“Abby, you’re on salads,” he said. “You can’t screw those up. Gram, Ronnie says the desserts are made, but they need to be cut into proper portions, put onto serving plates. He says Gail usually adds a swirl of raspberry sauce or chocolate for decoration, but you can skip that.”
“No problem,” Gram said. “I know how to jazz up the presentation of a dessert.”
Jess watched the four of them go into action. “Thank you, you guys. You’re amazing. You, too, Ronnie. Gail obviously has a lot of faith in you for good reason.”
He beamed at her. “Thanks. I guess this is going to be my indoctrination by fire, huh?”
“I guess so. I’ll be out front seating people, so let me know if you need anything at all. I can probably shift one of the waitresses in here if you need more help.”
“We’ll be fine,” Kevin assured her.
Feeling confident as she walked out of the kitchen, she placed one more call, this one to her father. “Ronnie’s running the show in the kitchen tonight. Do you think you could get his father over here to see what a natural he is as a chef?” She knew it was a risk, but she also knew how much his father’s approval meant to the young man. It was something to which she could relate.
“I’ll get him there,” Mick promised. “I think I’ll avoid mentioning Ronnie, though, just in case something goes awry. How about that?”
“Perfect. Thanks, Dad.”
To Jess’s astonishment and relief, the evening passed without a hitch. No one seemed to have a clue that the kitchen was being managed by an inexperienced kid, an ex-paramedic, an investment adviser and a woman in her eighties. Jess was in awe of them.
When she strolled by to chat with her parents and the Forrests, she looked Ronnie’s father in the eye. “How was your meal?”
“Excellent. That chef of yours gets better each time I come here.”
Jess beamed at him. “Then you should tell him that.”
He blinked for a moment. “I thought your chef was a woman.”
“It is, but tonight we’ve had her assistant filling in. I’ll bring him by.”
She emerged from the kitchen a moment later with a reluctant Ronnie trailing along behind. “Mr. Forrest, I’d like you to meet the man who ran our kitchen tonight.”
The man did a double take. “You cooked this meal?”
Ronnie nodded. “Gail’s been training me and I’ve signed up for some classes.”
“Gail thinks he’s going to be an extraordinary chef,” Jess told Mr. Forrest.
“Well, he’s obviously off to an amazing start,” Megan chimed in. “Ronnie, the food tonight was superb.”
“It was,” his father agreed, looking at him with new respect. “I suppose I should have taken you seriously when you said this was something you wanted to do.”
“Well, thankfully, Ms. O’Brien and Gail did,” Ronnie said, standing straighter. “And to be honest, I can’t take all of the credit for tonight. I had a lot of O’Brien help in the kitchen.”
Now it was Mick’s turn to look startled.
Jess grinned at him. “Long story, but Kevin, Gram and Abby pitched in, too. They were awesome.”
“Nell must have been in her glory,” Megan said with a laugh. “I have to run into the kitchen to compliment her.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ronnie said, clearly eager to escape.
Mr. Forrest looked at Jess. “You’ve been good for that boy.”
She shook her head. “No, it was Gail who first saw his potential.”
“Well, I owe you for giving him a chance in the first place.”
“I’m just glad it worked out,” Jess said, then went off to speak to the other remaining diners.
By eleven, when the last of the customers had left, she was not only exhausted, she was exhilarated. She looked up from closing out the register just in time to see Will approaching.
“You’re too late. The kitchen’s closed.”
“I was hoping you might have time for a nightcap,” he said, just as the kitchen door swung open and her makeshift staff came into the dining room. Will stared at them, openmouthed. “What the devil’s going on here?”
Kevin laughed. “We got called into emergency service.”
“Did a darn good job of it, too,” Gram said, her eyes sparkling despite the weariness evident on her face.
“Yes, we did,” Abby agreed. “But I need to get home to my husband and kids. They were laughing their fool heads off about this when I told them where I was going. Gram, you coming with me?”
“I most certainly am,” Nell said, though she seemed oddly reluctant to go. She gave Jess a fierce hug. “Thanks for letting me be a part of this. I loved pitching in.”
“Letting you? We couldn’t have done it without you,” Jess told her. “I’m the one who’s grateful.”
Kevin sank down onto a chair. “What’s a man have to do to get a drink in this place?”
Will regarded him with amusement. “Wine okay? I know where that is.”
“Get a bottle of red,” Jess called after him. She glanced at Ronnie. “Are you sticking around?”
He nodded eagerly. “If it’s okay. I’m too wound up to go home.”
“Of course it’s okay. You’re a vital part of this team. You did well tonight.” She called after Will. “Bring four glasses, okay?”
Kevin’s gaze followed Will. “Seems awfully comfortable around here,” he commented.
Jess shrugged. “He’s been by a few times.”
Kevin’s gaze narrowed. “Is that so?”
She frowned at him. “We are not having this conversation. Just because you helped to save my butt tonight doesn’t give you interrogation privileges.”
“Being the big brother does,” Kevin countered.
“You might want to ask Connor how that worked out for him today before you head down that path,” she retorted, relieved when Will returned. At least she trusted her brother not to say anything to embarrass Will in front of Ronnie, a relative stranger to the family dynamics.
Unwinding from the frantic night, Jess realized she was glad that Will was here to be a part of it. It felt natural, just the way it had back in the old days when they’d all hung out together. For the second
