Carrie's secrets, she'd have to tell them herself, because Jake would never violate that trust.
"It's lunchtime," Brian said.
They'd been at work without a break since before dawn. They split their days, physical work in the morning, business plan and strategizing in the afternoon. They were nearly done with the latter, though. Soon the real work of being ranchers would begin.
He brought himself back to the moment. "It is, and Carrie is working today. Course, you know she rarely helps out in the dining room. Mostly she's in the kitchen."
"Yeah, but I was thinking that with Ginny on her honeymoon, she'd be lending a hand. Steven said that last waitress Kelsey hired didn't work out, and she'd had to let her go on Friday." Brian shook his head. "Our cousin is close to pulling her hair out about the situation. I feel bad for her, I really do."
Chase shook his head. Brian's smile completely belied his words. "You don't let Kelsey see you grinning like that at her failure to find a good waitress, brother, or your ass is gonna be sauteed and fricasseed. That woman our cousins married is small, but man, she's mighty."
"I'm not stupid, brother." Brian grinned. "Our cousins are lucky sons of guns. So are our older brothers, though you'd have to inflict pain before I'd let them know that."
"I'm with you there." Chase grinned. He really liked Maggie, his future sister-in-law. He had to admit she'd done a world of good for Rick.
They'd worked their way back toward the ranch house, so it was a simple matter of a short ride back to the barn, and then taking care of their horses. Inside the house, they took only a few minutes to wash up and change their shirts. Then all they had to do was jump into their Ford F-150 and head into town.
Chase was very aware that their habit of going into town for lunch a few days a week likely played into the sense some of the family had that he and Brian weren't serious about the ranch.
We're serious, all right, but working two goals at a time can look like we're distracted at best, and flighty at worst.
Chase didn't care if they appeared that way, and he really didn't give one good damn what anyone else thought, with one exception. "You don't suppose Carrie thinks we're just a couple of trust fund babies playing at being cowboys, do you?"
Brian had just come out of the house, town hat in hand. "God, I hope not. Crap, I never thought of that, but that might be a problem. She might think we're just working bankers' hours, because all she knows is what she sees. It's not as if she's out here, seeing the progress."
"And we're sure as hell not working bankers' hours. Except for shooting into town a couple times a week just to see her, we've been at this nearly nonstop." Chase headed toward the truck, keys in hand.
An idea hit him, and he stopped and turned to his brother. "What we need to do is find a way to get that woman out here, on our turf. Away from town, from people and distractions, we might be able to make a bit more headway with her."
"Great idea. Just one question. How the hell do we do that?"
Chase grinned. "Just leave it to me, little brother. I have the perfect plan. Get in the truck and I'll tell you all about it."
* * * *
"Carrie, I don't know how to thank you." Kelsey looked to be on the verge of tears.
Carrie hadn't been around a lot of pregnant women, but she was learning quickly that mood shifts could be dicey. In this instance, Carrie understood her boss was simply reacting to the frustration of being unable to find another waitress that would last.
The last one had been the laziest woman Carrie had ever met. Hell, she was delighted to pitch in just so she didn't have to deal with that bimbo, who was long gone not only from the restaurant but from town, too.
"You don't have to thank me, boss. I hired on to be a cook, but I always figured if I worked in a place, I ought to be ready to just pitch in wherever I was needed."
"You're a gem, Carrie, you really are."
Carrie grinned, and then shrugged. "Hey, the tips aren't bad, either."
"Do you have a sister? Someone who can move to Lusty and join our team? I can hire a