Chapter Fourteen
Susannah appeared to be settling into Bakersfield just fine. She had mentioned that she was becoming bored at the inn, waiting all day for him to pick her up for their plans, but he trusted she would busy herself, all in good time.
When he arrived at the inn that evening, he was shocked to find Pauline away from the desk and her husband in her stead.
“Where’s Pauline?”
“She’s in the restaurant,” Clark said, resigned.
“She’s wanted to open a restaurant for a while, and now that she finally has…
It’s not going very well. She had to shut down early so she and her single employee could figure out a better flow for the kitchen.
I don’t think she’ll be happy to see you barge in. ”
“Who’s working with her?”
“Susannah,” Clark said with a laugh. “Well, I should say that Susannah appears to be teaching her. I think it’s a good fit. She’s been lying around the lobby most days, just waiting for you to pitch up.”
Wesley wasn’t entirely shocked that she had found a way to keep busy. So close to the inn, on the other hand, was rather a shock.
He suspected that she felt that she would not be living at the inn for very much longer, given that their relationship was firmly on track.
He was waiting to be sure about her feelings about marrying him before proposing.
He had been right in his initial assessment: the better he got to know Susannah personally, the more he wanted to give her the world.
Or at least as close as he could get to the world.
She deserved that and so much more, but he would have to settle on doing what he could.
“Then, perhaps I would be allowed to walk in just this once while the restaurant is closed? Susannah and I had other plans, and I’m sure she’d love to tell me all about what she’s been doing today,” Wesley suggested.
Clark nodded. He looked rather bored, what with the local crime proving to be on the quiet side of late, leaving him in search of other ways to fill his time. Walking the town could only keep him so busy, Wesley imagined.
He walked into the restaurant and found it mostly empty. The dining room was filled with the contents of the kitchen cabinets, and Susannah was sitting at one of the tables, going through said contents. She looked up upon hearing footsteps and waved excitedly.
“I thought you were Pauline, but I am glad to see you, too!” She stood up, holding what appeared to be a pot in one hand. “I have a job, Wes. I feel so much better having something to do with my hands and mind all day instead of just waiting or walking the town.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Wes said with a smile. “What kind of job exactly? I don’t think this restaurant is quite ready to serve diners.”
“Well, not yet, but once it is, I’ll be the main cook.
Pauline will be serving at the tables,” Susannah said.
“But I can’t leave the dining room in this state for Pauline.
Perhaps you’d like to help me organize the kitchen?
There’s not much left to do. Just too much for me to be able to finish without help, and Pauline is drawing up a shopping list for food for tomorrow. ”
“I can do that.”
With that, Susannah directed him on where to place the items that needed setting up in the kitchen.
She had already set up a system to get everything in place.
It was up to them to make sure that happened.
Once everything was put away, the kitchen and dining room looked more organized.
It would need a thorough cleaning before opening the next day, but it was substantially more respectable than when he had first arrived.
He turned to Susannah.
“Well, would you like to go out to eat tonight? It sounds like you’ve been running around doing a lot today,” he said.
“That would be great, but let’s make sure Pauline makes it back safely,” Susannah said. “I don’t want her to return to an empty restaurant.”
“Oh, that would have been fine. I didn’t expect you to be here when I returned.”
The new voice made Wesley smile. Pauline had returned, which meant that Susannah didn’t have to worry about waiting for her. And it sounded as though she had arrived with food. When he turned to face her, he found that she was lugging two bags of groceries, and Clark was lugging two more.
“I can put the food away,” Pauline continued.
“You and Wesley there go have some fun tonight. You can come in early tomorrow to familiarize yourself with where I’ve put everything if you want.
I’m just glad that I’ve been able to find some help without having to look too hard.
I wasn’t sure of the kind of help I would find among the women of Bakersfield. ”
Susannah blushed. Wesley smiled. A restaurant in an inn was as convenient as Susannah could hope to find, partially because she was a resident of the inn. He suspected that Pauline knew this and wanted to be able to allow them a degree of financial freedom they might not have had otherwise.
“Then, we’re off,” Susannah said. “Have a good night, Pauline.”
“Have a good night, Pauline, Clark,” Wes said. “We’ll see you later.”