Page 32 of Through the Dark Night
“Marina?”
Marina turned and lifted her brows.
“I really appreciate you. I really have no idea what I would have done these last few days without you. Thank you so much.”
“Of course. Sometimes I think we’re sent at exactly the right time to exactly the right place, to do just what we’ve been learning how to do our whole lives.” She lifted her shoulder. “There’s nothing better than to feel like you’re needed and wanted.”
Even though it had been a bit since she arrived, Marina sometimes looked over her shoulder with fear on her face. And she checked her phone quite often with that same look of fear.
Shannon wished there was something she could do to help, but she’d asked Marina multiple times, and Marina had always demurred. Maybe Marina just didn’t want to share, maybe she was embarrassed, or maybeit was something that would get people into trouble. Shannon couldn’t discount that. But the idea that Marina could be some kind of criminal was almost laughable. She was such a conscientious employee, going over and above anything anyone would expect, like today. The idea that she could have done something criminally wrong was almost laughable.
The morning flew by fast, with everyone busy cleaning up the mess the storm had wrought. Chainsaws buzzed in the front yard, and hammers rang throughout the inn.
Just a couple of hours after Shannon had talked to Marina, she was called downstairs for brunch.
Marina had made eggs Benedict on the camp stove, and Shannon wasn’t the only one who was deeply impressed.
As everyone had sat down to eat, after Lance had said a blessing, the door crashed open, and Mateo strolled in.
He looked frantic until his eyes landed on Marina. And then he seemed to calm down, drawing several relieved breaths.
Shannon had to hide her smile. It had been obvious to her since the first day she talked to Mateo about Marina that he had a bit of a crush on her.
“I was just here to check the storm damage. I had heard some rumors in town that there were some trees down and there was damage at the inn, and I wanted to make sure everyone was okay.” He looked around the room at all the people who were sitting and eating.
“Help yourself to some eggs Benedict. They are amazing, and Marina made them on just a camp stove,” Shannon said, watching as Mateo’s eyes widened, and he looked exceptionally impressed. His gaze landed on Marina, and she met his gaze shyly before she looked down at her lap.
Marina set her plate aside as she got up and made a plate for Mateo.
People murmured in the background, but Shannon was watching as Marina handed Mateo his plate along with silverware. She watched their fingers brush and watched Marina’s face look startled and then her cheeks redden.
Mateo seemed equally affected as he held the silverware and continued to try to get Marina to look at him.
It was cute to watch their interplay. But Shannonhad to finish her meal quickly, because there were things at the store that she needed to go get.
When she walked into Fran’s with the familiar bell jingling over top of her, and the familiar smells of cinnamon and freshly painted wood mixing with a bit of mildew and that old scent that buildings had, she breathed it in and then smiled. Fran looked up from arranging souvenirs on a shelf.
“Quite a storm last night, wasn’t it?” Fran said.
“It sure was. It sent me to you this morning because we have a few things that we need to get in order to fix things up.”
“I heard there was a tree down and some damage to the inn.”
“There was.” She had been so afraid that people would say that it wasn’t worth redoing, but no one had said anything of the kind. In fact, everyone had come determined to get things fixed immediately. She had totally forgotten her fear in the hustle and bustle of all of the activity at the inn.
“So tell me,” Fran said, coming over to stand beside Shannon as she looked at Fran’s supply of thumbtacks.
“Yeah?” Shannon said, looking at Fran, considering her a friend.
“You have that mysterious chef. I’ve been hearing some things about her, and… I guess I’m just curious about her background. Do you know where she came from?”
“I don’t have any idea,” Shannon had to admit. “She’s pretty tight-lipped about her past.”
“Dominic had mentioned that he knew a few people who owned restaurants in Chicago and they might know of her, if you’d like me to pass her name along. Or talk to him about her.”
“Why would I do that?” Shannon asked.
“Just checking out her background, making sure everything is on the up and up. She looks like a sweetheart, but references are always a good idea. Just from one business owner to another. I’ve had people that worked here that I would have sworn were clean as a whistle, who ended up walking off with stuff I couldn’t afford to lose.”
