Lily nodded. She’d told her father her plan, but not all of it. Now was as good a time as any. “Ethan’s hired me to help him get it up and running, and if all goes well, to manage it for him when he goes back on the road.”
He clapped his hands and said, “Yes!” And then he frowned. “Wait, he’s going back on the road?”
“Right after the opening,” she said, averting her eyes and changing the subject. “Think you can handle cooking full-time again?”
“With a small staff,” he said without missing a beat. Then he rubbed his hands together. “I want in as much as the two of you will let me.”
“Really?” She tilted her head to one side, watching her father’s face.
His eyes were sparkling. “It’s been like old times, Lily. Cooking, running a kitchen again while Manny’s been down, I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed it.”
Someone grabbed her forearm, and she turned her head sharply. Ethan, tall and broad in a black shirt with pearl snaps and a matching Stetson. Looking at him, especially up close like this, always made it a little hard for Lily to catch her breath.
“Here, this way,” Ethan said. “Manny set us up at a couple’a big tables in the back. We saved you both a spot.”
He moved his hand from her forearm to her upper arm, just resting it there, as if to guide her through the crowd. The line was uneven, splitting into multiple lines and uniting again as people milled, edging ever forward. They were going inside, where family members greeted them and pointed them toward the nearest table, some of which were out the rear door in the grassy area between the cantina and the spot where the river ran through.
As they moved away from the door, someone shouted, “Hyram! Hey, Hy!”
They all turned to see Cat Shaw moving their way. She wore a rhinestone-trimmed top, and her wild brown-and-silver curls were all caught up on top of her head.
Hyram watched her approach and elbowed Ethan. “Can we squeeze in one more?” He asked from the side of his mouth, eyes on the woman hurrying toward them. Her tall black boots clicked fast under a broomstick skirt of green and gold.
Ethan said, “Sure we can. Cat, come join us at our table.”
“Thank you, Ethan!” She linked her arm right through Hyram’s.
Lily pressed her lips into a smile that felt thin and tight, and cursed her inner pettiness.
Ethan said, “You remember Cat, don’t you Lily?”
“Hello again, Lily,” Cat said, smiling like she hadn’t detected Lily’s flash of annoyance. If she’d been an actual cat, her back would have been arched and her claws would’ve extended. Lily wanted to hiss at her but that was unreasonable and childish.
Instead she said, “Hi, Cat,” and tried for a genuine-looking smile.
“This way,” Ethan said, hand still on Lily’s arm, moving to the top of her shoulder as they left the line behind. “There’s a side door I never knew about, all the years I’ve been comin’ here. Right in that wall we want to knock out.”
He pointed at the door as they neared it. On the right side of the clapboard-sided building, there was a double door for deliveries. There were also two huge trash bins, a stack of crates, and a lot of scrubby brush. About fifty feet from the building there was a small garden shed, red with white trim.
“It’s just wasted space now,” Lily said. “Aside from the shed.”
“It’s already mostly level, too. No trees in the way,” Ethan added, looking around as he reached for the door. “Perfect for the addition.” He opened the side door, and the noise of human voices, laughter, clattering dishes, and a mariachi band gusted out. Ethan led the way, waving her in behind him with the hand that had been on her shoulder. She missed his touch but knew she should have shrugged it off sooner.
“It’s a packed house,” he said. “Best take my hand.” He reached back and clasped her hand in his big, warm one, and she got a chill right up her spine. She liked it too much to remind him of their hands-off policy. Her spine was like jelly where he was concerned.
He pulled her through the crowd, and just before they were swallowed up, she reached behind her to take her father’s hand, and grudgingly hoped he had hold of Cat Shaw’s. Locals called out greetings as they made their way. Mariachis were working their way through the crowd while playing their instruments and singing. She didn’t know how they managed it.
Eventually, she spotted her brother at a long table in the back, four chairs on each side, one on each end. Harrison was beside Maria and had two empty seats to his left for her and Dad, she figured, but it would have to be Dad and Cat. They’d want to sit together. She spotted Orrin and Drew sitting together with their backs to them. Baxter was twisted around looking back at them from one end, and Willow was at the other end of the table, waving.
There were two empty seats on the facing side, next to Orrin and Drew. Lily headed toward one of them, not surprised when Ethan slid into the one beside her. He gave her a casual smile and reached for a big cloth napkin. There were two smaller tables filled up with the Elder-Brands, close but not close enough for conversation without shouting.
Trevor came in, late and laughing about it and yelling, “Anybody save me a seat?”
“Take mine,” Lily’s father said. “I have a mission in the kitchen.” He said it as a rhythmic rhyme with a wink at Lily, then he got up and moved away, heading behind the bar unchallenged, and through twin doors with porthole windows into the kitchen.
Cat looked around the table, maybe feeling a little uncomfortable. She got up, and said, “I’ll see if I can help Hyram.”
She left, weaving the same path Hyram had. Lily looked at Harrison and they shared one of those brother-sister conversations that didn’t require words. They needed to show Cat a better welcome. They acknowledged it and vowed to do better without a word exchanged.
