No River Wide Enough by Mel Bossa

Author:Mel Bossa [Bossa, Mel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2019-08-12T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

After the morning rush had passed, and the last of the regulars had cleared out, I collected the dirty blenders and some of the dishes, then carried everything back to the kitchen.

Inside, Donnie stood behind a work station, chopping candied almonds. As usual, the moment I came in, he stopped what he was doing and walked up to me, wiping his hands down his waist apron. “Need any help?”

“No, I’m all right, thanks.” I walked away to the dish pit. “Just gonna clean up a bit.” The kid was so helpful, it was almost too much sometimes. But I wasn’t going to complain about it because ever since Donnie had started out at the café two weeks ago, everything was running pretty smoothly again. Drika had been right to recommend him. Through the years, she’d taught her nephew well. Donnie was an excellent baker, and what he didn’t know, he learned quickly. He had a great memory, moved efficiently and neatly around the kitchen, and never wasted anything. I couldn’t have wished for a better employee.

Spraying water into the deep sinks, I started thinking of Hank again. A few days ago, on Tuesday, Hank had said he was working on a solution that could change things for us. But I hadn’t gotten a call from him since then. I missed him so much. When would I feel his arms around me again?

“Chris.” Donnie poked his head in the dish pit entrance, “do you want me to make a new batch of pancake batter?”

“Huh?” I was distracted, getting my shirt wet.

Donnie stared at me for a second, his intense dark eyes narrowing under his black baseball cap. “The pancake batter. Do you want me to fix—”

“If it’s under the mark on the container, yes, please.” I nodded at him. “But take a break first, Donnie.”

“Don’t need one.”

After Donnie had decided to quit school in June, a year short of graduation, Aleid had wanted to teach his quiet, but rebellious son a lesson by sending him to work. Now, as Drika had explained, it had taken a whole lot of convincing on her part, but Aleid had finally agreed that the Frontier was a solution. However, by the way Donnie seemed to enjoy working with me, I was afraid the punishment was turning into a reward. Didn’t think Donnie would be going back to school anytime soon. Whatever happened next, I was thankful for his presence. It was nice having company. And because Aleid was paying half of his son’s minimum wage hourly rate in order to give his sister the convalescence time she needed, my budget was still on target.

I really appreciated Aleid’s generosity, though he wouldn’t return any of my calls.

Donnie hesitated, watching me. Whenever I raised my eyes these days, I’d find him staring at me. “You never take breaks,” he said, staying in the door.

“Yeah, I do. You just don’t see me.” I sprayed the inside of the blender. “I go in the fridge and curl up into the fetal position for a few minutes.

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