But she couldn’t kid herself.
Ginger and Adam wouldn’t be hurt by whatever happened here. Jacob would. That couldn’t be helped, but knowing that didn’t make her happy. Not in the least.
* * *
Josie Gallagher was easy to talk to. Maybe too easy, Jacob realized on the drive back to the inn, because Jacob wasn’t a talker by nature. But when she stood there, her expression intent, he knew she wasn’t just listening politely. She was hearing him, and the understanding in her eyes loosened his tongue even more.
But as receptive as she was, he couldn’t forget that he’d be leaving in a couple of months, and she’d be here, running her highly regarded restaurant in a new location. He wanted it to work out for her, and he’d been pleased when she accepted the offer to come on board with the inn.
But she’d surprised him, too.
After balking so firmly, to have her quietly acquiesce seemed out of character.
Out of character? Like you know her that well?
Maybe out of sync with their initial meeting was a better assessment, he decided. He didn’t know her well, but he knew enough to realize he liked what he saw. She was unique, and not just in womanly ways. Josie Gallagher marched to her own drummer, and while he couldn’t deny he found that attractive, she’d need to fall in line somewhat to make the transition from freestanding restaurant to being part of an enclave. Judging from what he’d seen so far, Josie didn’t worry all that much about blending.
He pulled into the service parking area on the backside of the hotel. One moving van had already pulled in there. The others had taken the bulk of Josie’s equipment to the massive trailer parked between his office trailer and the hotel. The crew would store her stuff there while the kitchen was made ready. He’d set up a meeting with Josie and Maybelle, the kitchen designer Carrington had brought on board, and when Josie’s small car pulled in forty-five minutes later, he pretended he hadn’t been watching for it.
She didn’t cross the hard hat area this time, but that might be because she saw him watching. She paused, swept the work area a slow, searching gaze, then grinned and stayed to the right side of the tape barriers. She didn’t duck under to purposely tweak him and the crew, but she acted like she wanted to, and for some reason, that made him feel lighter inside. “You resisted temptation,” he said as she strolled up the walk. She darted a glance behind him, and her eyes lit up.
“Only because I didn’t want to get you riled up before our meeting with the kitchen queen.”
“Kitchen queen?” He halted as Maybelle approached from the opposite direction. “Um…”
“You got that right.” The dark-skinned woman grinned as she drew closer. “When I heard that you were steppin’ in on the ground floor, I said to myself, now there’s a Yankee with just enough sass and sauce to be Cajun to the core. How are you doin’, Josie June?”
“Delighted to be working with the best of the best,” Josie told her, then hugged the stout older woman. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw you walking this way, but there’s only one Maybelle Watts who runs the kitchen circuit, and here you are.”
“You two know each other?” Jacob looked from one to the other. “How is that possible?”
“I worked in Louisiana bayou country for several years,” Josie told him. “And Maybelle had done the design on two of the biggest and best Cajun kitchens cable TV can offer. I borrowed all the ideas I used in my place from things she’d already set up for Big Bobby and Tuck. Maybelle, it’s a pleasure and an honor to be working with you.”
“Well, let’s get down to it, then. I’m not used to settin’ things up and worryin’ ’bout winter for six months of the year, so this is something of a challenge,” Maybelle said as they moved into the soon-to-be-finished hotel. “But the space they’ve allotted is sweet, and if we can have a covered area back here—” she waved toward the back access door “—where the smoker can be set up for year-round use, but folks don’t have to be standing hip deep in snow to take care of things? That would be good.”