The Cornish Guest House Read Online Free PDF

home, it stood out from the other buildings because it was larger and painted white, with bright blue wooden shutters and its name emblazoned in distinctive, swirly white letters on a matching blue board above the door.
    Liz could hear noises as she entered and she hung her coat in the little cloakroom before hurrying into the kitchen, which was already humming with activity. A red-faced Alex, the head chef, was barking orders at his number two, as well as Jesse, who’d been promoted from washer-upper and jack of all trades and was training to be a chef himself.
    The task of pot washer and general dogsbody now fell to Callum, who was scrubbing vegetables in the giant sink. A cheery lad of twenty-one, with two voluptuous, half-naked ladies tattooed on his forearms, he’d been unemployed before and was grateful to have found permanent work in the village.
    There was no sign of the other waitress, Loveday, Robert’s niece. She tended to saunter in just as the customers arrived, looking for all the world as if she was doing everyone a huge favour. She and Jesse had been going out together for a year now and, give or take the odd fracas that made nerves jangle in the kitchen, they seemed to be made for each other.
    ‘Liz!’ Jesse cried, pausing a moment from stirring the contents of a large saucepan that was simmering on the stove and giving off delicious smells. He was twenty years old, with a mass of blond, corkscrew curls and an impressive surfer’s torso that he liked to show off at the slightest opportunity. ‘How goes it?’
    They caught up briefly, then Liz started laying the tables while Robert prepared the till and polished glasses. The restaurant was square in shape and quite small inside, with low ceilings, an uneven wooden floor and wonky tables made of stripped bare oak that were pushed quite close together due to lack of space.
    Robert had talked about re-designing the interior and had asked Liz to help, but they’d been so busy with the move, followed by the wedding, that they hadn’t had the chance. In any case, customers seemed to love the rough and readiness of the venue, which had a homely, welcoming feel, the sort of place where you could wear your Wellies and bring your dog if you so chose. It would be good to re-paint the walls, though, and extend the kitchen, which was rather cramped.
    ‘Thank God it’s you, not her.’
    Liz looked up from folding a pile of white linen napkins to see Loveday sloping by in nothing but a low-cut, tight white T-shirt, black mini-skirt and platform heels. She was a big girl of nineteen, with a very large bust that you couldn’t ignore, and hair dyed black that had recently been cut into a severe crop and shaved up both sides. The long fringe stuck out in spikes, owing to the quantities of wax she used.
    Liz had been told by Robert that his niece and the new waitress weren’t the best of friends. In fact, Loveday seemed to have a problem with any waitress who wasn’t Liz. Demi, the girl before, had been a ‘lazy cow’ and ‘too full of herself’, although the relationship had thawed a little before she’d left. The new one, meanwhile, was a ‘pernickety old boot’ who should go back to where she’d come from. Somewhere in Wales, apparently.
    ‘No coat?’ asked Liz, noticing Loveday’s bare legs, which had turned quite blue with the cold. She was always half-naked, that girl. It never ceased to amaze.
    ‘Nah,’ said Loveday, frowning, ‘couldn’t be arsed.’
    She was clearly having one of her bad days so Liz thought it wise not to comment further.
    Once she’d finished the tables, she checked the menu to familiarise herself with what was on offer and watched while Robert chalked the names of the specials on a blackboard to the right of the bar. There was gurnard tonight, as well as cod and grey mullet. Alex had been out at 4 a.m. this morning with the one bona-fide fisherman left in the village, and they’d come back with a sizeable catch. The