Hidden in a Whisper Read Online Free

Albuquerque before putting their customers through the paces of the routine Harvey service, but Casa Grande was a resort for relaxation and restoration.
    Rachel shook her head at this thought, knowing that personally it would probably not afford her either pleasure.
    But I took this job on knowing it would be a challenge. I am the first woman to be allowed to manage the restaurant of a resort hotel, and as such, I must keep my wits about me and show them they’ve not been mistaken to take such a risk with me .
    Rachel knew the hardest part wouldn’t be keeping up with the job. The hardest part would be the long, lonely nights of isolation. Ever since her first promotion to head waitress, Rachel had known the pain of being separated from the crowd. She made friends easily, but as the waitress in charge, she often had to rebuke those friends. This in turn inevitably created hard feelings and conflicts. There were exceptions and a few friends had remained, but Rachel had never known it to be enough. She knew the emptiness of a life unfulfilled. A life lacking what she most desired—a husband and family. Refusing to let her emotions get carried away, Rachel refocused her attention on the girls. There were some very promising young women in her group, and she had little doubt that the affairs of the dining room would run smoothly in no time at all.
    After allowing the girls to acquaint themselves with their duties, Rachel put them into teams, with one of the more experienced girls heading up each group. They practiced being customers and servers in order that they might have an understanding of the days to come.
    With the girls duly occupied, Rachel made her way into the kitchen and found Reginald Worthington reorganizing his new kitchen. A refined gentleman in his forties, Worthington cut a striking figure in the sterile kitchen. Rachel had thought him a handsome man upon the occasion of their introduction, and seeing him now only confirmed her assessment. His brown hair, parted down the middle and slicked back with tonic water, was no less orderly than his kitchen, and his eyes, dark brown and quite appealing, seemed to take in everything around him in a manner that suggested he might well be taking inventory.
    â€œAh, Mr. Worthington,” Rachel announced with a smile, “I’d like to introduce you to the girls when you have a chance.”
    The tall, slender Englishman glanced up from where he sorted through his knives and returned her smile. “Miss Taylor, I would be delighted.”
    He put the knives away in exacting order while Rachel watched him in fascination. He knew precisely where he wanted each instru-ment and assigned it a proper place in no less detail than Rachel had used to assign her girls.
    â€œWell, then,” he said, coming from around the massive preparation table. “Let us be about our business.”
    Rachel nodded. “The girls, as you know, will report to the head waitress and ultimately to me. Should you have trouble with any of them, I would appreciate it if you would bring the issue to me rather than try to deal with it yourself. As chef, you will have a free hand with the kitchen staff, but the girls are strictly my responsibility.”
    Worthington laughed. “And happy is the man who knows his place.”
    â€œI beg your pardon?” Rachel questioned before opening the door to the dining room.
    â€œI’m very glad they are your responsibility,” he replied soberly. “I would no more know how to deal with their tears and tempers than I would know how to construct a building. Women are a peculiarity to me, and save a quiet relationship with my dearly departed mother, I am at quite a loss to determine exactly how to conduct myself with them.”
    Rachel nodded. “I wouldn’t worry overmuch about it. We often feel the same way about men.”
    â€œDo tell,” Worthington replied, his thin moustache quivering ever so slightly at