“Have you been working all this time?” her mother asked.

  “I was,” she said, smiling. “It was great.”

  “Really,” her father said. “You never gave us any indication that you wanted to do this as a career.”

  “I don’t,” she said. “Not like you think.” She figured maybe she should let them know about the cakes. They’d understand more. It was a simple thing and it might just work out.

  She needed something to work out in her life so desperately.

  “Then tell us what is it,” her mother said.

  “I don’t like the pressure and stress of that stuff. I just want to do my job and go home. Kind of.” She waved her hand. “You know I like to bake. And I did a lot of designing with my job. A few years ago for fun I took a cake decorating class. It was awesome.”

  “Good for you,” her mother said. “We know how much you enjoy that hobby.”

  “That’s right. It was a hobby. But then friends started to ask me to make cakes for parties. A coworker needed a wedding cake. Things just started to happen without me trying. It turned into a tiny business. I’d have a few cakes a month or so. Nothing major, but it was great spending money and I was giving people a deal.”

  “That’s wonderful,” her mother said.

  “You were probably undervaluing yourself with your fees,” her father said. “You always do that.”

  “I was trying to help people. It’s not like it was a business. Anyway, I cut back when Eddie got hurt, but I missed it. Today, Duke and I were talking. He told me I could start and what I’d be doing. He said to come back at eleven or so, he had to bake.”

  “Did you tell him what you are telling us?” her mother asked, her hands in front of her chest all excited.

  “I did. I showed him some of the pictures of the work I’ve done.”

  “Let me see them,” her mother said.

  “I will. Let me finish my story first, please.”

  “Go ahead,” her father said.

  “He wanted me to make something. He was anyway and I told him if he didn’t like it, then he could tell me. I wouldn’t be insulted. It’s not like I’ve got any background doing it. It’s just a hobby.”

  “There you go again,” her mother said. “You never give yourself enough credit for things.”

  “Well, this time I did. I wanted to prove to him I could do this. I guess I needed it. That boost of confidence.”

  “I haven’t seen or heard you smile like this in a long time,” her mother said.

  She put her hands in the air and started to dance around. “I made two desserts and I knew they were selling. Not only was I serving them, but I also saw others doing it. But I worked the bar and the tables and learned everything. He told me I could leave at seven and then asked me to come in tomorrow morning and make my blondies again and another dessert. I’ve got to text it to him later. He said it sold more than his cake.”

  “I’m so happy for you,” her mother said. “Good for you. You’ve always been comfortable in the kitchen. Why didn’t you want to pursue that?”

  “It was a hobby, not a career. I’m not sure I’d want to do it full time. It’s a lot of work. And responsibility.”

  She didn’t do well with all that much responsibility on her shoulders in life.

  When you were the one calling the shots you couldn’t make everyone happy and she never wanted to have people mad at her.

  “So you’re working again tomorrow?” her mother asked.

  “I am. Duke won’t be there, but that is fine. He wants me to go in early and bake and then I’ll be covering a shift in the front until five. The same on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”

  “Are you baking those days too?” her father asked.

  “Right now I only know about tomorrow. I’ll take it as it comes. It was busier than normal when you guys ran it but not swamped. I made some decent tips and I’m happy. I’m taking things day by day. It’s just how I’ve got to do it to get back on my feet.”

  “You’ll find another job,” her mother said.

  “I’m sure I will, but this will allow me to find the right thing rather than just taking anything. I was thinking of starting the cakes up here on the island. I did tell that to Duke too. I mean, I felt I should if I was working for him, don’t you think? I don’t want him to think it’s a conflict.”

  “It’s the right thing to do. Keeping secrets is never good, but I don’t see where it’s a conflict there. What did he say?” her mother asked.

  “Nothing. He said he had no problem with it as long as it didn’t interfere with my shift. It’s not like it’s going to get busy soon. I’m going to try to create a website and design it too. I love doing those things. But it takes time.”

  “You’ll find your way,” her father said. “And you’ve had a long day, so we’ll let you rest.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “And thanks again for setting this up with Duke.”

  “We know you didn’t want us to,” her father said. “You’ve always wanted to do things your way and not need help.”

  “I just don’t want to have to rely on people,” she said. “I know you’re always here if I need you. But I’m thirty. I should be able to do this on my own at this point in my life.”

  Her parents left shortly after that and she grabbed her laptop and started to look around at her recipes for something to make tomorrow. She didn’t want anything complicated. She saw what was stocked there and kept that in mind.

  She knew the pub was closing at nine and Duke was shutting it down. Probably earlier if no one was left. There were only six tables with people at them when she left a little after seven. She didn’t think too many more would have come in since that.

  After ten minutes, she decided on bourbon pecan pie. She saw the pecans there and wasn’t sure if there was a reason for it or not. If there was, then she had a backup.

  She sent her text to Duke and then tossed her phone on the little coffee table holding a light. She needed to figure out a name for her cake business. That was the first step. Then she had to search to see if she could purchase the domain.

  Twenty minutes went by and her phone went off. She picked it up to see it was Duke asking if she could talk. He was leaving now and could call on his way home.

  She replied back sure and her phone rang a few seconds later.

  “Hello,” she said. “You closed early.”

  “The last people were out by eight thirty. I was already cleaning up the kitchen by then. Once they paid their bill we locked up for the day.”

  “I think my father kept the doors open until nine each night. He was afraid to turn someone away. I guess you’re seeing a lot of poor business practices, aren’t you?”

  “To each their own,” he said. “I’ve got more experience in what works and what doesn’t. That pie works for me. You can use those pecans. I’d like to have one or two desserts that are always on the menu. What are your thoughts on making them a few times a week? Like the rest of your shifts this week. I always want fresh, but it’s fine for the next day too if we plan it that way. It’s not like you’ll work daily and can make extra.”

  She knew her grin was filling her face. “I can do that,” she said. “Just tell me what desserts you want to be there.”

  “The blondies for sure. Something chocolate too. I’m not there to do my cake all the time. I don’t even have it in my restaurant every night.”

  “Do you want me to come up with a few different chocolate things to try on Friday and over the weekend?”

  “Sure,” he said. “Just clear it with me first. I like to know everything being served.”

  “That’s not a problem,” she said. “Thanks again, Duke.”

  “For what?” he asked. “I should be thanking you. Or congratulating you. Not many can outsell me when it comes to food.”

  She heard the laughter in his voice and wished she could have seen his face in that relaxed moment. He was so big and rugged looking. Like nothing she’d ever been attracted to, but this time she found she was.

  “I’ll take it,” she said. “The highlight of my year for sure.” Which probably made her sound like a complete loser in his eyes.

  “Glad I could help,” he said. “I won’t be in tomorrow. I’ll stop in on Friday to check on a few things early on, but then I’m working at Duke’s the rest of the weekend.”

  Which meant she wasn’t going to get to see him. Oh well. She had to get that thought out of her head.

  “Then I’ll see you on Friday,” she said. “And I’ll text you tomorrow if it’s okay with a few more things I’d like to try to make.”

  “Please do,” he said. “I’ll be ordering food by noon tomorrow if you can let me know by then. We’ve got the delivery on Friday. I’ll make sure you’ve got what you need.”

  “Oh,” she said. She hadn’t thought of that. “Sure. I’ll let you know in the morning.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “Talk to you later.”

  He hung up before she could say bye. She wanted to frown over that being rude but then told herself he was a busy man and she should be thrilled he was giving her a chance.

  7

  Not Your Problem

  Hadley got to the pub at nine on Sunday thinking she’d be the first one but noticed that there was another car in the parking lot.

  She unlocked the back door and saw Diane there. One of the cooks. “Hi,” she said to Diane. “You’re here early.”

  Diane turned and looked at her. “What are you doing here?”

  “Baking the desserts for the day before I work the front. Why?”

  Diane was frowning at her. “I guess I heard you did that the other day, but I don’t normally open.”

  Diane had worked for her father for a year. She knew Diane wasn’t thrilled with Duke being around either. She’d heard the murmurs on Friday night when she’d been getting ready to leave and the chef was talking loudly, saying she didn’t care for the changes and was going to cook things the way she wanted regardless.

  Since Hadley was used to keeping to herself, she hadn’t said a word. Not that she’d seen Duke to even tell him.

  He’d shown up on Friday to look over the shipment of the food he’d ordered for the weekend, stayed a few hours and did the schedule for next week along with a few other things and then said he was returning to Duke’s.

  It’d been busy on Friday and she made crazy tips. Her desserts were selling out on top of it.

  There was a pride to her work that she hadn’t felt in a long time. Though she went home with sore feet and an aching back, it was a satisfying feeling she hadn’t experienced in longer than she could remember.

  “Is it normal for you to be here this early to prep?” Hadley asked, putting her apron on and gathering her ingredients.

  She needed to make another batch of blondies. They’d sold out yesterday. More jam to go on top of it and then she was going to make double fudge brownies with homemade whipped cream. Customers could choose caramel or fruit topping or both. She’d wanted to make a cake, but Duke pointed out that they were closed on Monday and brownies would be easier and the employees could take home anything that didn’t sell. She’d start fresh on Tuesday when she came in again.

  “No,” Diane said. “I’m done. I’m cleaning my shit out and leaving. I just didn’t think anyone would be here while I did it.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You’re scheduled to work today though, right?”

  “I was,” Diane said. “I don’t work on the weekends. That was my agreement with your father. I like to do my own thing and don’t like being told what to do. It’s not my problem that Will couldn’t work today. Duke is running it; he can fill the damn shift himself.”

  Crap. She didn’t want to hear this. “You’ve never worked a weekend before when Will was off?” she asked.

  “Nope. Your father or mother would fill in or they’d get the line cooks to do it, if Stacy couldn’t. They had people on backup or something. Not sure, not my problem. It’s Duke’s.”

  Diane was stomping around the place and gathering her things. Diane worked on Friday night. If she was going to do this why not say something then? Might as well ask that. “Does Duke know you are leaving today?”

  “I’m going to text him in a few. Maybe,” Diane said, laughing. “It would serve him right if no one was here to cook. I mean it’s not like no one would be here. Carl and Stephanie will be here.”

  Two of the line cooks. “But that’s not right,” she said.

  “What do you care?” Diane said. “You’re just here until you find another job. If you cared all that much you would have come back and taken over when your father couldn’t figure things out.”

  Hadley ground her teeth. She wasn’t getting into a pissing match. “I’m sorry you feel that way,” she said. “You couldn’t just work for today and then give your notice?”

  “No,” Diane said. “My boyfriend wanted to go off the island today and I don’t want to be working while he does.”

  That didn’t sound like a good reason to her, but she wouldn’t say that either. She just got to work and minded her own business.

  “Good luck to you,” she said when Diane stormed out the door.

  It was a good fifteen minutes and the guilt got the better of her that Diane might not let Duke know what she just did.

  In good conscience she couldn’t let it go and pulled her phone out and sent Duke a text. She wasn’t going to call him. A text would be good enough. Just to see if Diane reached out to him.

  Not even a minute later her phone rang. She wiped her hands and hit the button for hands free so she could keep measuring and stay on pace.

  “What’s going on?” Duke asked. “Why did you ask if Diane got in touch with me?”

  Dang it. Guess she didn’t. “Ahh, she quit like fifteen minutes ago. I don’t think she thought anyone would be here. I asked if you knew and she said she’d tell you. Then laughed and said, maybe. There was part of me that wondered if she wouldn’t.”

  “Nope. Fuck,” he said. “I should have seen this coming. She threw a fit when I put her on for Sunday, but she never said she’d leave if she had to work it. Not that I’d care, but I could have had the shift covered.”

  “I made a comment about it not being right to leave no one here. She said Carl and Stephanie were here.”

  “They are, but neither one is a chef. They don’t know how to cook most of the things on the menu the way I do or keep up the pace of the kitchen for a full shift. Sure, they can fill in, but that is it.”

  She sighed. “I’m glad I called you then.”

  “Me too. Shit. Someone will be there by eleven,” he said. “No worries. Thanks, Hadley.”

  He hung up on her before she could say bye. He did that a lot. She knew he was a busy man, but geez.

  She got back to work and an hour later heard the back door open. She turned expecting to see someone she didn’t know. Maybe one of the employees he had working at Duke’s. He seemed to have some good staff that filled in on the front end already.

  What she didn’t think was it’d be Duke walking in the door. “Are you working here today?”

  “It looks it,” he said. “I wasn’t scheduled to go into Duke’s until four anyway. They can cover for me a few hours there. If it’s slow enough I can take off. I didn’t have much of a choice.”

  He didn’t look all that upset, but he never smiled much either.

  “Sorry it worked out that way.”

  “It’s not your problem. No reason for you to be sorry. Thank you for calling me. I still haven’t heard from Diane.”

  “You didn’t reach out to her?” she asked.

  She moved over to the oven and checked on her blondies. The brownies were in another oven. She’d be done earlier than she thought but was making some extra jam and wanted more time to do the caramel sauce. Sometimes it didn’t work the way she wanted and she needed it perfect.

  “Nope. Then she’d know you contacted me and I didn’t want to put you in the middle. Not only that, someone like her doesn’t deserve my time. If she thinks she is going to get another job on this island using my name as a reference she is going to learn otherwise.”

  “Thank you for not mentioning me,” she said. Hadley found most times in life she got stuck in the middle of something with no way out and ended up being the person that got crapped on the most too. That he was considerate enough to do it this way meant the world to her.

  Maybe she did need a backbone but at least in this instance was thrilled she didn’t have to put it to the test.

  She just wanted to do her darn job and figure her life out.

  “I’m not one for drama,” he said. “I know other people might think differently. Or at least Diane.”

  “Yeah,” she said. “I asked her why she didn’t let you know on Friday night. It’s not like she didn’t know the schedule.”

  “What did she say?” he asked.

  “That her boyfriend was going off the island today and she wasn’t going to be working while he did. I’m not sure what one thing has to do with the other.”

  She went back to slicing her strawberries and putting them in the pot with water and sugar. There were also blueberries this week and she thought that might be a different option to have too.

  Duke laughed. “People talk in the kitchen. I’ve heard she doesn’t trust her boyfriend. Not my problem either. But if she had told me on Friday, then I would have covered the shift. It was too late to do it this morning. I called a few of my staff, but they all had plans. One offered to cancel, but I said no.”

  “That was nice of you,” she said.

  “I’m not that hard of a boss despite what many feel. I have to weigh having a good staff cancel his plans for this when I might need it another time when it’s more important.”

  “Like covering a shift at Duke’s?” she asked, frowning. She shouldn’t be offended that he’d put his other restaurant over her parents’. Then she had to remind herself nothing was set in stone here and it made sense he did what he had.