A Mother's Promise by Ruth Scofield

Author:Ruth Scofield [Scofield, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin Enterprises
Published: 2011-01-16T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Lisa had already changed from her waitress uniform, getting ready to go home, when Ethan walked into the back room to put on the uniform his boss had just given him. He grinned at Lisa.

“Hiya, Lisa.”

“Hi, yourself.” She tipped her head and squinted at him. A slow smile spread across her face. Ethan was always so positive about things. “Are you sure you want a job like this?”

“Sure I do. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I’d have thought you’d want to go back to banking. No one spills food and everyone talks nice to you. Clean clothes, polite people. Easy working conditions.”

“Easy? You think banking is easy?” He said it teasingly and raised a brow. “Only if you really like that sort of thing. People are pretty much the same everywhere in my opinion. Polite and businesslike or cranky and demanding. The people here seem nice enough.”

He slid his keys into his pocket and patted them.

“And I hope these working conditions teach me how to cook in bulk, buy in bulk, what suppliers to use and how to offer excellent service. I want to see if my ideas are workable, if they’re even feasible.”

Lisa watched him slip on his apron and cap for his first shift as she prepared to leave.

“I didn’t mean the people here weren’t nice.” She shrugged. “But you know, they are… Well, a lot of older people come here, lots of families, and you want to be extrapatient.”

“Oh, I don’t see why that makes a difference. Or how, exactly. Service in a restaurant seems no different to me from service in a bank. Service is service, I would think. It’s only the product that has changed. Besides, I won’t meet the public because I’ll be in the kitchen.”

“You think so, huh?”

“Yes, I do. Say, Lisa…are you upset about something?”

“No…it’s just…I can’t…” She turned away from him, and he reached for her arm.

“Something’s bothering you.” His fingers tightened. “What is it? Maybe I can help.”

His hand felt more comforting than she’d imagined. But she couldn’t depend on him. She mustn’t. She glanced at him, staring right into his dark eyes. Why worry him? He had enough to be concerned about.

“Nobody can help. I have to find a way to…I can take care of it myself, don’t worry. Never mind.”

“A shared burden is only half a load to carry.”

Lisa remembered thinking the same thing after she’d talked to Beth Anne the night of the Thanksgiving dinner.

“How were your kids when you left them today?” she asked.

Startled at her switch in conversation, Ethan frowned. “They were fine. Why?”

“Did they want you to leave?”

“They didn’t mind it. I told them I had to go back to work sometime, so they know that I’ll be away for a bit. I’ve been home too long—every day, in fact, for the last few months. They’re too used to me. Besides, they have my young cousin Georgie Dene to play with and they love her. She’s agreed to watch them for the time being.”

“That’s nice.

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