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  “Damn it, Bobby!”

  Wide eyed, Bobby glanced apologetically at Errol. “What? You didn’t know?”

  “Bobby!” Incensed, Taryn slapped her brother’s arm. “Just shut up already.”

  “Look, I’m just saying that I know guys. I know how they can be. Trust me.”

  Taryn glared at him. “Really, Bobby? Don’t you think I know how guys can be, too?”

  “Not the way I do.”

  “Bobby, stop it. You're talking nonsense.”

  “I’m your brother, Taryn.”

  “I know that.”

  “I’m the man of the house.”

  She glared at him.

  “You know I’m just looking out for you, Taryn. What kind of brother would I be if I let some guy walk out of your bedroom without giving him a bit of a hard time?”

  “I know, and I appreciate it, but stop it.” She looked down at his state of undress. “And what are you doing up so early anyway? Didn’t you come home in the middle of the night or something?”

  “Actually, I just got up to go to the john and bumped into your Romeo here.”

  “Great. Well, now that you're up, what are you doing this morning? Are you coming in to give me a hand, or what?”

  “I can’t.”

  She cocked a cynical brow. “Hangover?”

  He glared at her then grinned. “No, I do not have a hangover. I know how to hold my liquor. Actually, I have a project I have to do for school.”

  “Figures.” She knew it was important for him to do well in school, but she desperately needed a hand at Sam’s. “Happy for you, little brother. Good luck with your project, Bobby, but I’ve got to get to work in half an hour.”

  “Want me to fix you breakfast?” Errol said.

  Taryn and Bobby turned to glare at him, but an eager grin came to both their lips as they nodded.

  “Perfect, just show me the way to the kitchen and I’ll see what I can whip up.”

  “It has to be fast.”

  “One of my first jobs was as a short order cook. I can whip up delicious scrambled eggs like you wouldn’t believe.”

  “Great,” Taryn said. “That’ll give me a chance to take a quick shower.”

  “And wash your hair,” Bobby threw in.

  She looked quizzically at him.

  He shrugged. “You look a mess.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  Bobby turned to Errol and waved him over to the kitchen. “You can’t always be telling them they’re beautiful. It’ll go to their heads.”

  Errol chuckled, turned to wink at Taryn and followed Bobby to the kitchen.

  Taryn grimaced, muttered a few choice words and glanced at the ceiling as she turned to head into the bathroom. “Little brothers must have been invented simply to annoy older sisters.”

  She took a two minute shower, including a quick shampoo, got dressed again and hurried out to the kitchen before Bobby and Errol tore each other apart. To her surprise, they seemed to be enjoying each other’s company.

  “You know, I made breakfast the other day for this really hot chick,” Bobby was saying. “I wanted to make her French toast and I like to put a few drops of maple syrup in with the eggs, you know, give it a little kick of sweetness. Girls always love the sweet stuff.”

  Taryn leaned against the doorjamb and watched her smooth talking little brother.

  Bobby pinched his fingers together, kissed the tips and let them flourish out for emphasis. “Mucho delicio, you know what I mean?”

  “Yes, I can imagine.” Errol grinned as he listened to Bobby, all while pouring his scrambled eggs into a hot pan.

  “So the next week, I meet up with the girl again. I mean, hey, she’s a hot chick and I like being with her, if you know what I mean. So, anyway, she decides to make me breakfast the next morning, which I very much deserved, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

  “Not at all.”

  “So, she wants to make me a cheese and spinach omelets. Quite a feat for a girl who eats cereal for dinner, you know. So I get to the kitchen, and it smells kind of nice, kind of tasty, but then kind of weird. You know, like something isn’t working right. But, hey, I’m a gentleman. I don’t fuss and say anything. I just sit down and let her put a plate of her work right there in front of me.”

  “Of course you do.” Errol worked the pan and spatula to perfection.

  “But then, I bite into it, and… well, if you can imagine, spinach, cheese, egg, some onion all with maple syrup.”

  Errol turned to Bobby with an amused grimace on his face. “I hope you took the time to give the girl a few cooking lessons.”

  Bobby grinned and cocked his brow. “I’m giving her her fourth class tonight.”

  Taryn crossed her arms, a wistful smile on her lips as she watched the scene; two players exchanging notes.

  “Do you ever, you know…” Bobby obscenely punched the air in front of him. “Give girls private lessons.”

  Taryn cocked her head to the side and ran her tongue accusingly over her teeth as she anticipated Errol’s answer.

  He poured three cups of coffee, turned off the burner then glanced up at her. “Only to girls I really like.” He winked.

  Bobby turned to see Taryn. “You know, I think I could learn a lot from this guy.”

  “I’m sure you could,” Taryn droned.

  “Hungry?” Errol said.

  “Not really, but I have to eat something. Once I get to the restaurant I won’t have time to stop and eat for eight hours… if I’m lucky.”

  They all sat down to a plate of scrambled eggs with tiny bits of ham thrown in.

  “Good,” Bobby muttered with his mouth full.

  “Thanks, Errol,” Taryn said. “I really appreciate it.”

  Errol pressed his lips together and looked at her, his eyes piercing and inquisitive. He took a bite of his eggs. “I thought I’d come in and give you a hand today.”

  Taryn almost choked on her eggs. “Really?”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Not with me, it isn’t,” Bobby threw in.

  “No problem,” Taryn said. “That’d be great. With Mom in the hospital, I don’t know how I’ll manage.”

  “Hey, weren’t you going to the hospital this morning?” Bobby said.

  “Yeah, after the morning rush. Visiting hours don’t start until eight. I can pass by to pick you up. Will you be here, or do you have to do your project at school?”

  “I’ll be here ‘til about nine, but then I have to go.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to get out that early. Can you manage with a cab?”

  “Leave him the car,” Errol said. “I’ll take you into work, and I’ll get you to the hospital to see your mom.”

  Taryn and Bobby looked at each other.

  “I guess it’s all settled then,” Bobby said. He finished his last bite, and saluted Errol. “Thanks for the great breakfast, or more like a midnight snack in my case. I’m heading back to bed for an hour or so.”

  Taryn glared at him until she felt Errol’s hand lay over hers.

  “Ready to go?”

  “You sure you want to come in and help out again? I mean, your restaurant…”

  “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

  Errol spent the day at the restaurant, helping out in every way possible, even bringing a few dishes to the patrons when a waitress was overloaded. When the rush subsided, as promised, he brought Taryn to the hospital.

  “I’ll wait out here for you.”

  “You sure? I could be in there a while.”

  “Go ahead. Take your time. I have some reading to catch up on.” He held up a magazine that was flipped open to an article written about him and his restaurant.

  “Hmm,” Taryn mused as she pushed open the door to her mother’s room. “Looks interesting. See you in a bit.”

  “Who are you talking to, honey?”

  Taryn looked at her mother. A chill ran through her as she saw her mom, the w
oman who’d been there for her, always strong, no matter the situation, lying in a hospital bed. “Bobby needed the car to get to school to work on a project. I got a lift to the hospital.” Before Samantha could ask more questions, Taryn rifled off her own. “Did Bobby come by yet? He said he’d come this morning.”

  “No, not yet.”

  Sitting on the edge of the bed, Taryn took her mother’s hand. “The nurse seems to think you might have a dislocated hip, but I wasn’t able to find the doctor to speak to him. What did he tell you?”

  “Nothing much. Yesterday they had me drugged and drowsy as they sent me touring the whole hospital and taking every conceivable test. So far this morning, I had breakfast and the promise of an answer to why I’m here.”

  “You did have a nasty fall, Mom.”

  “No need to remind me. I remember it perfectly. I remember getting pissed off when the light went out at the worst possible time. I remember swearing as I brought that old rickety ladder in. I remember going up that ladder telling myself, ‘Samantha, this isn’t a good idea. Samantha, this piece of crap is going to fall out from under you.’ I remember the very moment I realize that, yes, the damned piece of crap did fall out from under me, and I distinctly remember the bang on my head when I hit the counter and the instant pain in my hip when I hit the floor.”

  “I’ll go out and buy a new and sturdy ladder tonight when I close up.”

  Samantha waved the notion away. “Regardless, I’m never going up a ladder again. How are things at the restaurant?”

  “Hectic, like usual, but we managed.”

  “I don’t want you to drive yourself sick, Taryn. I know how you can be. You work too hard, and you're too controlling. You’re going to have to delegate more. If I’m in here for a while, you might even have to hire some help.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge later, Mom. Right now I just want to know what’s going on and how you're feeling.”

  “They told me the doctor should come around to see me in half an hour or so.”

  Taryn looked at her watch. “I can’t stay that long, Mom.”

  Samantha shot her one of her knowing glances. “Don’t you think I know that, honey?” She clapped her hand over Taryn’s and squeezed. “Wipe that ugly frown off your face, Taryn. You’ll have a crinkled forehead like your grandma Betty. I’m fine here. I’m not lonely. I’m not worried. I’m not in need of anything. Okay, a good cup of coffee would have been nice, but, hey, I guess I’m jittery enough as it is.”

  “I just hate seeing you like this.”

  “Look at it this way, sweetie. Maybe this is God’s way of making sure I get a little rest before I push myself over the edge, you know what I mean? I’ll rest up good, get the doctors to fix whatever it is that’s broken and then I’ll be back at the restaurant better than ever.”

  Taryn nodded.

  “Now,” Samantha said as she grabbed Taryn’s chin and looked her in the eye. “Who were you talking to out there? Who looks interesting?”

  Startled by the question, Taryn just stared at her mother.

  “Do you really think you can derail my line of question with your own, honey? I invented that.”

  Taryn chuckled, but still didn’t know what to say. “A friend.”

  Sam cocked a brow. “I’d gathered as much.”

  “He’s a fellow cook… a chef. When he heard what happened to you, he offered to come to the restaurant to help out. He’s really good and he’s a hard worker.”

  “Then why isn’t he at the restaurant while you’re here visiting your poor old ma?”

  Shrugging, Taryn offered her mom a silly grin. “I needed a ride. He has a really nice car and I wouldn’t dare drive it.”

  “Yeah, right.” Samantha scrutinized her daughter’s face. “You’ve really grown up, haven’t you? Look at you. You're such a beautiful girl. You have the beauty men crave. The kind of beauty that makes men do stupid things. I hope he’s good to you, Taryn.”

  “Mom,” Taryn droned.

  “Don’t ‘Mom’ me. I know that look, Taryn. It’s a look that could end in wedded bliss or in dismal heartache. Not to put a damper on things, but in the end it actually all comes down to the same thing.”

  Taryn had always suspected her mother was bitter about her divorce, but had never really heard her mother talk about it much.

  “Sorry, honey.” She lifted her arm to show the IV. “I’m under the influence of whatever they’ve got pumping through my veins here.”

  “That’s okay, Mom. Look, I can’t really stay too long.”

  “To tell you the truth, I’m surprised to see you here at all. I can’t imagine what the morning must have been like. Go. Go and take care of business. I’ll be fine here. Besides, I wouldn’t want you to lose interest in whoever’s waiting for you out there.”

  Taryn kissed her mom’s cheek. “I’ll try to come see you tonight.”

  Before Taryn could leave, Samantha grabbed her wrist. “I appreciate it, honey, and I know you mean well, but you're going to have a lot to take care of in the days to come. I don’t know how long I’ll be here, and even when I get out, they tell me it could be a while before I get back on my feet. I don’t want you to run yourself ragged.”

  “I’m not, Mom, I’m…”

  “I love you, honey, and I’m always happy to see you, but I don’t need you to come here morning, noon and night. Work will keep you busy enough, and you're going to need plenty of rest. In between that, have some fun, honey.” She patted her daughter’s cheek. “You're growing too serious.”

  “You think?”

  “I don’t think; I know.”

  “Fine. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

  Samantha glared at her.

  “Or the day after that.” Taryn backed away and waved at her mom. “Just promise you’ll call to let me know how you're doing.”

  “Deal.”

  Taryn walked out and quietly closed the door. Her gaze cast to the floor, she felt Errol’s presence beside her.

  “You okay?” He set his hand on her shoulder.

  “Yeah, fine.” She looked up at him and realized her vision was blurred with tears.

  “You sure?”

  She shrugged. “I’ve just never seen my mom on her back like that. In fact, I can’t remember ever seeing her lying down.”

  Speechless, Errol just stood beside her.

  “She’s strong, though. I know that. I know she’ll be all right. I’m just a little rattled, that’s all.” She looked up at him. “We better hurry back to the restaurant.”

  Their return to the restaurant was a few minutes short of disaster as patrons entered for their noonday meal, but no one was there to cook anything. Errol and Taryn threw themselves into the frenzy, making up for lost time and churning out dish after dish.

  Even with the frenzied pace, Errol never neglected to plate the dishes properly, ensuring each dish looked as good as it tasted. They barely had a half hour’s lull before the rush for dinner began.

  Hours later, exhausted, sweating and hungry, Taryn pulled off her apron. “For a minute there, I thought I was going to lose it.” She wiped the sweat off her brow and leaned back against the counter.

  “Tomorrow I’ll bring in people from Benicoise again.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Errol. You need them at your restaurant.”

  “Then what do you propose to do?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll have to hire someone.”

  “You said so yourself; you can’t afford it.”

  “I’ll figure it out.”

  “All right. Come on then. Let’s clean up and I’ll bring you home. I can help you figure it out later.”

  Twenty minutes later, he pulled up in front of her home. As she opened the door, she realized he’d not made a move to come up. “Are you com…?” She stopped herself. The night she’d spent with him had been great, but it didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t mean anything. With everything that was going on in her life, she couldn’t affo
rd to sink herself in a relationship that was doomed.

  “I have to stop by my restaurant to make sure everything went well.”

  “Of course. You’ve been neglecting your duties.” She tried to hide her disappointment. Throughout the busy and hectic day, thoughts of him had sprung into her mind, sometimes at the most inopportune times. His hands on her thigh, his lips at the small of her back, his tongue behind her ear. Regardless of how she felt about their doomed relationship, damn if she didn’t want him more than anything else.

  “I’ll only be fifteen minutes or so. Can I stop by after?”

  A giddy smile made it to her lips before she could stop it. “Sure.”

  Chapter 9

  The hectic rush of the weekend had come and gone. With Bobby off from school, he was able to give a worthwhile helping hand at Sam’s, but with the endless weekend crowds, it barely showed.

  By Sunday night, Taryn was pale and felt even paler. She didn’t want to complain and didn’t want to whine, but somewhere, deep inside her, a little girl was crying for her mommy. She wanted to cuddle up in bed and not wake up for the next twenty-four hours.

  “How you holding up?” Errol seemed to have an annoyingly endless well of strength and energy, and while Taryn greatly appreciated all the energy he brought to her little restaurant, she couldn’t help but wonder where it all came from.

  He’d made love to her every night for the past week, and spent endless hours helping Bobby with his project, had put tireless hours at Sam’s and even stopped into La Benicoise now and then.

  “You make me sick,” she muttered.

  “Now, that’s not a very nice thing to say to the guy who’s been helping you out all week,” he chastised.

  “How can you be so peppy and full of life when I just feel like dropping into a pillow never to wake up again?”

  “I don’t know. Hyper active energy… adrenaline.”

  Taryn let her soiled apron fall to the floor as she plopped down on a stool. She teetered precariously to one side before regaining her balance.

  Errol steadying her with a firm hand on her shoulder. He held his car keys out in front of her. “Here, go lie down in the car.”