Sorrow didn’t even pause what she was doing. “I’m doing my job, Dad. You know, making lunch?” How her sister had become so bulletproof to the man’s moods was a wonder.
Unable to get a rise from Sorrow, their father swung his gaze her way. He eyed her with a frown. “What happened to you?”
Her shirt was still damp and cool with sweat, and she peeled it from her body to air it out. “What’s with you people? Can’t a girl go for a run without getting the third degree?”
“You’re dripping on the counter.”
“I am not dripping on the counter.” She hopped down.
Bear’s eyes narrowed to tiny slits. “Ain’t those shorts a little…short?”
“Yeah, Dad,” Sorrow said blandly, coming to her rescue. “It’s why they call them shorts.”
“Well, dry yourself off before you get out there,” he said with a wave to the pass-through window. The low hum of chatter had already begun, diners come early for lunch. Some liked to bring the newspaper and park at the counter for hours.
Laura gave him an incredulous look. “Who says I’m going out there?”
“Somebody needs to man the tables.”
Sorrow met her eyes with a mischievous twinkle. “Don’t you mean woman the tables, Dad?”
“I don’t care who does it. All I know is Helen’s not here yet.”
“Helen needs to step up,” Laura said at once. Their waitress fought her on everything, and while she didn’t need her employees to bow at her feet, Helen’s attitude verged on downright disrespectful. “We pay her good money. If she’s not going to work for it, then we should find someone who will.”
“I know you’re not exactly friends,” Sorrow began.
“Not friends? Not hardly. Does she even have any friends?”
“We can’t just fire her,” Sorrow said. “She’s got kids.”
Bear shrugged. “Your mother won’t hear of it anyhow.”
“Well, she needs to at least attempt to be on time.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Sorrow said. “Try to give her a break. I feel bad for the woman. Her husband’s never around.”
Laura did a mental scan. “She’s married to that Rob guy, from the hardware store, right?”
“Yeah.” Dad nodded. “Real piece of work, that one.”
Women too hung up on their men…as far as Laura was concerned, everyone should take a page from her book and swear off the male sex completely. “Not my problem.” She went to put her coffee cup in the sink. “All I know is, business is up, and we’re relying on her more than ever.”
“Hey,” Sorrow exclaimed, and her knife froze midchop, “what’s up with hiring another person? Dad, didn’t you say we could get some more help around here?”
“Did I?” he asked, looking a little like a trapped animal.
Sorrow smiled. “Oh, you did. You told Billy, remember? How we could get someone to help with the cleaning and front desk stuff.”
“Seriously? Hired help?” Laura perked up, joining her sister. “That’d be awesome. I totally need help managing reservations.”
“I don’t know about any hiring.” Their father looked panicked. “Don’t be getting ahead of yourselves.”
She’d been momentarily light-headed with excitement, and then her mood dipped lower than ever. “Doesn’t matter, anyway. We won’t even be able to afford Helen once we go under.”
Dad swung to face her. “What kind of nonsense are you talking, girl?”
“Have you heard about Eddie’s construction project?”