Save The Dance (Heart's Landing Book 2) by Leigh Duncan

Author:Leigh Duncan [Duncan, Leigh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gardenia Street Publishing
Published: 2024-05-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Jason swore the temperature in the car had just dropped ten degrees. He hadn’t meant to pry but, judging from the silence that filled the air, he’d touched a nerve. At the next corner, he pointed out a stone heart mounted on one of the few original buildings left in Heart’s Landing and was pleased when Tara warmed enough to ask questions. He enjoyed sharing what he knew about his famous ancestor, and they spent the rest of the ride to the Cottage talking about Thaddeus and Mary, the momentary freeze all but forgotten.

Once he’d parked the car, he left Tara in the library to continue her research and headed for his office. He’d taken less than a half-dozen steps, however, when someone called his name.

“Jason! Yoo-hoo! Jason!” The bottom of a white apron flapping against a pair of churning legs, the head chef for the Captain’s Cottage hurried toward him with a picnic basket. “We have an emergency, Jason.”

His stomach dropped. Images of flames leaping from the kitchen’s massive oven shot through his head. He banished the thought. Connie was upset, but not that upset. Had she discovered melted ice cream dripping from the freezer? Whatever the problem, he reached for his cell phone, ready to call in the cavalry. “What’s wrong, Connie?”

“It’s the strawberries.” Plump cheeks rosy with exertion, the cook skidded to an abrupt stop. “They slid off the cart when Amos was bringing them up from the cooler. An entire flat, ruined.”

Jason sucked in a deep breath and let it out in slow dribbles. Deliberately, he rolled the tension out of shoulders that had gone rock-solid in an instant. “I’m pretty sure we can resolve this without declaring a national emergency.”

“But it’s the strawberries, Jason,” Connie protested. “We’re completely out. You know how many orders we fill for strawberries and cream every night? It’s our most requested item. What am I going to tell our brides and grooms when they ask for them?”

Jason flexed his fingers. “Have you contacted our suppliers? Checked the grocery store?” Someone in Heart’s Landing had to have a few on hand.

“I’ve tried everywhere.” Connie’s bottom lip quivered. Damp white curls escaped the bandana she wore instead of a chef’s toque. “Our only option is the U-Pick place north of town, and I can’t spare someone to go get them. Essie has the day off. Fiona is up to her elbows in cookie dough.” Each afternoon, the kitchen staff replenished the tea and coffee station and put out immense trays of house-made cookies. They were always a big hit. “Can you go?”

He looked down the corridor toward his office. An afternoon of sunshine and fresh air held a definite appeal over the paperwork that awaited him. “I suppose.”

“Oh, good! Look, here.” The cook thrust the picnic basket in his direction. “I packed a lunch for you. All your favorites.” Connie’s eyes filled with a conspiratorial glint. “There’s more than enough for two.”

Jason blinked. His eyes widening, he studied the woman who’d run the kitchen of the Captain’s Cottage his entire life.

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