Free Last Chance Hero by Cathleen Armstrong Page B

pass.
    â€œOf course, you probably need to wait till after my appointment, but I’m counting on you.”
    â€œAppointment?” Jess hadn’t heard about that.
    â€œI know, it’s not for another three weeks, but I went ahead and scheduled one. I didn’t want to wait to the last minute and then find out you were all booked up and couldn’t take any more patients.”
    â€œYeah, that’s a real possibility.” Jess laughed. “But I couldn’t be more tickled. And once we’ve had that first appointment, you can count on me being in your corner all the way. If at all feasible, Mom calls the shots, I say.”
    â€œI knew I liked you.” Lainie grinned. “Mom. Wow. I have to get used to that.”
    â€œHow’s that salad? Need some more iced tea?” Juanita appeared at the table and stood just close enough to Lainie that she had to step back a little.
    Lainie took the hint and gave Jess a wink as she moved away. “I’ll talk to you later.”
    Juanita watched her go and turned back to Jess with a shake of her head. “That girl is just the sweetest thing ever, and I’ve loved her since the day she landed in Last Chance, but she does like to visit with the customers. Now, how about a little more tea.”
    â€œThanks.” Jess nudged her glass a little closer.
    â€œI just have to ask.” Juanita poured the tea and stood back regarding Jess’s plate. “Why do you get that salad every time you come in here? I mean, it’s good and all, but it’s probably the most boring thing on the whole menu. Are you on some kind of weird diet or something?”
    â€œNo. I just like salad.” With Juanita looming over her, Jess felt a little protective of her plate of greens.
    â€œWell, you must, that’s all I can say. Have you even tried anything else on the menu?”
    â€œUm, no. Not for lunch, anyway.” Jess looked around the room. All the other diners were eating as if Juanita calling someone on the carpet was nothing new, and Lainie was nowhere in sight. If Jess were anywhere else, she’d ask for the check and flee, never to return, but something told her that she didn’t want to burn that bridge. She smiled up at Juanita, trying to keep her voice light. “But you never know. I might surprise you someday.”
    â€œShock me someday is more like it.” Juanita gave Jess’s plate one last contemptuous glance and sighed. “Well, if that day ever comes, let me know and I’ll recommend something. Carlos is the best cook in this part of the state, and it’s not his salads that he’s known for.”
    Juanita took her iced tea pitcher and moved off to tend some other table, looking for all the world as if she hadn’t just raked a customer over the coals for her menu choice, and Jess watched her go. Some people leaned back in their booth and propped their elbows on the table for a chat; others barely glanced up and went back to their meals. Juanita seemed equally at ease with either reaction. Maybe that was the key. Let Juanita be Juanita; just don’t let her under your skin.

    Down the road at the high school just past the edge of town, Andy shoved the last of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich in his mouth and brushed the crumbs off his desk. Peanut butter and jelly had pretty much become his diet since football practice started. It was easy to slap on some bread in the predawn darkness before he headed to school in the morning, and it didn’t take more strength than he had left when he dragged himself home in the evening. Good thing he liked peanut butter. Or he had before football practice started.
    â€œHow’d it go?” Kev came in looking happy and well fed. But then, he went home for lunch.
    Andy shrugged. “About like you’d expect, I guess. No one likes getting cut, especially when we’re this far into preseason practice. I expect I’ll be