don’t have your guard dog to protect you. I don’t mind stepping in for him.”
He shut the door, then walked to his Hummer that was parked on the street. True to his word, he didn’t leave until she’d pulled out of the parking lot and was back on Main Street. She turned west toward home and Estebe turned east.
So many people taking care of her. She felt at home.
* * * *
Saturday morning, she quickly fed the circus, then sat down to write out the recipes from the trials she’d made on Thursday. Angie wanted to bring at least one of the dishes to her crew and see if they could add a special to tonight’s menu. She’d make all of them for Felicia today for lunch and see which one she liked best. A knock on the kitchen door made her look up.
Erica stood at the door. She had a notebook in her hand. “Hey, do you have a minute?”
“Come on in. Can I get you a glass of iced tea?” Angie stood and took her own glass to the counter. When Erica nodded, she poured a second glass over ice and refilled her own. She returned to the table with the drinks. “What’s up?”
“I wanted to bring you this notebook. It has all of Granny’s medications, when she takes them, her doctors’ names and phone numbers, and Delores’s information. I didn’t want to give it to her when I bring her over Monday morning, it seems so, I don’t know, childish? Like you’re babysitting or something?”
“That’s nice of you trying to keep her dignity.” Angie took the notebook and flipped through the pages. “You have a lot of information here.”
“It makes it easier. Besides, I can take that to school with me, and if something happens, I have all the phone numbers I need.” Erica sipped her tea, not meeting Angie’s gaze. “I feel guilty leaving her just to have fun.”
“Everyone needs a break now and then. Don’t worry. She’ll be fine over here. I’m here most of the day. And when I’m working, most of that time she’ll be asleep.” Angie put the notebook in her tote. “She’ll never know I have this.”
Erica laughed. “I really appreciate the help.”
After Erica left, Angie wondered if she really knew what she’d got herself into. She didn’t have any training dealing with the elderly. Nona hadn’t called her home when she’d gotten ill. She’d hired a live-in caretaker. Maybe she had known something that Angie didn’t know about herself. Or maybe, the internal voice of reason spoke up, she knew you were busy building a life and a career.
Angie knew the voice was rational and probably true, but it didn’t keep her from second-guessing her choices. She returned to her work, and by the time she needed to leave for town to meet Felicia at the County Seat, she had two new recipes ready.
Felicia was already downstairs, working on her laptop when Angie arrived. When the door opened, she looked up, worry creasing her brow. “Hey, I was about to call you. Everything okay?”
“I got stuck behind a line of cars following a tractor. I know it’s Saturday, but some people work weekends, right? I don’t know why they don’t move those machines on a day that’s not busy.” Angie dumped her tote out on the counter, looking for the recipe notebook she carried around at all times.
Felicia walked over, picked up the spiral notebook Erica had given Angie that morning, and opened the cover. “Is this instructions for Mrs. Potter? I thought you were going to tell Erica you couldn’t do it?”
Angie couldn’t meet her friend’s gaze. “Don’t judge. I know I told you I was uncomfortable with the whole thing, but I want to do this.”
“You don’t owe this to Nona.”
Her friend’s words struck home, and finally, Angie looked straight at her. “Maybe not, but I can be a good neighbor and a friend to Erica when she needs help. Anyway, how much trouble can one woman cause in a week? By the time Erica gets back, we’ll be best friends.”
“Doubtful.” But Felicia didn’t press the issue. “What can I do to help?”
They cooked lunch together, adding the two appetizers that Angie had developed that week. When they sat down to eat, the discussion turned to staffing and restaurant business. Like Angie’s kitchen team, Felicia was happy with her front-of-the-house staff. “Although Jeorge’s vacation has taught me that we’re too dependent on too few people. I’d like to hire a part-time server who could also be trained in bartending. That way, if someone calls in sick or vacations, we don’t have to settle for who the temp agency sends us.”
“It’s a great idea. We kind of have that built in with Hope. The week Estebe’s gone, I’m moving her out of her dishwasher duties and into a prep chef. Nancy will cover for Estebe, but I’ll need a temp dishwasher. That shouldn’t be hard to find.”
They had just finished the meal and were beginning to look at the numbers when Angie’s phone rang. She looked down at the caller ID and groaned. There was only one reason he’d be calling her. Estebe wasn’t showing up for work tonight. She tried to keep her disappointment out of her tone when she answered. “Hey, Estebe, what’s going on?”
She watched as Felicia started cleaning the dishes from the chef table. The table was cleared and the dishes were probably stacked in the dishwasher, waiting to be run, by the time Angie had finished the conversation.
Felicia returned to the table and studied her. “Do we need to call the temp agency?”
“Yes.” Angie considered the recipe she’d been planning on adding to tonight’s dinner menu. “We might need to hold back on adding the bruschetta.”
“Why? Just because Estebe called in sick?” Felicia shook her head. “I think you count on him too much. I’m sure Nancy can run his station fine.”
“Estebe’s not sick.” Angie took a deep breath. “His cousin asked him to go out to the farm. He doesn’t know when he’ll be done there.”
“Seriously? He’s ditching us for a family meeting?” Felicia sank into her chair next to Angie. “He needs to set some priorities. No wonder he hadn’t worked in a real kitchen for years.”
“It’s not that.” Angie held up a hand, stopping Felicia from continuing her tirade. “His cousin’s girlfriend was found dead this morning.”
“OMG. Did she have a heart attack?” Felicia’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, is this the player cousin? I thought you said that girl was Hope’s age. What did she die from?”
“She was killed outside the Red Eye Saloon down the street late last night. Heather, that’s her name, was found in the alley behind the bar just after closing.”
“I must have been out. I didn’t hear any of the commotion.” Felicia shook her head. “That poor girl. So Estebe’s helping Javier with the funeral arrangements?”
“Actually, he’s trying to bail him out of jail.” Angie leaned back into her chair. “They think Javier killed her.”
Chapter 4
Before service started, Angie brought the kitchen team together and explained Estebe’s absence. The temp Felicia had hired wasn’t expected for a couple of hours. Angie didn’t know
