The air felt chill and damp from a recent rain, and the sky was dark with clouds. Few cars passed on the highway, making the night eerily quiet.
He stepped up onto the porch and tried to doorknob. The door opened easily.
“Stay,” he ordered Rags in a low voice.
Residual heat from the grill and ovens made the kitchen far warmer than the outside air. He eased past the prep stations, all cleaned and ready for the morning shift. In the dim light, reflections were indistinct and blurred. No one was in sight. The place felt deserted.
And then he heard a sob. Alisa!
He hurried to the back where there was a makeshift office and desk where Mama and Alisa did their paperwork, ordering supplies and paying bills.
Alisa had her head down on the desk that was covered with ledger sheets. Another sob shook her shoulders.
Nick hunkered down beside her and placed his hand on her back. His feelings for her lodged like a stone in his chest. “What’s wrong, Alisa?”
She started, lifting her head. “Oh, Nick...” She reached for him, awkwardly wrapping her arms around his neck, and he held her while she sobbed, her head on his shoulder.
“Sh, sh,” he repeated, stroking her back, wondering what could have set her off. Something about Greg? The kid had seemed fine when Nick saw him after school. Had Mama been hurt? With the roads slick with rain, there could have been a bus accident.
“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” he pleaded. “Is it Greg? Your mother?”
Alisa lifted her head. She swiped her tears away with the back of her hand, which didn’t do a thing for her red eyes or runny nose. Nick grabbed for a box of tissue on the desk and handed her one.
“I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this. But with Mama gone... I know it’s only been three days.” Straightening in her chair, she blew her nose. “It’s not Mama. Or Greg. It’s the business, the diner and motel.”
Not sure what she meant, Nick dragged a nearby chair over to the desk and sat down. “What about the diner?”
“Since Mama’s not here, I’ve been going over the accounts.” She gestured toward the records spread out in front of her. “We’ve been losing money every month this year. Summer should have made up for any early losses, but it didn’t. The price of food and supplies have gone up ten-percent or more since January. Today I got the bill for fire and liability insurance. It’s nearly doubled!”
“Ouch. Did you have some claims against you last year?” Insurance companies could do that, jack up your rates if they had to pay out a claim. Or they could increase their rates on a whim.
“No, not a thing. To pay this, I’ll have to take money out of our savings. But the fact is, we can’t go on losing money every month and stay afloat. Mama hadn’t said a word to me about losing money.”
“She probably didn’t want to worry you.”
Exhaling, Alisa finger combed her hair back from her face. “Even if she’d told me, I don’t know what I could do about it. I mean, we have to buy food for the diner, pay the staff. Handle the laundry for the motel and diner. We really need another waitress so I don’t have to worry about both the front and the back. But there aren’t that many places where we could reduce expenses and I don’t see how we could find the extra to hire someone new.”
“Tell you what, sweetheart.” He took her hands and urged her to stand. Although the finances were the immediate problem, Nick suspected stress and overwork were at the crux of her tears. And maybe worry about Mama being away. “Not only did the army send me to Le Cordon Bleu, they had me take classes in how to manage a food service program.” Those classes were pretty boring, but he’d dreamed of someday owning his own restaurant so he’d paid attention. “You’re tired now and stressed out because your mother’s not here.”
Slipping his arm around her shoulders, he eased her through the kitchen toward the stairs.
“When there’s a lull in the action tomorrow,” he said, “you and I can sit down and go over the books. Take a good look at the menu, too. There may be places where you can save without downgrading your service.”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, Nick. I’ve tried to think of everything, but it doesn’t add up to enough to cover the increased costs.”
“Trust me on this. There’s always a way. We just have to find it.”
Nick left her at the bottom of the stairs, and Alisa climbed them by herself.
On the second floor, Alisa checked to see that Greg was okay. He’d thrown his covers off. She pulled them up so he wouldn’t get chilled.
Her throat ached from the tears she’d shed. Her eyes felt like they’d been prodded by hot pokers. Her entire body had been drained of energy. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in Nick’s arms.
Could he really know how to cut costs, figure out a way to make the diner profitable in the face of increasing costs? Or was he just saying that so she’d temporarily forget the truth?
A part of her desperately wanted to rely on Nick. To believe he’d have the answers.
She walked to the window, pulled back the curtain. The light was on in his room across the way.
Would it be foolhardy to trust a man again? To let her heart rule her head? To believe Nick when he called her sweetheart?
Chapter Thirteen
After his morning run with Rags, Nick went to the diner to have breakfast.
He’d had a restless night, but not because of nightmares this time. Instead he’d been tossing and turning trying to figure out where to cut corners on the diner’s budget without impacting the quality of service. For the first time, he wished he’d kept the notes the instructor had handed out in the class.
When he pushed open the diner’s door, the tempting scents of bacon sizzling on the stove, freshly baked sweet rolls and brewed coffee greeted him. Inhaling deeply, he sat down at the counter.
Moments later, Jolene arrived with a steaming mug of coffee.
“Hey, Nick. How’s it going?”
“Can’t complain. How ’bout you?” He dragged the mug closer and wrapped his hands around it.
“I could complain, mostly about my adolescent children, but it wouldn’t do any good.” She chuckled. “What can I get you today?”
“Billy in the back sure is making the bacon smell real tempting this morning and the sweet rolls too. Plus a couple of eggs over easy will do.”
“You got it.”
“Where’s Alisa this morning?”
“She went upstairs to check on Greg getting ready for school. Don’t worry.” Jolene winked at him. “She’ll be back soon.”
“Great.” He frowned a little as Jolene went off to place his order. What had that wink been for? He had the distinct impression that Jolene thought he and Alisa had something going on between them. No matter how much he liked the idea, that wasn’t going to happen.
He swiveled around to size up the customers. About three-quarters of the booths were occupied, mostly with families with young children plus some couples on their own. Tourists, he imagined. They rarely got an overflow crowd for breakfast so the banquet room was dark.
Taking a gulp of coffee, he wondered where area businesses held their meetings. Probably Sandy’s Lakeside Restaurant, a more upscale restaurant than the diner. Still, there had to be a way to pick up some of that business.
He turned back to the counter just as Alisa arrived with his breakfast. Based on the dark circles under her eyes, she hadn’t slept any better than he had.
“How are you feeling this morning?” he asked.
“A little gluey eyed,” she admitted.
“If you’re still worried about the diner running at a loss, don’t be. There are lots of ways we can improve the bottom line.”
“If you say so.” She reached for the coffeepot and filled up his mug.
“Yeah, that’s what all the guys say.” Her lips tilted with the hint of a smile before she carried the coffeepot down the counter to fill another customer’s mug.
* * *
About midmorning, Alisa sat down at the desk in the back of the kitchen. Nick pulled up a chair beside her.
“Okay, let’s take a look at what you’ve got,” he said.
She turned the ledger around so he could read it. “I suppose we could reduce the number of items on our menu, but that might shrink the number of customers we get.”
“First we’ll take a look at the top ten food items you spend the most on every month.”
Her forehead tightened. “I’ll have to get that from the invoices.” He waited while she pulled the wholesaler’s folder from the nearby filing cabinet. Aware that they were sitting very close together, close enough that she caught the pleasant scent of coffee on his breath, she scanned the most recent invoice. “Chicken quarters for the special are always a big item.”
“Okay.” He reached across the desk to grab a sheet of scratch paper and a pencil. He started a list. “Chicken quarters. What’s next?”
His arm had brushed her hand as he had stretched to get the paper, leaving a band of residual warmth. “Hamburger meat.”
“You buy that in bulk?”
“No, in ready-formed patties.”
“There’s a place where you could save. You’d lose some efficiency, but it could save you several cents per burger.”
“A few cents won’t help much.”
“Won’t it?” he challenged. “How many burgers do you serve a week?”
She eyed his jaw closely, noticing that he’d cut himself while shaving. The urge to kiss-it-and-make-it-all-better came out of nowhere. She quickly shoved the thought aside and did the calculation. “I see what you mean.”
He put a check mark beside ground beef. “You can probably negotiate a better deal if you buy more and store the extra in your freezer. If you’ve got room.”
Alisa considered that possibility and thought it might work. Continuing through the invoices, she named several other items that were at the top of the expense list. He came up with ways to reduce the cost, assuming the wholesaler would cooperate.
“You’re good at this,” she said.
“Despite what you’ve heard about the government, the army really does try to keep their expenses down and still feed the troops decent meals.”
“You really liked being in the army, didn’t you?”
“It was like belonging to a real family.” He shuddered a bit, then glanced away, staring unfocused into the distance. “I hadn’t had much of that when I was growing up.”
Her heart aching for the boy he’d been, she touched his arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well...” He shrugged off the moment. “I’ll call your wholesaler, see what kind of a deal I can make on these items you buy the most. Meanwhile, let’s talk about how we can make better use of the banquet room.”
That suggestion stopped her as well as his slip into talking about we instead of her. She suppressed her need to ask him about that. “We have a few birthday and anniversary parties in there. Plus it fills for Thursday night specials and on holidays like Easter and Mother’s Day.”
“Okay. But what you need to do is look for regular events. Business sales meetings. Social clubs that get together weekly or monthly.”
“Most of those go to Sandy’s Lakeside Restaurant.”
“So let’s talk to some of the groups about meeting here. I’d guess our prices are cheaper. Still good food. You know most everybody in town. Ask around.”
She worried her lower lip. “Wouldn’t that be unethical? Trying to steal customers from Sandy’s? They’re really good people. I don’t want to turn them into enemies.”
“Maybe you don’t steal. You make up a banquet flyer with choices and the prices. If we’re competitive with Sandy’s, folks will come to us. It will be their decision.”
Considering the possibility, she nodded. “That might work. I’ll have to check with Mama.”
“I understand. Now, let’s talk about a take-out menu. Every time I drive by the Pee-Wee Drive-In, they’re busy. We could attract customers who want a little more than just a burger and fries yet don’t want to take time to eat a sit-down meal.”
“I’d never thought of that.”
Nick leaned back in his chair. “I was thinking last night about how popular the Thursday special is. How ’bout we add a Tuesday night special?”
“Oh, that would be too much for Mama to handle. You know it isn’t easy to make those dumplings and terribly time consuming.”
“I was thinking more along the lines of an all-you-can-eat spaghetti and salad special. That’s a low-cost meal and high profit. Kids would love it.”
She cocked her head. “Are you talking about using your mother’s recipe for the sauce?”
“Authentic Italian pasta sauce. Sounds like a match for authentic Czech dishes, doesn’t it? Can’t do the homemade pasta though, not and keep the price low enough to appeal to families.”
Her heart did an extra beat. Was Nick suggesting that he’d stay in Bear Creek? Make the spaghetti sauce himself?
“I, um... That sounds like a great idea.”
His grin creased his cheek and made her heart take tumble.
The number of cost-cutting and increased sales ideas Nick tossed out astounded Alisa. He might be a trained chef, but at heart he was a solid businessman. The kind of businessman who would make an excellent partner. If he were planning to stay in Bear Lake.
Which, if it was a part of God’s plan, might just be the case.
* * *
They made it through the weekend without Mama, and Alisa was feeling pretty good about implementing some of Nick’s ideas for the diner. On Tuesday, he negotiated a deal with their wholesale distributor that would save the Pine Tree Diner nearly a thousand dollars a month.
The man was a genius!
Hearing Greg’s voice outside, she knew he was home from school and had engaged Rags in yet another game of fetch. Smiling, she stepped out onto the porch. Nick was sitting on the lower step watching the action.
“Looks like Rags has become my boy’s best friend,” she said.
Nick glanced up at her. “Or maybe it’s the other way around.”
She sat down on the step above his. “I’ve always told him he couldn’t have a dog because we can’t have animal hair all over the place in the diner. Maybe I should reconsider.” Her son had never been happier than he had been since Rags and Nick had arrived in Bear Lake.
Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t quite squelch the admission that she liked having Nick around too. And his dog.
Greg and Rags came running back toward the diner.
“Hey, Mom. Guess what?”
“The moon is made of green cheese,” she teased.
Her son’s jaw came unhinged. “Huh?”
“Come here, silly. Let me give you a hug.”
Dutifully, Greg came close enough for a quick hug before hopping off the steps. “I was gonna tell you that tomorrow is a teachers’ institutional day.”
“Institutional?” Nick echoed. “I remember a few teachers who needed to be—”
“Hush,” she admonished him with a laugh. “Are you sure you don’t mean institute day, honey?”
“Yeah, somethin’ like that.” Greg knelt in front of Rags and got a full-face lick of approval. “Anyway, there isn’t any school tomorrow. I thought maybe we could all do something together.”
All, meaning that Nick and Rags should be part of whatever they did.
“Greg, I don’t know. With Mama still away—”
“I th
ink that’s a great idea. We could all use a day off. Hector and Billy Newton can handle cooking during the day, but I’ll need to be back in time to prepare dinner.” Standing, Nick leaned against the hand railing, lifting his brows as if to say she needed the break more than anyone else. “What’d you have in mind, sport?”
“We could go fishing.” The twinkle in Greg’s eyes, and the hope Alisa saw there, brought a lump to her throat.
“I don’t know, sport. I borrowed all that gear from Ted, and that was for a special occasion. I don’t want to bug him to borrow his stuff all the time.”
Some of the excitement left Greg’s eyes. “You could go buy some more fishing stuff just for us.”
“Gregory Andrew Machak! We do not ask people to spend their hard-earned money on us. Do you understand?”
The boy hung his head and kicked at the dirt with the toe of his shoe.
Nick knelt down to Greg’s level. “Tell you what, we don’t have to fish to have a good time. The weather’s supposed to be good tomorrow during the day. I bet your mom knows a good place to picnic on the other side of the lake. We could take the boat, spread out a blanket when we get there. Maybe toss a ball around and skip rocks in the lake. How does that sound?”
Greg eyed Alisa from under his long eyelashes.
She held her breath. It sounded like a great idea for Greg. Less so for her. Picnics were things families did together. The thought of storing up that kind of a memory for both her and her son frightened her. The memory might be too hard to forget.
“What do you think, Mom?” Nick asked with a teasing glint in his eyes that matched the hope in Greg’s. “We could leave after the breakfast rush and be back in plenty of time to get ready for the dinner crowd.”
Alisa blew out a sigh. They were double-teaming her. How could she possibly say no to such an innocent sounding outing when she knew how much her son wanted it?
“All right, you two. A picnic it is. I’ll pack us some lunch in the morning.”
Greg cheered. “Come on, Rags. We all get to go on a picnic tomorrow.” The two of them went racing off.
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