Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
J ody checked to make sure his new shirt was still tucked into his jeans.
“You look fine,” Ginny assured him as they walked toward the diner.
“I need to look better than fine. I have a lot of ground to make up for. I need to knock her socks off.”
“You will.”
Jody wasn’t as certain as Ginny was.
Nervous, he opened the door to the diner and saw two customers sitting at a table. At least he was assured she was still giving the restaurant a go.
“Have a seat. I’ll be right with you.”
Ginny and he stared at each other at the female shout coming from the kitchen.
They went to a booth and sat down, Jody sitting on the side where he could see the front of the restaurant.
They didn’t have to wait long before Sophie came in from the back, carrying two plates. After she set the plates down in front of the other two customers, she approached their table. Jody noticed the smile she directed at Ginny didn’t include him.
“Hello, how are you today?”
“Good.” Ginny smiled back at her.
It was obvious Sophie was taken aback.
“You’re Silas’ sister?”
Ginny nodded.
She stared at Ginny a moment longer, it looked as if she thought Ginny was familiar but in the end she couldn’t place her.
“Silas said you used to work here.”
“I did.” Her expression turned morose. “I was also a friend of your father’s. I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Don’t be. We weren’t close.”
Ginny didn’t seem shocked at Sophie’s response. “I understand. Just because he befriended me doesn’t make him a good father to you.”
Jody saw the sadness on his sister’s face. She had been deeply hurt when she found out about the crimes Marty had committed.
Ginny gave a slight shake of her head. “Are you enjoying the restaurant?”
Sophie made a face. “It certainly is not as easy as I thought it would be. I would have listed the restaurant for sale already if your brothers hadn’t come in. Their tip allowed me enough money to stay in business for the rest of the week. You and your brother make my fifth and six customers this morning, so I guess business is picking up slowly. I had to fire George yesterday, so I’ve had to shorten the menu to a few menu items I can cook.”
“Jody said your father and mother will be able to help when they get here in a couple of weeks.”
She nodded. “If I make it that long.”
“You will. I can help. I know how to make most of the old menu. I can help you out until your parents get here.”
“I can help, too,” Jody offered.
“That’s okay. I wouldn’t be able to pay you. I hired Logan Porter to work a few hours a day in the afternoons.”
“Good, then you’re set. I’ll help you out a few hours in the morning, and Jody can come in during the lunch rush.”
“What lunch rush?” Sophie gave a lackluster laugh. “I’m only getting a couple of customers every few hours.”
“The customers will pick up. Once I teach you how to cook a couple of dishes on the menu, people will have to make reservations to come in here.”
“Which ones?”
“The cardiac special.”
“The cardiac special?”
“Country fried ham with red-eye gravy, fried potatoes, two fried eggs, and biscuits,” Ginny told her. “They also loved the fried chicken special with soup, beans, and cornbread. I also can help you get your hands on some venison sausage. You fry that up with some scrambled eggs, onions, and peppers, then wrap it up like a burrito, and they will sell out before you can say Hallelujah!”
Sophie burst out laughing. “You can teach me how to cook everything you just mentioned?”
“I can teach you how to cook it in your sleep.” Ginny grinned.
“I can’t accept your help without paying you.”
Ginny gave her a considering look. “Are you allergic to goats?”
“Not as far as I know.”
“I have a few goats that need to be milked daily. When your parents get here, you could spend an hour a day milking the goats for me until you pay off the hours I work here.”
Sophie’s gaze switched to his.
“After you pay off Ginny’s hours, you can pay off mine … I hate goats.”
“I can do that.”
“I would think it over. Those goats are a pain in the ass.”
“I worked in a cafeteria for a nursing home before moving here. I could tell you horror stories about what I had to deal with.”
Ginny and Jody both grimaced.
“I can imagine,” he said as the door opened, sending the bell tingling.
A woman entered, looking around the restaurant until she sighted him. “Hey, Jody!” she gushed, coming toward their table. “You come into town for lunch?”
Jody groaned inwardly. Could he catch a fucking break?
“Hey, Mina,” he responded with a tight smile.
“I’m on my lunch hour; you mind if I join you?”
Before he could say anything, Mina squeezed herself into the small portion of the booth seat he was sitting on.
He didn’t know what to do. The last thing he needed was to come across as being an asshole two days in a row, but he didn’t have an easy way of getting rid of her, either.
Ginny saved him. Sliding out of the booth, she hooked her arm around Sophie’s. “How about we check on your customers? Then we can go into the kitchen and see what we have to work with.”
“She didn’t take our order,” Mina complained.
“What do you want, and I’ll go tell them?”
Mina gave him a sultry wink. “What I want, I can’t have here. You want to go to my house, and I’ll make you something to eat?”
“No, thanks. I won’t be coming by your house anymore. I’m seeing someone.”
“Since when has that stopped you?”
Jody removed the hand that had moved to his thigh. Looking up, he realized Ginny and Sophie were able to see what Mina had done under the table.
“What do you want to order?” Jody asked through tight lips.
Mina pouted at him. “What’s with the cold shoulder?”
“I told you I’m seeing someone.”
Mina straightened away from him. “Like in, you’re really dating someone?”
“Not yet. I’m working on it. Currently, our relationship is in the talking stage.”
Her expression turned relieved. “That’s okay, then. I can take care of you until you get past the talking stage.”
“No. I plan to be faithful to her.”
“Jody Coleman”—Mina giggled, scraping his nerves—“you don’t have a faithful bone in your body.”
“I do now.”
Mina rolled her eyes at him and got out of the booth. She placed her palms on the table, giving him a generous view of her chest. “When you get tired of sweet-talking her, call me—you know my number. I promise you’ll get more out of me than talking.”
Jody wanted to bury his face in his hands as she sashayed out of the restaurant. Thankfully, Ginny and Sophie had gone to the kitchen.
They were still in there when the customers got up to stand by the register.
“Hey, Tate, Dustin; how are you doing?”
Tate nodded his head and lay money down on top of their ticket. “I heard you and Ginny are going to be helping out Sophie. Logan’s going to be working here after school.”
“So I heard,” Jody told the two brothers.
“You hear one of Marty’s buddies stopped by yesterday?”
“Yeah.” Jody lowered his voice. “Greer called Silas last night. We’ll keep an eye out.”
“You won’t be the only one.” Tate’s craggy face was set to no-nonsense. “We’ll do what we can to help her make a go of this place, but if anything happens to Logan, kin or not, blood will be spilled, regardless of who gets in the way.”
Jody didn’t look away from Tate’s gaze. “Understood.” Jody mimicked Tate’s hard gaze. “And so you understand, my happiness isn’t the only one that rides on Sophie staying in town.”