Somebody's Hero by Annie Jones

Author:Annie Jones
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2009-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“Hey, Josie! What can you hook me up with in terms of eats? I need a couple days’ worth of stuff that won’t spoil in a cooler and doesn’t need any fancy prep stuff. You know, like having to cook it.”

“There’s a new invention everyone’s talking about.” Josie’s husband, Adam, the head honcho of the family business, turned slowly on the stool at the counter. “It’s called a grocery store. You ever hear of it?”

“Heard of them but haven’t seen one in about a few years.” About the time the Crumble first started having its financial downturn and the whole town, including the cabins at Twin Cabins Lake, started feeling the pinch.

“Don’t mind your big brother.” Josie came out from the kitchen with a plate in each hand. She set one in front of Adam then whirled away to take the other one to a customer at a nearby table.

The aroma of pie and meatloaf and mashed potatoes threaded throughout the room. Jason’s mouth watered. He ate at Josie’s at least seven times a week. Sometimes, twice that. He glanced around him at the tables, the familiar faces, the prayer list on the wall.

As Josie hurried back to the kitchen, she called out cheerily, “I’ll see what I can pull together.”

“Thanks.” Jason plunked down onto the stool next to Adam’s and gave the shorter, dark-haired man a grunt.

Adam scoffed over his raised coffee cup.

For the brothers this was practically a whole week’s worth of interaction.

“Yep. Don’t mind your older brother, but you might want to have a word with your boss.” Adam lowered his coffee cup and gazed into it.

Jason thought about making a smart remark about Adam admiring his own reflection but thought better of it. “My boss knows where to find me if he needs me.”

“Not in your office,” Adam muttered. “Maybe your boss wonders why you don’t see fit to at least pretend to owe him an explanation for all the work you missed this week. Maybe clear it with him about any other time off you plan to take.”

Jason reached out and flipped over a coffee cup then slid it in front of him. He didn’t really want caffeine this late in the day but he felt compelled to do something as he said in a low, malcontent tone, “We both know nobody needs me at the Crumble.”

“Busy time.” Adam said it clearly as a contradiction.

“Are you kidding me?” Jason rolled his eyes.

“Heritage Days,” Adam mumbled just before he finally put his cup to his lips.

“Ah, I get it.” Jason pushed the empty coffee cup in front of him away and gave a soft but acerbic laugh. “With me otherwise occupied, Josie and Dora are roping you and Burke into the plumb jobs you normally pawn off on me.”

“Hey, as Vice President of Special Projects, you—”

“Yeah. I know.” He held his hand up. “I get paid a whole lot of money to pretty much do what nobody else wants or has time to do. Lucky me.

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