Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hazel took a deep breath as she set down her potato peeler.
She was sitting in a back corner of the kitchen at The Lighthouse Grill, and she’d been busily peeling potatoes for the past half hour.
Although her hands felt stiff and a little sore from all the repetitive movements, she was glad to be able to do something productive.
Ever since she and Jacob had first taken a tour of Rosewood Beach’s damage, her heart had been aching for her community.
It’s just like Mom to give out free meals at a time like this, she thought, looking up and watching the bustling kitchen with a smile.
She’s losing money by closing the restaurant so we all have the time to do this and giving away free food on top of it.
And I bet she would have done it even if Julia hadn’t assured her that the pub can afford it.
She smiled, feeling a glow of love for her mother. Vivian had always been kind and generous, and a woman who was such a good mother to her children was inevitably a kind of mother to her community.
The food they were making wasn’t gourmet, but they’d chosen a recipe that would offer good hearty food that didn’t take too long to make.
The potatoes that Hazel was peeling were going to be turned into mashed potatoes, which would be smothered in a sauce made of beef, chicken, and vegetables.
Tom Norris, The Lighthouse Grill’s best chef and a dear friend of the Owens family, had come up with the recipe, which was fairly inexpensive but would provide good nourishment and also avoided a lot of common allergens, such as gluten and soy.
“How’s it going?” Alexis asked, stepping inside the kitchen with a bag of canned vegetables in her arms. She flashed an energetic grin at Hazel, and Hazel marveled that her sister had so much energy even with a baby strapped to her back.
Cash gurgled happily from his harness, seeming to think all the hustle and bustle was pure fun.
“Good.” Hazel laughed, catching Alexis’s good mood as if she’d been thrown a dose of sunshine. “I’ve never peeled so many potatoes in one sitting before.”
“Terrence is bringing in more, I’m afraid.” Alexis chuckled. “But I can take over potato peeling duty. You can help Tom put these vegetables into the sauce he’s making.”
“I think it’s fair to call it a soup at this point,” Tom said with a grin. “I’m making it in a soup pot, and it’s filled with soup-like ingredients. It’s basically a soup.”
“Hmm, soup on potatoes,” Hazel said. “Sounds yummy.”
“It is, I’ve had this plenty of times,” Tom said with a grin. Hazel knew he also loved helping people and that being able to lend a hand to their community probably meant as much to him as it did to her. “It’s delicious, healthy, and filling.”
“A perfect recipe for the moment,” Vivian said, looking up with a smile from her station at the stove, where she was browning another package of beef in a saucepan.
“But I still wouldn’t call it soup,” Alexis said with a playful glint in her eyes. “The main liquid of this sauce is essentially gravy. So not soup.”
“Why not gravy soup?” Hazel protested.
Their jocular argument was cut short by the arrival of Terrence, who brought in a wooden crate filled with potatoes. He set it down on the table next to Hazel with a thump.
“That’s the last of the potatoes from Harvest Market, but Mr. Douglas is planning on making a grocery run tomorrow. He said he’ll buy whatever everyone needs and they can pay him back later.”
“Fantastic,” Vivian said. “I’ll text him with a list later. I think more potatoes would be good, unless you’re thinking something else for tomorrow, Tom?”
“I was thinking rice,” Tom said. “He could pick up a few bags of brown rice. We don’t have enough to feed half the town, unfortunately.”
Hazel laughed at his joke at the same time her heart gave a little pang of sadness.
Was it really half the town that was struggling after the storm?
Tom’s words might have been an exaggeration, but they might not have been.
She hated the idea of so many people she cared about being stuck in troubling circumstances.
Terrence wiped his glistening forehead with a pocket handkerchief and went to stand next to Vivian as she stirred the sizzling beef. She gave him a peck on the lips as soon as he reached her side, and Hazel couldn’t help grinning when she saw them.
It’s weird to see Mom in love with someone other than Dad, she thought, but it makes me so happy to see them together. And I know Dad would have wanted this for her.
Terrence Rawlins was the local health inspector, and no one would have expected his particular, persnickety personality to mesh so well with Vivian’s warm and free spirit.
The two had turned out to be a fantastic match, however.
Terrence had seemed to be aware of the potential for romance first, and he had remained such a kind and faithful friend to Vivian that she’d come to realize that her heart saw him as more than just a coffee-tasting pal.
The two of them made a wonderful couple, since she brought out his fun and compassionate sides, and he grounded her and gave her the trustworthiness and protection she’d been craving.
“You get any sleep, Tom?” Terrence asked the cook sympathetically.
Tom shook his head. “Hardly. I was gathering ingredients last night, as soon as Vivian told me this is what we’d be doing.
We’ve been having people come in for food all day.
Some of them eat it out in the dining room, but a lot of them are taking food home in to-go boxes.
Speaking of which, we’d better ask Mr. Douglas to get us some more of those when he makes a grocery run tomorrow.
Our next shipment isn’t coming in until the day after tomorrow, and I think we’ll run out by then. ”
“Hello? Anybody home?” The cheerful voice of Sally Lipton, the owner of Ocean Breeze Café, filled the kitchen.
Hazel turned and saw her poking her head in through the to-go order window with a huge smile on her face.
Her boyfriend Oscar was standing beside her.
Sally was known for being upbeat and optimistic, and she seemed to have worked wonders on her boyfriend Oscar, who had been known for quite the opposite when he first came to town but who was now smiling comfortably as if he assisted with giving out food to the needy every day.
They’re such a cute couple, Hazel thought with a secret grin. I think he really needed her, coming to town all alone after losing his standing as a businessman in New York. She’s really opened up his eyes to how much joy there is in the world. And she so deserves the fairytale ending she’s getting.
Oscar and Sally came into the kitchen, where they were both hugged warmly by everyone there. Oscar returned his hugs a bit awkwardly, but Hazel noticed that his eyes glowed with happiness as he and Sally settled into their places in the cooking brigade.
“Ryan said that they’re getting more people picking up food at the brewery,” Sally said as she started to open cans of vegetables. “I think maybe tomorrow we should try cooking in both places instead of just here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Tom said. “I can man the ship here, and I know the McCormicks have some great cooks over there.”
Hazel smiled, loving the way she was hearing the McCormick Brewery being spoken of positively at the pub.
It was nice to know that the old feud was finally ending once and for all.
Instead of a rival, the brewery was becoming like a sister business, one that looked out for The Lighthouse Grill and aided it in many different ways.
Hazel never would have expected such a wonderful surprise to occur in their lives, but there it was.
“Do you need more food brought over to Ocean Breeze Café?” Alexis asked, turning Cash’s harness around on her body so that she could see her son better and start playing with his hands.
“Last we heard from Ryan they still had enough food at the brewery, but maybe we should run some more to-go boxes over there as well.”
“We’ll need more tomorrow, but we should be good for the rest of today,” Sally assured her. “That was a great idea Julia had, using all three restaurants to distribute the food.”
“And pooling our resources was a great idea too,” Tom said. “We got most of the first round of vegetables from you, Sally, and those were the best because they were fresh. And we got so much beef from the brewery—I think we’re still using it.”
“I’m proud of the way we’re coming together for this,” Vivian said with a warm smile. “It makes me prouder than ever to be a part of this community.”
“Do Julia and Cooper need help with passing out the boxes?” Hazel asked after a moment. Now that there were so many people helping in the kitchen, she felt as though she might be of better use somewhere else.
“I bet they could use it,” Terrence said. “The line of people was pretty long when I was in there last.”
“I’ll head out there, then,” Hazel said.
She’d been sitting for so long, concentrating on peeling potatoes, that the thought of standing up and doing something simple sounded like a much-needed break.
Besides, she wanted to see the faces of the people they were helping.
She had been feeling a maternal concern for the entire town ever since the morning after the storm.
She stepped out into the dining room of The Lighthouse Grill and found Julia and Cooper standing next to a stack of to-go boxes as well as stacks of plates and forks next to two crock-pots.
Hazel saw a few families eating inside the restaurant, all of whom looked tired and a little dirty.
Her heart went out to them, since it seemed clear that they were some of the unfortunate ones who currently didn’t have a home to bring their food back to.