Chapter Two #3
Kelley sighed. How many times had her ex-husband gently reminded Kelley that her cooking roots came from a diner, not an upscale urban restaurant?
Culinary school aside, Kelley’s pedigree was forever lacking in her ex-husband’s eyes, too.
Watch out. I promise I will be more than a footnote in the culinary scene.
Her ex-husband had given her a half smile and a bland, I hope so before handing her divorce papers.
Frannie sniffed and blinked away her tears. Kelley was quite skilled at that, too. Kelley set the plate back on the counter, wrapped her arms around her sister and said, “What does Luke know anyway?”
It was true the Munroe family did not have an established equestrian racing lineage.
Horseracing was definitely not in their bloodline like some of the families in town.
The Munroe family provided support services to those racing families throughout the generations.
Their family tree was full of firefighters, deputies, schoolteachers and even a mayor.
But that did not make Frannie less-than.
Kelley would argue Frannie had more passion than most of the locals with racing in their DNA.
Kelley added, “I can’t even remember the last big race any of the Connelly racehorses took first place in.”
“You wouldn’t know.” Frannie rested her head against Kelley’s shoulder and sniffed. “You haven’t been to the racetrack since you’ve been home, and you never followed it in New York.”
“Well, I will definitely follow it when you are in the starting gates.” Kelley pulled away and looked her sister in the eyes. “And I do know this. It is still light out. If you leave now, you can get a ride in before dinner.”
Frannie sniffed again and said, “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Go on.” Kelley released her sister, motioned toward the cookline then said, “Hayes and me have got this.”
“Thanks.” Frannie hugged Kelley, took off her apron and paused long enough to accept the triple chip cookie Hayes snuck her from the secret staff stash.
At the back entrance, she called out, “Kelley, text me when you are finished here and I’ll come back to pick you up.
But not before six. I want to squeeze in a gym workout after my ride. ”
The door clicked shut before Kelley could tell Frannie not to worry about it. She would catch a ride home with Hayes.
“You can’t keep cutting that girl loose,” Hayes said, a slight scold in his words. Yet, there was kindness in his gaze. “She’s never going to learn how it works around here that way.”
“And you can’t keep sneaking her cookies whenever she’s upset,” Kelley said then added, “Besides, we need to face the facts. My little sister has got a head for horses, not food service.”
“Truer words,” Hayes muttered and handed Kelley a triple chip cookie.
Kelley broke the cookie in two and gave half to Hayes then she shrugged. “It’s fine Frannie left early. We’re already well past the lunch rush anyway.”
Hayes frowned around a bite of cookie and said, “I would call it more of a trickle than a rush.”
Truer words. Kelley polished off her cookie half and rewashed her hands. Then she delivered the double-decker sandwich to Luke in a to-go bag and said pleasantly, “You’ll need to leave now. This section is closed.”
Luke tipped his chin toward the stools at the counter and said, “We can eat over there, then.”
Kelley held on to her smile and said, “That’s closed, too.”
Luke eyed her. “You’re telling me the entire dining room is closed.”
Closed to cowboys who made her little sister cry.
Most definitely. Kelley kept her words upbeat.
“You can give any complaints to the shift manager.” She never blinked and added, “Oh wait. That’s me.
” She set the check on the table and smiled all the way back to the small office.
Only she lost her moment of good humor after she pulled out the adding machine and began totaling the cost of her sister’s mistakes for the day.
“You do realize that every time you pay to cover one of your sister’s meal mix-ups, you’re really only lightening up your own bank account, right?” Hayes watched her from the doorway.
“Frannie would barely have any money if I deducted each incorrect meal from her paycheck. And she needs the money for her horse. The boarding and the care aren’t cheap,” Kelley argued, hit the total button and tore off the thin printed tally sheet.
“Besides, I’m her big sister. I’m supposed to look out for her. ”
“Not at your own expense and this is getting costly,” Hayes countered and reached over to answer the retro yellow push button telephone attached to the wall outside the dry storage area.
Kelley glanced at the printed total and cringed. It wasn’t quite as dire as Hayes implied. Still, Frannie was clearly trending in the wrong direction with more mistakes each shift, not fewer. Kelley needed to correct that sooner rather than later.
After all, Kelley was rebuilding her own bank account.
The longer that took, the longer she would be living at home and nowhere closer to getting on with her life.
Not that she knew her next step exactly.
She knew only that it would be big. If only to prove she was every bit as talented as her ex-husband and finally make her mark on her own terms.