Feels Like Family by Sherryl Woods Read Free Book Online

help anyway on weekends. The sharing part would be that Tess and I would adjust that schedule between us if one of us had an emergency, so you’d never be left without a sous-chef. You’d have two trained people and you’d be covered all the time. The odds of both of us having an emergency on the same day are slight.”
    “I like it!” Helen said eagerly. “Dana Sue, what do you think?”
    Karen held her breath.
    “It could work,” Dana Sue said slowly. “We do need the extra coverage. I’d have to meet Tess and see if she can handle the job or if she even wants it, but it would solve a lot of problems. Erik, what do you think?”
    Though his expression remained grim, he nodded. “It has potential, as long as at least one of you shows up, no matter what,” he conceded grudgingly. For the first time, he actually looked at Karen. “That’s one of the traits I’ve always liked about you. You do think outside the box and you’re not afraid to try new things.”
    Karen smiled at him. “Thanks. This time it was mainly out of desperation, but I really do think you’re both going to love Tess. She’s bright and energetic and loyal. She’d fitin perfectly here. And I know she and I can work things out so you’re never short staffed.”
    “Okay, then, have her call me,” Dana Sue said. “We’ll get her in here and give her a try.”
    Helen sat back, a satisfied smile on her face. “A win-win solution. Good job, Karen. Thanks, Dana Sue.”
    Karen noticed she pointedly ignored Erik as she stood up. “I need to get back to the office,” Helen said.
    This time Erik shot out of the booth. “I’ll walk with you,” he said in a determined tone that silenced any argument. “Back in ten minutes, Dana Sue.”
    Dana Sue stared after him. “Take all the time you need.”
    After they’d gone, Karen met Dana Sue’s amused gaze. “Are those two…?”
    “Not yet,” Dana Sue said. “But I predict it won’t be long.”
    “My, my,” Karen murmured, laying on a thick Southern drawl, “I do believe I could use some iced tea. It’s gotten a little warm in here and I’m parched.”
    Dana Sue laughed. “Isn’t that the truth? Come on. I’ll join you. Something tells me we’re going to be on our own for a while in the kitchen.”
     
    Helen was sorry she’d walked over to Sullivan’s from her office. If she’d driven, she could have gotten in her car and slammed the door in Erik’s face. Instead, he was walking along beside her in an increasingly awkward silence. Finally she could stand it no longer.
    “If there’s something on your mind, just say it,” she demanded. “Otherwise, leave me alone.”
    “I’m trying to figure out what to say,” he admitted.
    “‘I’m sorry’ has a nice ring to it. Or ‘I was wrong.’ That’s a good one.”
    “Okay, both of those,” he said, his lips twitching.
    She stopped and whirled around to look him in the eye. “That’s it? I throw you a couple of options and you don’t even repeat them or put your own pitiful spin on them?”
    “But you’re the one who’s so good with words,” he returned dryly. “I figured you put it exactly the way you wanted to hear it.”
    Helen rolled her eyes. “Oh, for heaven’s sake, do you even know what you’re apologizing for?”
    “The kiss?” he suggested uncertainly.
    The hint of vulnerability in a man who’d always struck her as supremely confident cut through her defenses. “That would be a good place to start,” she agreed.
    “There’s more?” he asked.
    Though his tone was perfectly serious, she thought she detected a hint of teasing. “You’re darn straight, there’s more. How about the fact that you were behaving like a horse’s behind about Karen?”
    “I was trying to look out for the restaurant’s best interests,” he said. “Something I thought would matter to you, you being Dana Sue’s good friend and all.”
    “Of course that matters to me,” she retorted. “So, don’t you think the