Feels Like Family

Helen held up a hand. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Karen. Let’s face it, being a single mom is unpredictable. Dana Sue, you certainly know all about that. Here’s what I suggest, especially after being here last night. Isn’t it time you considered hiring another chef, or at least some prep staff who can be trained just the way you’ve trained Karen? That way if Karen does have another one of these inevitable crises, you’ll have some backup.”

“Why should Karen’s problems force Dana Sue to hire additional staff?” Erik demanded.

“Because you need the help, anyway,” Helen said before Dana Sue could answer. “Karen wasn’t scheduled last night and it was crazy in the kitchen. If I hadn’t shown up—”

“We’d have managed,” Erik interrupted. “We always do.”

“Come on, Erik, Helen’s right,” Dana Sue cut in. “We really are understaffed for the size of the dinner crowd lately. I’ve interviewed half a dozen people for prep work and given two of them a trial run, but neither one was right for us. I really need to accelerate that search. I’ve been putting off doing anything about it, because I wasn’t sure the popularity of this place would last. That sometimes happens after rave reviews. The kitchen can’t keep up for a few weeks and then people go back to their usual routine and you’ve got more staff underfoot and counting on you than you need and you have to let people go.”

“Hiring someone to do prep work is one thing,” Erik conceded. “But as long as we’re still counting on Karen to be here, how does that solve the problem if she bails?”

“Another trained person can come in if Karen has an emergency,” Helen said.

“And be paid overtime wages?” Erik asked. “How is that fair to Dana Sue? She has to think about costs, you know. And prep work is a far cry from being her assistant or sous chef. We need someone who can move into that position, now that I’m assistant manager.”

Karen studied Erik and Helen and knew there was something going on between them that had nothing to do with her. It was clear, though, that this discussion wasn’t going to work in her favor unless she stepped in with a solution of her own. Fortunately sometime in the middle of the night she’d actually come up with one. Until now she’d been hesitant to offer it, but it was beginning to seem as if she had nothing to lose.

“I have an idea,” she said quietly.

All three of them looked at her in surprise, almost as if they’d forgotten she was there.

“Go ahead,” Helen encouraged.

“I worked with another cook at the diner ’til she had to leave. She had the same problem I’m having now. She was a single mom and her kids had to come first. Doug fired her, just the way I know you two have been debating about firing me. Anyway, Tess was really, really good, but she took a job telemarketing, so she could work at home. I know she hates it and would love to get back to work in a restaurant.”

Erik’s scowl deepened. “If she’s already been fired for being unreliable, why would we ask for more problems by hiring her?”

“Because, frankly, she’s got exactly the skills you need,” Karen told him, determined not to back down in the face of his skepticism. She needed to fight for herself. To do that she had to convince them to at least give Tess a try. “She’s fast. She’s a quick learner. She’s creative. She doesn’t get rattled in a crisis. And she already knows her way around a kitchen.”

“That still doesn’t address the key problem,” Erik said.

“Let her finish, for goodness’ sakes,” Helen snapped.

“Well, pardon me all to hell for wondering how this solves anything,” Erik retorted, his gaze locked with Helen’s.

Suddenly Karen got it. Whatever tiff those two had gotten into, it was because something personal was going on between them. She hadn’t heard anything about them dating, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t happened. There were enough sparks bouncing around to set the tablecloth on fire.

Biting back a grin, she waved a hand to catch their attention. Dana Sue looked equally amused.

“Here’s my idea,” Karen said. “Let me and Tess share the job as sous-chef.”

Helen looked startled, but to Karen’s relief Dana Sue looked intrigued.

“How would that work?” Dana Sue asked. “Don’t you both need a full-time job?”

Karen nodded. “But you’re open six days a week, right? And you’re open more than eight hours a day. One of us could work three days, the other four, and you could schedule our shifts to overlap. You need the extra help anyway on weekends. The sharing part would be that Tess and I would adjust that schedule between us if one of us had an emergency, so you’d never be left without a sous-chef. You’d have two trained people and you’d be covered all the time. The odds of both of us having an emergency on the same day are slight.”

“I like it!” Helen said eagerly. “Dana Sue, what do you think?”

Karen held her breath.

“It could work,” Dana Sue said slowly. “We do need the extra coverage. I’d have to meet Tess and see if she can handle the job or if she even wants it, but it would solve a lot of problems. Erik, what do you think?”

Though his expression remained grim, he nodded. “It has potential, as long as at least one of you shows up, no matter what,” he conceded grudgingly. For the first time, he actually looked at Karen. “That’s one of the traits I’ve always liked about you. You do think outside the box and you’re not afraid to try new things.”

Karen smiled at him. “Thanks. This time it was mainly out of desperation, but I really do think you’re both going to love Tess. She’s bright and energetic and loyal. She’d fit in perfectly here. And I know she and I can work things out so you’re never short staffed.”

“Okay, then, have her call me,” Dana Sue said. “We’ll get her in here and give her a try.”

Helen sat back, a satisfied smile on her face. “A win-win solution. Good job, Karen. Thanks, Dana Sue.”

Karen noticed she pointedly ignored Erik as she stood up. “I need to get back to the office,” Helen said.

This time Erik shot out of the booth. “I’ll walk with you,” he said in a determined tone that silenced any argument. “Back in ten minutes, Dana Sue.”

Dana Sue stared after him. “Take all the time you need.”

After they’d gone, Karen met Dana Sue’s amused gaze. “Are those two…?”

“Not yet,” Dana Sue said. “But I predict it won’t be long.”

“My, my,” Karen murmured, laying on a thick Southern drawl, “I do believe I could use some iced tea. It’s gotten a little warm in here and I’m parched.”

Dana Sue laughed. “Isn’t that the truth? Come on. I’ll join you. Something tells me we’re going to be on our own for a while in the kitchen.”

Helen was sorry she’d walked over to Sullivan’s from her office. If she’d driven, she could have gotten in her car and slammed the door in Erik’s face. Instead, he was walking along beside her in an increasingly awkward silence. Finally she could stand it no longer.

“If there’s something on your mind, just say it,” she demanded. “Otherwise, leave me alone.”

“I’m trying to figure out what to say,” he admitted.

“‘I’m sorry’ has a nice ring to it. Or ‘I was wrong.’ That’s a good one.”

“Okay, both of those,” he said, his lips twitching.

She stopped and whirled around to look him in the eye. “That’s it? I throw you a couple of options and you don’t even repeat them or put your own pitiful spin on them?”

“But you’re the one who’s so good with words,” he returned dryly. “I figured you put it exactly the way you wanted to hear it.”

Helen rolled her eyes. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”

“The kiss?” he suggested uncertainly.

The hint of vulnerability in a man who’d always struck her as supremely confident cut through her defenses. “That would be a good place to start,” she agreed.

“There’s more?” he asked.

Though his tone was perfectly serious, she thought she detected a hint of teasing. “You’re darn straight, there’s more. How about the fact that you were behaving like a horse’s behind about Karen?”