Last Chance Hero Read Online Free PDF Page A

her introduction to the town earlier that day, he felt kind of bad. Oh, they had been friendly enough, and Last Chance was probably a lot more welcoming than a lot of small towns, when you got down to it, but they did have to look you over a bit first, bide their time before they made up their minds about you. Clearly, Jess hadn’t been quite ready for that, and Andy was glad that Lainie, a newcomer herself by Last Chance standards, had cut right through all that reticence and was making Jess feel right at home—at least he hoped Jess was beginning to feel at home. He certainly wanted her to.
    â€œSo, what do you do, Lainie?”
    Andy winced a little. The question, the first one asked in so many places, was not so common in Last Chance. In the first place, everybody pretty much knew what everybody else did, and in the second, what you did just wasn’t the most interesting thing about you. But Lainie seemed to take it in stride.
    â€œI work here, actually. The woman who owned the Dip ’n’ Dine before Chris gave me a job when I first got here, and I just lovethe place. If Times Square is the crossroads of the world, the Dip ’n’ Dine is the crossroads of this whole area. Take a booth in the corner, and you’ll see everyone from miles around pass through.”
    â€œHere you go.” Kaitlyn was back and placed the plate she was carrying in front of Andy. “And what can I bring you?”
    She smiled down at Jess, who looked around and shrugged. “Menu?”
    â€œCombination plate or rellenos?” Lainie, Ray, and Andy spoke in unison with Kaitlyn.
    â€œBut the word is that rellenos is the dish to order,” Andy finished up.
    Jess eyed the dish in front of him and nodded. “Looks good. I’ll have that too.”
    â€œHere, take mine.” Andy set the plate in front of her and looked up at Kaitlyn. “Just bring me another like it.”
    â€œNo, no. This is yours.” Jess began to protest.
    â€œIt’s fine. It won’t take Kaitlyn a minute to bring me one, will it, Kaitlyn?”
    â€œI wouldn’t dream of taking your dinner.” Jess set the plate back in front of him with a little thump and turned her crinkly-eyed smile back up at Kaitlyn. “And take your time. No need to rush.”
    Andy sat back, not knowing quite what to do. He had been raised with “ladies first” and “don’t eat until everyone is served.” Now here he sat with a plate of cooling food in front of him while the lady sitting next to him had just told the server to take her time.
    â€œYou eat that while it’s hot.” Jess jabbed a finger at his plate. She sounded awful bossy, but her eyes still smiled. “My dinner will be here soon enough.”
    â€œIf I were you, I’d do what she said.” Ray nudged him with his elbow. “Times are a-changing, even here in Last Chance.”
    Andy shrugged and picked up his fork as Jess picked up the conversation that had been interrupted by the arrival of his dinner.
    â€œSo, I have to ask. If you love working here and everyone connected to the place or the family is working this fiesta, how come you’re not?”
    Lainie slid a glare toward Ray. “Because Ray and his grandmother, who we live with, ganged up on me, that’s why. They say if I’m on my feet during working hours, I need to be off my feet when my shift is over.”
    â€œWell, congratulations!” Jess’s face lit up, and Andy noticed that when she really smiled, her eyes almost crinkled shut. But he still had no idea what they were talking about. “But you know, they’ve got a point. First trimester?”
    Lainie nodded. “Ten weeks.”
    Ooooh . Andy got it. And fervently hoped this wasn’t going to be that kind of conversation.
    â€œAll the more reason to get as much rest as you can. You’ve got a big job ahead of you.”
    Andy was of two minds. As Jess