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the tips as a hint of a smile played upon his lips. “I can’t imagine you suffering from that feeling.”
    Rachel looked away, not willing for him to see that the same words that amused him caused her to feel a sharp pang of regret and pain. “I assure you, Mr. Worthington, the enigma regarding men and women is mutually acknowledged and endured.”
    She moved through the swinging kitchen doors into the dining room, where her girls were still working amicably together.
    â€œLadies!” she called, and all heads turned to her. “I would like to introduce the chef for Casa Grande. This is Mr. Worthington. He comes to us from a very prestigious New York hotel at the insistence of the Santa Fe management. His culinary skills are highly regarded, and he will no doubt bring to Casa Grande a flavor of the European continent as he has trained in Paris, Milan, Madrid, and his own native London. You will heed his instruction regarding the serving and preparation of food; however, should any problems arise regarding your conduct, Mr. Worthington will not hesitate to bring the matter to my attention.”
    â€œI’m delighted to make your acquaintance,” the Englishman said, his accent clearly marking his origins. “I shall endeavor to better know each of you as our duties require.”
    Rachel thanked Worthington, then turned to address her girls as he returned to the kitchen. “I believe it is necessary to restate something for your benefit as well as for mine. There is to be absolutely no fraternizing of Harvey Girls with male staff members. You are under contract to Mr. Harvey, and in being so, you agree to refrain from marrying before your contract is up. Those of you who have been with the Harvey system for longer than the initial contract realize the importance of these rules. They are for your own good,” Rachel told them, but her mind was taken back to a time when she had been young and in love. Who could have possibly convinced her that such rules were wise and necessary?
    It was hard to convince the heart that some matters were better left unexplored. She would, if she could, advise each and every woman before her to avoid romantic entanglements at all costs. Nothing was quite as hard on the spirit as realizing that the only dream you had dared to allow yourself would never come true. And, as far as Rachel was concerned, nothing lasted longer or hurt more than a broken heart. Which was the case with Braeden Parker. Even the mention of his name—the single thought of his smile—caused Rachel to tear up, even as she was just now. Coughing, she excused herself and appointed Gwen Carson, a young woman she’d trained several years earlier in Topeka and the one to whom she’d given the number one badge, to take over supervising the girls in their duties.
    Back in the silence of her office, Rachel took several deep breaths and forced her emotions to reorder themselves to their proper places. She would not allow Braeden’s memory to destroy her happiness. She couldn’t. He was in the past and that was where he would stay. No matter the cost.

   TWO   
    TWO DAYS LATER, as the girls finished cleaning the dining room after practicing a supper service on area railroad men and hotel staff, Ivy Brooks watched as Rachel took Gwen Carson aside to discuss some matter in private.
    This has to stop , Ivy thought. It’s bad enough Gwen gets the number one badge while I have twenty-five. I won’t be able to stand it if Miss Taylor assigns head waitress to her as well .
    She finished washing down the last table in her assigned area, then turned to see what her newest follower, Faith Bradford, was doing. Faith, a short, skinny nineteen-year-old whose immaturity irritated Ivy, stood listening to two of the other more experienced Harvey Girls explain their way of clearing a table. Faith, being the rather mindless twit that she was, would be the perfect victim