Read Online Coal Black Blues by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy - Free Book Online Page B

next day, she brought scalloped potatoes with ham, rich with cheese. Neil and two other customers proclaimed them tasty, but he praised the navy beans seasoned with bacon grease the way her grandparents always cooked on the following day even more. On Thursday after Jack took his second shift, Caroline was confident enough he could handle the store that she headed for the next town over, larger than Coaltown, that had a small grocery store. She bought food she could prepare in the slow cooker over the next few days.
    It became habit to sit down and eat with Neil when he arrived. Although they weren’t always alone, they talked about the store, about life, and everything in between. On Thursday evening, over meatballs and sauce, Neil asked her if she had hired anyone else. They’d discussed a few applicants and he had given his approval on three of them.
    “I did,” Caroline said. “I hired Alexander Akins, the retired Marine, to work weekend afternoon and evening shifts.”
    Neil nodded. “He’s dependable. That’s good. Anyone else?”
    “Mattie Millikin for days and Bertha Pennington for both days and evenings.”
    Mattie, a mother of four teenagers, needed the job to make ends meet, and retired hair dresser Bertha Pennington craved conversation with the public. Both women appeared to be capable and Neil said, “They’re both good. How late are you staying open now?”
    “We’re trying to be open until eight PM every night if Jack can handle it, and so far he has. I still hope to extend to ten, maybe later but we’ll see.”
    Jack, currently on duty behind the counter, appeared to be in his element. “It looks like he’s doing awesome to me.”
    “He is.”
    “So you can start going home earlier.”
    “I don’t know. Tomorrow night is Halloween. Maybe I should be here to hand out treats.”
    Neil put down his spoon and reached for her hand. “I wouldn’t even mess with that trick or treating. Kids will run you out of candy before you can snap your fingers. And you’re gonna have to get out of here earlier, Carrie. You’ve been staying till you close at eight, then going home and spending half the night cooking. Then you’re up at four…”
    “Four thirty,” she interrupted with a smile. “All I do now is get up, shower, throw on clothes and come down here. And, okay, I’ll forget about the trick or treats for this year.”
    “Wise choice,” he said with approval. Then, like a dog worrying a bone, Neil returned to the main topic. “Four thirty is still early. I know. You can’t keep doing it all, honey. You’re worn out even if you won’t admit it. It’s gettin’ colder every day and it’s almost November. You can’t afford to get down sick, can you?”
    She had never considered the possibility. “Well, no, not really.”
    “I had to twist your arm to get you to sit down and eat with me. You can leave when I do on nights Jack or one of the others is here.”
    “Neil, I don’t know…”
    His fingers tightened around hers. “Look here, you’re feeding me because you know I wasn’t eating right and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it or what it means to me. So you can listen and take care of yourself, too. I don’t want you running ragged doing the extra cooking.”
    Neil’s praise warmed her soul and fed a hungry need. Dylan had seldom complimented her or thanked her for anything. He expected her to keep a perfect house, to serve meals he liked in a timely fashion, to dress like a magazine cover for his events, and to do all of it with a cheerful smile. “All right,” she said. “I’ll start leaving when you do. I’ve got some ideas about doing even more cooking.”
    He arched an eyebrow upward in question. “For me or are you were considering my suggestion?”
    “Both. I want to go up to Charleston Saturday when Alexander is minding the store. I could buy a couple of really big slow cookers and maybe invest in a deep fryer. I think I have to get