Ryder was in a good mood the next morning as he sat drinking coffee at the bar with his brothers. Both David and Carter had stopped in for a quick visit as they knew their mother would be there too. Maggie, Ivy and Bethany would be arriving any minute.

“So, Ivy was good last night, huh? I was sorry to have missed it,” David said.

“She was great. We all thought so.”

“Who went?” Carter asked.

“Me, Maggie, a bunch of her friends and Bethany.” His brothers exchanged glances while his mother just smiled and sipped her tea. He knew if their mother wasn’t sitting there that one of both of them would have asked more questions. He was grateful that she was there because he wasn’t ready to answer them. He just knew that he’d had a better time than he’d imagined with Bethany.

It had been good to talk, really talk to her and it felt comfortable, almost like it used to feel. She’d always been easy to talk to. And when she surprised him with that hug at the end of the night, he’d been blown away by how right it had felt and how familiar.

He’d inhaled her sweet scent and wanted to hold on longer. Bethany had always felt like home to him, which is why it was so devastating when she left. He understood why she went though. He hadn’t understood at first though.

“Don’t forget about the tasting event Friday afternoon,” David reminded him as Bethany walked in.

“Come have coffee with us, dear,” his mother called her over.

Bethany slid into the chair next to her and took a sip from the coffee she’d brought with her, from Fresh Brew, the takeout coffee shop down the street.

“You should bring Bethany with you,” David suggested.

“Oh, that’s a marvelous idea!” his mother agreed.

“She can taste our new meats,” Carter added.

“What are you talking about?” Bethany looked confused.

“We are having our annual tasting. It’s when we invite all of our clients in to sample products from our vendors. It’s a great way to try what’s new.”

“Oh, those are always fun. But what time is it? I might not be able to go.”

“It’s Friday afternoon from two to five.”

“That’s during the slow time,” his mother said. “Tom can cover for you if necessary. And I can always pop in too. I’m just a phone call away.”

Ryder chuckled. “It sounds like it’s settled then. Bethany will join me Friday afternoon.” He found himself looking forward to the event more than he usually did.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Bethany said.

Ryder realized he’d forgotten to do something. He pulled out his wallet and found the thick business card he’d put there the day before and handed it to his mother.

“I almost forgot to tell you this. A Harry Peterman stopped by to see you yesterday. He was disappointed that you weren’t here. He wants you to give him a call.”

He watched as his mothers fingers shook as she took the card and looked at it. She gazed out the window for a moment and then back at them.

“I thought I saw him the other day. He was just walking along the street and stopped for a minute by the bay window. I was sure that I imagined it. He’s been gone for so long.”

“Who is he?” Ryder asked.

“He’s a very old, dear friend. I knew him before I met your father. We were high-school sweethearts. But his family moved away during our senior year. We kept in touch for a while, but he had big dreams. I knew he wasn’t coming back to Quinn Valley any time soon.”

“What is Peterman Productions?” Ryder was curious about what he’d read on the card.

“I’m not really sure. Harry had always loved theater and movies. His dream was to do something with film.”

“Are you going to call him?” David asked.

“Of course I am. It would be rude not to!”

The rest of the week flew by and before Bethany knew it, Friday afternoon had arrived and it was time to go to the tasting event with Ryder. They’d had a very busy lunch which was both wonderful and concerning as she didn’t want to leave if it was still really busy. But by one thirty, the rush was over and only a few customers were still there. She’d be coming back for the dinner service but it would be nice to get out for a few hours.

“Are you ready to go?” Ryder walked into the kitchen, wearing his jacket.

“Just about.” Bethany slipped off her white chef coat and hung it on a hook by the door and pulled on her own jacket. “I’m ready.”

She followed Ryder to his navy blue Honda CRV and climbed in the passenger side. She noticed a few boxes on the back seat as she buckled in.

“I picked those up from the printer this morning. I need to drop them off with Rachel at the Inn. She loved the idea of discount coupons. Said it was another great perk they could offer their guests.” Rachel was the assistant manager there. It was a big job but according to Marcia, who had just mentioned her a few days ago, Rachel was doing a fabulous job.

“That’s great. Do we have time to drop them off on our way? Then maybe they could start giving them out this weekend.”

Ryder checked his watch. “We go right by there, so we can make a quick stop.”

Five minutes later, he pulled up to the valet station in front of the main entrance. A young man came rushing over and smiled when he saw Ryder.

“Hey, Dylan. Can we just leave the car here for a minute while we drop a few boxes off?”

“Of course. I’ll keep an eye on her for you.”

There were two boxes in the back seat. Ryder grabbed the bigger one and Bethany picked up the smaller one. It wasn’t heavy, just a little bulky. When they walked in the front door, Rachel was coming their way and looked surprised to see them.

“Hey, Ryder. I didn’t think I’d see you until tomorrow.”

“We were coming this way anyway, so I thought we’d go ahead and drop the coupons off.”

“Well, that’s great. Follow me.” She led them into her office and told them to set the boxes on the floor. She reached in and pulled out a stack of coupons and smiled.

“I’ll bring these up to the front desk now. We’ll put some in our tourist attractions room, where guests can browse brochures of all the local sights. And I’ll make sure that every guest that checks in from now on gets two coupons.”

“Thanks, Rachel. I really appreciate it,” Ryder said.

“It’s a fantastic idea, and it’s something we can give to our guests. I really think they’re going to love it.”

“I wish I could say it was my idea, but it was all Bethany’s.”

Rachel looked at her with interest. “Really? I heard you’ve been working in Manhattan. Did they use coupons like this there?”

“Yes. And in Nantucket too when I spent a summer there. Tourists love a good deal.”

“Keep me posted how it goes,” Rachel said

“I will. We’re off to David’s annual tasting event now.”

“That’s today? I think I was supposed to go to that too. Maybe I can sneak out a little later.”

“It goes until five I think,” Ryder told her. They said their goodbyes and ten minutes later pulled up to David’s giant warehouse.

“Wow,” Bethany said. It looked like quite an operation.

“David has done well for himself.”

“It looks like he has enough food to serve most of Idaho in there.”

Ryder laughed. “Every year he expands. He has trucks that go to Riston, Lewiston, and beyond.”

He parked, and they made their way inside. As soon as David saw them he came over and gave Bethany a tour. He seemed to carry just about everything a restaurant could need.When they came back to the main room where the tasting was being held, he gave them both a printout that listed all the attending vendors and what they were going to be sampling.

“I hope you’re both hungry?”

Bethany nodded. She was actually starving. Normally she would have eaten something once the lunch rush started to slow, but she hadn’t had anything since breakfast.

“Good. I’d start with Bella Cheese, their baby fresh mozzarella balls dipped in oil and balsamic glaze are a hit.”

Bethany headed straight there and happily popped one in her mouth. They were as delicious as David had said. Ryder agreed, and they spent the next hour strolling around the room, chatting with the various vendors who were all friendly and interested in learning about Quinn’s Pub and how their products could fit in there. There were quite a few things they tasted that impressed them both and Bethany’s mind whirled as she imagined different ways to serve the various foods she’d tasted.

They spent quite a bit of time with Carter as he explained to Bethany all about what he did and the various humanely raised and organic meats he sold. She tasted everything and the quality and freshness rivaled the best meats she’d had in Manhattan and she told him so.

“I believe in our quality, but I have to say it made my day to hear that. Thank you.” He told them about some new products he hoped to have in the coming year before they made their way to the final table which was desserts. Although every restaurant Bethany had worked at made some of their own desserts, almost every one bought some too. And desserts was one area that she thought they could improve on at Quinn’s.

They tried small bites of at least a dozen different desserts—everything from cheesecakes to rich chocolate layer cakes to fancy pies and even a few frozen desserts. There were two that stood out to Bethany. A deceptively simple apple crisp that had toasted walnuts, oats, lots of brown sugar and butter and perfectly cooked apples. They served it with vanilla bean ice cream on top, which was how she would serve it too.

The other standout was the chocolate cake. It was six layers of rich decadence and she knew it was the kind of dessert that people would talk about. It was oversized and outrageous. And who didn’t like chocolate cake?

It reminded her of one she’d had in Boston at Abe and Louie’s. She’d gone there for lunch with a fellow student and before she even decided what she wanted to order, she’d seen three chocolate cakes go by and knew that was what she was having for dessert. It was magnificent. Almost as good as this one.

“You’re in love,” Ryder said with an amused smile.

“I am. And you will be too as soon as you take a bite. We’re ordering this today. The apple crisp too. This is exactly the kind of comfort food dessert that people are going to go crazy for. And it doesn’t make sense for me to make it when they do it so well.”

Ryder took a bite of the chocolate cake and while he was still swallowing gave it the thumbs up.

“I was thinking the cannoli until I tasted this. But you’re right. This makes much more sense.”

Bethany smiled. “Cannoli are delicious too but they are messy and get soggy too fast.”

“It’s hard to top the cannoli from the bakery down the street, anyway.”

“That’s true and we can always get them occasionally for a special. But this cake is going to be our signature dessert.” Bethany was so enthusiastic that Ryder looked amused and just nodded in agreement.

“Whatever you want works for me. You’re the expert.”

David came over as they finished up.

“So, what do you think? See anything you want to add to the menu?”

Bethany and Ryder both laughed.

“Bethany wants to add a lot of things, I think. But we’ll start with the chocolate cake and apple crisp,” Ryder said.

“Great, I’ll include some of both in your next order. Bethany can let me know when she wants to add some other items.”

“Perfect,” Ryder said.

As they drove back to the restaurant, Bethany looked forward to getting the desserts on the menu and had a few new ideas for some of the other things she’d tasted. She was excited to see how their customers would respond.

When they parked and walked toward’s Quinn’s, Ryder asked, “So, are you glad you went?” He was smiling and she knew he was teasing her.

“So glad. Ryder, I really think we can turn things around for Quinn’s.”

She saw something warm and appreciative in his eyes. “I sure hope so.”