Page 15 of The Chef's Kiss
“This is private property.” She must have seen the signs at the dock that only those with authority could park their boats there.
“Taking in homeless people, Conrad?” the woman asked, one eyebrow raised. “And giving them my job. Should I be worried?”
“I thought I told you to take today off, Amelia.” Conrad rubbed the back of his neck.
“And I told you I didn’t want to.” She was still looking at me. “Hello, there.”
I understood everything so clearly. Turning to Conrad, I growled. “Are you serious right now?” Stomping from the barn, I paused to wipe my feet on a patch of grass before heading to where Ace stood in the center of the exercise pen.
Horses had always been mine and Conrad’s thing as kids, what we had in common. Our other brothers couldn’t have cared less about the horses we kept on our property, but it was the one connection I had to any of them.
I climbed onto the wooden fence and straddled it. Ace came over immediately, probably hoping for treats. I rubbed a hand down his nose, wishing I could take back so many of my decisions. Then, I’d be sitting in my dorm room, preparing to graduate and figure out what came next.
Instead, I was here.
I didn’t hear Conrad approach, but I knew he was there.
“Amelia works for me.”
I snorted. “Obviously. And you told her to stay home today so I could do all the stuff you pay her for. You said you needed help, Conrad.”
“Yeah, well, we’re Ashfords. We say a lot of things.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Our family was known for manipulating situations to suit our needs. We didn’t lie, exactly, but the truth was flexible. Except, Conrad was usually spared from the Ashford behaviors.
“You’re trying to force me back to Dad’s.” He didn’t want me here, and how could I blame him? All I’d done my entire life was mess up. Sure, I was about to be a Harvard graduate, but they all thought I didn’t know how big of a donation it took my father to get me in, even with the Ashford name.
Conrad sighed that big brother sigh I was once so used to. “Why don’t you want him to know you’re here?”
Because, unlike my brothers, I wanted my father’s approval. He knew me better than anyone, and I was so afraid he’d look me in the eye and know the truth before I could come up with a lie. “You know how stifling that house is.” It never was for me. It was one of the reasons I wasn’t particularly close with Conner or Carter, why in all these years at school, I barely kept in contact with them.
Conrad made a sound of agreement in the back of his throat. He’d been a favorite once too, until he chose his own path. Father divided us, putting Conrad and me—oldest and youngest—against the other two.
Ace nudged my hand, and I turned my attention to him. “You’re a much nicer beast than Red.”
“Jorgie—”
“Can we not talk about Dad? Please.”
He stared at me for a long moment before issuing a slow nod.
A putrid smell wafted off my clothing, curdling in my stomach. I jumped off the fence, running far enough away so that when the meager contents of my stomach came up, they landed in a thicket.
Ace nickered, and I lifted my head in time to see my doom heading straight for me in the form of two well-dressed men wearing matching frowns.
6
HUDSON
How could I open a restaurant with no waitresses?
Fact: I couldn’t.
I sat in the center of town at a picnic table across from Lena as we went over some of the preparations that were underway. A few people passed by and stared.
“You’ve caused quite the stir.” Lena smiled as she bit into her grilled cheese.
I’d never been much for food trucks, but I had to admit there was nothing like the Cheddar Chariot. The way they blended cheese and flavors like apple chutney or various vegetables was genius. I made a note to look into putting an artisan grilled cheese on the menu. The kids’ menu, of course. Something Lena said we had to have.
