Chasing Shadows (complete)

Chapter 6

Bain-Marie. Demi-glace. Fondue. Carter threw his pen down. Enough with the French words, already! Yes, French cuisine was very important, and – some might argue – the very essence of gourmet cooking, but he didn’t want to put his name on a cookbook that did everything possible to make itself sound important. This ghostwriter idea seemed good on paper, but if people were buying his book because they thought they were getting a glimpse into his life, they would be sorely disappointed.

He would have to call his agent and tell him the ghostwriter was fired. If they wanted another cookbook, he’d type it up himself, no matter how boring they thought he was.

With his manuscript tossed to the side along with his pen, Carter’s mind started to wander. All the way over to the mall, in fact. He hadn’t talked to Jenny since their event the other week, not unless you count a thank you text as talking – which he didn’t. The event had been a success, and he’d seen several customers in his restaurant over the weekend, some even during week nights. He was curious if it had had the same positive effect on Jenny’s business. Maybe he should call her and find out. Maybe invite her over to the restaurant for a thank you dinner.

Carter was reaching for his phone when sanity revisited him. No. He wasn’t going to invite Jenny Miller anywhere. There was nothing between them except for old memories and a tentative friendship, and there could never be anything but.

Carter pulled out his desk drawer. He had about five business cards in there so far. Three of them were from actual business men wanting to speak to him about investing  – two were from women who’d discretely asked him to call when their husbands were out of town. Carter shuddered at the thought. Such a small town, yet so many desperate people. He wondered what Jenny would think if he told her about the not-so-subtle invitations. Would she frown, turn up her nose – or would she keep her face neutral, never wanting to offend or criticize anyone? Would she include her own business card?

Carter shook his head to rid it of thoughts of Jenny Miller. Not. Happening.

Jenny rubbed her temples, hoping to relieve some of the tension building behind them. She hated doing the books. Especially when she was so close to being in the red that she might as well bring out the holiday decorations.

The sales had gone up momentarily following Carter’s appearance in her store, but now they were back down. Consistently. Another month like this one and she’d have to let either Marianne or Winnie go. As it stood now, she needed to cut back on their hours.

Jenny sighed deeply as she considered the ramifications. Both Marianne and Winnie depended on their wages. They could have gotten other jobs by now and left her in the lurch, but they were loyal workers. And how was she repaying their loyalty, exactly?

The guilt weighed heavily on Jenny as she packed up her files and exited her office. Maybe she should do as Carter had suggested and keep the store open longer every day. But she’d have to pay more in wages, and then there was the issue of getting home before dark.

Jenny wrapped her arms around herself as she hurried out to her car. It was a cloudy, rainy day, and it looked like summer was further off than the calendar suggested. She’d have to start promoting this summer’s ‘beach reads’ any day now, despite the weather. Maybe she could use the whole ‘rainy days of summer books’ concept to make more sales.

Jenny had just gotten to her car and was doing the daily struggle of getting her key in the lock when she got the eeriest feeling she was being watched. She looked over her shoulder, but there was no-one around. Quite a few cars were parked in the lot, which was to be expected, and she shrugged off the feeling. She finally managed to open the door, get in, and lock the doors.