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Mrs. Ford’s, then walked to her car.
    As it was August, the sun was already up and birds all over the neighborhood were announcing the fact. She drove down the quiet streets and thought about Walker. He was an interesting man. Not a serial killer. She was willing to let that worry go. But he did have his secrets. Of course, so did she.

CHAPTER THREE
    D ANI B UCHANAN LOVED everything about her job. As assistant to the executive chef, she was in charge of reviewing food orders, making sure the kitchen staff showed up when they should, acting as liaison between the front of the house—the dining room—and the back of the house—the kitchen. During the dinner rush, she expedited plates and made sure the right orders got to the right table at the right time.
    With Penny approaching zero hour on her pregnancy, she was spending less and less time at the restaurant, which meant more responsibility for Dani. Instead of feeling the pressure, Dani felt energized. She loved the challenges, how no two days were the same. She enjoyed the foul-mouthed cooks who had made her prove she wouldn’t blush at the raunchy jokes. Here in the kitchen of The Waterfront, she was just staff. Not Penny’s sister-in-law, not one of “the” Buchanans. She was judged on the job she did, nothing more.
    She finished checking the produce delivery and signed the receipt. As the delivery truck rumbled away, Edouard, Penny’s sous-chef and the man now temporarily in charge of the cooks, walked in.
    Dani eyed his scowl. “Someone not getting any?” she asked sweetly.
    “This job is cutting into my social life,” Edouard told her with a sniff. “I am forced to leave the clubs before I am ready. Sometimes I am forced to leave alone. I do not like that.”
    Edouard was French, moody, brilliant and recovering from a breakup. He could have made a reputation for himself, but he didn’t want the responsibility. Instead he was happy to be highly paid by Penny and have a life outside of work. Except while she was on semimaternity leave.
    He walked into the kitchen and looked at the list of specials.
    “You change them every day,” he complained. “Why is that?”
    “Partly tradition and partly to annoy you.”
    “We do not have the same people dining here night after night. They would not know if the specials remained the same for a week or so.”
    “Suck it up, big guy.”
    Edouard spread out his knives and checked the blades. He reached for a particularly nasty-looking cleaver. “I do not like it when you call me that.”
    Dani held up both hands and smiled. “Point taken.”
    “Good. Now I will cook your specials because I am a professional, but I will not be happy about it.”
    “Duly noted.”
    He sighed. “When will Penny be back?”
    “She hasn’t left yet.”
    “She is not here all the time. I miss her doing the hard work.”
    He continued complaining, but Dani slipped out of the kitchen and headed to Penny’s office. There was more paperwork to be done before things got busy. She settled in front of the computer and entered the information for the produce order. Thirty minutes later, that was complete and she went to get another cup of coffee.
    Several of the cooks had arrived. Stocks were already simmering as vegetables were chopped in preparation for that night’s dinner. A far cry from Burger Heaven, Dani thought as she filled her mug. Their setup was no more complicated than prepping burger toppings and picking the milkshake flavor of the month.
    She’d stayed there too long, hoping her grandmother would notice the great job she’d been doing and move her to this place or Buchanan’s, the family steak house. But Gloria never had. A combination of family loyalty and the need for the great insurance had kept Dani in place until a few months ago, when she’d discovered nothing was as it seemed.
    The insurance for her husband had become unnecessary when the lowlife cheater had asked her for a divorce. As for family loyalty, that