Jade Archer - Sandpipers 2 - Raven's Mark (2 page)

Fortunately, everything in the kitchen looked tight and ready to go for another busy Sunday morning brunch. But Mark knew he wouldn’t be able to relax until he’d done the rounds.

“I’m going to check out front. Finish up and take a break before the rush, guys.” “Will do,” Brody called as he dumped another dirty bowl in the clean-up area. Dave raised his knife in mock salute. “Aye, aye, Captain!”
A snort of laughter at Dave’s antics was Andy’s only acknowledgement. Which was

fine—Andy was taciturn, but a damn hard worker. And that was all that counted in Mark’s book.

As he pushed his way through the doors, Mark had to admit they were a good team. He’d caught a lucky break picking up the head chef’s position here six weeks ago. No prima donnas. No bullies or egotistical assholes making everybody’s life a misery. They all just got on with the job. It was a nice change from some of the kitchens he’d worked in.

Entering the dining room, Mark took a moment to check everything out on the ‘elegant’ side of the kitchen doors. The wait staff were all bustling about in a last minute rush to put the finishing touches to the room, but no one appeared flustered or distressed. There was just the steady dull clunk of cutlery and glassware being laid on crisp white linen and a low babble of chatter punctuated by the occasional burst of laughter. Everything seemed to be under control and on schedule out here too.

A band of tension he hadn’t realised he’d been carrying around eased across his shoulders and the tight, wound up feeling at his core loosened slightly. Wandering through the room—continuing to examine the last minute preparations with a critical eye as he went—Mark finally allowed himself to relax. It looked like they were ready.

Settling on one of the bar stools to take a break while he could, Mark swiped the soft cotton bandana from his head. He scrubbed his hand through the short strands of his hair, then hunched his shoulders and rolled his head from side to side to ease the muscles in his neck.

Last night had been a fairly standard Saturday night—busy, in other words. He barely felt as though he’d crawled into bed before he was getting right back up to do it all again. Shifts like that made even thirty-three feel ancient. But then, mornings really weren’t his thing either.

Gazing out through the long panels of glass on the far side of the room, Mark could already see small knots of people out and about enjoying a lazy stroll along the esplanade. While technically still winter, it was so late in the season and such a mild morning on the cusp of an early spring, the crowds were building early. Soon they’d be looking for a place to ‘do brunch’ and the fun would really start.

Mark rubbed at his tired eyes. At least the restaurant was closed tomorrow. They could all enjoy a day off and get some much needed rest. Still, one day it would be nice if
his
Sunday mornings were about sleeping in and long lazy walks with a lover and afternoon naps and—

“Coffee?”

Glancing back over his shoulder, Mark came face to face with Jaime’s smiling face. But it was the coffee pot in her hand that really got his attention.
“Please,” he groaned pitifully, only partly in jest.
Jaime’s lips twitched and her blue-grey eyes sparkled as she poured the strong, black liquid pick-me-up into a mug. “Not a morning person?”
“It’s showing, huh?”
“Just a bit.” Jaime set the mug down and pushed a sugar bowl and milk jug towards him.
“Thanks.”
“Welcome. You all ready to go back there?”
“Yep. How about you?”
“I was born ready, honey,” Jaime quipped with a little toss of her head that sent her ponytail dancing.
Jaime was unofficially in charge of the wait staff. A kind of second-in-command over the front of house to Lark—one of the owner-managers. She’d proven herself on more than one occasion to be cool, calm and capable in a crisis. Mark liked her a lot.
He smiled at her saucy reply. She really was quite beautiful—with long blonde hair pulled back neatly from the pale oval of her face and soft pink lips. It was just a pity he didn’t swing that way. Then, of course, there was the little matter of—
“Hey, you got some sugar for me too, Jaime?” Dave called as he stepped out of the kitchen and ambled towards them—all masculine confidence and loose-limbed, self-assured stride. But Mark didn’t miss the narrow-eyed glare the sous chef shot his way.
“In your dreams,” Jaime chuckled as she reached for more mugs.
Andy—a few inches taller and narrower than Dave—wasn’t far behind his best friend. He smiled and winked as he retrieved his mug from Jaime. “Thank you, beautiful.”
Jaime blushed very prettily, which Mark was sure was exactly what Andy had intended. But then she tilted her head, a little frown of concern furrowing her normally smooth brow. “You look tired, Andy. Are you okay?”
Now that Jaime had pointed it out, Mark could indeed see dark rings under Andy’s eyes and a slightly pale cast to his skin.
“I’m fine,” Andy mumbled, hiding in his mug by taking a sip of coffee.
Dave stared at Andy as if seeing his friend for the first time and scowled as he picked up his own coffee. “We’ve got to get some more people in that kitchen, Mark. This is getting ridiculous.”
Dave continued to watch Andy over the rim of his mug as he drank. But Andy refused to meet his friend’s eyes.
Interesting.
“Zak’s interviewing for another chef as soon as he gets back from the conference in San Francisco.” Mark hoped the promise of help being on the way soon would be enough to hold them. The last thing he needed was resentment in the kitchen ranks because they thought no one was listening to them. And he had to agree that an extra set of hands to lighten the load would be very welcome.
“When’s he due back?” Jaime asked as she fixed herself a cup of coffee.
“The end of the week, I think.”
With that, everyone settled back into various it’s-too-early-in-the-morning-for-this postures—leaning against the bar as they concentrated on their caffeine hit and the last moments of quiet before the storm of Sunday brunch.
Suddenly, Dave let out an irritated huff as he focused on something over Jaime’s shoulder, drawing everyone’s attention to the restaurant’s front doors.
“Can’t people read?” he grumbled as he lowered his head in disgust. “The sign says we’re not open for another forty minutes.”
Mark glanced up, expecting to see a gaggle of tourists trying their luck at getting in early, and ended up staring at one of the most striking men he’d ever laid eyes on. And he’d been looking for a good chunk of the last two decades.
The man’s collar-length hair shone a glossy black in the sunlight. His short, slim figure, perfectly encased in a simple black T-shirt and jeans, highlighted sleek muscles and a trim waist. But it was his face that really caught Mark’s eye. He had the kind of angular, high cheekboned features and full kissable lips that would make top models green with envy.
He definitely deserved a ‘wow’ and a second look, and probably got them all the time. But instead of the easy, self-assured air Mark expected to see from such a stunning guy, the man looked almost nervous as he hovered indecisively on the other side of the glass. It was an intriguing dichotomy that instantly got Mark’s attention.
Then he noticed the small boy clutching the man’s hand.
Typical. Contrary to popular belief, most good-looking guys were either taken or
straight
. Usually both. At least they were in Mark’s experience.
Meanwhile, Jaime looked over her shoulder, following their collective gazes to the front door. “Oh, hey! They’re here.”
Hurrying around the bar, she rushed to open the door.
“Who’s that?” Andy murmured in a voice that held a touch more than casual interest as he stared at the dark-haired stranger.
Mark raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t realised Andy would notice the man in more than a why-is-he-interrupting-my-break way. He’d watched Andy and Dave angling after Jaime ever since he’d arrived. But now that he thought about it, the pair didn’t seem to
compete
for her attention, more…tag team. Like a well-rehearsed and long-practiced dance.
Mark looked between Andy and Dave. There was probably a very interesting story there. The activity at the door, however, soon got his attention back on the fascinating stranger again.
“Hey, Raven. Hi, Ryan,” Jaime enthused as she ushered the pair in and locked the door behind them.
“Hello, Miss Jaime,” the little boy replied in a soft, polite voice.
The dark-haired man ducked his head, his pale cheeks turning bright red. “I’m s-sorry. Lark said to come to the f-front door.”
“It’s fine, honey. Come on in and I’ll introduce you. I’m sure Lark will be right down. Guys, this is Raven. And this handsome young man is his son, Ryan.” Jaime ruffled the little boy’s dark hair playfully, then introduced each of them in turn. “This is Andy, Dave and Mark.”
While the general chorus of hey, hi and how-ya-doing ensued, Mark discreetly checked for a wedding band. Nope. And no mark where one had been recently either. He was somewhat of an expert on long distance, covert wedding ring checks. If he had to guess, he’d say single dad. Not that it helped him in the grand scheme of things.
Then he caught Raven staring back—his glorious brown eyes so damn beautiful, framed by long dark lashes, but somehow managing to look rather sad and…evasive as they were quickly lowered away. The look did funny things to Mark’s stomach. A fluttering, excited jitter. He wanted to make the sadness and apprehension in Raven’s eyes go away and fan the tiny spark of interest he’d seen there instead. To see where things might go.
Mark sighed. He wasn’t going to overanalyse the sudden spike of protectiveness he felt. He was too busy enjoying the fact his initial assessment might have been wrong and the churn of excitement that thought induced. If only he could get the obviously shy Raven to look at him again.
“You want me to go track down Lark for you, Jaime?” Andy asked.
“Thanks, Andy. I think he’s upstairs in the apart—”
But before Jaime could finish the sentence, Lark bounced into the room, a laughing Wolf hot on his heels as they finished off some sort of impromptu dance out of the kitchen area.
“Hey, Raven! Hiya, Ryan!” Lark called as he spotted them and headed towards the bar. “It’s good to see you.”
“Ryan!” Wolf yelled as he raced ahead and grabbed Ryan by the hand to drag him away. “Come and see the fish tank.”
After watching the boys wind their way through the tables to the huge aquarium with an indulgent smile, Lark turned to Raven. “Thank you so much for agreeing to look after Wolf today. Our regular sitter couldn’t make it and with Zak away—”
“Lark! Can I show Ryan out on the deck?” Wolf called, still tenaciously clutching Ryan’s hand as he pulled him towards the door leading outside.
“Sure buddy, just don’t get in Eve and Drew’s way.” Once again Lark focused on Raven. “Are you still okay to take care of Wolf after preschool this week? Brody’s supposed to start at the community college, but we forgot about Zak being away for this management conference thing.”
Raven nodded, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “Ryan likes p-playing with Wolf.”
“Oh! You’re a life saver. Brody wants to go to culinary school,” Lark announced proudly, “but he’s all stressed out about going back to get his high school equivalent so he can apply. The last thing he needs is an excuse not to go.”
“Hey!” Brody said as he pushed through the kitchen doors, but his indignant tone was belied by the grin on his face and the affectionate way he wrapped an arm around Lark as soon as he was within reach. “I heard that.”
“And?” Lark replied, raising an imperious blond eyebrow at his lover.
“I’m not stressed out.”
“Yeah, right,” Lark snorted, then smiled to soften the blow.
Brody bumped his hip in a playful reprimand.
Mark couldn’t help staring. He wondered what it would be like to find that kind of comfortable intimacy with a lover. He’d never really had the time to devote to a relationship in the past—too busy with family and struggling his way up the kitchen food-chain. Onenighters and casual hook-ups had been the order of the day…when and if he could find the time for them. But now that he’d made head chef, had a place of his own and a nice little nest egg idling away in the bank, he found himself drawn to the idea of something more. Without conscious thought, his gaze settled back on Raven…who looked like he was trying to disappear into the large potted palm at the end of the bar.
Brody turned from smiling down at Lark to fix Raven with a serious expression. “I do want to say thank you though, Raven. I was always lousy at school. I need all the help I can get.”
Raven stared at his feet as if he hoped the restaurant floor would open up and swallow him whole. His cheeks were stained a dark red now as everyone’s eyes focused in on him and a thin sheen of perspiration formed at his temples, despite the room being pleasantly cooled by the ocean breeze. But nobody else seemed to notice Raven’s distress—they were all too distracted by Lark’s antics as he gave Brody a hard nudge with his hip and sent his partner stumbling a little to one side.
“You, Brody McAllister, are brilliant,” Lark said with complete confidence and a firm no-nonsense tone as he pulled Brody back against his side. “You’re going to blitz those exams.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. Now”—Lark made a show of scanning around the room—“where are those boys? We’ll take you all up to the flat and get you settled in before we open.”
“Wolf!” Brody called out across the restaurant to his brother, who was busy pointing out a flock of noisy gulls over the railing to his friend.
Only Mark saw Raven flinch at the sudden loud shout.
“You should find everything you need in the apartment, but if anything comes up or something happens just call down to the restaurant and one of us will come straight up,” Lark said as he watched Wolf towing Ryan along in his wake through the sea of tables and chairs.
Raven nodded, but otherwise remained completely silent and still.
Mark couldn’t help but wonder what the man’s story was. There had to be one. He was so handsome and yet so very insecure and reticent. Was it a result of the mild stammer he’d detected earlier, or was there something more? What had happened to put the hesitant, nervous look in Raven’s eye? Mark found he really wanted to know. But more than that, he really wanted to make it better. Even for him—a chronic fixer with a compulsive hero complex—the reaction was extreme and powerful. Something about Raven called to him.
“You ready to show Ryan upstairs?” Lark asked Wolf when the boys finally stopped in front of him.
“Yep!” Wolf grinned up at the adults, apparently supremely confident and comfortable with his audience. “Can we make a tent in the living room and have a picnic?”
“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask Raven. He’s looking after you for the day.”
Wolf immediately turned his attention to Raven. “Please! Please, please, please!”
Raven looked cornered as the boy bounced up and down on the spot enthusiastically. “S-sure,” he finally stuttered.
Wolf crowed with excitement. “Yay! Come on, Ryan.”
Lark chuckled as Wolf took off, heading for the back door and the flight of external stairs that led up to the apartment above the restaurant. “That kid is a force to be reckoned with when he sets his mind to something.”
“Wait at the door!” Brody shouted after the boys.
“You guys sure are going to have your hands full with that one in a few years,” Jaime laughed.
Dave snorted. “Looks like they’ve already got their hands full to me.”
“Oh, yeah!” Brody agreed, but with a smile that suggested he loved every energetic inch of his little brother.
“Don’t worry about the mess they make, Raven,” Lark said. “We’ve got tomorrow to get everything back in order. Just as long as there’s no bloodstains on the carpet, we’re cool.”
Raven blanched.
“He’s kidding.” Brody elbowed Lark. “Don’t scare our sucker…I mean sitter…off.”
The wan smile on Raven’s face spoke volumes. It was obvious he was floundering. Mark wished Lark and Brody would stop cracking jokes. Unfortunately, it wasn’t his place to step in, and even if he did, he wasn’t sure it wouldn’t just make things worse for the obviously shy man.
“Oh! Such a bully!” Lark said as he rubbed at his ribs theatrically and stepped away from Brody.
“Yeah, yeah. You’re so hard done by,” Brody drawled, turning Lark around and giving him a gentle push in the right direction. “Come on. We better catch up to the boys before they get bored. Then we really would be in trouble!”
As Brody and Lark headed out after the passionate pre-schooler and his more reserved friend, Raven trailed along behind. Mark really wanted to reach out to Raven. To touch him, or at least introduce himself. But it didn’t seem the time.
At least it looked like Raven was coming back again—he’d promised to bring Wolf home after preschool in the coming week. Mark would just have to make sure an opportunity arose to say hello. Getting Raven to talk back might be somewhat of a Herculean task, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it.
Resigned to playing the waiting game, Mark was shocked when, at the last second before disappearing into the kitchen, Raven turned and looked directly at him with soft, dark brown eyes. Caught out, Raven blushed fiercely and hurried away.
Oh, yeah! He definitely needed to say hello.