Cooking Up Love Read Online Free PDF

tomatoes into wedges. Two more waitresses glided into the kitchen in search of rags to wipe tables. He avoided their glances.
    Mr. Hastings chased the girls? Had rendezvous with O’Connor? Adam shook his head, wanting nothing more than to stay out of work politics, save his money, pack up his family, and head to California. That’s what he’d focus on.
    Soon, salad bowls lined the workspace. The reds and greens of the vegetables provided a nice contrast with the white porcelain. He glanced around the up-to-date kitchen. This wasn’t the first restaurant Adam had cooked for, but it was the nicest. He couldn’t believe his fortune. Everyone had heard of Fred Harvey’s newest venture. Some applauded his efforts; others laughed, at least in the beginning, saying the man would lose his shirt. Adam never dreamed he’d be involved in such an undertaking.
    Tabby scooted around another girl, nodded in Adam’s direction without making eye contact, and grabbed napkin-wrapped silverware. High spots of crimson dotted each fair cheek.
    Adam smiled. She wasn’t unaffected by him, despite the averting of her glance.
    * * *
    Tabby paused to catch her breath and leaned against the wall. From the moment she came downstairs after donning her uniform, she’d flitted from one workstation to another like a black-and-white hummingbird. She hurriedly tucked flyaway strands of hair back into her bow. It wouldn’t do to be reprimanded again on the first day, especially for her appearance.
    “If customers aren’t waiting, there’s a dining room to be dusted, also silverware to be rolled and napkins to be folded. There’s no end to work, Miss McClelland.” Miss O’Connor sailed by, her arms full of folded linens. “No dawdling.”
    With a sigh, Tabby pushed away from the wall and shuffled back to work.
    If she thought she was busy before, the first trainload of passengers caused a whirlwind of activity. By the time folks were in the door, each waitress waited calmly by a table, arms seemingly relaxed at their sides and a smile on each girl’s face. Tabby’s nerves jumped like frog legs in a hot skillet.
    “Relax.” Mary, the girl Tabby was assigned to follow, smiled down at her. “The work’s hard, but rewarding, and the passengers hardly complain. They’re happy to get a quality meal. You watch me this time, then later you can work the coffee machine at the lunch counter. Once training is complete, you’ll have an easier job than waitressing.”
    “All right.” Tabby took a deep breath and pasted a smile on her face. She could do this. The twelve-hour days were worth the future of adventure in the West and the thrill of meeting new people and hearing their stories.
    A family of six sat at the table assigned to Mary. The children’s excited chatter rose above the gentle clinking of silverware as the napkins were unrolled and voices murmured in soft conversation. Tabby stood to the side as Mary greeted them, poured water and coffee, then moved to the kitchen to get their salads, all without breaking stride or losing her smile.
    Tabby followed. Would she be as efficiently pleasant as the other girls seemed to be? Were they as happy on the inside as they appeared on the outside? What if a customer grew irate? Miss O’Connor didn’t tell them what to do then. Tabby’s head ached from all the questions.
    Although the thrill of working in such a nice establishment filled her, she couldn’t help but realize her last job, however messy, had been easy. She pushed open the kitchen door.
    A movement caught her eye, and she glanced down. A mouse skittered across the toe of her shiny black shoe.

Chapter 4
    T abby shrieked and leaped to the closest object above the floor, the kitchen counter. A pan of white sauce crashed to the floor, its contents splashing across the sparkling tile. A drop burned Tabby’s skin through her wool stockings.
    Mary squawked and clasped a hand over her mouth as she backpedaled from the room.
    Adam whirled,