The Ride of Her Life (19 page)

“Nick,” she whispered, “isn’t having Eugenia in my kitchen enough of a disaster for one day?”

He didn’t respond, but gently shoved her out the door.

“Mama!” Levi broke free from Eugenia, who was helping him wash. He ran to her and threw his wet hands around her waist, leaving little handprints on the fabric. “Was it a big fire?”

Lilly smiled. Only a child would find wonder in a kitchen fire. She glanced at Eugenia and saw tears in her eyes. “Not too bad. Nothing a little elbow grease won’t clean.”

“I’m really sorry, Miss Lilly.” Eugenia sat down on the back stoop. “I didn’t mean to catch the chicken on fire.”

“Accidents happen, Eugenia. No one means to do them. That’s why they’re accidents.”

“What will Uncle Clyde say?”

“We’ll do our best to get it all cleaned before he returns tomorrow from his trip.” Lilly patted her shoulder. “Now, why don’t you stay out here and keep an eye on Levi for me while I get lunch on for the men?”

“Don’t you need my help?”

“Right now, you can help me the most by watching our worm catcher before he manages to collect enough night crawlers for a pie.”

Inhaling another lungful of the tangy, lake-scented air, Lilly opened the diner’s back door. Smoke immediately filled her nostrils.

When she entered the kitchen, she found Nick’s friend Sean rummaging through the icebox.

“Excuse me.” She looked from Sean to Nick. “What’s going on?”

Pulling out of the icebox, Sean glanced at her. “Nick said you’d be needin’ a bit o’ help with lunch, and seeing as I’m feelin’ peckish meself, I thought I’d make up a mess of bangers and mash for the lads.”

“Bangers?” Lilly glanced at the icebox. This didn’t sound promising. What did she have in there that she could make?

“Sausages,” Nick translated as he breezed back into the room. “And mashed potatoes. It’s the only thing he can make, but he does a great job at it.”

“Now that’s not true. I do a fair job with swimmers and bricks too.”

Lilly raised her eyebrows.

Nick laughed. “Fish and slab-cut fried potatoes.”

“Sorry, I don’t have any fish right now.”

“Then you do have sausages?” Nick smiled when she nodded. “Good. Are they in the icebox?”

“Nick, I can make lunch.”

“No need, lassie.” Sean held up his hand. “I can find them. You’ve had enough excitement for one day. Why don’t you rest a bit?”

Nick swept his arm toward the door. “You heard the man. I already had the men take a few tables outside, but the dining room is airing out nicely.”

Lilly sighed. At least Sean’s bangers and mash had to be better than Eugenia’s oatmeal or charred chicken. And she did need to make a list of what they’d need to do to get the diner back in order. After grabbing a tablet and pencil, she sat down at a table near an open window.

Nick turned a chair around and straddled it. “Better put repainting the ceiling on that list.”

“You don’t think it’ll wash?”

“Paint’s curled. Needs to be scraped and repainted.”

She rubbed her burning eyes. “Mr. Thorton is really not gonna be happy with me now.”

“He’s been unhappy?” Nick’s eyes narrowed.

“Never mind.” Lilly jotted “repaint the ceiling” on her list. “The curtains will need to be taken down, washed, and rehung. Can’t get the smoke smell out of fabrics without a good scrubbing.”

Nick covered her hand, stilling the pencil. “What’s going on with Mr. Thorton?”

“I can handle it.”

“Lilly.”

She sighed. “Apparently, my former father-in-law suggested to Mr. Thorton that it would be in his best interest to encourage me to let my in-laws take Levi for regular visits.”

“Alone?”

“Well, they certainly don’t want to see me.” She glanced down at where his hand still held her wrist.

He let it slide away. “What are you going to do?”

“I told Mr. Thorton that I would take him over there for visits, but I wouldn’t leave him with them. I don’t trust them not to say things against me to Levi or even try to keep him from me. They’ve tried to take him twice now already.”

“What did Mr. Thorton say?”

“He wasn’t happy.” She glanced around the room. The only person who seemed to know they were still there was Mark. She turned to Nick. Concern lay etched in his cobalt-blue eyes. “He said that although I’m a wonderful cook, it’s easier to hire a new cook than it is to deal with the kind of fallout a man like Claude Hart can cause. He said I was skating on thin ice, and not to get too comfortable here after all.” She surveyed the smoke-fogged dining room. “Now look at this place. I fear I may be more trouble than I’m worth.”

Another cough tickled her throat, and she pressed her fist to her lips. Would her lungs be filled with smoke for a week?

Nick went to the counter and poured Lilly a glass of water. After delivering it to the table, he waited to speak until after she took a drink. “It was his niece who caused the fire. You shouldn’t take the blame. Maybe I need to remind him of that.”

“Please don’t say anything.” Lilly set the glass on the table and smiled at him. “But I am thankful for the offer.”

20

“You have something to report?”

Mark Westing settled in a leather chair across from his new employer, Claude Hart, and smiled at the elderly attorney’s question. Once Mark shared what he’d witnessed, he’d become the powerful man’s new favorite person. After all, that’s why he’d been hired—to find useful information on the Westings’ former maid that would make her more cooperative. The venture would help them both. Mr. Hart would get the information he needed, and Mark would secure a position as an associate with Claude Hart and be well on his way to a most lucrative future.

Marguerite would be furious to know what he was doing, but, like Lilly Hart, she’d never grasped the invisible line between servants and the wealthy—the one that should never be crossed. Lilly should have known better than to defy Mr. Hart, and her son would benefit from an excellent education.

“I hope this is important enough for you to come to my home on a Saturday morning. Could it not have waited until Monday?”

“I’ll let you be the judge of that.” Mark tugged on his vest. “It’s as you feared. Your daughter-in-law is definitely sweet on the roller coaster builder.”

Mr. Hart steepled his fingers. “And what about his feelings toward her?”

Needing to rid his nostrils of the diner’s stench, Mark took a deep breath. The air in Claude Hart’s office smelled of expensive cigars. Mark crossed one ankle over his knee and leaned back in the chair. “Nick Perrin’s clearly smitten.”

“Fool.” Mr. Hart slammed his fist on the desk. “What power does she have over men?”

The harsh words kicked at Mark’s conscience. “Sir, I’ve never known our former maid to be
that
kind of woman.”

Mr. Hart’s brows drew close. “Tell me what’s going on. I’ll be the judge.”

“I arrived immediately after there’d been a fire in the kitchen. Nick Perrin stepped in and started barking orders like he owned the place.” Mark uncrossed his leg and leaned forward.

“That hardly sounds like he’s smitten.”

“You’d have to see him. It’s the way he coddles her and treats her like a queen. And he even got one of his men to cook lunch so she could have a break.” Mark coughed. “Sorry. It was smoky in the diner. And all this happened on the heels of their day at the zoo together.”

“Zoo?”

“From what my sister told me when I dropped by, Perrin arranged a private showing at Lake Manawa’s zoo. Your grandson said Lilly and Nick rode a camel together. I think the only person who doesn’t realize this has taken a romantic turn is Lilly herself.”

Mr. Hart frowned. “This is unsettling news.”

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, why are you so bothered by this? Your son has been gone long enough for the mourning period to be over. And Lilly has made it clear she has no intention of moving back in with you. I know you still feel responsible for her, but if she marries Nick Perrin, she’ll be out of your hair.”

Peering over the top of his reading spectacles, Mr. Hart studied Mark. “If Lilly falls in love with this man, she’ll move away with him. If that happens, she’ll take my grandson with her. I know I may not show it well, but I love my grandson, and he’s all I have left of my son. My wife barely survived losing our Ben, and she’d never recover if Levi were ripped from her as well.” His hands balled into fists. “I cannot let that happen.”

“How could you possibly stop her?”

“How indeed?” Mr. Hart stood and paced behind his desk. “Lilly is a shrewd woman. She’d catch on too easily if I interfere directly. I have to make her see Nick Perrin isn’t the man for her.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

“We?” Mr. Hart offered Mark a nod of approval. “I like how you think, Mr. Westing. Keep this up. I’ve got big plans for you, son.” He drew his hand along the length of his well-groomed, white beard. “I believe if you put your mind to it, you’ll find all sorts of ways to keep her and Mr. Perrin apart.” Mr. Hart jotted a note on a piece of paper and folded it in half. After addressing it, he handed it to Mark. “Now, I need you to deliver this to the man I’ve listed and wait for a reply.”

“What is it?”

With a flick of his wrist, he dismissed Mark. “The less you know, the better.”

“Could I interest you in a chicken leg, well done?”

Lilly turned to see Nick holding up a blackened piece of meat with a pair of tongs. When she’d arrived this morning, he was already there. The ceiling had been scraped free of all blackened signs of yesterday’s smoke, a fire roared in the oven, and he’d even made a pot of coffee. Try as she might, she couldn’t shoo him away. “I told you to leave that.”

“And I told you I would do it.” Nick put the leg with the other charred remains and picked up the skillet. “I’ll dump this out in the grass somewhere. Some raccoon will be delighted.”

“I don’t think we should be that unkind—even to the raccoons.”

“But they ate Eugenia’s oatmeal.” With a chuckle, Nick nudged the back door open with the toe of his boot. “I’ll be right back.” By the time he returned a few minutes later, Lilly had a bowl on the counter with flour measured into it.

“What are you doing?” He thumped his hand on the counter in front of her.

“Making pancakes. Slowly. I’m still a little stiff from Eugenia’s and my cleaning jag yesterday.”

Nick carried a stool to the center of the room. It wobbled a bit when he set it down, and he frowned at the piece of furniture, but when he glanced at her, a crooked smile lit his face. “This is your throne. You can sit here all morning and rule your loyal subjects, but you can’t help them.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I have only one loyal subject, and she is decidedly late. At this rate, your breakfast will be more like lunch. I know you’re behind at the site, so you need to get an early start.” Lilly filled a cup of water from the sink and took a long drink. “I’ll abdicate the throne if you don’t mind.”

He cupped her elbow and led her to the stool. “It is true the Lady Eugenia seems to have misplaced her hourglass, but I have my trusty kitchen weapon at hand.” He lifted a wooden spoon in the air. “I will mix these pancakes myself.”

“Nick, really, it’s sweet of you to offer, but I can do this.”

“And probably with your eyes closed. But indulge me. It’ll be fun.” He set the spoon beside the bowl. “What do I add next?”

She sighed. “Baking powder.”

“How much?”

“Three good-sized tablespoons.”

Nick dipped a spoon into the Calumet baking powder tin and pulled out a heaping tablespoonful. “How’s this?”

“Shake a little off. Too much. Try again.” She watched him refill the spoon. “That looks pretty good. After you put that in, add a little salt and some sugar.”

“A little salt? Would you care to be more specific?”

“Let’s go with three teaspoons of salt and three tablespoons of sugar. That ought to do it.”

After checking with Lilly to make sure he had the correct spoons in his hands, Nick deposited the two ingredients into the bowl with a flourish and grinned at Lilly.

“Don’t go getting cocky yet. Now make a well in the center of the flour mixture.”

Nick carved out a perfect half circle. “Okay. Done.”

“See that coffee cup on the Hoosier cabinet? Fill that with milk three times and then add a few splashes more.”

“Splashes? How much is a splash?” Nick retrieved the jar of milk from the icebox. “I’m beginning to feel sorry for Eugenia.”

Lilly dipped her fingers into her glass and flicked the water in Nick’s direction.

He jumped back. “What are you doing?”

“Teaching you about splashes.” She suppressed a smile when he shot her a mock glare. “Remember, you’re the one who wouldn’t let me mix it. You know, I’m gonna have to give added effort to teaching Eugenia to cook. If I do lose my job here, she’s the one who’ll be cooking for your men all the time. But that means they may have to endure a few Eugenia fiascos in the process.”

Nick moaned and wiped his flour-covered hands on the back of his dark trousers. He left handprints. Lilly stifled a laugh.

“What’s so funny?”