A Second Helping Read Online Free Page A

great.”
    â€œBut who eats green beans and almonds for breakfast?” he asked pointedly.
    â€œYou have a point. This is good, though.”
    He sighed.
    â€œOkay, but I wouldn’t mind having this for dinner.”
    He eyed her critically.
    â€œI wouldn’t,” she told him as she tasted another small bite. “The girl can cook.”
    But she could tell Malachi wasn’t buying when he said, “Tell that to the people who wanted pancakes and waffles Saturday morning and were served some kind of spinach instead.”
    â€œSpinach?” she asked dubiously.
    â€œAt least it looked like spinach. Nobody’s real sure what it was.”
    â€œDid you ask her?”
    â€œYep. Told me if I had to ask, maybe I should sell theplace to somebody who did know. Almost fired her on the spot, but decided to see if you could get through to her. She also told folks that if they didn’t like what was on the menu, to eat someplace else, because it was her kitchen.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œIf I’m lying, I’m flying.”
    â€œOkay, we’ll talk to her. I was just cracking some eggs. You want an omelet?”
    â€œAs long as it’s made out of something I can pronounce.”
    Grinning, she went back to the fridge to get more eggs.
    Â 
    Like everyone else on the plains, Bernadine drove a pickup truck. A blue Ford F–150 she named Baby. Being a truck owner wasn’t something she’d ever envisioned, but becoming a resident of Henry Adams had altered her thinking on a number of things. Take the lifestyle, for example. She was finding she enjoyed the slow life. The lack of pace encouraged a person to breathe and relax. Slowing down appeared to be helping her health as well. The checkup she’d had at her doctor’s office before flying to Barcelona showed her blood pressure had dropped. All the walking she’d been doing with Lily on the rec center’s outdoor track had decreased her sugar levels as well, which according to the doc made her less likely to contract the diabetes that killed her mother. Another blessing of small-town living: good health.
    But what wasn’t good for her health were what passed for roads in the rural community. She held on tightly to the steering wheel in response to all the potholes. The early spring’s changeable weather made the dirt and gravel track freeze one minute and thaw the next, leaving behinda muddy, crater-filled mess. As she bumped along behind Malachi driving ahead of her in his ’57 red Ford pickup, she gave thanks for the inventor of seat belts and prayed her teeth wouldn’t rattle loose before they reached the D&C.
    As they entered town proper the ride leveled off, and she sighed gratefully as they turned onto Main Street. She slowed as she drove past the new recreation center. It was a state-of-the-art, sand-colored beauty built low to the ground because they lived in Tornado Alley. It housed a movie theater, kitchen, exercise facilities, and rooms for groups to meet. She spotted a few familiar cars and dusty pickups in the lot. Pleased that things at the center seemed normal at least, she drove on.
    Next up, and on the same side of the street, sat the new school. Schools gave small towns a sense of community, but Henry Adams hadn’t had one in decades, so this one was going to be very special. It hadn’t been named yet, but she hoped it would be in time for next Monday’s grand opening and the arrival of the newly hired teacher, a man named Jack James.
    They rolled past the old Henry Adams Hotel that had once been a town gem, and pulled into the newly paved parking lot of the D&C. Last summer when Bernadine got her first look at the diner, it had been a listing, tarp-covered dive. Its red leather booths had been patched with silver duct tape, the ceiling had holes, and only a few of the bare bulbs hanging from the rafters worked. Now it was new again and the interior had a