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Although she willed them not to, she felt her cheeks turn an even brighter shade of red. She dreaded this question almost as much as the other one. A tiny voice inside her head told her to lie, but she knew from experience that doing so could get her into very hot water. Besides, with Lachlan’s big brown eyes trained so intently on her, she didn’t think she’d be able to tell even the smallest fib.
“Because I can’t cook,” she confessed.
When his expression remained blank, she went on. “I’ve tried. Lord knows, Dad paid for every cooking school he could get me into when I was a teenager, but after the fire department had to be called when I burned down the kitchen, word got around.”
A small smile broke on his face. “Seriously? You burned down a kitchen?”
She hung her head in shame and mentally kicked herself. Probably not the best way to sell yourself, Eliza. “It was not my finest moment, and after that my grandmother tried to convince me to go into medicine or journalism or law, anything that kept me away from food, but I just couldn’t give up, so I got a job as a waitress instead. Finally, I found something I was good at. Talking about food, serving food and customer service. I haven’t looked back.”
“Well, usually at this point, I’d ask what your favorite dish to cook is, but I’m predicting microwave popcorn or something, and that’s not really what I had in mind.”
She grimaced. “Good. Because I burn that, as well.”
“At least you’re honest. Lucky I’m not interviewing for the kitchen. So tell me your favorite dish to eat instead.”
Millions of foods whirled through her head—it was like asking someone to pick their favorite child, not that she would ever know how that felt. “That really depends on the situation,” she said, mentally shaking her head at the dark thoughts that threatened. “If I’m dining out somewhere classy, you can’t go wrong with duck confit or a good pan-seared salmon fillet, but if I want comfort food, it’s mac’n’cheese every time.”
Her heart squeezed a little at the thought of Grammy Louise’s mac’n’cheese—the food she’d practically lived on the last couple of months.
“Then you’ll be pleased to know I actually plan on having a mac’n’cheese on our menu—not just any old mac’n’cheese, of course. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted my whiskey-and-bacon take on the old favorite.”
Her mouth watered. “That sounds amazing. What else are you planning for the menu?”
Obviously pleased by this question, Lachlan began to speak animatedly about the dishes he’d been experimenting with. “I want hearty food with a unique flair, showcasing McKinnel’s whiskey as much as possible. Every table will get a complimentary basket of whiskey soda bread, and for starters, we’ll offer things like smoked turkey Reuben sliders, scotch deviled eggs and a whiskey-cheese fondue to share. The mains will be even more whiskey focused, featuring slow-cooked bourbon-glazed ribs, a blue cheese burger in which I mix whiskey into the ground beef...”
He went on and on—listing more delicious dishes, including a steak sandwich with bourbon-sauteed mushrooms and a vegetarian option of butternut squash gnocchi with whiskey cream sauce. Eliza made a conscious effort not to drool.
“I love the sound of all of that,” she said, genuine excitement pumping through her body. “You’re making me very hungry.”
“Really?” He grinned, clearly pleased by her response. “And I haven’t even started on dessert yet.”
“I can hardly wait,” she replied. Food was something she could talk about till the cows came home and talking about it with Lachlan made her realize how much she’d missed it.
“How does caramel-and-whiskey sauce with steamed sponge pudding sound?”
“Oh. My. God.” She couldn’t help moaning at the thought.
“Or are pumpkin pancakes with bourbon-vanilla maple syrup more your style? Perhaps you like the sound of blueberry-bourbon-cream-cheese pie or maple-bourbon ice cream.”
The way he spoke about the food sounded almost seductive and she felt goose bumps sprout on her arms.
“Please stop!” She begged, an alien bubble of laughter escaping her throat. “I didn’t eat breakfast and I can’t take this anymore.”
His lips twisted with amusement. “Why didn’t you say so? I just happened to have been playing with my recipe for an Irish apple crisp. How about you taste test for me while we finish the interview?”
Lachlan pushed back his chair to stand before she could reply, and as he did so, the door to the restaurant flung open and they both turned to look. A tall, skinny woman with immaculate makeup and peroxide-blond hair stood there, a girl with a sullen expression at her side.
“Linda! Hallie! What are you guys doing here?” He rushed toward them, stooping to give the girl a hug. “Why aren’t you at school? Is something wrong?”
“I need you to look after Hallie for a while,” said the woman Eliza presumed must be Linda. “I’m going to LA to look after my sick aunt. She’s got cancer.”
Eliza’s heart went out to the woman and her aunt, but when she looked to Lachlan, the smile he’d been wearing seconds earlier had vanished from his face.
“You don’t have an aunt!” he exclaimed.
Linda narrowed her eyes at him. “You don’t know everything about me, Lachlan. Maybe if you’d paid more attention, our marriage wouldn’t have ended in tatters.”
“What the...?” Lachlan’s eyes bulged, but he took one look at Hallie and didn’t finish his question. When he spoke again, it was clear he was trying to control his annoyance. “Aunt or no aunt, you can’t just take Hallie to LA. And if you think you can...”
“Re-lax.” Linda’s tone was condescending. “Of course, I can’t take Hallie with me. That’s why she’s staying with you for a while.”
“What?”
Ignoring Lachlan’s one-word question, Linda bent and drew the little girl into her arms, kissing her on her golden pigtailed head. “Be good for Daddy. I’ll call you from LA.”
She straightened again and took a step toward the door as if that was that, but Lachlan’s words halted her in her tracks. “Oh, no, you don’t, Linda. We need to talk. Kitchen. Now.”
Linda glanced at her watch, let out a dramatic sigh and then flicked her long hair over her shoulder. “Fine, but I don’t have long. My plane leaves in two hours.”
Lachlan looked to his daughter and smiled warmly. “Hallie, you wait here. Mom and I will be out in a moment.” Then, dragging the woman by the arm, he led her into the kitchen and slammed the door shut, leaving Eliza alone with the little girl.
She stared at the child. Lately, she couldn’t even handle being around her best friend’s children, never mind strangers’ offspring.
“Hello,” she said after a few moments of silence. Despite her own discomfort at finding herself in the middle of a family drama, Eliza felt for the girl. Although she didn’t know the ins and outs of the situation, it was clear this child was Lachlan’s daughter, that her mother was dumping her here unexpectedly and her father didn’t seem pleased with the news.
However dire her own life was, this was a stark reminder that she wasn’t the only one with problems. And a kid as cute as this one should not have to deal with such rejection. It made her blood boil.
“Who are you?” the little girl replied.
“I’m Eliza,” she said with what she hoped was a friendly smile. “Your dad is interviewing me to work in his new restaurant. Did I hear your name was Hallie?”
“Yep.” The girl shuffled forward and flopped into the chair Lachlan had just vacated. The sigh that slipped from her lips sounded far too heavy for someone who could only be about eight years old, nine max.
Before either of them could say another word, raised voices sounded from the kitchen.
“Do you not want her?” Linda shouted.
“Do you want to play a game?” Eliza asked loudly. She’d borne witness to a number of screaming matches between her own parents before they divorced and she didn’t believe any child should have to hear such things. Especially not their mom questioning their dad’s love for them.
Hallie rolled her eyes. “It’s okay. I’m used to my parents fighting and I’ve been waiting for this day for as long as I can remember.”
“What do you mean?” Eliza found herself asking. “Has your mom’s aunt been sick for a while?”
Hallie laughed. “I’ve never even met my mom’s aunt. I meant I’ve been waiting for her to get rid of me like she did my brother.” Before Eliza could ask what she meant, Hallie added, “My twin brother has got a condition called cerebral palsy that made Mommy not want him.”
The little girl’s words shocked Eliza and she found herself unsure of what to say, but Hallie continued on in a matter-of-fact way, “Oh, that’s not the story she or Daddy will tell you. They say they grew apart like grown-ups sometimes do and took a child each, but I’m not stupid. I go to Daddy’s house every second weekend but Mommy never takes Hamish. That’s my brother by the way.”
“I see.” Eliza’s heart hurt—in her research for the interview, she’d read an article on the internet saying that Lachlan had sole custody of a son with special needs, but she’d never imagined the reason why.
“And if Mommy can give up Hamish, then I always knew that one day she might also give up me.”
“But she’s not giving you up,” Eliza rushed to reassure the child. “She’s going to look after your sick relative.”
Hallie shrugged. “I’m actually glad. Daddy and Hamish live with Grandma Nora, and now I will, too. She’s the best. And I already have my own bedroom there.”
Despite the child’s attempt at bravado, Eliza saw her lower lip wobble and knew the girl was close to tears. Poor precious little thing. Eliza didn’t blame her. But she did blame her parents. Fighting within earshot of her and both carrying on as if looking after her was a hassle. Some people didn’t know how lucky they were.
The voices in the kitchen grew louder, more irate, and no matter Hallie’s declaration that she was used to this kind of thing, Eliza couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. She got to her feet and held her hand out to the little girl. “Will you show me round the distillery gardens?” While we wait for your parents to finish, she added silently. “I loved what I saw when I drove in.”
Hallie raised an eyebrow and took a moment to reply as if she knew this was a ploy to get her away from the firing line, but then she pushed her own seat back and stood. “Okay,” she said. “If you insist. Come on.”
As Eliza followed Lachlan’s daughter to the door, she glanced in the direction of the kitchen... This interview was not at all going how she’d hoped.
Chapter Two (#u31c8b01e-2bbd-54f2-9b2b-a9bd4c837f0d)
“Tell me this is some kind of sick joke, Linda!”
Holding her chin high, she folded her skinny arms over her surgery-enhanced chest and glared at him. “Joke? Looking after my ailing aunt is not a joke.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Cut the crap. There is no aunt.” Her father had never been on the scene, and as far as he knew, Linda’s mother was an only child.
Linda let out a long, deep, clearly irritated sigh. “She’s my mom’s estranged sister if you must know.”
“So why isn’t Carol trekking across the country to look after her, then?”
“What part of the word estranged don’t you understand?” she said, speaking slowly as if he were five years old. “Besides Carol has just started a new job in Bend, she can’t just take time off when she feels like it.”
“But you can, because you have never worked a day in your life.” He was about to ask her if she had any idea what it was like to look after someone with a terminal illness—Linda had never been the nurturing type—but he figured she’d work that out pretty quickly.
“There’s no need to be such an ass about this.” She blew air between her lips, flicking her platinum blonde bangs upward as she did so. “You’d think I’d asked you to sail around the world naked, not look after your own daughter.”
“Keep your voice down,” he growled, glancing toward the shut door. He’d been in such a good mood five minutes ago—thinking that he might have finally found the perfect person to lead his waitstaff—but now he could almost feel the steam hissing from his ears. “You’ve got some nerve. You know I want her. I’ve always wanted her and our son, but your timing couldn’t be worse. I’m trying to open a new restaurant here, and you interrupted me in the middle of an interview.”
Linda smirked. “Oh, that makes sense—for a moment there, I thought you were on a date.”
He hated himself for it but he took the bait. “And why would that be so amusing? You don’t think I date?” She’d be right. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date—between having permanent custody of their son, every second weekend with both kids and work, he didn’t have the time—but he wasn’t about to admit that. Not to her.
“Keep your pants on,” she said, obviously highly amused. “I just meant that woman isn’t your type. She’s a little too... How should I put it? Rounded?”
His hackles rose even further. He didn’t have a type—not anymore—but he didn’t like the way Linda spoke about Eliza. She might not look anorexic like his ex-wife, but she had womanly curves in all the right places and he thought that was a hell of a lot more sexy than someone who was afraid to eat carbs.
“So how long do you think you’ll be?” he asked, his voice louder than he’d meant. Already he was mentally calculating the extra things he’d have to do now that he had Hallie full-time. He loved his daughter—and his son—more than life itself, but he also understood that kids required time as well as love. Hallie had dance and singing classes and she went to school in Bend, not Jewell Rock, which would mean an hour round-trip twice a day. All this on top of Hamish’s therapy appointments and his extracurricular activities. Had Linda thought any of this through?
Again, his ex-wife rolled her eyes as if she were talking with a plank of wood. “She has cancer, Lachlan, I can’t give you an exact time and date when she’s going to breathe her last breath.”
“Isn’t there anyone else who can look after her? I’m opening the restaurant in a month!”
“You want me to dump our daughter on strangers?”
“Shh,” he hissed again. Then he firmly added, “I meant your aunt.”
She shook her head. “Can’t you show a little compassion? Besides, your mom and your family will help you look after Hallie. It’s not like one extra person in your massive family is going to make much of a difference.”
They stood there for a few moments, glaring at each other like two opponents in a boxing ring. How dare she assume his mom could help? Although he knew she would do her best, he didn’t like asking her to do any more than she already did. And with two family weddings imminent and his two future sisters-in-law pregnant, Lachlan’s mom had enough on her hands already. He wasn’t a violent man and he would never hit a woman, but the frustration coursing through his body right now made him want to pick something up and throw it against the wall.
Only the thought of his daughter and Eliza in the next room held him back.
Eliza. What must she be making of all this? Would she still be there when he went back out? It was definitely not the first impression he wanted to make on a potential new employee.
Feeling resigned and realizing they’d left their daughter with a stranger, Lachlan let out a long breath. “I take it you’ve packed Hallie’s school uniform?” Linda might have seen fit to take her out of class to bring her to him, but he didn’t want her missing any more because of this.
“Of course.”
“And can you give me a list of all her extracurricular activities?”
Linda smiled like a child who’d just been told they could stay up past their bedtime and eat junk food. “I’ll text everything to you while I’m waiting to board my plane. You’re a good man, Lachlan McKinnel.”
She moved forward as if to throw her arms around him but he held up a hand, warning her off. If she thought him so good, why had she looked elsewhere for excitement when they were married? Maybe he wasn’t good, maybe he was just a pushover. A pushover who had been blinded by Linda’s looks and the fun they’d had together when they’d first met but had been paying the price ever since.
“Go say goodbye to Hallie,” he said instead and then turned and opened the door for her to go through.
“She’s not here!” Linda exclaimed, then turned to him in horror. “Who was that woman? What has she done with our daughter?”
“Will you stop being so dramatic?” Lachlan snapped. “They’re probably just outside.” Although inside, his heart clenched as if someone had wrapped string around it and was tightening quickly. Where were Hallie and Eliza?
He strode quickly to the door and breathed a sigh of relief when he opened it and spotted Hallie and Eliza a few yards away, seemingly deep in conversation in the garden. Eliza glanced up as if sensing his presence and the look she gave him told him exactly why they’d moved outside.
Shame washed over him and he felt heat creeping into his cheeks that a stranger had thought it best to intervene so his daughter didn’t hear the raised and bickering voices of her parents. At the same time, he was thankful that she had. However many times he told himself not to let Linda rile him up, he always failed miserably in this resolve.
“She’s out here,” he told his ex-wife.
The possible-kidnapping drama forgotten, Linda rushed over to Hallie and made an elaborate show of bidding her farewell. “I’ll miss you, my darling. Be good for Daddy and Grandma Nora. I’ll call you every night.” She clung to her a few more moments, then kissed her on both cheeks and stepped back.
“Au revoir, folks,” she said with an irritating wave of her fingers, before turning and tottering away in her ridiculously high heels to her car. She seemed more like someone off on a beachside vacation than someone off to play nurse.
As Linda sped off down the long drive, Lachlan turned to Eliza. This is awkward, he thought, wondering what she must make of arriving in the middle of his family drama. “I’m sorry about that,” he said. “That was my ex-wife.”
“I guessed.” She nodded and her shoulder-length, chocolate-brown hair bobbed a little.
“I had no idea she was going to come over like that or I wouldn’t have scheduled the interview.”
“I guessed that, too,” Eliza replied, but her lips didn’t even offer a hint of a smile.
“Daddy.” He felt Hallie tugging at the side of his shirt. “Dad-dy. I’m hungry.”
“Wait a moment. Can’t you see I’m talking?” The moment his words were out, he realized how snappy they sounded.
“Sorry, Daddy,” she said, a quiver in her voice and her eyes glistening.
