quit,” Bernie said, apparently noticing her questioning look.
“Oh.” She moved closer. “You’re the new waitress?”
She wished. “I’m Rona. Just filling in.”
Her scowl turned to a smile as she extended her hand. “I’m Mandy.”
Rona shook her hand, then glanced at the clock. “Guess I can get on my way.” She eyed Bernie, waiting for him to offer to pay her.
Instead, he pointed toward the warmer. “Can you catch that?”
She scooted back through the door, grabbed the two fish platters, then stopped in her tracks. After only an hour, Nick had returned. Rona veered in the other direction and set the plates in front of two men deep in conversation.
Before she took another step, Nick flagged her to his table. “Mandy will catch your order. She’ll be out in a moment.”
“I’d like to talk with you for a minute if you don’t mind.”
A frown tightened her forehead. “Me?” She poked her index finger against her chest, sensing he was coming on to her.
He nodded. “When you’re finished.”
She eyed him a moment. “If you think—”
“I’m not thinking anything.”
He grinned and her concern eased, but it didn’t stop her questions. What did he want? Why had he come back?
His good looks melded with her curiosity and she realized she’d assumed the negative without using good sense. She’d come here to escape her unhappy life and now she realized she’d brought the fears along with her.
Without answering him, Rona shot back into the kitchen, longing to know what the man wanted, but thinking it might be best to leave through the back door. Before Bernie asked her to do anything else, she slipped off her apron, strode to the storage room and hung it on the hook where she’d found it. She pulled her shoulder bag from the niche and drew in a deep breath.
Gaining composure, Rona walked back into the kitchen. “I’m leaving,” she said, waiting for Bernie to acknowledge her.
He finally glanced at the wall clock, then turned his head to look at her. “We’re still short help. Why don’t you stick around until five.”
“Until five?” If staying meant the possibility of being offered the job, she needed to use wisdom. “Okay.”
“Family here?” He shuffled his feet as if he were hedging.
“No family. I knew the Baileys who live in Hessel. It was years ago, when I was a kid, and I always had good memories of the Les Cheneaux area.”
“When you were a kid?”
He studied her as if wondering why it had taken her so long to return to the area. At thirty-nine, she was far from a kid.
His jaw twitched as his eyebrows raised. “You mean Sam and Shirley Bailey?”
She nodded.
“Sam died last year, but Shirley’s still in the same place.”
Sam died. She remembered the friendly man who had been Janie’s grandfather.
“You’re only just visitin’ then.”
Now Rona shuffled her feet as uncertainty winged its way into her thoughts, but she’d made a life change and she would honor her plans. “I’m staying.”
“You did a good job today pinch-hittin’ like that.” He shuffled his feet again. “Lookin’ for work?”
His question raised her spirits. She gave a halfhearted shrug. “Actually, yes, but—”
“I’d like you to stay on. You worked hard and I respect that.” He smiled a toothy grin. “Plus, you surprised me making that offer to help and I surprised myself by accepting it. I don’t know you from Adam.”
She couldn’t help but grin back. “I saw you were in a bind.”
“I can give you six dollars an hour plus your tips,” he said, shifting closer and keeping his volume just above a whisper. “I know that’s not a fortune, but we have good tippers around here. For good service, that is.”
She pictured Nick’s five dollar tip. Six dollars an hour. Good tips. She remembered working for two-seventy-five plus tips. Rona did a quick calculation. Not a bad wage until she found something better. “I can give it a try.” She paused knowing she had to be honest. “But if something better comes along, I make no guarantees.”
He pondered her comment, probably knowing that not much else was available around the area. “You got yourself a deal.” He stuck out his hand and gave hers a shake.
Bernie held up a finger. “I’ll get you an application.” He strode into the storage room and out again with the forms. “You can sit at a table and fill these out and, while you’re at it, grab a bite to eat. I imagine you’re hungry.” He handed her the papers.
Sit at a table. So much for her back-door escape, and by now she didn’t want to. She was hungry and a free meal sounded good. She ordered a whitefish sandwich—Nick’s had looked good earlier in the day—then poured herself a cup of coffee and headed into the dining room.
Her gaze drifted to Nick, who had once again focused on the newspaper, sipping a cup of coffee that Mandy must have brought to him. He was leaning his shoulder against the wall and she guessed he was waiting for her. She still hadn’t figured out the reason he wanted to talk to her. She eyed him, then decided she might as well get it over with.
Rona bit her lips, knowing she was lying to herself. Getting it over with had nothing to do with her motivation. The man had captured her interest. Still she didn’t want the guy to get the wrong idea.
Grasping the application and her coffee mug, she ambled to his table vacillating between interest and indecision. “Sorry.” She waved the forms toward him and motioned to an empty seat. “Bernie asked me to fill out these forms so I’ll sit—”
“You can fill them out here.” He patted the space across from him. “I don’t bite.”
Her old uneasiness soared into her chest. He said he didn’t bite, but she was too gullible. Even her own brother had conned her into making a decision she lived to regret. She knew her brother, but what did she know about Nick? Wavering with indecision, Rona could feel the stress in her face.
“Please,” he said, his tone warm and genial.
She slid her cup onto the table and placed the application farther away, fearing she would stain them with her coffee. Her hands felt unsteady as she settled onto the chair.
“Fish sandwich’s ready.”
Hearing the voice, she turned and saw Bernie slide her dinner under the warmer. She halted Nick with her index finger and hurried to the serving window for her sandwich.
When
