Books 1-3 by T Thorn Coyle

Author:T Thorn Coyle [Coyle, T Thorn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PF Publishing
Published: 2018-10-26T06:00:00+00:00

22

Aiden

“We need more salad!” Renee called out over the din of the kitchen and dining room. Lunch rush was in full swing; there was a line out the rust-colored metal doors, and the dining room was practically full.

It was all hands on deck at the soup kitchen. Aiden was still a little sore, and slightly shaky, but he had to admit Tobias’s herbal formulas were helping. Hanging out with Tobias the night before had helped, too. He smiled as he rushed to the coffin freezers, where two volunteers chopped mounds of cabbage and lettuce, throwing the vegetables into a giant metal bowl. One of them added handfuls of shredded carrots, and the croutons that the morning breakfast crew had baked before they left.

A lot of people said they never ate croutons anywhere but De Porres House of Hospitality, that’s how good they were: garlicky and crisp, made with fresh herbs grown by one of the cooks in his garden.

“Is this almost ready?” he asked.

The two volunteers, middle-aged women who must have taken early retirement, looked up at him. He really should learn everyone’s names, but had learned to wait until he knew they were coming back. Stingray was great at learning everyone’s names the first day. That was probably why she was crew chief and Aiden wasn’t.

“We just need to dress it, and then you can take it away,” one of the women said.

He watched as one of the women poured the oil, vinegar, and herb mixture from a gallon jug into the bowl. The other woman held two giant serving spoons and mixed the cabbage, romaine lettuce, and croutons and carrots, blending the whole thing together until the salad was evenly dressed.

Aiden’s stomach growled. He wasn’t going to have time to eat lunch for a while.

Hoisting the big bowl in his arms, he winced. Lifting it was a mistake. It was straining the muscles in his back. He should’ve known better, but when they were in this kind of a hurry, it was just easier to do things himself. Besides, he thought he was in better shape than he apparently was. He was more healed than he had any right to be, but that didn’t mean his body wasn’t still paying the price of all the punishment it had taken.

He walked as quickly as he could across the red-tiled kitchen floor towards the salad station where a clean, upturned garbage can waited. That would be the pedestal for the salad bowl. He heaved it down.

“Thank you,” Renee said. Then she spared him a glance. “You doing okay?” Aiden just shook his head and shrugged, which caused him to wince again.

“I’ll be fine.”

He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease the aching, and looked around the kitchen. It looked like things were under control for the moment. That meant he should go and check the floor, see if everything was okay out in the yard.

He skirted the soup and salad line and hit the long bar on the metal doors, walking out into the outdoor dining area.

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