Read Online Stay With Me, Contemporary Romance (Last Frontier Lodge Novels Book 5) by J.H. Croix - Free Book Online

Jessa, patting the table beside her as she slid up to sit on it. “Have a seat. We can ask Harry to bring us some hard cider.”
    Jessa walked to her side and slipped onto the cool table. “I forgot all about your amazing cider. It’s the perfect way to end a busy night.” She glanced around to see Harry had shut off the register and was already headed over to where the cider was kept in the corner. “Hot or cold, ladies?”
    “Cold,” Delia called out, arching a brow in question at Jessa.
    “Me too!” Jessa added.
    “Coming right up,” Harry said, as he snagged two mugs from the hooks above the cider.
    Delia leaned back on her hands. “Thanks for helping out tonight. Harry said you did great. I can’t tell you what a relief it was to have you here. Without you, I’d have been running around trying to do ten things at once.”
    Harry approached them and handed over the two mugs of cider. “You’re always running around doing ten things at once,” he offered with a grin. “With Jessa here, everything ran smoothly, while it would have been a madhouse without her.” He threw his grin in Jessa’s direction. “You were awesome. The customers loved you, and I’d say we have a definitive vote on the gooseberry wine. What do you think?”
    “Well, I blew through four bottles if that’s what you mean.”
    Harry chuckled. “Exactly. Even when things are free, if people don’t like it, they take a sip and move on. Once people got seated, they wanted to buy bottles, but we don’t have enough to sell yet.”
    Delia took a swallow of her cider. “I’ll call down to the brewery tomorrow and ask how much we can order. Since they just started making it, I’m not sure how much stock they have.”
    Jessa swung her feet from the table while Delia and Harry chatted about the menu for the rest of the week. They had a regular menu, but they had a range of daily specials, which were dependent on seasonal products. As the conversation continued, her ears perked up while they discussed which salmon would be running when. Thinking about salmon brought Eli to mind, and she flushed straight through when she recalled their kiss. She didn’t quite know what to think about her attraction to him. All she knew was that kiss with him yesterday had been about the best kiss she’d ever experienced, and she wanted more.
    In an effort to distract herself, she started asking questions. “How many kinds of salmon are there up here? I’m a little familiar with it because they sell tons of seafood at markets in Seattle, but I never paid much attention. Just from listening to the customers out front, it seems like there are some opinions about what salmon’s the best.”
    “King salmon,” Delia and Harry said at exactly the same moment.
    Jessa burst out laughing. “Wow! That was fast. How come people even eat other salmon then if king salmon is so good?”
    “It’s all good, well except for pinks. They’re good for smoking and canning, but they can’t compete with the rest. The others are silvers and a few different types of red salmon. You’ll even hear preferences about the same kinds of salmon from different rivers. Like the red salmon that run in China Poot across the bay are much smaller than the reds that run in the Kenai River. The reds that run in the Kasilof River are somewhere in between. You’ll find anyone to argue any of those are the best. King is king, but the rest are awesome too.”
    The door to the kitchen swung open and Garrett walked through. He immediately went to Delia’s side and dipped his head to catch her lips in a kiss. When he looked up, his eyes were relaxed and warm. Until he’d moved up here and found Delia, Garrett had almost always been high-strung. He was still high-energy and sharp-witted, but the tightness he carried had eased. Jessa grinned at him. “Hey big brother! Didn’t expect to see you here.”
    “I’m the taxi tonight. I dropped Delia off on the way to Nick’s baseball