One More Last Chance (A Place to Call Home Book #2) , livre ebook

Baker Publishing Group - Cathleen Armstrong

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158 pages

English

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Sarah Cooley has come home to Last Chance, New Mexico, for one reason--because it doesn't change. After an engagement gone bad with a man who wanted to change everything about her, Sarah is more than ready for the town whose motto may as well be, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."Chris Reed, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to spark some change in the little town. As the new owner of the Dip 'n' Dine, he's shaking things up to draw folks from all over the Southwest into his restaurant.As it turns out, the winds of change are blowing into Last Chance--just not in the ways that Sarah or Chris might expect.With the same evocative writing and fascinating characters that won fans for her debut novel, Cathleen Armstrong invites readers back to Last Chance for a soul-searching, romantic story of two people navigating the twists and turns of small-town life.

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	29 avril 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441245083
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

© 2014 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 2014
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 978-1-4412-4508-3
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
“An outstanding debut novel! Welcome to Last Chance gives us a warm but never sentimental view of small-town life, sprinkled with characters full of quirks and faults—all seen through the eyes of a tough but fragile heroine. Cathleen Armstrong has crafted a story to cherish.”
— Sarah Sundin , award-winning author of With Every Letter
“Armstrong’s style is as comfortable as a pair of well-worn jeans. Welcome to Last Chance welcomes readers into its pages for a relaxing, rewarding story about a girl looking for a better life and the life she finds in Last Chance.”
— Crosswalk.com
“Readers will enjoy the simplicity of Last Chance and the complexity of Lainie’s character.”
— New York Journal of Books
“Armstrong’s enjoyable debut will pull readers into the joys—and trials—of a small town.”
— RT Book Reviews
“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
“Cathleen Armstrong packs a lot into her debut novel: the suspense of danger lurking on the edges of Lainie Davis’s life, a touch of can-this-really-go-anywhere romance, small-town friendships becoming like family, and the disappointment of family being less than ideal. With an eclectic cast of characters and well-developed plot, Welcome to Last Chance pulls the reader in from the first blink of the warning light on the dashboard of Lainie’s car to the happily-ever-after waiting at the end of her last chance to get her life right.”
— Beth K. Vogt , author of Catch a Falling Star and Wish You Were Here
For Rebecca, Amy, Sarah, Jacob, Dylan, Eli, Luke, and Lydia Cathleen.
Thank you for the joy.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Praise for Welcome to Last Chance
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
26
27
A Special Peek at Book 3 in the Series
About the Author
Books by Cathleen Armstrong
Back Ads
Back Cover
1
T he day the new owner of the Dip ’n’ Dine tried to put line-caught trout dusted with blue cornmeal and lightly napped in a tricolor chile cream on the menu was the day his cook nearly hung up his apron for good.
“I don’t know who you think is going to cook that stuff, but it’s not going to be me.” Carlos Montoya folded his arms and leaned against his prep table.
Chris Reed looked out the window and sighed. Fayette had warned him when he bought the diner from her that he’d have to go slow if he wanted to change anything. And yes, he understood that people could get set in their ways. But for crying out loud, it had been weeks already. Six long weeks, in fact, of tiptoeing around the prima donna in the kitchen as if Chris were a none-too-bright busboy instead of the new owner. It was time to take charge. He raised himself up to his full six foot four and tried to make his smile warm yet authoritative.
“Let’s just give it a try. I have a feeling it’ll be a hit. If you’re right and it’s not, well, at least we tried to shake things up a little.”
“Some folks think things don’t need any shaking up. Some folks think things are just fine the way they are. But if you’re set on turning this place into some kind of fancy Santa Fe bistro, you just might have to find yourself another cook. Excuse me, better make that chef .” Carlos’s glare grew darker, and Chris noticed that Pete, the nephew who helped Carlos in the kitchen, edged closer to his uncle in a show of solidarity.
Chris opened his mouth, but before he could say another word, Juanita Sheppard, his part-time waitress and full-time interpreter of all things Last Chance, stuck her head in the kitchen. “Chris, we’ve got a little problem out here. Could I see you a minute?”
Chris took a last look at Carlos, now standing shoulder to shoulder with Pete. His own shoulders sagged and he shook his head as he pushed through the swinging door into the dining room of the Dip ’n’ Dine where Juanita was waiting for him.
Juanita glanced at the kitchen door and gestured for Chris to follow her to a far corner of the room. She waited till he was close enough to hear a whisper that was so loud Carlos could probably hear it too. “I hope you don’t mind my butting in, but I couldn’t help hearing you and Carlos talking in there.”
Chris didn’t say anything. Whether he minded Juanita butting in or not probably didn’t make much difference. He waited for her to say what was on her mind.
“Personally, I think that fish dish you were talking about sounds scrumptious. I’d order it in a minute.” Juanita put her hand on Chris’s arm. “And I think if you make just a couple changes, people will gobble it up, and Carlos might feel better about making it too.”
“Changes? Like what?” Chris tried to keep his voice even.
“Well, first of all, use yellow cornmeal. That blue stuff just looks nasty when it’s fried. Food was never meant to be that color. Then, instead of going to the work of making all those sauces, just stir pickle relish into some mayonnaise. Fast and easy and gourmet as you please.”
Chris just looked at Juanita.
She beamed. “So what do you think?”
“I think you’re talking about fried fish and tartar sauce.”
“Use your imagination, Chris. Fancy it up like you did with that blue corn stuff. I’m telling you, it’ll be a winner. And you’ll get to keep your cook.” She leaned in and lowered her whisper to a level only Chris could hear. “Fayette spoiled Carlos rotten, of course, but just between you and me, every restaurant within fifty miles of Last Chance has tried to take him away from here. He’s turned down every one because he liked working at the Dip ’n’ Dine. And he’s liked working here because no one ever got in his way. Just a word to the wise.”
The front door opened and Juanita patted his arm. “I’ve got customers that need tending. If I think of something, I’ll let you know. But I don’t think changing the menu is your answer. You’d probably wind up having to raise your prices, and that’ll just make folks mad.”
Chris sighed and straightened his shoulders before stopping by a table to say hello on his way to the kitchen. He could at least try to look like the owner, even if no one really believed it.
Carlos looked up from the pot of green chile stew he was stirring and glowered at Chris when he came through the door. Chris lifted his hand in a resigned wave. “Okay, Carlos, no blue corn trout. But keep an open mind, okay? Have you ever heard the saying, ‘Unless things change, they die’?”
Carlos went back to his stirring. “Can’t say I have, boss. But have you ever heard the saying, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’?” His grin softened his words, but Chris got the message. Things weren’t going to change much at the Dip ’n’ Dine, not with Carlos in the kitchen. He gritted his teeth and went to cross blue cornmeal off his food order. The row of cookbooks he had set up for inspiration on the shelf over his desk mocked him, and his dream of gradually turning the Dip ’n’ Dine into a destination restaurant seemed in danger of wafting away in the fragrant steam of green chile stew.
The bell on the front door jingled and Chris winced. That bell was one of the first things he had intended to deep-six when he took possession of his restaurant, but now he found himself second-guessing even that. Who might be offended and raise a ruckus if the door opened without that irritating jangle?
“Well, good morning, Elizabeth.” Juanita’s voice carried through the window into the kitchen. “And here’s our new college graduate. Congratulations, Miss Sarah.”
Chris half-raised from his chair to see Juanita hugging what appeared from the back to be a young teenager. She couldn’t have been much more than five feet tall, and if it weren’t for the cascade of dark curls around her shoulders, she could have been taken for a twelve-year-old boy. When Juanita let her go and she turned around and found Chris staring at her, he fell back in his chair like he had been caught spying. Smooth move, Reed . He rubbed his forehead. Handled just like the owner of a successful establishment . One thing’s for sure, though—that is no twelve -year-old boy .
“So what can I get you ladies?” Juanita’s voice carried into the kitchen.
“Gran and I both want the green chile stew. Carlos hasn’t changed his Monday special, has he?” The voice was surprisingly low and husky for such a tiny person.
“Not yet, but the way things are going, you never can tell.” Juanita’s conspiratorial whisper could be heard in every corner of the Dip ’n’ Dine. “Chris and Carlos had a dust-up just a while ago that left me wondering what might happen around here. You wouldn’t believe the stuff Chris wants to put on the menu.”
“Well, it can take a while to settle in when new management takes over.” Elizabeth Cooley’s wise old voice entered the conversation. “I’m sure they’ll get things all worked out before too long.”
“Well, I sure