The Single Dad's Family Recipe

“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

“No. And sometimes I’m not sure if that’s a blessing or a curse. Did you like growing up in a big family?”

He chuckled. “Sometimes I loved it and sometimes I hated it. My siblings can be my worst enemies or my best friends. Speaking of family...” He slowed his steps. “I just remembered, I’d better take you to the house to meet Mom before we head back, or my life won’t be worth living. Although she’s not involved in the day-to-day running of the distillery anymore, she likes to be kept in the loop.”

“Hallie told me you lived with your mom,” she said.

“Yes, when Linda and I split up, I moved in with my parents, so Mom could help me with Hamish. It was only supposed to be temporary,” he admitted, “but nine years later and we’re still there. Sounds pretty pathetic, doesn’t it? A thirty-three-year-old man still living with his mom.”

There was a hint of a smile on her lips as she met his gaze. “Hallie also told me how much she adores your mom. I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Come on, then. And let me hold that.” He took the box with the whiskey from her grasp before she could refuse and gestured for her to follow him toward the main house, pointing out the smaller cottage on the property as they passed it. “Callum and Chelsea live there—it used to be our grandparents’ place. It was the original house they built when they moved over from Scotland in the 1950s.”

“It’s quaint.”

“Yeah, I suppose it is,” Lachlan said as they continued. “Blair also lives at the main house with Hamish, Mom and I.”

“He’s not married?” she asked.

Lachlan tried to detect if there was interest in her question or if she was simply making conversation. “He’s divorced, too. But more recently. And it’s kinda complicated.”

“What divorce isn’t?”

He chanced a glance at her as they walked but couldn’t read anything from her expression. “You sound like you speak from experience.”

Her forehead crinkled and then she nodded. “I’m smack-bang in the middle of one myself.”

“I’m sorry.” Suddenly her move across the country made complete sense.

“Thanks. Don’t really want to talk about it, though.”

“Fair enough.” His divorce was ancient history now and still not his favorite topic of conversation, but he couldn’t help wondering about hers. Who was the party at fault? Had Eliza and her husband simply drifted apart? Had he been abusive? Was that why she was trying to get as far away as possible from him? Or was she still in love with him?

Lachlan pondered these questions as they walked in silence the rest of the way to his mom’s place. The list of things he’d like to know about Eliza was growing longer by the second.

Chapter Five (#u31c8b01e-2bbd-54f2-9b2b-a9bd4c837f0d)

After meeting Nora McKinnel, who was as friendly and welcoming as the rest of her family, Eliza sat down with Lachlan and started going through his to-do list. As he shared his dream and ideas for the restaurant, she listened intently and couldn’t help catching some of his enthusiasm. He asked her questions, valued her experience and was eager to listen to her opinions and suggestions for going forward. It felt good to have a project—something to focus on other than her own woes—and once again, she found herself relaxing in his company. The uncomfortable awareness of earlier in the day had made her tongue tie every time she tried to speak.

As he talked her through the menu, business matters and his vision, she decided her initial opinion of Lachlan as a good guy was more accurate than the one she’d started to form when his ex was there.

Besides, really, who was at their best when interacting with their ex-partners anyway?

She’d surprised herself by telling Lachlan about Tyler—well, not exactly Tyler, she hadn’t mentioned any names or details—but, after he’d been so open and honest about his family situation, it hadn’t seemed such a big deal to share that tiny bit of herself. She was glad he hadn’t pried and for a moment, she’d wondered if she shouldn’t tell him the whole sorry story but she’d bitten her tongue, reminding herself why a move across the country had been so appealing.

In Jewell Rock, she wasn’t met with sympathetic looks and awkward conversation because people didn’t know what the right thing to say to her was. Over the past couple of days, she’d met the whole McKinnel clan, her landlord and a number of other people as she purchased things for and set up her apartment. None of them had treated her like a leper as many of her friends in New York seemed to now.

“Are you all right?” Lachlan’s concerned question drew her out of her musing. “Shall we take a break? I feel like I’ve been overloading you with information.”

She blinked and shook her head. “No. I’m fine. Was just thinking how exciting all this is. I might have worked in lots of restaurants, but I’ve never been part of the grand opening of any of them.”

A smile crept onto his lips. “Me either. Sometimes I have to pinch myself that this is actually happening. And other times, I wonder if I’m crazy, trying to do all this while looking after two kids.”

“I don’t mean to pry, but how exactly do you plan on running a restaurant while being a full-time single dad?”

“I’m not under the illusion it’s going to be easy,” he said, “but in some ways, being my own boss will mean I can be more flexible with my working hours. I’ve hired another very experienced chef to work with me. The dishes will all be mine to start with, but I’ll take the lunch roster most days and he’ll take the nights. That way, I can be around for my children in the afternoons, put them to bed and then come across here to help close.”

“I see.” It sounded like a lot to take on but it wasn’t her place to question her boss. And plenty of women managed to work full-time while also being single moms. Why shouldn’t a guy be able to do the same? “Did you want me to start making phone calls to set up interviews?”

They’d just finished going through the pile of résumés from people applying for waitstaff jobs. Lachlan had explained they had a few people staying on from the café but as that had only been open a few hours during the day for the lunch period and given the restaurant’s expanded hours of operation, they needed to employ quite a few new people. He’d already hired a team of kitchen staff who were due to start soon, but as the waitstaff would be under Eliza’s supervision and management, he wanted her to be involved in choosing them ASAP.