Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(53)

Frustrated, but not willing to spend his time on a wild goose chase, possibly giving Eddie a chance to circle around and get to Carly, Jag headed for Duke’s.

Seeing the man was a good reminder that none of them could let their guard down.

Jag walked through the shops on the bottom floor of the hotel and felt a tiny bit better when he didn’t see anyone he recognized as he approached Vera, who was standing at the hostess station.

“Hey,” he said as he approached.

“Hi, Jag!” she replied cheerfully.

He nodded at the perky hostess and headed inside. He’d been here enough now that no one blinked at him walking into the place as if he worked there. He glanced into the dining area and didn’t see Carly or Kenna, so he continued to the kitchen.

He stood silently against the wall just outside, watching Carly without her knowing he was there for just a moment. She looked tired, as if the shift had been a tough one. Her hair was falling out of the ponytail she usually wore it in when she worked, wisps brushing against her cheeks. Her shoulders were slumped as if she was exhausted. She’d been sleeping all right—he should know—so that had to mean she’d had an incredibly busy day.

Kenna looked just as frazzled, and it made Jag worry about them both. Aleck would be there any minute to pick up his wife, and it looked like they both needed a relaxing night. Without wasting any more time, Jag headed in their direction.

“Jag!” Carly gave him a smile as he neared.

“Hey,” he said, reaching out to pull her into him. She came willingly and smiled wider as he lowered his head. He gave her a chaste kiss. He longed to deepen it, but this was her workplace, and the last thing he wanted to do was disrespect her in front of her peers and friends.

For just a moment, Carly leaned into him, giving him her weight. It was another clue that she’d had a tough shift.

“Long day?” he asked.

Carly nodded. “Oh, yeah,” she said with a sigh. “There’s an ironman marathon in town and I swear every athlete, trainer, and family member decided to carbo load here this afternoon. We’ve been slammed from the moment I got here.”

Jag had noticed the large number of people waiting for tables, but he’d been so focused on getting eyes on Carly that it hadn’t really registered.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring this up earlier,” Kenna said to both of them. “I know it’s my turn to bring leftovers to Food For All, but Robert—you know, the concierge at Coral Springs?—is in the hospital, and I was going to ask Marshall if we could stop by for a quick visit before we head home.”

“Is he all right?” Carly asked in concern, turning to her friend.

Jag kept his hand on her waist as she talked with Kenna, feeling much better now that he saw for himself that she was okay. He had no idea what Eddie was doing down here in Waikiki. It might have been a coincidence that he was hanging out across the street from Duke’s. Making a mental note to talk to Baker tonight about what he’d seen, and find out if Baker could have the man followed just in case, he focused back on the conversation.

“He’s okay. It was some kind of hernia repair surgery. He should be coming home tomorrow, but I thought it would be nice to visit him before he leaves. I’m bringing a hula pie. I figure he can share it with the nurses on his floor.”

“That’s awesome. And of course we can stop by Food For All, right?” Carly said, looking up at Jag.

“It’s not a problem,” he reassured her.

Carly gifted him with another wide smile before turning back to Kenna. “I’ll take care of it.”

“I appreciate it.”

Aleck walked into the kitchen, and Jag saw him immediately recognize that the women were unusually tired.

“Tough day?” he asked.

Carly and Kenna giggled.

“What?” he asked in confusion.

“That’s almost exactly what Jag said when he saw us,” Kenna replied, snuggling into her husband’s side.

“Well, we do share a brain, you know,” Aleck quipped.

The women laughed again.

“Right, if you thought that was that funny, I know you’re beat,” Aleck said. “You ready to go?”

“Just about. Carly and Jag said they’d drop by Food For All so we could go visit Robert.”

“Thanks, man,” Aleck said, giving Jag a chin lift.

“Of course. I’ll see you in the morning.”

While Kenna gathered her things, Jag and Carly went to the back of the kitchen, where the extra food was stored. He blinked at the number of containers.

“Told you we were busy today,” Carly told him.

Jag hadn’t thought much about leftover food from restaurants before he’d met Carly and Kenna. He’d been shocked at how much of it got wasted every day. He was pleased that the management and owners at Duke’s were doing their best to let as little food as possible get thrown away. The uneaten leftovers and table scraps from a customer’s meal were always disposed of. But raw ingredients—all of the excess fruit and vegetables—could be donated, as could day-old bread that was never served. Even some individual components of dishes, like sauces that were unserved by the end of the day, could be brought to Food For All.

Alani had planned for the influx of customers with the marathon coming to town, but even with preparation, it was hard to predict what diners might want to eat. Therefore, there was always too much of one thing and not enough of another. Instead of simply throwing away the extra lettuce or the bread that didn’t get eaten, it was a win-win situation for everyone to donate the food. Many pantries might turn away a lot of the leftovers, but since Elodie had started volunteering at Food For All, they’d started accepting more and more donations.