Free The Lottery Winner by Emilie Rose Page A

community here. She handed Miri a paper containing the name and address without looking at Logan, even though she could feel his stare.
    Miri tucked it in her pocket then hooked her arm through Logan’s and pulled him toward his table. “Get your stuff and go to work, Logan, so we can do the same here. Jessie and I will discuss what we’ll hang and what we’ll remove after I consult with her specialist.”
    Jessie exhaled, willing her nervous tension to float away on her breath the way she’d done in her student teaching days. No luck. She never should have let Logan into her house.
    Miri came back after seeing out her nephew. “Jessie, no matter how high-handed Logan gets, promise me you’ll remember he’s a good boy. He means well.”
    Why did that sound like a warning?
    * * *
    B Y THE TIME the dinner rush ended Saturday evening, Jessie was a nervous wreck. She wanted to retreat to her walled compound and not emerge for a week. She was so exhausted her old solitude was starting to appeal.
    Not only had they been run-off-their-feet busy yesterday and today, but every time a customer had paused in front of her Key deer painting, adrenaline had surged into her veins, making her heart beat double time. The piece hadn’t sold. She hadn’t expected it to. Not really. Especially at the ridiculous price Logan had slapped on it. And yet a lingering disappointment and sense of rejection weighted her.
    A ding from the bartender’s bell signaled that Jessie’s drink order for table twelve was ready. She hustled over to pick it up and spotted Logan at a back corner table. He hadn’t been there earlier. She knew, because she’d been watching for him. His unrelenting scrutiny made her nervous. He caught her eye before she could escape and signaled her over.
    Seriously? Could he not see she was too busy to wait on him?
    â€œWhere’s the new girl?” he asked when she stopped by his table.
    â€œShe dropped a tray during the lunch rush and ran out. She hasn’t returned.”
    His lips turned down. “I hope Miri had the good sense to fire her. I haven’t seen Pam, either.”
    Pam was a quiet, stay-to-herself woman who raced away the minute she clocked out. Jessie’d had little interaction with her. Today she’d learned why. A single mother, Pam tried to spend as little time away from her three kids as possible. Otherwise, her husband would claim her unfit and sue for full custody. She was what Logan had referred to as one of Miri’s projects.
    â€œPam’s at home with a sick kid.”
    â€œAre you handling this crowd alone?”
    â€œSue’s working.”
    â€œYou’re delivering a lot of her orders.”
    He’d been watching her. Goose bumps lifted her skin. “It’s easy for me to bring them when I’m on my way into the dining room anyway.”
    The long hours were getting to the older woman. Jessie had caught her leaning heavily against the kitchen wall while waiting for orders a few times.
    The front door opened, and a party of ten entered. She needed to get back to work. “Did you want something? I’m really busy.”
    Logan gathered his belongings and rose. “An order book.”
    She blinked in confusion. “Excuse me?”
    â€œGet me an order pad. I’ll help. Sue doesn’t need to push so hard.”
    She agreed wholeheartedly, but... “Do you know how to wait tables or operate the computer system?”
    â€œYes and yes.”
    Dumbfounded by his unexpected assistance, it took her a moment to kick into gear. The bartender gave her the pad. She passed it to Logan.
    â€œWhich section should I take?”
    She told him.
    â€œGot it.” And then he walked off, leaving her with a tray of drinks to deliver and a load of questions.
    Who was this man? The suspicious control freak who watched her and tried to micromanage Miri, or a devoted nephew who would do anything