Page 3 of Summer Savory

She wasn’t buying it, if her expression was any sign. I wasn’t ready to tell her the real reason, so I had no choice but to end the conversation. I took one final swig of my coffee and a bite of toast. The cocktail she made for me was long since gone. “I’ll get out of your hair now. I’m sure I’ve taken you away from your breakfast preparation. Besides, my remembrance of this place is that guests aren’t allowed in the kitchen, so I’d hate for you to get into trouble with the head chef. Is it still the same guy? I can’t remember his name, but I’ll never forget his face. He was a mean bastard from what I recall, but he made a mean peach cobbler, so I forgave him for running us off all the time. I’d never had a better one and still had fond memories of it.”

A sound behind me distracted us both before she had time to answer. Terror passed over her face as she snatches the bottle of tequila and made a mad dash for the door. “Be right back,” she called over her shoulder. She came back in a moment and said, “Sorry about that. I had to return that bottle before anyone missed it. Do me a favor, please. Reach into that drawer behind you and grab the purple notebook and a pen. I have to note how much tequila I used so the accountant can charge it to the kitchen instead of the bar.”

“You have to keep track of that small amount?”

“Um, sir, I’m fairly sure you finished about half the bottle. That dog must have been hairy! So, yes, we keep a running tally of consumables we use from other departments and it’s spread out monthly. My only issue is that I don’t have a legitimate business purpose for using that much tequila. If it were wine, it would be no problem to explain. I use it all the time to make sauces, but this is going to be harder to explain.”

“Just say that you were creating some kind of dessert sauce.”

“At 4:00 in the morning?”

“You’re an overachiever. I can tell. Besides, shouldn’t the kitchen have its own supply of booze? I mean, as you said, you make sauces.”

“Is the accounting for the kitchen really of that much interest to you?”

“Not really, but you are.” That got an embarrassed smile from her. But I knew that with the rest of the kitchen staff arriving, I really had to leave. I didn’t want to get her in trouble with her boss. “I hope I see you around, Nora. It was very nice to meet you, and I thank you for taking care of me this morning. I don’t know what I would’ve done had you not fed me.”

“You’d have gone back to your cabin and promptly gotten sick all over your sister’s children, so it’s really no bother. I’m glad I could help.” I took her hand and brought it to my lips. Her skin was soft, which made me wonder what the rest of her felt like.

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