“I’ll do it, Tina. It’s my job.” Elizabeth reviewed the orders on the screen, then garnished a plate with coleslaw and a pickle.
“But you’re already working when you should be, I don’t know, out on a date with a gorgeous man. Oh, to be young again.” She made a face, and Elizabeth laughed. “You are keeping your eye out for a young man, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely not.” Elizabeth turned toward the grill. “Shiloh, I need two number ones medium, and a number three grilled.”
“Don’t think I won’t ask that question again, my little chickadee.” Tina leaned against the counter. “You know, I always thought you’d take Ella’s to the next level if you wanted.”
“Ha, very funny, Tina. I have plans, and they don’t include hot kitchens and greasy fry vats.”
“Honey, I have people to clean the vats. I’m only saying?—”
“You want me to forget my plans to fulfill yours. I thought you just said this place doesn’t matter. It’s people, family and friends.”
“Exactly. Your people are here.” Spotting the UPS truck, Tina moved around Elizabeth for the back door. After thanking the driver, she asked Cade to move the boxes to the storeroom, then returned to the service window, taking up the conversation where she left off. “I see how you fit into this place, even after being gone for so long. I don’t want you to forget your plans. I want you to change them.”
Was she serious? Elizabeth’s plans had been formulated since eighth grade. “Nothing doing. I’m getting my MBA, then working for a Fortune 100.”
“And then what?”
“Buy a stunning penthouse house, my dream car, and vacation in the South Pacific.” Elizabeth garnished two more plates and notified the servers.
“By yourself?”
Elizabeth faced Tina, hand on her hip. “Oh, okay, I’ll take you with me.”
Tina laughed. “Fine, smart aleck. I’m only pointing out the obvious.” She headed to the back door with a wave to the kitchen crew—Shiloh on the grill. D’Angelo on the fry vats. Cade on the dishwasher and every other odd job the kitchen required. Lucy supervised five other servers along with three busboys. “All right, my darlings, I’m out. Behave yourselves.”
Head down, Elizabeth kept the orders going, garnishing plates and working the milkshake machine when the servers got backed up. Lucy reported the benches out front were loaded with folks waiting for a table or booth. Even the counter was full.
“Don’t people in Hearts Bend have their own kitchens?” Elizabeth said.
“Not when Buck Mathews is singing in the park,” Lucy said. “What a great town we live in. Country music singers, pro football players, an honest-to-goodness prince and princess. It’s enough to believe in fairy tales.”
“I believe in hard work.” Elizabeth pointed to Lucy’s plate under the heat lamp.
The night ran smoothly considering the non-stop table turnover. Every time the door opened, Elizabeth could hear the familiar melodies of Buck Mathews, Hearts Bend’s own country music sensation. She’d met him as an up-and-comer when she waitressed at Ella’s during high school summers.
“Elizabeth, the guy at the counter asked to see the manager.” Lucy stood at the service window and pointed behind her.
“Did he say why?” Elizabeth fixed an order and shoved it under a heat lamp and paged the server.
“No, just that he wanted to speak to the manager, especially if she’s the curly-haired brunette working the window.”
“Very funny. He did not say that, Lucy. Is he a creep? A weirdo?”
“No, he’s gorgeous. One of the WMA officers. His name is Ryder or something?—”
Ryder. Elizabeth snapped her attention to the dining room. Ryder Donovan was here? She felt a bit wobbly when she spied him sitting on a counter stool. She casually checked her appearance in the stainless steel shake machine as she removed her gloves and, with a deep breath, headed through the double doors.
“Um, hello, Ryder?” she said, sounding more girlish than she wanted.
He looked up, then slid off the stool to stand in front of her. “Elizabeth? Hey, wow, look at you.” His smooth baritone stirred feelings she’d forgotten. “It’s been a month of Sundays, but…what are you doing in town?”
“Working. Here and Dorsey. I’m, um, taking a break…” From what? Suddenly, she couldn’t remember why she was in town, because the spark in Ryder’s chocolate-brown eyes made her forget she’d ever wanted anything but him.
2
He was joking when he mentioned the curly-haired girl to Lucy, never imagining Elizabeth Dorsey would be at Ella’s Diner.
