Page 12 of Ever After All

We walked with Kenan down the hallway. “What do you have for the restaurant?” I asked as we turned into the employee break room.

“Fiona is making some improvements in the kitchen. We’ve got a crew coming over to install some things today, so we shut down for the morning,” he explained.

“We need to hustle then,” I replied.

Moments later, we were hefting the new kitchen equipment from where it had been deposited just outside the building on a pallet. A crew was moving swiftly to get things installed.

“Is there a reason you chose to do this on a Wednesday?” I teased lightly.

Kenan shook his head. “No, other than it’s when it got delivered, and we didn’t want to leave it outside. The guys assured me they would have it installed and ready to roll in time for a late opening for lunch. Fiona has everything prepped for locals’ night already.”

Blake happened to come walking into the kitchen and caught the tail end of our conversation. “Because she always does,” he offered.

Kenan grinned over at him. “She always does.”

Just then, our sister McKenna walked into the kitchen from the back hallway. “Oh!” she exclaimed. “That is a shiny stove.”

I chuckled as I straightened from setting it down. Kenan and I carefully adjusted it. “Who moved everything last night to make room in here?” I asked.

“We paid the crew to stay late. They wanted to. They’re all motivated because they want this new stuff,” he explained.

Within about a half hour, we had carried in two new grills for the line cooks and the new oven for Fiona’s baked goods. Everybody pitched in and helped. Fiona and David arrived in the midst of it. David was our longtime chef and had handed over chef duties to Fiona about two years ago to focus solely on the administrative part of managing the restaurant. He was extra busy these days as we were opening up a brewery and winery in the Willow Brook area where our half-brother and cousin lived.

We collectively high-fived when it was finished. McKenna rested her hands on her hips as she smiled at me, literally beaming. “I am so glad you and Griffin are back home.”

“Yeah?” I teased with a grin.

“You know it!” she said before throwing her arms around me in an impulsive hug.

Blake pulled me into a backslapping hug for good measure. When I stepped back and glanced around at my siblings, I couldn’t help the smile that formed. It felt good to be here.

All of us had been scattered for a period of years, including college, life, and so on. Once Rhys made the call to relocate the corporate headquarters back here, most of us gradually returned, except for me and Griffin. I had been thinking of coming back. After McKenna had opened up about what had happened with Jake, it felt like I didn’t have to keep that secret for her anymore.

I still experienced twinges of guilt, but maybe I could find a way to banish those.

“You’ll be at locals’ night tonight, right?” Blake prompted as we began to filter out of the room.

“Of course. Isn’t it required?” I teased.

Kenan chuckled at my side as we walked down the hallway toward the break room. “It’s a soft requirement, but it’s worth it.”

“No argument from me. Good food, good drinks, and plenty of friends and family.”

“And you can catch up on the local gossip,” David added as he followed us into the break room.

“I don’t care about the gossip,” I said.

“You are the gossip,” Blake announced.

“Me?”

“You and Griffin. You’re new to town,” he replied.

“Uh, we grew up here,” I pointed out.

David waggled his brows. “That’s not the point. You recently moved back, and you’re both single.”

Griffin happened to walk in from the back door just as David replied. He caught my eyes but didn’t say a word.

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