THE JOB THAT MADE ETHAN COLE PART OF GREYHAVEN

Chapter 11

The hotel kitchen reopened three weeks later.

Claire stood in the doorway.

Ethan was cooking.

She handed him a new apron.

His name was stitched across the front.

ETHAN COLE

He looked at it.

“You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know.”

He smiled.

“How much do I owe you?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s becoming a habit.”

Claire leaned against the counter.

“You’ve been here almost a year.”

“Has it been that long?”

“Yes.”

Ethan looked around.

The kitchen was brighter now.

New equipment.

New counters.

New shelves.

A photograph of the hotel hung near the entrance.

Everyone from the town had signed the frame.

He stared at it.

Claire watched him.

“You like it?”

“Yeah.”

“You could stay.”

Ethan looked at her.

“I am staying.”

Claire smiled.

“Good.”