Page 54 of The Guest Cottage
He was far from angelic, and sometimes his remorse put him squarely in hell. “It’s no more your responsibility than it is mine, except that people should help one another when they can.”
“Yet one more Bramble rule for neighbors?”
“No, a rule for humanity.” He glanced at the time. “You want to make another trip around the restaurant before clocking out? I’ll wait for you.” They had a little more talking to do, and he’d rather do it tonight.
“You don’t mind?” she asked.
For answer, he gave her a hotter kiss, then turned her toward the seating area and walked her out. “I’ll be at the bar.”Where he could keep an eye on pushy young men.
Fortunately, within fifteen minutes, everyone had cleared out. Herman would stay until the dishwashers finished, but he insisted that Marlow go.
“You did great today. Don’t think I didn’t notice. How you kept up with the outsiders, I don’t know, but I appreciate it.”
She glowed with his praise. “Actually, it was a nice distraction, and after the first hour, I found my rhythm.” She grinned. “Take orders, pick up empties on my way to the kitchen, carry out food, handle refills, and then take more orders. It was almost like working a conveyor belt, not that I’ve ever done that either, but I imagine it’s similar, minus all the chitchat—and the tips.” She bobbed her eyebrows playfully. To Cort, she said, “I’ll grab my purse and be right back.”
Once she’d gone, Herman grinned. “She’s a keeper.”
Cort agreed but kept the words to himself.
“Are you driving her home?”
“No, she has her car, but we might sit in the lot a minute to talk.”
His brows lifted. “Anything wrong? Her pushy in-laws aren’t back to give her a hard time, are they?”
So Herman knew they were her in-laws? “Did Marlow tell you about them?”
“Just the basics. Also told me someone got her address from a local. She said if she got any calls, she’d need to take them. Usually she leaves her phone in the break-room locker, but she kept it in her back pocket this time. Saw her check it off and on.”
Marlow returned to them in time to catch that last bit. “Thank you for not complaining about my phone, Herman.”
The way she’d worded it, if Herman had been complaining, he’d have felt rebuked. But Herman blustered now, saying, “’Course I wouldn’t. It didn’t slow you down, not like it does some people who want to be on their phone around the clock.”
“You’re a terrific boss.”
It amused Cort to see Herman blushing. “I have to get to the kitchen, make sure everything is cleaned up right.” He started toward the door. “I’ll lock up behind you.”
Once outside, Cort said, “We can sit in my truck for a minute, or I can follow you home. Which is easier for you?”
“You don’t mind being up this late?”
It was now after one in the morning, and he should have been tired but wasn’t. “I’d love to head home with you to talk for a while, but it’s been a hell of a day for you. If you need to rest, I understand.”
“I won’t be able to sleep anyway. How about I follow you to my house? Every time I drive home after dark, I worry that a deer will jump out and startle me.”
He agreed, and luckily the deer stayed hidden. At the driveway to the cottage, he waited in his truck until she pulled up beside him.
The air was brisk, the dark night amplifying the distant croak of frogs on the lake.
As Marlow unlocked the front door, she said, “It’s so peaceful here, it’s hard to imagine that anything bad could ever happen.”
“But you’re still worried?”
“Let’s call it concern.” She led him into the kitchen and dropped into a chair, her elbows on the table, her head in her hands. “Pixie doesn’t have a phone. She’s so thin, and the baby is still so tiny. What if something happens?”
This was why he’d wanted to talk. After getting them each a bottle of water from the fridge, he sat across from her. “Actually, I reactivated her phone.”
“Cort!”
