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I had to listen a little more closely, but I could have sworn she had said that macarons would be good for this place. Macarons were, if I was not mistaken, those small French almond flour cookies that cost an arm and a leg in Paris. I never understood the appeal of them, but the price made sense. From what little I knew of cooking like that, macarons were known to be some of the hardest cookies to make purely because of the precise techniques required for their success.
I cleared my throat when they finally were close enough that the conversation should have included me.
“You must be Luke Delaney,” the unfamiliar woman said. “I’m Laurel Pennington. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And you, Miss Pennington,” I replied.
Instead of immediately getting on her case about the kinds of food I expected her to make, I decided that there was going to be a better time to do that. Once Bailey had left, of course, but also perhaps after she had seen the lodge and realized what kind of place it was. It wasn’t this fancy resort for those looking to retreat into nature but not have to rough it. This was the kind of lodge that allowed the guests to rough it. In fact, I had learned over the course of the two years that I had been the owner that most guests expected to have to rough it for part of their experience here.
And they absolutely loved it.
At least I had a chef for the season, even if they insisted on making fancy foods right now.
“Well, it seems my work here is done for now.” Bailey turned to me. “Where’s Rick? Can he help grab Laurel’s bags out of my car?”
Like magic, Rick appeared next to me.
“On it!” he said cheerfully.
Bailey hugged Laurel tight. “I’ve gotta head out, but text me tonight and let me know how things are going!” Laurel nodded, and Bailey waved goodbye on her way out the door, Rick trailing behind her to grab the luggage “It was a pleasure to see you again, Luke.”
I nodded at Bailey before the door closed behind her.
“Well, shall I give you a tour of the lodge before the season begins?” I turned back to Miss Pennington.
Perhaps keeping it professional will help her realize that this is not the job she expected, I thought as she nodded.
With that, I took her through the entry hall of the lodge. It was a small lodge, but I was quite proud of what it had become.
“This is where our guests check in,” I started as we walked through. “This is probably the busiest area of the lodge, other than the dining room. However, most of our guests like to pick up a meal and take it fishing with them so that they don’t have to come back in the best fishing hours of the day, or they’ll pack a cooler of snacks to munch on while they’re fishing. If their family isn’t as into the fishing as they are, they might stay at the lodge for the day, but I’ve only seen that happen a couple of times.”
“Where’s the dining room, then?” Miss Pennington seemed rather eager to get to see where she would be working. “And the kitchen. I want to see what appliances and such you have, what ingredients are already stocked, all of that. If I’m going to be the one cooking here for the whole season, then I want to be sure that we have everything I’ll need.”
“Of course.” I frowned. Obviously, I’d been about to take her to see the dining room and the kitchen. I wasn’t sure how I felt about being guided on a tour of my own lodge.
With that, I walked her to the dining room. We could see her room later since she had not yet asked about that. I suppressed an eye roll, sure she’d let me know the moment she decided she wanted to see her room. If all her luggage fit in Bailey’s tiny car, it probably meant that she had ended up arranging to move most of her things later once she knew more details about where she’d be staying. That was smart of her.
As we entered the dining room, I studied Miss Pennington’s face. As much as I wanted to call her Laurel – since the air here was meant to be friendly – I was waiting for her to give me permission to do so. Her face lit up upon seeing the dining room.
“Oh, how quaint! It looks like a little hunting lodge’s dining room,” she said. “It could perhaps do with a few more tables, but if not every guest eats here every day, then I can understand why there’s not more. How many guests are here when it’s full? And how many guests can stay in the lodge at one time?”
“The lodge itself can host around a hundred and fifty people, but the dining room is currently only set up for about seventy-five people. Most like to eat out in the wilderness while they’re here during the fishing season. We set it up differently for the off-season,” I replied.
She nodded, with no cares given about how the off-season looked in here. It had been a pain in the butt moving all the tables to where they belonged during the season, but it was always worth it. Made it look more put together and more professional for the season, and I thought it was the better option of the two.
“And this door here leads to the kitchen,” I noted as we walked towards it. “Allows you to get in and out quickly without having to go outside, which is where the other door for the kitchen leads.”
She walked into the kitchen ahead of me. I noticed her stop just inside the doorway, intentionally leaving room for me to join her in the kitchen, before she took a good look around.
“This is a… bit disappointing,” she said bluntly.
I felt my face flush hotly. She hadn’t been here ten minutes before taking it upon herself to insult the place.
“This kitchen looks like it’s been neglected!” she continued. She then started to run her hand across the various countertops. “It needs a good deep clean, and a few more appliances. I can’t believe you don’t have some of the most essential appliances here. Where’s the food processor? The blender? The stand mixer? Hand mixer? I see you have a coffee maker, but no hot water dispenser?”
She started looking through the cabinets and sighed heavily.
“You don’t even have basic pantry staples like spices and flour!”
