Sooner or Later by Elizabeth Adler

Author:Elizabeth Adler
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780307575173
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2010-01-12T20:00:00+00:00

31

THE FOLLOWING EVENING AT THE CAFE, ELLIE WAS thinking guiltily about Dan. She couldn’t blame him for not answering the phone last night, but she’d had no choice but to stay and cope. That was what she did.

Slamming dishes around tiredly, she thought maybe Chan had a point, and the kitchen was too small. Chan had taken the day off, and between them, she and Terry would cope, but her heart wasn’t in it.

The new kid acting as dishwasher this week suddenly dropped a few plates with a crash and she gritted her teeth, telling herself it didn’t matter.

“What you need, sweetheart, is a night off.” Maya put a stack of plates on the wooden rack. “Look, it’s still early, why don’t you just close up tonight. Go apologize to your fella. Or see your grandmother, or a movie. Anything.”

Ellie shook her head. “How can I?”

“Easy.” Maya walked through the cafe, locked the door, then turned the Open sign to Closed. “It’s done.”

“But I can’t just close without warning. What will my regular customers think?”

“We’ll tell them the chef got hurt and to try again tomorrow night. They’re just going to miss you more, that’s all.”

Ellie looked doubtful, but Maya could tell she was thinking about it. “Well, that’s settled,” she said, shrugging on her jacket. “See you tomorrow, then.”

“Wait,-where are you going?” Ellie grabbed her arm. “What do you mean, tomorrow?”

“Didn’t you hear? We’re closed tonight.”

Maya’s laughter drifted back into the kitchen as she strode out the door. “Get real, Ellie,” she yelled over her shoulder. “Get a life, woman.”

Oh, what the hell, Ellie said to herself; Maya was right. Chan’s not being here wasn’t a good excuse, but it was an excuse of sorts. She told herself she could drive up and surprise Miss Lottie. But she knew what she really wanted was to see Dan.

She made good time, until she got to Camarillo and then the mist began rolling over the valley, slowing her down. Fretting in the dawdling traffic, she dialed her grandmother’s number on the car phone. There was no answer and a few minutes later, she tried again. Still no answer. Frowning, she pressed the off button. Could Miss Lottie be ill? But surely Maria would have called to let her know? Unless she’d had an accident and she’d been taken to the hospital?

Ellie’s heart lurched and she put her foot on the gas, beeping her horn impatiently as a blue Jaguar zipped in front of her. “And where did that snippy little maneuver get you, smartyboots?” she muttered through gritted teeth. “A big six feet in front of me.”

She thought about Dan, uncertain what to do, knowing how mad he must be at her. Dialing his number, she sat, fingers tapping nervously against the steering wheel, listening to the phone ring, unanswered. “Where the hell is everybody this evening?” She groaned. “Has the whole of Santa Barbara County disappeared into the ocean, or what?”

Dan walked the still-steaming mare back through the stableyard. He

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