Erin Kern - Along Came Trouble

Travis threw him a borderline murderous look. “Of course I did. Either that guy’s taste buds are off or he was just having a bad day.”

So it was the critic’s fault? “No matter the guy’s mood, he’s now going to give an honest opinion about his experience. Which wasn’t good,” Brody added in case Travis didn’t seem to understand the severity of the situation.

The pan settled on the stove with a loud clang. Travis turned to face Brody. “Look, I tasted that dish and it was perfect. Get another reviewer in here and I’ll show you. Those other two clowns don’t know what they’re talking about.”

“Travis, when a possible customer is reading a review, they’re not thinking about whether or not a reviewer knows what they’re talking about. All they see is that this person had a bad experience. A bad review can have more of an effect on a restaurant than a good review can.”

The man turned back to his food. He picked up the pan and dumped the pasta dish onto a plate. “I’m fully aware of that.” Then he handed the plate over to Maria at the garnish station. Travis turned back to Brody. “I’ve already had the shit come down on me from your father.” The chef’s voice lowered a notch. “He said if this guy had anything negative to say, he’d fire me.”

Now, that was a real problem for both of them. Usually Brody took care of hiring and firing people. However, this was Martin’s place, and if he wanted to fire the chef, that was his prerogative. There’d be little Brody could do to stand in his old man’s way.

He pinned the chef with an aggravated look and forced his words to come out calm. “Your ass isn’t the only one on the line here, Travis. I have a son to think about.”

He left the kitchen and Travis to his work. When he’d first hired Travis, the man had been pretty good. The restaurant had just gotten rid of Gary and had been desperate to get someone back in the kitchen. Martin hadn’t been thrilled with the man and had compared his food to a low-grade buffet. Not a high compliment for a head chef. Fortunately for Travis, he was surrounded by excellent sous-chefs who did their best to cover up his inconsistent food.

Even though Martin hadn’t said so, Brody had a feeling Travis was his last chance. They may be father and son, but his old man was a hard-ass when it came to business. Brody had no doubt Martin wouldn’t hesitate to fire him if things didn’t pick up soon.

He was running out of options. Fast.

Charlene broadsided him the second he pushed through the kitchen doors. “This will be the third bad review we’ve had under Travis.”

He continued to walk past her. “We don’t know the review will be that bad.” Well, he actually did. But he didn’t need Charlene to be negative in addition to him and his father. Charlene was this restaurant’s sunshine.

She fell into step beside him. “I guess we’ll have to see. Kelly’s here, by the way.”

Just what he did not freakin’ need right now.

There had been a time when he’d loved Kelly very much. Her bright smile and willowy body had attracted him when he first met her. Her pregnancy had been completely unexpected, leading to a rushed marriage. Then she had Tyler, and over the course of their marriage, they’d gone from being a married couple to simply existing with each other. Kelly deserved better than that. She’d deserved to be with a man who could worship her the way she should have been worshipped. Brody just hadn’t been that man.

He came to a stop in front of her. “I can’t really talk right now.”

“This can’t wait, Brody. I have to leave this evening.”

A weary sigh flowed out of his lungs. “All right.” He turned and led her to his office so they could speak in private. Sometimes being on the floor gave him a headache. He’d been having a lot of those lately.

“I don’t know how I feel about you leaving our son with a woman I’ve never met,” he said after Kelly told him about having to leave town to take care of her mother. He completely understood the reason for she and Colin to leave. Brody would have done the same thing for Martin or Carol. Unfortunately, Brody couldn’t leave the restaurant every day for long periods of time to pick up Tyler, and he couldn’t bring the boy back here—especially with all the tension in the restaurant. But some stranger Brody knew nothing about? He didn’t love that idea either. For all he knew, this woman could be some witchcraft-practicing basket case who would have his son worshipping Mother Earth within a week. No thank you.

Kelly crossed one leg over the other. “I know her, and Tyler knows her. She lives right down the street from us. I trust her.”

Brody swiveled back and forth in his leather chair. “Okay, point made. But that doesn’t remedy the fact that I don’t know her.”

Her green eyes lifted to the ceiling. “What suggestion do you have, then? What about Lacy? She’s home during the day with Mason.”

Lacy was married to Chase, Brody’s older brother, and had always been like a sister to him. And normally a very wise choice. But not this time. “She’s also eight months’ pregnant and on strict bed rest.”

She threw him her famous you-are-so-frustrating glare. “What about Noah’s wife, Avery?”

“Avery already has her hands full with her own daughter and watching Mason while Chase is at work.” While Lacy was on bed rest, Brody’s other sister-in-law Avery, who was married to Brody’s oldest brother, Noah, had volunteered to watch Lacy and Chase’s son, Mason.

Kelly tossed her hands up in the air. “See, all you’re doing is proving my point for me. Everyone I know either works or Tyler doesn’t know them. She lives right down the street and Tyler can walk there after school and I just need you to pick him up when you leave here.” She pointed a finger at him. “And not at midnight either. You’d need to be there in time to feed Tyler some dinner.”

One side of his mouth kicked up. Kelly always had a little temper on her. “Sounds like I don’t have much of a choice.”

Both her fair eyebrows shot up her forehead. “I didn’t come here to get your permission. I just needed to fill you in on the situation.”

“Point taken.”

She stared at him. “I’m serious about the midnight thing.”

“I hear you.”

“Because I know how you like to work late.”

“I’m aware you do.”

Her eyes narrowed at him. “Why do I get the feeling you’re mocking me?”

“Because I am.”

She chose to ignore his last comment and glanced at her watch. “I have to go pick Tyler up before I leave.” She stood from her chair and headed to his office door. “Please try to pick him up at a reasonable hour.”

This time he couldn’t help but smile. “Heard you the first time, Kel. Wait,” he said, then stood and came around the desk toward her. “I’m sorry to hear about your mom. I know the two of you are close.” Kelly was so much shorter than he that she had to crane her neck when he stood in front of her. “I hope she’ll be okay.”

Her mouth turned up in an understanding grin. “Thanks. I’ll call in a few days and check on things.”

Elisa was ninety-nine point nine percent sure she knew absolutely nothing about eleven-year-old boys. Were they too young to be interested in girls? Too old to play board games? These things were not a part of her common knowledge, because it had been way too long since she’d been around a boy Tyler’s age. The fact that she didn’t know much about Tyler didn’t help either.

After his mother dropped him off, he sat down at the table and started working on math problems far beyond her comprehension. Just to strike up a conversation, she’d asked him if he needed help. Not that she’d been able to help him anyway. Fractions were not her friend.