Chapter 6
At the sound of the doors opening Lucas looked up.
"Thank you, doctor", Grace said and left the office, causing Lucas to stand up.
"So, how did it go?", he asked her, concern evident in his eyes and voice.
Grace smiled weakly.
"My ligaments are a bit hurt. I need to rest my hand for some time, put some ice on it and avoid any work", she sighed in frustration "This couldn't happen at a worse time", at Lucas' curious gaze, she shook her head "It's my problem. Don't worry yourself about it".
"Hey. Stop right there", Lucas said warmly "In case you forgot, you saved my life today. The least I can do is to help you with whatever is troubling you", at her unesecure gaze, he raised his eyebrows and she yielded.
"Well, you wouldn't be able to help in this matter", she tried to avoid the subject, but Lucas pressed on.
"Try me", he said in a firm voice.
Grace held his gaze for a moment before she finally spoke.
"Fine. Our cook and kitchen helper quit three weeks ago because they got married and moved to New Orleans. I do most of the cooking, Lillian helps, but the majority of work is on me. She isn't much of a cook so…", Grace let out a frustrated breath "We have approximately 50 kids in the orphanage right now. How will we feed them now?"
Without holding any hope that Lucas would say anything, she turned around to start walking to the exit, mumbling "I need to get home"...
…but, that was when Lucas' warm voice stopped her.
"Wait. I might actually help you with this", he smiled at Grace's confused face "It might take a few days to organize everything, but I could help you in the meantime", he concluded with a smile.
Grace opened her mouth, but nothing came out at first. Her lips formed an "O", her eyebrows slightly creased.
"Lucas… I don't think that a governor's job description includes cooking for kids in an orphanage…"
"Grace…"
"You won't have time for that!", she said incredulously.
"Well, the campaign is done. Elections are over. I'll make sure that my staff gets a few days off before we start working, plus we need to investigate today's event. It will give us time enough to get things settled with my previous job and until he can arrive", Lucas smiled broadly.
Grace shook her head a big in confusion.
"He?", she asked.
Lucas eagerly nodded.
"My cousin. Gustave", he grinned.
"Gustave?"
"He's been cooking in my saloon for three years now", shrugging, he happily added "I wanted him to join me here even before this happened. Now we will just speed things up a little bit".
"Wait. Hold on", Grace stared at Lucas' eyes with surprise "You have a cousin who is a cook?"
Lucas grinned "He would say that he is a chef, but you got it".
Grace's eyes widened and she slightly gaped.
"A chef?! As in French?!", she turned away from him and hurried down the corridor "Oh, no, no, no, no,no!"
Lucas rushed after her.
"Grace!", he called out, his smile still present on his face "Grace, wait up!"
As they left the hospital Grace stopped, turned around and looked up at him.
"Lucas! I can't have a masterchef from a fine French cuisine where he cooked for fine ladies and gentlemen brought down to our small kitchen to make stew instead of caviar and flip pancakes instead of preparing a souffle!", Grace rambled on, her voice slightly pitchy.
"Why not? It's not like he doesn't eat that stuff", Lucas smirked, a vision of his cousin's concentration as he carefully squirted some syrup on the pancake causing his smile to turn into a chuckle "Just, don't let us eat together. We would be at war in a second", he laughed.
Grace watched him in amazement.
"But…", she tried to protest, but Lucas interrupted her before she could go on.
"Listen…some things happened that changed everything and…", he took a deep breath "My cousin stayed home to look after the saloon while I'm gone. However, now it looks like he will join me here after all. I'll call him first thing in the morning. Now", he gently smiled "Lets get you home before you catch a cold."
Grace watched him as he walked to his car and tried to get her head around everything as she slowly followed him.