by Judi Lynn
When they got back to Mill Pond and settled in, Joel went to fold the clothes in the dryer and let her watch whatever she wanted. They’d call it an early night. They had to be up and at the brewery early tomorrow. And, thankfully, when they headed to their bedrooms, Joel was tired enough to fall to sleep instantly. Once, sometime in the night, he stretched his arm out for Miriam but then remembered she wasn’t there. She wouldn’t be. Only on Fridays and Saturdays and, damn it, he was going to go with that and enjoy it while it lasted.
Chapter 28
Miriam pulled into a parking space behind the brewery on Monday morning and her pulse skipped a beat when she saw Joel’s big, green pickup near the back door. She’d missed the man, damn it, couldn’t wait to see him again, but there was no reason he needed to know that. She put on her kick-butt face as she walked through the door. Voices came from the kitchen, so she went there first.
Joel was working with his cook, making big pots of chili and taco meat. When he looked up and saw her, he dropped what he was doing to come straight to her and wrap her in a hug. “God, I’ve missed you.”
Tears threatened. Her insides melted. She felt like soft cream cheese wrapped in skin. But he didn’t need to know that either. She smiled and gave a small salute. “Miriam Reinhardt, reporting for duty.”
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Adele’s in the dining room, filling ketchup and mustard bottles. She won’t last long. I’m helping to get the food ready.” He motioned to the cook. “Miriam, Dave. Dave, Miriam. If you’d help Audrie with orders today, I’d appreciate it.”
Miriam knew Dave. He’d almost flunked sophomore English, but he was a hard worker. He’d graduated and gone straight into working at the local plastics factory. Unfortunately, the factory had shut down two months ago. “Is Audrie here now?”
“Yup, wrapping silverware. You’ve probably taught her and all my counter help at one time or another. Except for Audrie, they’re in high school or college and work part-time. I’m hoping Audrie might stay on if things work out well.”
Joel had gotten a good worker in Audrie. Miriam had just finished teaching her youngest sister, who’d graduated in June. She’d taught all three girls in the family and liked every one of them. Audrie was twenty-three and married, with a one-year-old at home. She’d heard a lot about the new baby from Beth, her sister. He’d been a colicky little boy, fussy and demanding, but he’d been the first. The family adored him. Her mom babysat while she worked.
Miriam headed to the dining room. She passed three more girls she’d taught—Sammi, Madison, and Gia. All good girls. If Joel had hired them, he’d done a good job.
Madison, who’d just finished her second year at Bloomington, stared at her. “Are you working here, Miss Reinhardt?”
Miriam felt herself puff up with pride. “I’m helping my friend, Joel, get started. We’ve been seeing each other.”
Madison couldn’t hide her surprise. Miriam didn’t blame her. No one thought Mill Pond’s old-maid schoolteacher would ever hook up with a guy. “Well, it’s nice seeing you.”
Miriam smiled. “Nice seeing you, too.” In the dining room she sidled up to Audrie—a good, solid student. Not straight As but never lower than Cs. “Joel’s a friend of mine. He sent me to help you. I’m just temporary until he gets all the kinks worked out. What do you want me to do?”
Audrie nodded toward Adele. “She’s a sweet girl, but she’s struggling. If you can get salt and pepper shakers, sugars, and ketchup and mustard on each table, that would be great.”
Miriam watched Adele and finally really understood what Joel had been trying to tell her. Even small chores were hard for the girl, but he wanted her to feel like she was part of this. Her twisted hand made it hard for her to hold the ketchup bottles while she flipped a bigger bottle over to refill them. Miriam watched for a minute, then sauntered beside her and gripped the top bottle. “Move it, lard ass. You’re being a poky pants. I’ll fill them if you hold them.”
Adele had been looking frustrated. Now, she laughed. “We’ll be a team.”
It still wasn’t fast, but it was better. Miriam could have done it in half the time, but by ten thirty, they had every table in the family room and bar ready to go. They’d started the coffee urns and made an urn of iced tea. Then Adele gladly scurried back to Joel’s office and her beloved TV.
At eleven Joel walked to the front door and turned to look at his workers. “Are you ready?”
Everyone looked a little intimidated. A line was starting outside. They nodded, and he unlocked the brewery for business.
It was constant customers from then to the end of the night at eight. First-shift workers traded places with evening workers and the line of customers never slowed down. Friends from town came to check out the brewery, but lots and lots of tourists flocked in, too. By the end of the night everyone looked at one another and shook their heads.
Miriam worked hard as a teacher. She came home every night mentally and emotionally exhausted. But she’d never been on her feet from eight in the morning until eight at night. She thought her legs might die. She’d started out helping Audrie serve customers. They placed their orders at the front of the line, then the three girls—Sammi, Madison, and Gia—made them to order, and then the customers received them and paid for them at the end. Sounded simple, but there were so many orders, they could hardly keep up. Miriam ended up helping wherever she was needed.
Dave, the cook, grinned. “Well, I guess you don’t have to worry about not having enough business, and we survived. We didn’t run out of anything and everyone got good service.”
Joel ran a hand through his soft, brown hair. Miriam’s fingers itched. She loved the feel of his hair. He gave a soft laugh. “Everyone was curious. Maybe tomorrow won’t be as rushed.”
But Miriam had a feeling Joel had hit on something Mill Pond had been waiting for. And more and more tourists were finding their way here. He’d be lucky if business slowed down when the weather turned cold.
Joel gave a big smile. “We survived our grand opening. Trial by fire. Let’s clean up and get out of here.”
They knew what to do. Everyone cleaned their own stations, and Joel motioned to Tom, the dishwasher and custodian. “We’ll stay out of your way while you sweep and mop so you can walk out with us.” Tom was older, in his early forties, and had lost his job when the plastics factory closed. While everyone else scrubbed and sterilized, Joel wrapped up the paperwork for the night, and Miriam went to check on Adele. In an hour everyone was ready to leave.
When they finally walked out the door and locked up for the night, she leaned against Joel as he walked her to her car. “I’ve had it. I’m pooped. I need to go home to my cats, but I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
He pulled her in for a kiss before he opened her car door for her. “Thanks for all the help. You made things go a lot smoother. I appreciate it.”
She pursed her lips. “You’ve done a good thing here. You’ve provided some good people with good jobs. They needed them. And you’ll bring even more tourists into Mill Pond.”
He looked uncomfortable. “I feel sort of guilty hiring such solid people because they lost their jobs at the factory, but my pay isn’t much off what the factory paid them. It isn’t a high-wage place to work.”
He was such a nice person! Miriam reached out and hugged him. “They’re just glad they aren’t going to lose their houses and have to move somewhere else to find work.”
He pressed his lips together and nodded. “Did you know Maya’s going to work here two nights a week?”
“My Maya?”
“Is there any other?” Joel laughed at her and she blushed.
“After all Hazel’s done for her, is she leaving her on her own at the day care center to work here?”
“Nope. There weren’t any kids in the evenings, and Hazel liked that. She can manage the rest during the days and have her evenings to herself.”
Miriam’s thoughts returned to Maya and Joel shoo
k his head.
“What now? She’s starting college this fall, but your wheels are still turning; I can tell.”
He always caught her out. He was too damned intuitive. “I still think that girl would like accounting more than teaching.”
“Then I’m sure you’ll mention it.” Joel ran a finger over her cheek and a thrill shot through her. “You’re pretty damned special. Now go home and get some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She was so tired, she could hardly move. She’d fall asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. But she still wanted him in bed next to her. That would have to wait, though. Her own fault. But this had better be temporary. If she had to throw herself on her knees and beg him to move in with her, she just might.
Chapter 29
For the next few days Joel tweaked things at the work stations. Business never slowed down, so he hired two more part-time people—one to work with Audrie during the day and another to work with Faith when she took Audrie’s place in the evenings. The two guys he’d hired to work in the brewery started out smooth and just kept getting better. He was selling so much beer, he considered setting up two more tanks.
His beer guys had ideas about that, too.
“I think we should do a citrusy beer,” Collin urged. He’d dropped out of college in his second year—hated number crunching—and had worked his way up to being a bartender in Bloomington since then, but he really wanted to move home. The job pickings were slim, though, so when his mom had read the ads for the brewery, she’d called him and he’d come for an interview. Joel considered himself lucky to get him.
“The light beers went over with girls in college.” Collin said. “When girls frequent a place, guys come. They won’t hang out in the family room, but you have a neat bar. They’d come here.” He grinned.
Casey, his best friend at Mill Pond High, who’d worked lots of odd jobs before applying here, nodded. “I’d like us to make a beer with a lot of foam, a good head. Some people look for that.”
They discussed ingredients and decided to make a few buckets of home brew in the back room where they bottled the beer. The guys impressed Joel with their enthusiasm and knowledge, so he crossed off the brewery as something to worry about.
The only disappointment he’d had so far was Ross, the guy he’d hired to be his right-hand man. He came to work when he felt like it. He hadn’t been on time once since the brewery opened. He always had an excuse. He was having car trouble. His girlfriend broke her toe and he had to drive her to emergency care. His alarm clock didn’t go off. Finally, Joel called him into his office and sent Adele to help Miriam for a while.
He spread his hands. “Do you want this job or not? I need someone who can take my place when I want a day off, someone I can count on. So far, Miriam’s been my troubleshooter. She fills in wherever someone needs her, but she’s doing me a favor. She won’t be here next week. You have to kick in. When the tour bus pulled in and we looked for you, you were on break.”
Ross looked down and shook his head. “It’s been a rough start, man. I didn’t mean to let you down. I’d really like to make as much money as I can before I start school again in the fall.”
“That’s what you told me, that you’re a business major and you’d like some experience. You can get it here, but you have to commit. If you’re late one more time, I have to let you go.”
But later that day, when there was a lull in business and Joel went to get Adele and Miriam to hide at a private picnic table behind the building to eat together, he had to search for Ross to cover for him. He found him, standing by a friend’s car in the parking lot, visiting with his buddies.
Ross hurried to meet him and asked, “What’s up?”
Joel shook his head. “I’m taking an hour break. I need you inside.”
“I’m on it.” And Ross disappeared into the building.
Once he and Miriam arranged their food on the picnic table and got Adele settled, Miriam looked at him. “I hope you have a backup person in mind to take Ross’s place. The kid’s smart enough. As came easy for him, but he has no motivation. His dad runs an insurance company in town and Ross will work with him when he graduates from college. I was surprised to see him here, but then Leona . . .”
“The hairdresser married to Garth?” Joel asked.
She nodded. “When I got my hair cut, she told me that Ross’s dad told him no more free ride at college. He’s blowing through too much money, so no extras for partying until he got a job.”
Joel tilted his head to the side and studied her. “Is that why your hair looks curlier?”
She blinked. “My hair has nothing to do with Ross.”
“You got it cut. I like how bouncy it is now.”
She rolled her eyes. “I get it cut every five weeks. I’ve had the same hairstyle since I started teaching. Now, get back on topic. We were talking about Ross.”
Joel sighed. “I get it. He’s just working to please Daddy. Everything comes too easy for him.” He’d gotten that impression when he’d interviewed him. “The thing is, no one else applied for that position. Collin would be a great manager, but he loves working in the brewery.”
Miriam finished her Coney dog and fries, then turned to smile at Adele. “This might not be the best time to tell you, but Adele and I have decided we want to have a sleepover—a girls’ night out—at my place tonight. We’d like to leave here early and buy a pizza and watch Beauty and the Beast while we paint our finger- and toenails.”
“Bless you.”
Miriam blinked, not expecting that response. Joel walked to where she sat and hugged her. He’d hired an extra server for the evening shift, when things always got busier, and things were running smoothly. “I’ve spent as much time as I can with Adele, but I know she’s been stuck in my office too long. And you’ve worked too many hours here. You’re a saint.”
She laughed. “No one’s ever accused me of that before and I don’t intend to live up to it, but we need out of this place and we’re sick of hot dogs.”
Joel grinned. “Tell you what. Why don’t you two sleep in tomorrow and I’ll have Ross prep the tables? You don’t need to show up until we’re ready to open the doors.”
“Sounds good to me. I’m taking her to my parents’ get-together on Sunday, too. I know you’re swamped right now, but you’re invited to hang out with us on Friday and Saturday nights if you want to.”
“If I want to?” He clutched her hand. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. I mean, I know you’re here, but . . .”
She waved away his explanation. “I get it. I know. Me too.”
That was what he liked about her. He’d spent half his married life coddling April, lifting her up. Miriam didn’t need to be coddled. Hell, she was doing her best to lift him up. “Lord, I love you.”
The words had slipped out and he immediately wished he could take them back. He’d meant to say I love everything about you, but there, he’d blurted out his true feelings, right after she’d let him know she wanted to take it slow. She’d probably run for the hills now.
Instead, she locked gazes with him and said, “I love you, too, idiot. I just don’t want to rush things. I’ve been alone a long time.”
It was a bone and he’d take it. She liked being around him, liked him, and he wouldn’t push her. Warmth spread inside him. She loved him. She’d said it. They were going to be all right.
Adele stared at them. “You two are in love?” The girl spent half her life watching romances on the Hallmark Channel. The sappier the story, the more she liked it. They must not fit her idea of romance.
Miriam arched an eyebrow at her. “We sure are, but love’s different at our age. We’re smarter about it.”
Adele frowned. She wasn’t quite sure how to interpret that. Hell, she was just a kid. Joel wasn’t quite sure about it himself. He just knew it felt wonderful. He reached over to tousle her blond hair. “You can’t always predict how things will play out, kid, but one thing I do know.
A business won’t run itself, so we have to get back to work.”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “Do we have to?”
“Sure do. Work first . . .”
“. . . play later.” She’d heard it before, over and over again.
When they walked back into the building, it was business as usual, but after the evening supper shift, Miriam and Adele waved early good-byes and took off. Joel watched them pull away, grateful and worried at the same time. He hoped they’d bond, that they’d really enjoy each other. He didn’t expect anyone to love Adele the way he did, but if Miriam could just care about her as much as she did Maya, he’d be happy. For tonight, though, his daughter needed attention, and Miriam had stepped up to the plate again.
The rest of the night flew by. Ian and Tessa came with their little boy, Drew, and Joel took a few minutes to sit at their table.
There was no missing them in the family room, even with all the tourists. Ian was tall, dark, and handsome. Tessa’s mass of long, copper curls made her stand out anywhere. Ian gestured at the bright colored walls and metal beams. “What a fun place. It’s perfect for Mill Pond. We don’t have anything else like it.”
Tessa gestured at Drew in his high chair, happily grabbing French fries and pieces of a hot dog she’d cut up for him. “It’s a great place to bring kids. So much is going on, he doesn’t know whether to eat or watch the people around him.”
Ian held up the glass of lager he’d ordered. “I’ll be coming back for more of this. Damn, it’s good.”
Joel had to leave after a few minutes to help bus tables in the brewery. Jordan could keep up at the dishwasher as long as someone got the dishes to him, but things were so busy, no one could get to it. As Joel hustled dirty glasses to the kitchen, he felt good that Ian and Tessa had liked his place. Harley and Kathy had come for supper on Tuesday night and liked it, too.
By closing time he was ahead of schedule. He’d already grabbed the days’ receipts from each cash register and locked the money in the safe. He even had each cash register filled with money to start the next day. He hadn’t realized how much not having Adele here would free him up. He didn’t have to run to check on her every chance he got. He could concentrate his full attention on the business at hand. And when he locked up to leave, for the first time in a long time, he’d be going home alone. He stopped at Art’s and bought a steak and a bag of salad. He felt guilty, making it for himself when Miriam and Adele were eating pizza, but God, it tasted good. He thought he’d hate watching TV by himself, but he was so tired, he found it was a relief. No old movie or Disney special. He sank onto his couch and turned on the Discovery Channel. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d watched something he picked. He fell asleep before the show ended. He woke on the couch when his phone alarm went off.