me manage the restaurant.”
“That sounds like a fine plan.” Silas nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Except I’ll be bankrupt before they get here. I was thinking of calling a realtor.”
“You shouldn’t make any hasty decisions,” Jody blurted out from across the table.
Sophie saw Silas giving Jody a quelling look.
“The boys seem to be enjoying the hamburgers and fries. Maybe if you just focus on the items on the menu you’re comfortable making, you won’t need to hire a cook.”
“I can try that,” she agreed. “It’s not like I’m being overrun with customers, anyway.”
“The customers will come back once you provide them with friendly service and good food.”
She took another bite as she listened to Silas, trying to keep her eyes fixed on him instead of the male candy seated around the table.
It wasn’t as if Silas wasn’t as handsome as his brothers, but he put out a brotherly vibe. The other men at the table oozed testosterone. The one seated next to Jody kept drawing her eyes. Sophie remembered his name was Isaac.
Hastily looking down at her plate when she caught Jody glowering at her for staring at Isaac, she dipped her fries into the ketchup and turned her mind back to what Silas was saying.
“We’d be happy to help out any way we can. My sister used to work at the diner before she got married. I’ll have her stop by and give you some pointers about drawing the customers back. Jody and Jacob are at a loose end once we get this current job done. If you get busy and need some help, they can swing by and pitch in.”
Sophie leaned back in her chair. “Thank you, but I can’t accept your help. I’ll be lucky to keep the lights on until my parents get here.”
“My brothers don’t expect any money.”
Sophie stared at Silas suspiciously. Why would a stranger help her out? The lawyer had warned her about some of Marty’s accomplices attempting to befriend her.
“Kentuckians might be known for their bourbon, but we couldn’t hold our heads up if we didn’t show you some southern hospitality,” Silas told her, his reassuring voice soothing her fear that she wouldn’t be able to keep the restaurant afloat. “Don’t worry; just think of us as your new Kentucky family.”
“Thank you, but I couldn’t impose on your kindness.” Sophie couldn’t resist a lingering look toward Isaac. The last thing she thought about when she stared at the gorgeous males sitting around the table was family. “I appreciate the hospitality you’ve shown me.”
Silas nodded. “Just keep my offer in mind. If you need anything, just reach out to me. One of the boys or I can be here in a few minutes. When I check out, I’ll leave our numbers and Ginny’s. She’d be a big help until your parents get here.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said with a smile.
Silas looked toward his brothers. “If you’re done, we better get back to work.”
When the men stood up, Sophie did, too, to go behind the counter to the cash register.
Silas approached the register as the men stood behind him. Taking out his wallet, he waited for her to give him the total. Sophie did, which was half as much as she should have charged for the food.
“Ma’am, you need to check your register. That doesn’t seem like you charged me enough.”
Sophie smiled at him. “I gave you the family discount.”