A Pizza to Die For Read Online Free PDF Page B

think that would be a draw?” I asked.
    Josh shrugged, but Maddy answered, instead. “If we play it right, it could. We can put the winner’s name in the window, and make a big deal out of it. Kids from the high school would love it, and even some of your older customers might get a kick out of having their names up on the wall. We can even keep track of the winners by keeping a master list posted all the time. I like it, Josh.”
    I nodded and looked at Greg. “What do you think?”
    He looked reluctant to respond, so I said, “Now’s the time to voice any concerns, before we do something that turns out to be a mistake.”
    Greg nodded, and then said, “It’s a great idea, but I’m not sure it will make enough of a difference to keep us afloat.”
    “It’s a start, though,” I said. “Good job, Josh.”
    I saw our pizza coming out of the oven, so I said, “Let’s take this back out front. Maddy, if you’ll grab some drinks, I’ll bring this. Are you sure you don’t want to join us, Greg?”
    He looked at the bubbling cheese and the golden brown crust and said, “Maybe I’ll have one slice.”
    “I’ll have one, too,” Josh said.
    I looked at the platter and saw that Maddy’s abomination was gone. “I think you’ve had enough for one meal,” I said with a laugh.
    “Hey, I’m a growing boy.”
    “Let’s just make sure the direction you’re growing isn’t out.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”
    The mood was lighter, which was what I’d been trying for, and I was beginning to feel that things weren’t quite as hopeless as I’d felt earlier.

    We opened for dinner as soon as we’d finished cleaning up our own mess, and I was making the fourth order when I heard a commotion out front. What on earth was going on now? I slid the latest pizza onto the conveyor and walked out.
    Judson Sizemore was in the middle of my pizzeria, handing out what had to be notices of his grand opening.
    It appeared that he wasn’t going to wait for me to attack first.
    He was coming straight for me before I had a chance to do a thing.
    “You need to leave,” I said as I approached him.
    “I already told him that,” Maddy said, her face flushed with anger. “He says it’s a free country, and he can do whatever he wants.”
    Greg started toward him as he said, “If you won’t leave on your own, I’ll give you a hand.”
    I looked around the restaurant to see who was witnessing this confrontation. Among the regulars were several townsfolk, and in particular, Karen Green, a woman who ate with us every day we were open. She, along with just about everyone else, looked dismayed by the scene, and I couldn’t blame any of them.
    “Nobody’s going to do anything,” I said firmly, stepping between Greg and Judson. “Josh, call your father. Tell him that we have a trespasser on our premises who refuses to leave.”
    “With pleasure,” Josh said as he pulled out his cell phone.
    “This is a public restaurant,” Judson said loudly. “I have as much right to be here as anyone else.”
    I pointed to a sign near the register that we’d had posted since we’d opened. “Think again. We have the right to refuse service to anyone we choose for whatever reason, and we’re invoking it right now. You’re not welcome here, and that’s the last time I’m going to ask you nicely.”
    “What are you going to do, turn your goon on me?” Judson didn’t look the least bit afraid. All it would take would be a nod from me, and the stranger would find himself suddenly sitting on the sidewalk out front wondering how it had happened so quickly.
    “We don’t need Greg,” Maddy said with grim determination. “I’ll kick his scrawny little carcass out of here myself. What do you say, Judson? Care to get your tail whipped by a woman?”
    I was trying to head her off when I saw Kevin Hurley walk in. I was rarely happy to see our police chief in my pizzeria, but this time I was tempted to give him a giant