Page 7 of Stirring Up Love
Billy used his tongue to push the lollipop into his cheek. “I know it’s against protocol, but I wouldn’t worry, Simone. No one can touch your grandpa’s recipe.”
Her mouth bunched into a knot of frustration. Hergrandpa’srecipe. She ducked under the thin rope anchoring the tent, then jogged down a few stalls to where Meg was unloading crates of eggs. “Margaret, did you hear about a new guy selling barbecue?”
Meg shook her head, sending her wavy brunette ponytail bouncing. She stacked the box with a grunt, then leaned out and shaded her eyes, but the guy had disappeared into the tent. “He cute?”
“His attractiveness is hardly the operative issue here,” Simone said. “As always, your libido is off the charts.”
“Which is a fancy way of saying yes, he’s smoking hot.” Meg gave as good as she got, and Simone couldn’t help but grin. Trading jabs with Meg was one of her purest joys in life. But now was not the time for messing around.
“Why would Tim give up his spot to a barbecue guy? Everyone knew my plan to start selling Honey and Hickory’s sauce this year.”
“Maybe he didn’t tell Tim what he was selling.” Meg swiped at her glistening upper lip with her forearm, her fair skin flushed from the heat.
Simone squinted toward where the man had vanished. “He did look like a sneak. Wouldn’t surprise me if he wormed his way in here under false pretenses.” How could she ever make good on her plans to build up this town when she couldn’t even manage to handle her small piece of it?
Becoming a regular at the market was supposed to show people how committed she was to this town. Prove she was still a local, despite her sojourn in Chicago. What if everyone flocked to the newcomer’s booth and ignored hers?
A braver woman might have taken the chance to find out once and for all where she stood in the hearts of those she used to count as family. Too bad she’d used up all her courage on taking over the restaurant and starting fresh.
But bravado? That she had in spades.
She yanked her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contacts.
“What are you doing?” Meg’s voice held an edge of worry. She’d taken over coddling Simone, since Alisha’s cookie shop in Chicago didn’t leave her extra time to keep tabs on her. Even though Simone missed her, she loved the new dynamic where they were just sisters, not each other’s keepers.
“Calling in reinforcements.” Asking for help never came easy, but she hadn’t moved home just to sit on the sidelines. Time to rally the troops.
A show of solidarity just might be the thing to make the new guy rethink his choice of venues next week. She backed out of the tent before Meg could respond and jogged down the aisle, toward her pickup. If they agreed to come, her backup would need help hauling their wares.
One hour until the market opened. Plenty of time to launch an offensive.
CHAPTER 4
FINN
8:56 a.m.
Cutting it close, as usual. Finn switched his phone to speaker and set it on the dashboard, only half listening as he dug under the front seat in search of his credit card reader. A stray sock, a toothbrush—that’s where it went—a spoon covered in dried yogurt. He really ought to clean out his car more often.
“Finn, are you still there?” Bella—his boss, mentor, and close friend—sounded exasperated, a notch above her default setting of mildly perturbed.
“Yeah.” With a shudder, he shoved the crusty spoon back under the seat, and it clanked against something solid. His card reader? Leaning farther into the car, he said, “I think you should go with avocado puree for the tasting menu.”
“I was asking if you’d heard from Victor.”
Oh. He bent his shoulder to the floorboard, reaching with his fingertips.
“Another no call, no show. His third in the last week. I’m gonna have to cut him loose.”
That made him halt his search. He’d vouched for the teen, whom he’d met while Victor was doing community service at the meal-distribution center for a vandalism charge. From what he’d pieced together, Victor had basically been on his own all year, bouncing between relatives after his mom’s incarceration. The job was supposed to help him support his younger siblings without getting sucked into dealing or theft.
“Give me a day at least to see if I can get in touch with him, Bell.”
The sound of pots clanging hit his ears. “Okay, but as much as I love your bleeding heart, I’ve got a business to run. Kid wants to work, he’s got a job. If not, I’ll give it to someone who does.”
Victor did want to work; Finn believed that without a doubt. But sometimes it wasn’t that simple. Still, Bella couldn’t run the restaurant short staffed forever. “Heard,” he said, knowing kitchen slang needled her when he wasn’t on the clock.
“Quit with that, mister. By the way, if you’re not delivering meals, why are you awake right now? Jade said you didn’t get out of here until after midnight.”
