Searching For Jenna novel Chapter 23

"Hey Elliot and Jason," Sandy said as she strolled in from the office located at the very back of the restaurant. She took one look at Steven and asked, "You run here from your house on the lake?"

"Not quite," Steven said with a rakish grin. "I had to help a friend load some kegs on his truck for a party this weekend. Plus the air conditioning is out in my truck."

Sandy wrinkled her nose when he walked past her to bring the beer out to the bar's coolers. "I'm glad you're already kind of stinky. I've got a fresh load of bass and trout coming in about fifteen minutes. You can help Jason bring them in to be prepped."

"Sure," Steven said and went back to the big cooler for more beer.

"I've got a few kids coming in for interviews before we open tonight," Sandy told Elliot when Jason and Steven went to the back dock to get the fish. "I'm hoping to get three or four more servers."

"That's a good idea," Elliot agreed. "Some of the ones we have now are not that reliable."

"I've noticed," Sandy said. "How're things out here?"

"Good," Elliot said, "I just need to get some things cooking."

"Okay, hon," Sandy said. "I'm going to help Steven at the bar tonight, so if you need me, I'll be out there."

"Got it, boss," Elliot said as he turned on the gas stove and got to work.

The front door of the restaurant opened with a jingle of the bell Sandy had installed to signify someone entering the restaurant. Elliot heard Sandy greet whoever it was that had just come in. Hopefully, they would get someone who cared about their job and not the silly girls who were looking for a place to flirt with men. Two of the girls Sandy had hired right after Elliot started working for her were the most immature people he had ever met. They hit on every man that came into the building, including Jason and him. Neither had ever had a job in a restaurant and were continually dropping dishes. The rest of the staff had to wait on customers just to keep from getting behind and making everyone mad.

Jason returned from helping Steven unload the fresh fish. He brought a bucket of bass with him for tonight's specialty. Elliot took the bucket and set it on the counter. He pulled out a large fish and put it on the sink where he cleaned and scaled fish.

Sandy was talking animatedly to whomever it was interviewing for the server job. She sounded pretty excited about the person's qualifications, so Elliot decided to take a peek into the dining area to see what this person looked like. He stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized the blonde in the booth talking to Sandy. His heart jumped into his throat, and he had to put his hand on the counter to steady himself.

Elliot watched from the kitchen in horror as his former girlfriend, Cara Marshall, agreed to take the job Sandy was offering. She was going to be working right under his nose.

Cara was one of the people he had to leave behind when he went into the witness protection program. Now, here she was. What the hell was he going to do? What if she recognized him? She would blow his cover. Not to mention flip out when she finds out that her former girlfriend, Jenna, is now a guy.

"Nice to meet you," Cara said and held out her hand.

Elliot held up his hands revealing the fish scales and juices from where he'd been filleting fish. "I don't think you want me to shake your hand," he said with a laugh. "It's nice to meet you too. Welcome to the team."

Cara withdrew her hand and wrinkled her nose. "So the fish here really is fresh."

"Oh yes," Sandy said. "We get fresh deliveries every day. I buy from local fisherman as well."

"That's cool," Cara said.

"Let me show you around the rest of the kitchen," Sandy said. "And then we'll talk about your schedule."

Elliot turned back to his cutting board with a frown and a sigh. God, she was so beautiful. He'd missed her so much, but now was not the time or place for them to be reunited. Hopefully, she would hate this job and quit. And what was she doing over here anyway? Her whole family lives in or near Evansville. With a shrug, he went back to work. He couldn't worry about all that right now. His job was to keep an eye out for his father's fishing buddies, and now for his father. If he was still tracking Cara, it would just be a matter of time before he showed up here.