Page 22 of Long Shot

Seeing what’s available will inspire me. Oh, dear Lord . . . I long to be surrounded by food . . . produce, meats, dairy . . . I close my eyes as the yearning sweeps over me. Getting my hands on the food, a beautiful, balanced, sharp chef’s knife in my hand, the scents rising around me, garlic, lime, cilantro . . .

I pause at the bar, waiting for drinks, gripping the edge of the wood in both hands.

I miss it.

I bow my head. I’ve been away from it for months now and I have to admit I miss it.

This is a chance to maybe get my hands back onto the food, to let my creativity explore things, and to help Sid and, yes, the owners of Conquistadors. I don’t care if I get credit for it. And I don’t want the burden of being responsible for the kitchen. I just want to cook.

Danny’s behind the bar with a clipboard checking the booze inventory.

“Hey, Danny.”

He looks up. “Yeah?”

“Can I come with you to Food Depot tomorrow?”

He frowns. “What?”

“I’m off in the morning. I’m just curious what it’s like.”

“I guess.” He shrugs.

“What time are you going?”

“We usually go around ten.”

“I’ll be here.”

I pick up the drinks and carry my tray to the table, wanting to dance my way over. Cool! Excitement skips in my belly.

Beck appears from behind the bar. Did they go for a bike ride? I can’t stop myself from looking for Cade. I’m always aware of him when he ‘s around. Beck starts helping Alex behind the bar, pouring and mixing, filling beer glasses, laughing with customers. Marco appears, too. As it ‘s dinnertime, things str busy and he helps out, too, moving racks of glasses and dishes. But no Cade.

Not unusual. He often stays in the office working.

I’m super-curious, though, about why he was so pissed off that his buddies were making him take some time off.

When I get a break, I casually stroll past the office. Yep, there he is, behind his desk, focused on his computer as he often is. “Have a nice bike ride?” I ask.

His head jerks up. He frowns at me. “I didn’t go.”

“Oh.” I tilt my head. “Everything okay? You still look angry. Are we being inspected by the health department tomorrow or something?”

He shakes his head, one corner of his mouth kicking up. “No. Not that I know of, anyway.”

“Yeah, they usually don’t give notice.”

“There wouldn’t be a problem if they did.”

“Other than that first-aid kit that needs restocking.”

He frowns. “What?”

I shrug. “Easy fix, though. You should get on that.”

His mouth drops open.

I start down the hall to the staff room, smiling. Damn, I like pushing his buttons.

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