At the end of my shift, I finished up my responsibilities and called my best friend, Valona, who still lived in our hometown of Carson Creek, Tennessee. “Hey Val, it’s me.
There was a moment of silence before she spoke. “Pippa. What’s wrong?”
“Other than the fact that my chef is the world’s biggest jackass? Not much.” I gave her an abbreviated version of the shift from hell and sighed with exhaustion. “He actually said, you’re done here.”
“Pippa, what if he’s serious?” Valona was a natural worrier, about anything and everyone in her orbit. As a single mother to my adorable goddaughters, she didn’t stop worrying even when she was asleep.
“Oh he was, but Rodrick doesn’t have the power to fire me. That doesn’t mean I won’t get fired, just that I’m not yet.”
“What are you going to do if you get fired?”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “What do you want me to do, Val? He grabbed my arm and squeezed it. Hard. Twice.”
“You did the right thing, but what will you do if you lose this job?”
“I’ll figure it out.” The same way I figured out my life when I was eighteen and the future I thought I would have, vanished right before my eyes. “Hang on, another call’s coming in. Wish me luck.”
“Good luck, honey. Love you.”
“Thanks.” A deep breath and I switched to what I was sure was The Call. “Hello?”
“Pippa.” I recognized Josh Wiseman’s nasally voice immediately. “You hit Rodrick with a leg of lamb.”
“He grabbed my arm and hurt me, Josh. He had no right to put his hands on me.”
“I agree, Pippa, but I can’t keep you on. You understand?”
I nodded, nostrils flaring as my anger built. “Yeah, you think he’s the next big celebrity chef. But let me tell you, Paul Renault might disagree with you.”
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll find out when the rest of Chicago does.”
Josh sighed. “Let’s not make this ugly.”
“Oh, I won’t make it ugly, honey. Trust me.” I let out a sigh and flashed a smile at myself in the rearview mirror. “But my lawyer might.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“Yeah? Well I wouldn’t keep an abusive prick on staff who is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Talk soon, Josh.”
“Valona, you there?”
“I’m here. Are you fired?”
“Yep. And I’m suing. Wish me luck.” Lord knows I’m gonna need it.
Chapter 1
Ryan
~ One Month Ago
I looked around my hometown after being away on tour for the past ten months, and smiled. Carson Creek was as small town as small towns came, complete with a Main Street lined with big red oaks, wooden sidewalks and American flags flowing in the wind on every business. Colorful awnings, sale signs, and people actually chatting with their neighbors.
Carson Creek was home. Had been since the day I was born and no matter how far I traveled, what I had experienced on the road, it would always be home. Home. The word took on new meaning when you spent most of the year touring the country, and the world. Things that used to bother me, the gossip, the way everyone was all up in everyone else’s business, the lack of secrets and late night delivery, suddenly seemed charming. Even endearing.
That’s why I did what I did. I had taken a step to ensure that my stay in Carson Creek would be permanent. I bought a restaurant. What in the hell did I know about restaurants? Nothing at all. I was a simple man who preferred burgers and fries, steak and potatoes to things like sushi and fine wine. But I was a quick study, had learned to play the guitar on my own as well as the piano, and became a pretty good songwriter without any professional training.
Most of all, I had time. The tour would be over soon, which meant I could focus on writing the next album and learning the ins and outs of running a successful restaurant.
I maneuvered the car to the dead end street that led to the Old Country House property where my restaurant was located. The long driveway was reminiscent of those big old properties where generations of families lived at the same time, except this was an oversized events’ venue, which provided the restaurant with guaranteed business. From a business perspective it was a smart move to make, and my name recognition would—hopefully—help increase bookings.
It was just how Carson Creek worked, everyone chipped in to help out everyone else.
Damn, it’s good to be home.
The long entrance split into three roads, the one on the left led to Dark Horse, the restaurant was named after the first song I wrote that went double platinum. It was my biggest achievement at the time, considering Derek was the lead singer and Roman was the showman. It was still my pride and joy, played at bars all over the world, drunk patrons singing along with my lyrics about being underestimated by a love interest.