Free Chance Of A Lifetime 1987 by Unknown

my lucky day.“
    „What do you say we have lunch and then I’ll show you the place.“ Keith raised his hand to signal the waitress,
    but in the process he accidentally knocked over his glass of water. The liquid spilled over the tabletop and ran off into
    Rachel’s lap.
    „Oh, dear.“ Rachel jumped to her feet, dabbing at the water.
    „Sorry about that,“ Keith said apologetically. He handed her a napkin. „I think you’re going to need more than this.
    Why don’t you use the towels in the rest room?“
    He was right. She was going to need more than a paper napkin. Rachel regarded her soaked pants with resignation.
    „I’ll be right back.“ Maybe this wasn’t going to be her lucky day, after all, she thought morosely as she headed for the
    ladies’ room.
    It was definitely not Abraham Chance’s lucky day. Rachel found him on the floor of the old coach house an hour
    later when she returned to Snowball’s Chance.
    At first glance she thought he was dead.

4
    Chance was not dead, but one look at the rusted hulk of an ancient automobile radiator that lay beside him told Rachel
    he easily could have been killed. The heavy chunk of metal had apparently fallen from the loft above, dealing Chance a
    glancing blow. A scant inch closer, and the falling metal wouldn’t have grazed his head and shoulder. It would have
    crushed his skull.
    „Chance! Oh, my God, are you all right?“ Rachel raced toward his prone body. Chance was sprawled on the dusty
    floor of the coach house amid a bunch of old cardboard boxes. Blood streaked his face and arm. He stirred groggily
    when he heard her voice, and he opened his eyes.
    „No,“ he said in a slightly blurred, wholly annoyed voice, „I am not all right. My head is spinning, and my arm
    hurts. I may be sick to my stomach.“
    „Don’t move.“ She crouched down beside him, shaken by the dazed expression in his normally alert eyes. She
    touched the wound on his head with careful fingers. There was plenty of blood, but the gash didn’t look deep.
    „I wasn’t planning on running any marathons. Ouch!“
    „I’m sorry. I just wanted to see how bad the cut is. There’s enough blood to terrorize the average innocent
    bystander such as me, but the wound itself doesn’t look all that bad.“ She tried to keep her voice light and soothing.
    „Head wounds always bleed a lot,“ he muttered, blinking groggily as he tried to sit up. „I read that somewhere.“
    Rachel put out a restraining hand. „Wait, I’ll call an ambulance.“
    „Forget the ambulance. I’m not that bad. I just need to get cleaned up and rest for a while. Something tells me I’m
    going to have a splitting headache.“
    Rachel hesitated. „I think we should get a doctor’s verdict.“
    „Not necessary.“
    It was time to take a firm hand. Chance was obviously going to be a difficult patient. Rachel slipped into her most
    polished, assertive managerial voice. „I say it is necessary.“ She steadied him as he struggled to his feet. „You can
    play macho man some other time. I’m the housekeeper around here, and that puts me in charge of situations like this.“
    „Is that right?“ He gazed down at her with an expression that should have been twice as forbidding as usual
    because of all the gore on his face. But somehow he just managed to look only mildly ferocious. Chance was definitely
    not in top form.
    „Yes, that’s right. You’re in no condition to make major decisions. Come on. If you don’t want an ambulance I’ll
    compromise. I’ll take you into town to see a doctor.“
    „Geez. Just what I needed. A bossy, assertive female.“
    „Don’t tell me. The men of the Chance family don’t like assertive women any better than they like women who give
    ultimatums, right?“ She staggered beneath his weight as he braced himself against her shoulder.
    „Not true. Assertive women,“ Chance declared consideringly, „can be interesting. Have I ever told you I like the
    feisty