You look tired. Is the new computer system still driving you crazy?” Ryder Quinn leaned back in his seat at the bar of Quinn’s Pub. He was worried that his mother was working too hard. He and his sister Maggie had bought her out last year, and she was supposed to be retired. But, given their recent drama, he was grateful for her help. It was Friday night, almost midnight, and the restaurant was empty except for the three of them.

His mother sat up straight and gave him ‘the look’.

“Ryder Quinn. You should never tell a woman she looks tired. Ever. I’m fine. And I am getting used to that silly computer of yours. Maggie, honey, I’ll take a splash of that new chardonnay.” Even though the pub was closed, Maggie was still behind the bar, wiping the counter down.

Maggie laughed.“Mom’s right, Ryder. Don’t ever say that.” He watched as she poured two glasses of wine, put one in front of their mother and brought her own to the other side of the bar. She settled into a chair between them and smiled at her mother.

“I heard a lot of compliments on Mom’s food tonight. The regulars don’t want her to ever leave.” His mother looked pleased to hear it.

But Ryder still felt guilty that he was going to be away for the whole weekend. “It’s not fair for her to be in the kitchen all day every day though. I can cancel my trip. I’m sure Brad will understand.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Your college roommate is getting married, and you haven’t had a day off in weeks. I can cook in my sleep. You know that,” his mother assured him.

He also knew by the tone of her voice that the discussion was over.

“No one misses Gary’s cooking. He’d really been letting things slide,” Maggie added. It was true. Gary did a fine job at first, but over the past six months, it seemed as though he wasn’t trying as hard. His specials were lackluster and even standard items didn’t seem as good as they used to be.

“Gary and Suzanne have to turn up, eventually. Have you heard any updates from the police?” his mother asked.

“Nothing yet.”

Maggie sighed. “I still can’t believe they were stealing from us and for so long. I considered Suzanne a friend.”

The betrayal stung for all of them. “Gary and I used to have beers together after work. I never suspected it,” he admitted.

“No wonder they were so insistent that we didn’t need to computerize,” his mother added dryly.

“I still can’t believe we missed it.” Ryder lifted his glass and took a sip. The beer was a new one, a local IPA and was his current favorite.

“Suzanne used to always brag that she made more tips than anyone else,” Maggie said. “I never thought much of it, but it makes sense now.”

His mother chuckled. “And she always made those elaborate birthday cakes for everyone. Probably so no one would suspect she was up to anything.”

Ryder sighed. “They were clever about it too, not taking enough that it would be noticed.”

He’d only discovered their scheme by accident when he picked up a handwritten order off the kitchen floor. It was lucky for him that it had missed the trash can. It was a week after the new computer system had gone in and there shouldn’t have been any more handwritten orders for the kitchen. He’d matched up credit card receipts at the end of the night for the order amount and there wasn’t one, which meant the customers had paid in cash. But, the amount of the order wasn’t in the register. It was as if it had never happened.

That’s when he realized that Suzanne had pocked the cash and that Gary was in on it too as he threw the order slip away as if it had never existed. Ryder took a long hard look at his orders and profits for the past few months and realized the deception had been going on for a long time.

He’d questioned them and both vehemently denied any wrongdoing. But the next day, neither showed up to work, and no one had heard from them since. That was two weeks ago and while Suzanne was easily replaced, it was taking longer than he’d expected to find a new chef.

“Any promising resumes come in?” he asked hopefully. He’d called all the local schools and posted an ad for a chef and put it in the Quinn Valley newspaper and online as well. His mother had insisted on handling the hiring since she was the one that had designed their menu and was the only true cook in the family. Ryder managed the day to day running of the restaurant and Maggie handled everything related to the bar.

His mother nodded and for a moment he thought he saw a flash of a smile, but it was gone just as fast. “They have been trickling in. I have a few interviews scheduled for tomorrow morning. I’ll keep you posted.”

“Oh, that’s great news.” The job market was tight and there weren’t many qualified people to choose from in Quinn Valley. It was a small town, like the neighboring one, Riston, and while there were a lot of tourists that came to stay at the inn and enjoy the hot springs, there weren’t a lot of year round residents. He’d also posted ads in the Riston and Lewiston papers, hoping to cast a wider net of applicants.

“Have you closed out the month yet?” Maggie asked with a worried look. He nodded. He knew what she was really asking was if things were looking up. Unfortunately they were not.

“It was pretty dismal. Down another ten percent from the month before. I won’t be taking a check again this week.”

“Well, if you’re not taking one, I won’t either,” Maggie said.

“I’m happy to help you out, if you need a short-term loan,” his mother offered.

“No!” Both he and Maggie said at the same time and then laughed. “Thank you, but we want to do this ourselves. I know we can turn things around,” Ryder said. It was important to him and to Maggie that they were able to run the business on their own.

His mother reached over and gave his hand a squeeze. “I know you can. I have complete faith in both of you. This is just a blip, a minor hiccup to get past.”

That was one of the things he’d always loved about his mother. Marcia Quinn was one of the most positive people he knew. And she’d helped to install that belief in all five of her children—that with hard work and the will to succeed, they could do anything.

He looked around Quinn’s Pub, at the gleaming dark wood bar and beams, the soft leather chairs and cheerful watercolor paintings on the walls, and the big windows that let in plenty of daylight and even now, a bit of moonlight. Quinn’s Pub was a family restaurant with a bar area that closed at eleven sharp every night. On the weekends, they had local live music and during the week, they ran specials and fun events like music bingo to bring people in.

When his mother ran the restaurant and was in the kitchen, they had a reputation for excellent comfort food and a strong base of regular customers. But since she’d retired and Gary took over the kitchen, business had slowed. It wasn’t an immediate slow down, but rather a decline that almost wasn’t noticeable at first. And it wasn’t helped any by Gary and Suzanne skimming some of the profits.

Some of the customers were starting to come back though, now that word was getting around that Marcia Quinn was in the kitchen again. But Ryder knew that he needed to get someone good in there as soon as possible so they could start rebuilding and so his mother could enjoy her retirement. He smiled thinking about what being retired meant to her.

She still came by the restaurant every day, often bringing a batch of homemade ravioli that they could run as a special or a batch of her blueberry muffins that they ate together for breakfast before the day got underway. He knew that she still liked to keep her pulse on the business and to visit with her children.

“Ryder, I have one request I’d like you to agree on before you head out for the weekend?” His mother took a sip of chardonnay and smiled, waiting for him to respond.

“What’s that?” He was ready to agree to anything.

“If I meet someone and want to hire them, I want your permission to do so.”

“I don’t get to meet them first?” As the general manager, he felt like he should be involved.

“If we have to wait around for you, we could lose a good candidate. Besides, I believe the last hire was yours?” Ouch! She had him there. Gary had been his pick.

He sighed. “Of course. I trust you. If you meet someone that knocks your socks off, by all means hire them.”

“Thanks, honey. I’ve always been good at reading people. I’ll find us someone.”

Ryder relaxed and began to look forward to his weekend away. The restaurant would be in good hands, and maybe his mother would surprise him and find someone that could start right away. Anyone would be better than Gary.