Page 57 of Sweet T
Shelly nodded. “Probably a good idea. Though I suspect word’s already out.” She looked back at Evan. “That night, we were that worried whoever jumped you might still be around, ready to jump us. Any idea who it was?”
Tucker’s eyes flicked to Evan’s. They had discussed on the drive into town not to talk too much about the events that took place.
“No. It’s still pretty blurry.”
“Well, that’s enough for now,” said Tucker. “Y’all can talk inside. We only have an hour before Sebastian’s here.”
They went inside.
“Ben, Evan’s going to be helping you in the back. I need you to show him the ropes. Fryer, grill, dishwasher... everything.”
“You got it, boss.”
As they were crossing in front of the lengthy bar, someone knocked at the front door.
“Bread’s here,” Ben said. “You want to grab that, Evan? Training has officially begun.”
Evan went to the door. When he opened it, he was greeted by a thick, burly man with a large box. He had a close-cropped, dark beard parted with a brilliant white smile. “You must be Evan. I’m Brody, here with your bread order.”
Evan grinned. “Well, hey there, bear. You have The Divine Dough, right? Tucker neglected to tell me how handsome you are.”
Brody stepped inside, heading to the bar with the box. “Flattery will get you everywhere, young man. It’s nice to see you vertical for a change.”
“Hey, Brody,” Tucker pointed. “No flirting with my new employee.”
“I’m not flirting. Just stating the obvious.”
“Y’all throwing in the tournament tonight?”
“You know it. Chuck’s not gonna miss an opportunity to pad his wallet. It’s also great foreplay. Whoops! Did I say that out loud?”
Shelly pushed by him. “You’re not telling us anything we don’t know already. Watching y’all throw together is borderline pornographic.”
“Hush your mouth!” Brody covered Evan’s ears. “There are children present.”
“Hardly,” said Tucker. “Evan’s just small. He’s not much younger than me.”
“And by the looks of it, quite the lady-killer, too.”
“He also bats for our team,” Tucker said. “Makes things more even around here.”
Shelly threw a bar towel at Tucker. “Uh, are you straight-shaming me and Ben? Because, if you are, I could use a night off.”
The towel landed on the floor, and Tucker stooped to pick it up. “We all could,” he said. “But not tonight. You know how Mondays are.”
“Well, I’ll let y’all have your little staff meeting,” Brody said, heading back to the door. “I’m just the vendor. It was nice meeting you again, Evan. Conscious, that is. We’ll see you guys in a couple of hours.”
“Thanks, Brody.” Tucker locked the door behind him. “Alright, folks, we open in forty-five minutes. Let’s get to work.”
* * *
While Ben was showing Evan around the kitchen, Shelly sat at the bar rolling clean silverware in cloth napkins. Tucker went around straightening tables in the narrow room, maximizing the space for clear passage between. He placed reserved signs on the two high tops nearest the electronic dartboards in the corner, before stepping behind the bar to wipe things down.
“Chill,” Shelly said. “We have two more hands, remember? And I restocked everything Saturday night, even the condiments.”
“I know. I just—it’s Monday. After the lull we had Saturday, I want things to go smoothly.”
“Really? I thought you were avoiding me.”