At Home in Last Chance (A Place to Call Home Book #3) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Cathleen Armstrong

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127 pages

English

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Kaitlyn Reed and Steven Braden have always had a similar philosophy of life: when the going gets tough, they get going--out of town and away from the problem. Now they are both back in Last Chance, New Mexico, and trying to start over. Kaitlyn is working to reestablish a relationship with the seven-year-old daughter she left behind six months earlier. Steven is trying to prove to his family that he is not the irresponsible charmer they have always known him to be. As Kaitlyn and Steven find themselves drawn to one another, one big question keeps getting in the way: How will they learn to trust each other when they don't even trust themselves?With emotional depth and characters who leap off the page and into the reader's psyche, Cathleen Armstrong continues to delight her readers and win new fans. Readers will be thrilled to return once more to the small town they've grown to love.

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Romance

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	06 janvier 2015
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441221193
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0202€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

© 2015 by Cathleen Armstrong
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www . revellbooks .com
Ebook edition created 2015
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-2119-3
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, incidents, and dialogues are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Praise for Welcome to Last Chance
“A wonderful debut novel. . . . Readers will enjoy the simplicity of Welcome to Last Chance and the complexity of Lainie’s character.”
— New York Journal of Books
“Cathleen Armstrong’s debut novel is a warm-hearted look at ordinary people living out genuine faith.”
— Crosswalk.com
“With equal parts hope, charm, and tender faith, Cathleen Armstrong spins a tale as warm and welcoming as a roadside cafe on a dusty highway. Exit from the fast lane and visit Last Chance. It’s a place you won’t soon forget.”
—Lisa Wingate , bestselling and award-winning author of Firefly Island and Blue Moon Bay
Praise for One More Last Chance
“Armstrong continues her A Place to Call Home series with this sweet romance that features vivid descriptions of the Southwestern landscape, colorful supporting characters, and engaging relationships subtly shaped by Christian faith.”
— Booklist
“A gentle love story with a cozy feel. . . . It boasts well-crafted characters who feel like old friends, and its theme of hope leaves readers with the knowledge that for everyone, there really can be one more last chance. This tale is recommended for all fans of sweet and light romances.”
— Library Journal
For Bill, Lisa, and Kate You filled my life with love and purpose
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Dedication
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Books by Cathleen Armstrong
Back Ads
Back Cover
1

P ure and simple, Kaitlyn Reed hated her job. She hated getting up in the early hours of a cold, dark January morning to get there. She hated the curious to outright hostile looks of the diners she served. She hated that she didn’t really have a choice about whether to work at the Dip ’n’ Dine. But most of all, she hated taking orders from Juanita Sheppard.
Truth be told, she wasn’t very good at taking orders from anyone. Her reputation back in Scottsdale as a creative, avant-garde hairstylist had gained her positions in some of Scottsdale’s toniest salons, but those jobs never lasted long. Neither did the jobs she held after she left Scottsdale. Kaitlyn simply could not stand being told what to do, and employers always seemed to think they had to give directions. Nine times out of ten, if they had just given her five seconds, she’d have completed the task before they even mentioned it. But they’d go and bark their orders, this white-hot flare would shoot through her, and before she even realized she had said anything, she was out the door, purse and final paycheck in hand.
“Here, refill this and make the rounds.” Juanita Sheppard shoved a nearly empty coffeepot into her hands. “And tables four and six need busing, too. Let’s keep our eyes open, Kaitlyn, and try to stay on top of things.”
Kaitlyn’s eyes narrowed. True, her brother had asked Juanita to show her the ropes, but Kaitlyn was about ready to grab that rope and strangle her with it. Holding the pot in both hands, she started after Juanita, who hadn’t even paused as she breezed by.
No telling what pyrotechnics the early breakfast diners at the Dip ’n’ Dine might have been treated to if her brother Chris, the diner’s owner, hadn’t intercepted her.
“Why don’t I take care of the coffee?” He took the coffeepot from her and gave her a wink. “You go ahead and clean those tables. And Kaitlyn? Try not to throw the dishes in the bin so hard you break them, okay?”
His grin lightened his words but not her temper, and after shooting one last murderous glare at Juanita, who was chatting with a customer and clearly clueless about the apocalypse she so nearly brought down upon herself, Kaitlyn ducked into the kitchen to find Carlos, her one friend and ally in this awful place.
“I just cannot deal with her one more day.” Kaitlyn could almost feel steam coming from her ears. She squeezed her eyes shut as Juanita’s voice reached them.
“Who? Juanita?” Carlos Montoya pulled a pan of biscuits out of the oven and straightened to look at her. “She’s okay. Get’s a little bossy sometimes, but you don’t need to let it bother you. I don’t.”
“Well, you don’t have to. You’re in here. I’m the one she’s treating like her own personal servant.”
On cue, Juanita appeared at the window to the dining room. “Kaitlyn? Those tables still need busing and we have people waiting for a table. Let’s save the chatting for our break, okay?”
Kaitlyn’s mouth popped open on its own accord, but before she could say anything, Carlos spoke for her. “She’ll be right with you, Juanita. I needed her in here for a minute. The bins are there on the counter, though, if you want to go ahead and get started.”
Juanita was silenced, but only for a second. “She wasn’t hired to help you, Carlos. She was hired to help me, and I need her out here.”
She pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows at Kaitlyn before whirling away, leaving Kaitlyn fighting yet another flash of rage. Carlos shook his head and turned back to his biscuits.
“Take a second and cool off. Here. Eat a biscuit. Then go on out there and bus some tables. Just do your job and let Juanita roll off your back. I mean that.” His voice took on a serious tone Kaitlyn had not heard before, and she paused in midbite. “This place doesn’t belong to Juanita. It belongs to your brother. He’s a good man, and if you think you owe him anything, keep the catfights out of his restaurant.”
His dark eyes held hers for a long moment before she dropped her glance and took a thoughtful pull off her biscuit. She hated it that Carlos wasn’t just taking her side against the insufferable Juanita, but she had to admit he was right. She did owe Chris. Big time. If there was one person in her life who had always been there for her, it was Chris. When they were growing up, it was he who tried so hard to take the place of their always-busy parents. When she got pregnant at sixteen, it was he who stood by her decision to have the baby when everybody else told her what a bad idea that was. Seven years later, when she decided she was tired of motherhood and had dropped her daughter off like a puppy at a pound, he had taken Olivia in and given her a home. Several months after that, when Kaitlyn found herself alone and penniless and beginning to understand what a world-class idiot she had been, Chris, without a word of recrimination, brought her home and took her in too. Yep. One could say she owed her brother.
“Kaitlyn?” Juanita had appeared at the window again with a brittle smile. “Are you coming?”
Kaitlyn took a deep breath and held it before exhaling in a long slow whoosh. She smiled too and squared her shoulders. “Coming.”
She stopped just before pushing her way through the door into the dining room and turned to Carlos. “For Chris.”
He raised his spatula in salute. “For the boss.”
If Juanita noticed her new, cooperative attitude, she certainly gave no sign. In fact, her instructions, always frequent, seemed more curt and brusque than ever. More than once during the day, Juanita had backed Chris into a corner, and from her glances in Kaitlyn’s direction and the fact that she had actually lowered her voice to a near whisper, Kaitlyn could only surmise that the discussions were about her.
Chris listened as he always did. He lowered his head to better look into Juanita’s face, nodded thoughtfully as she spoke, then smiled, straightened, said a few words, and put his hand on her shoulder before walking away. Whatever he said could not have been what Juanita was looking for, because she looked Kaitlyn’s way, sighed, and shook her head before huffing off.
For Chris. Kaitlyn took another deep breath and held it as long as she could before slowly exhaling. For Chris. For Chris. For Chris . . . and for my sweet, abandoned Livvy.

Kaitlyn wasn’t sure which was more exhausting, serving tables or trying to keep from snapping back at Juanita, but by the time she climbed into the front seat of Chris’s Jeep and let her head drop back against the headrest, she felt as if she never wanted to move again.
“You look beat.” Chris’s smile may have seemed a bit weary as he slid behind the wheel, but at least he looked as if he had a good chance of remaining upright till they got home. Kaitlyn wasn’t at all sure she could if it weren’t for the help of the seat belt.
“And you don’t. How come?”
Chris shrugged and pulled out onto the road. “Used to it, I guess, and the place is mine. That makes a big difference. For some reason, I used to get a lot more tired when I worked in someone else’s restaurant.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes before Kaitlyn’s frustration burst out again.
“But Chris, I really hate it. It’s not only being on my feet all day. I’m used to that. I just can’t stand working at the Dip ’n’ Dine. It’s not as if you really need me. You did just fine before I got here.”
“Give yourself some time. It’s still really new to you.” Chris stopped the Jeep in front of the small brown stucco house where Olivia went every day after school. “You have to do something, Sis,