little Benny Rose - soon to be Kendall, too, because Adam was going to legally adopt him - made her smile. "It was the way the whole town seems to have adopted Benny." After the actual ceremony, the almost seven-year-old had gone around, from table to table, visiting with everyone. Ginny had told her how everyone had rallied to donate clothes and toys for her son, when she'd left him behind at the restaurant, to protect him.
Ginny had also told her how they'd pretty much done the same for Benny's mom as well, when Kelsey, Matt, and Adam had fetched her back to Lusty.
"Mind you, the folks here can sometimes be a bit sneaky when they're doing their whole caretaker thing." Kelsey's smile softened, and she placed a hand on her baby bump. "Samantha Kendall, who's the magistrate, made me Benny's temporary guardian after Ginny left him here. My men were courting me at the time and had pretty much figured out there were issues from my past I hadn't dealt with. I'd built a pretty formidable wall around myself after my husband and son were both murdered. My men had already weakened it, but Benny Rose finished the job of tearing it down in just a few short hours."
When Carrie had answered the ad in the Waco paper, she'd conducted an online search on the restaurant, and its owner.
She'd come across the article in the Waco paper that had raved about the eatery and delved into Kelsey's tragic past.
Now she wondered, for just a moment, if Kelsey was giving her some sort of warning. Perhaps she was, in a generic kind of way.
There'd been no newspaper article about her past. As far as the authorities were concerned, the only thing that had happened ten years ago was that a foster kid had run away from her foster home, never to return again.
"It all worked out in the end," Tracy said.
"Yeah." Kelsey stretched that one word out, and Carrie figured she didn't need any more information than that.
"I'd better get some drinks out to my customers."
Kelsey shook her head. "Yes, and I'd better get these orders filled instead of standing around daydreaming."
"I'll give you a hand." Tracy washed her hands at the sink, and then grabbed another pair of latex gloves.
Michelle was coming into the kitchen as she headed back to the dining room. More people had come in for lunch, and for the next half hour or so Carrie was kept busy.
She didn't begrudge the work, or the steady influx of diners. She mentally laughed at herself. Other times she'd tried to escape talking to the brothers Benedict and now, when she wanted to spend a few minutes chatting with them, she couldn't get near them except to deliver their meals.
Finally the rush eased. She had time to take the tea around again, offering free refills. When she approached Chase and Brian, she sighed. They were still there, seemingly in deep conversation with each other.
Despite wanting to give them the chance to ask her out, she decided she'd best just refill their glasses, take their empty plates, and move on. She definitely didn't want to interrupt them.
Chase reached out and touched her wrist. "Can you take a small break and sit with us for a moment, sugar?"
She'd kept their table for last. She figured she had a few minutes before she needed to start delivering checks so her customers could be on their way. She also knew Kelsey never minded if one of her staff wanted to sit for a moment with their customers.
"I can take five minutes."
"Sit down, darlin'. I'll get you a glass and you can have some of that tea you've been pouring for everyone else all day."
Brian was up like a shot, made his way over to the drink station, and was back in seconds with a clean glass.
Carrie sat, and Chase poured her the tea.
"How long until Kelsey finds herself another waitress, do you think?" Chase asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine. There're a couple of young girls who've applied to come on as summer help. Kelsey's waiting until Ginny gets home to let them start."
"Makes sense," Brian said. "If the kids have never worked before, it'll likely be a while before they're any real help at all."
"Exactly. I don't mind pitching in. There's still time to help in the kitchen between meals. A lot of the cooking happens before the actual meal rush." She realized they'd always kept their conversations centered around