Just a Taste

By Shannyn Schroeder

THE O'LEARYS

 

 

 

HOT & NERDY

 

The O' Learys

SHANNYN SCHROEDER

LYRICAL PRESS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
www.kensingtonbooks.com

All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1

L
iam O'Leary walked through his apartment and peeled off his sweaty T-shirt, one that smelled of grease and onion soup that a clumsy line cook had spilled on him. The kid had no idea what he was doing, couldn't keep up with the pace of the kitchen, and Liam knew the owner would have to fire him. Exhaustion tugged at every muscle. Thoughts of the line cook—Liam didn't bother learning names until one proved himself—made Liam shake his head.

He'd asked Jonathan if he could sit in on the interviews for the last round of new hires, but Jonathan refused, saying he wanted Liam to focus on running the kitchen. The man might be a brilliant businessman, but he had no idea what it took to run a kitchen. Liam had been working at Porter's for more than two years and he still didn't understand how Jonathan managed to own a restaurant.

Jonathan had graduated from culinary school, but had never taken a job in a kitchen. He bought Porter's and hired a kitchen staff. Liam had been his fourth executive chef. It didn't take long to figure out why: Jonathan didn't want to work the kitchen, but wanted the credit for what happened there. He created the menu but rarely listened to new ideas.

Every now and then, though, Liam made small changes without Jonathan's knowledge. Tonight had been one of those nights. Unfortunately, Jonathan chose tonight to grace them with his presence, and the small addition of some herbs to the soup had turned into an explosive argument.

Liam stepped under the hot spray of the shower and tried to figure out what he wanted to do. He'd been thinking about opening his own restaurant for over a year now, but had yet to make a move. Unlike his older brother Colin, who would jump into anything that looked good, Liam needed to weigh his options.

One thing he knew for sure was that his time at Porter's was coming to an end.

With a towel wrapped around his waist, he went to the kitchen and popped the top on a beer. He fished his phone from his jacket pocket and checked messages. He'd heard the phone earlier in the evening, but since it wasn't a number he recognized, he bumped it to voice mail.

He carried his beer back to his room to pull on a pair of boxers while he listened.

“Hi, Liam, this is Carmen Delgado. I don't know if you remember me, Gus's daughter. I'm calling to let you know that my dad passed away.”

The barest hitch caught in the girl's voice. She continued talking, but Liam no longer heard. Of course he remembered Carmen. She'd been a sweet kid who'd always played at giving him a hard time when he worked for Gus.

Gus.

Liam sank to the edge of his bed. Gus was dead?

Gus had been his first mentor. He'd given Liam his first real job, understood his love of cooking and food, taught him how to create. Liam's chest felt heavy. He took a swig of his beer and pushed it past the sudden lump in his throat.

“Here's to you, Gus.” He lifted his bottle and drank again. He'd been a bad friend in recent years. He couldn't remember the last time he went to see Gus. How long had it been? Maybe once or twice since Gus's wife had died. Liam had gotten busy with his own life and few friendships survived his hectic schedule.

When they had spoken by phone, Liam knew Gus understood that. He'd lived a similar life. His last conversation with Gus flooded back into his head. A food critic did a write-up about Porter's and said wonderful things about Liam.

Gus had called to congratulate him. Liam had heard the pride in the old man's voice. That had been over a year ago. Guilt crept into Liam for letting so much time pass. Picking up his phone from where he'd dropped it on the mattress, he pressed the buttons to listen to the message again, needing to find the information to pay his respects to a great man.

After two days of making phone calls, Carmen's throat was scratchy and her voice almost nonexistent. Making all of the other arrangements for her father had been simple enough. But the phone calls nearly did her in. She'd found herself praying for answering machines and voice mails so she could leave the practiced message instead of having a real conversation.

Everyone had loved Gus. He'd had friends everywhere. Her family arrived on her doorstep and tried to take over for her. Her aunts and uncles meant well. She knew that, but taking care of her father was her job and she couldn't let anyone else do it. Her whole house was crammed with people, just like it had been when her mother had died.

Gus had felt like they'd needed that support and it was simply the way of her family, but she wanted peace. She needed to be alone and she couldn't find space anywhere. It was part of the reason she made the wake only a few short hours on Sunday. People would attend the wake and come back to the house to share a meal. The faster they got her dad to his final resting place, the faster they would all move on.

So she could move on.

She didn't know what that even meant. The idea made her feel light-headed. She'd been taking care of her parents for so long, she hadn't been able to think about herself. For now, she pushed the heavy thought away. She had details to attend to, people to speak with, arrangements to make.

Her cousin Rosa popped into the kitchen. “Hey, girl, how are you doing?”

“I'm okay. I think all the calls are done.”

Rosa crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Carmen. “Let's get out of here. Go have a drink, do some dancing.”

Carmen pulled away from Rosa. “What are you thinking? I can't go dancing. What would people think? My dad just died and I'm going out to party?”

Rosa rolled her eyes. “What do you care what people—forget that. It shouldn't matter what people think. Everyone needs a break. Especially you.”

“I can't. I still have things to do to get ready for the wake.”

“Well, I'm going out. You have my number.” Rosa swished out of the room in her super-skinny jeans and kitten heels.

As much as Carmen loved her cousin, they had never had much in common. No matter how different they were, though, Rosa was the closest thing Carmen had to a best friend. She was an excellent confidant, but Carmen could never keep up with Rosa's social life. Heck, Carmen didn't even have a social life. She was the only twenty-seven-year-old spinster she knew.

Pouring herself another cup of coffee, she reclaimed a seat at the kitchen table. Her uncle and cousins were still sitting in her living room, watching something on TV. They had all pitched in doing various things, but she craved space and peace. She was used to being alone most days. Her dad went out on the truck and she handled the house and the office end of the business. The extra people were suffocating.

With the sounds of the TV from the other room, she focused on making a list of things she still needed to do. She had to update the web site and let customers know that the truck would be out of commission for a while. Maybe forever? She hadn't thought about what to do with Dad's business. He'd loved the food truck, but Carmen couldn't imagine running it.

Maybe Pete would want to take it over. Her younger cousin often went out with her dad to work. He knew most of the operation. Pete, however, was immature and she didn't know if she could trust him to work consistently. Her uncles had already mentioned selling the truck and the house and having her move in with one of them.

As if she wasn't a grown woman capable of taking care of herself.

She forced her head back to the task at hand. No decisions had to be made right now. She added Update Web Site to her list, followed by Clean Out Dad's Bedroom. That would be a huge task. When her mother had died, Gus would only let Carmen get rid of a few things. He clung to every item of Inez's that he could. He hadn't been ready to let her go. Over the months, Carmen snuck and removed things her dad might not notice, but overall, she knew she would now have to clear out the belongings of both of her parents.

Those two items alone weighed her down. She knew there would be more. Her father had a will, so she would have to talk to his lawyer about that. Then the outstanding bills for both the house and the business. At least her dad had been smart enough to add her name to everything after Inez's death.

She blinked back the tears and focused on the details. She'd be able to hold her shit together as long as she had a job to do.

Liam walked into his childhood home, so glad to feel the calm and comfort of family when he knew he would face sorrow later in the day. The O'Leary family dinner was mandatory at least once a month. Eileen O'Leary expected her children to share a meal as a means to keep close. It was something his parents worked together to achieve as soon as he and his five siblings neared adulthood and branched out to have their own lives.

He walked straight to the back of the house. The living room was empty, so he must've beaten his brothers to the house today. In the kitchen, he knew he'd find his mother standing over the stove. He wished she would let him help with the meal preparation, but she never would. They took turns bringing dessert because as much as Eileen loved her sweets, she didn't make them. Dinner was her job and she refused to share it.

“Hi, Mom,” he called as he opened the refrigerator to slide in the cheesecake he'd made for after dinner.

She peered around his shoulder to see what he'd brought. “Don't tell your brothers and sister, but I like it most when it's your turn for dessert.”

“That's no secret, Mom. I always make your favorites. That's why I'm your favorite.”

She slapped a towel at his arm. “Don't say that. I love all of my children equally.”

“No one else is here. You can tell the truth.” He looked down at her, suddenly struck by how small she appeared.

Her face grew serious. “What's the matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“Something's wrong. What is it?”

He hadn't been trying to cover his grief, but he hadn't planned on talking about it either. “Remember Gus Delgado? He owned the Mexican restaurant I first worked at?” Eileen nodded. “He died. His daughter called and left a message. After dinner, I have to go pay my respects.”

Eileen didn't say anything, but she patted his arm. As far as physical affection went, that was about it for his mom. His dad had been the hugger in the family.

She turned back to the stove. Judging by the smells, they'd have roast for dinner. “Is there anything I can help with?”

She shook her head. He heard the front door open and he went to see which siblings had arrived. Moira pushed through the door and Liam hoped she brought Jimmy with her. Although he hadn't been thrilled with his friend entering a relationship with Moira, he'd appreciate seeing Jimmy today.

Unfortunately, Moira entered alone. “No Jimmy?” he asked.

She sighed. “Don't look so disappointed. He'll be here in a few minutes. He went to check on his dad.”

“I'm not disappointed in seeing you.” He squeezed her hard until she gasped.

“Why are you all dressed up? What's going on?”

“Nothing.” He released her.

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Like their mother, she didn't need words to call him a liar.

“I found out an old friend died. The wake is today. I'm just feeling out of it.”

Her whole face changed, filling with sadness for a friend she hadn't even known. She wrapped her arms around him in a gentle hug, unlike the playful one he'd forced on her. Jimmy opened the door without knocking, assessed the situation, and asked, “What's going on?”

“Nothing,” Moira answered. As she stepped away, she ran a hand down his arm in reassurance. She would understand his desire to not discuss it.

Jimmy's gaze went back and forth between him and Moira, and then landed on him, questioning. Liam smiled. “Any luck on the house hunt?”