Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Jared Novak had trained at a culinary school in Paris. He’d worked in restaurants in France, in New York, in Chicago, in Boston. He had a Michelin star, for goodness’ sake.
He loved a lot about now cooking in his hometown, but if there was one thing that he appreciated on a daily basis, it was that he got to go home early.
In New York, he’d often worked until two in the morning. In Paris, he’d often found himself walking home as the sun came up.
In Magnolia Shore, nobody got mad at him if he closed around eight o’clock on a weeknight. It. Was. The. Best.
And, in return, he didn’t mind when, as tonight, customers came in at the last moment, begging for some food.
“Hi, sorry! Sorry, hi!” June Caldwell babbled as she rushed through the front doors with her new beau, Levi Hawkins, about ten minutes before closing. “Are we too late? Tell me we aren’t too late, Jared!”
Conventional wisdom from Jared’s past experiences in kitchens had told him that it was unwise to make a window between his kitchen and the dining area, let alone one that faces the front door of his restaurant.
This wisdom was backed by about a thousand incidents he could cite with irate diners who had been determined to argue what counted as “medium rare” versus “rare” with Jared.
But when he’d seen the building that was to become Riverstone Kitchen, he’d known at once that this was his place.
He’d known at once that connecting directly with the community, his community, was the right move.
So far, he’d never been given reason to regret this decision.
“Hey, guys,” he greeted through the window, grinning at the two.
Jared remembered June from all the way back in high school, and he was so happy for her that she’d found love after losing her husband, Keith, a few years prior.
Levi had come to town, needing a break from his fast-paced lifestyle as a country music star, and he and June had hit it off immediately.
These past few months, they were a popular sight around town, as was June’s beaming smile.
“If you want a risotto or roasted duck, you’re a little too late,” he said. “But I can definitely throw something together for you if you’re okay with something that isn’t too time-intensive.”
“French dip?” June said hopefully. “We were talking about your famous French dip and then realized that we would probably actually die if we didn’t eat one immediately.”
“But,” Levi added pointedly, “we will definitely find it in us to survive if you don’t have time.”
“Oh… yeah, totally,” June agreed, sparing her boyfriend a glance.
Jared grinned. Levi was still relatively new to town, so he was still more polite about these things. June, who had known him for years, had no such compunctions. While Levi tried to look understanding, June gave him puppy dog eyes.
Jared laughed. “I can make you guys some French Dips, no problem,” he said. “Everything for that is quick to prep. Give me a few minutes.”
“You’re my hero,” June said.
“Hey!” Levi objected playfully. June pressed up on her toes to pop a kiss on his cheek, which seemed to more than satisfy him.
Jared quickly toasted some slices of baguette, then carefully sliced the roast beef to go on the sandwich.
He melted a little Swiss cheese on top of the meat, and ladled the prepared au jus into to-go containers.
While he worked, he set a batch of his French fries to fry, then dashed over to sprinkle some of his proprietary seasoning on the steaming-hot potatoes.
When he returned to Levi and June with two to-go containers in his hands, he found the two gazing at one another with dopey, lovesick expressions on their faces.
“Here you go, lovebirds,” he said, causing them both to jump. They hadn’t heard him coming back, too lost in their own emotions to notice the world around them.
He was happy for them both, of course, but he did feel a slight flicker of jealousy to accompany his altruistic pleasure.
He’d spent so long working the weird hours that came with being a chef that he hadn’t paid as much attention to his dating life as other people his age had done.
Usually, it didn’t bother him too much, but more and more recently, he was getting these little what if flickers.
“Sorry,” June said, looking sheepish. “But also, please let me reiterate that you are saving our lives here. We went for a hike today—”
“I froze to death,” Levi said solemnly, with no apparent regard for the contradiction inherent in this statement.
“—and it was so beautiful that we totally forgot to eat until we were starving,” June went on with no real regard for her boyfriend’s complaint.
Even Jared, who didn’t spend that much time with June or Levi, knew that the Southern man’s intolerance for Massachusetts winters was a running joke between them.
Besides, it was barely even cold any longer.
March hadn’t exactly gone out like a lamb, like the rhyme promised, but April was gradually limping its way toward spring, albeit with a great deal of rain.
Today had been nice, Jared had seen from the few glimpses he’d seen between spending long hours in the kitchen.
“It was very nice,” Levi admitted.
“Well, then,” Jared said, handing over the sandwiches, “it sounds like these are well-deserved.”
“Thank you!” June exclaimed. She made to go over to the hostess’ stand to pay for the meals, but Jared waved her off.
“We’re at the end of the night, so that would have just gotten thrown out anyway,” he said by way of explanation.
This was another thing that he liked a lot about working in a small town and running his own restaurant; he could give away food at the end of the night instead of feeling terrible because he was constantly wasting food that could have fed someone who was hungry.
After all, that was a chef’s true calling: to actually feed people.
“Are you sure?” June asked, then rolled her eyes when Jared gave her a pointed look. “Yes, yes, fine. Thank you, Jared. You’re the best.”
Jared waved to the happy couple as they headed out the door, already back to chattering pleasantly about their day and their plans to pick up Benjamin, June’s young son.
He didn’t miss the part where Levi slipped some money to the wait staff, even though he had gotten takeout, but Jared wasn’t going to protest. He strongly approved of people who were kind to waiters.
He’d known far too many chefs who acted as though the support staff of a restaurant were less important people just because they didn’t work with knives in the kitchen. He did not hold with such attitudes.
He went back to the kitchen to clean up for the evening, a routine that he found restful and therapeutic.
He had been doing this the same way every working day since culinary school, and while it was never a good idea to totally check out while working with extremely sharp implements, he didn’t precisely have to focus either.
He felt about cleaning the kitchen the way some people felt about meditation.
His mind lingered on June and Levi. It was astonishing how life could change so quickly.
A few months ago, June had been a single mom who was struggling to make ends meet and care for her young son, Benjamin.
Then Levi had come to town by pure chance and heard her sing at the open mic night she regularly attended at Anchor Bistro, another local eatery.
He’d been swept away by her voice, and now the two were recording a country music album together.
A whole life changed in just a few weeks.
How would Jared’s life change if he met that special someone?
He shook his head as he turned to wiping down counters. He wasn’t certain why these thoughts kept going through his mind recently. Maybe it was just that he was getting older. He was thirty-two now, after all. By the time his parents had been his age, Jared had been about four years old.
Or maybe it was just… time.
Either way, he reminded himself, nothing to that effect would be happening tonight.
He finished up his cleaning tasks, then moved to a few minor prep items that would make tomorrow a whole lot easier.
By the time the clock struck eight, which was the official closing time for Riverstone Kitchen, the only thing that stood between him and heading out the door was putting on his coat.
He saw Cadence and Tyler Meadows heading toward the parking lot as he went to the hidden closet where his coat and keys were hiding and wondered if they’d seen June and Levi, since the four were friends.
No, wait—five, since Cadence and Tyler’s daughter was there too, slung over her father’s shoulder and apparently completely asleep.
Jared held his finger to his lips, indicating that he wouldn’t speak, then waved to the couple, who had recently reconciled after a rough patch. Another happy couple. Another happy family.
And another pang in Jared’s chest. Another what if that were me?
Goodness. He needed to stop with this. It wasn’t accomplishing anything, and if he kept daydreaming in the kitchen, he was liable to chop off his own finger with his absentmindedness.
Besides, he might not have a family of his own, but he was making families happy.
He was feeding them, and feeding people was one of the best ways, in his opinion, of showing that you loved them.
And he did love this community, in ways that he hadn’t even quite realized for himself until after he’d come back from his many years in the highly competitive world of elite culinary spheres.
That would have to be enough, at least for now. For now, he’d just make this beloved community as memorably sated as he could.
And that, he reminded himself as he headed for home, was an important role indeed. And maybe someday, maybe even someday soon, he’d have a little bit more than that.