A Chance of a Lifetime Read Free Page B

hands and said grace, a short prayer that had survived at least four generations in the Pickering family, then dug into their food. It tasted even better than it had sounded.
    They chatted about nothing: the weather, the gifts she’d bought for her friend Ilena’s baby boy, John, the presents they would ship to family back in South Carolina, the Halloween decorations that were spookifying the house before coming down next week. The room was so cozy, the food so comforting, that Bennie was slowly being lulled into lazy, hazy contentment. Then Mama pushed her empty bowl away, folded her arms on the tabletop, and leaned toward Bennie. “I talked to Emmeline Sweet just before you got back.”
    So much for contentment. All it took was one mention of Calvin’s family and, poof, the turmoil returned. She tried to hide it, to act casually as she picked up her own empty bowl and carried it, along with Mama’s, to the sink. “How is Miss Emmeline?”
    Mama didn’t answer but went straight to the point. “Her grandson’s back in town.”
    *  *  *
    Joe Cadore stood in front of the refrigerator, bent at the waist, searching for something worth eating for dinner, and had no more luck than the last two times he’d looked. There was yogurt, protein drinks, eggs, fruit, milk, and cheese—all perfectly fine in their place, but their place was not on a dreary, freezing Saturday night. This was a time for comfort foods like his mom’s homemade macaroni and cheese, or Dad’s chili and jalapeño corn bread, or Grandma’s pasta Bolognese.
    This was a time for his neighbor Lucy’s home cooking.
    He looked out the window over the kitchen sink and watched the ice where it glistened on tree branches and fence wires. Lucy could have plans that didn’t include a self-invited guest. She could even be on a date. Everyone had grown so used to her single status that when she’d started dating the doctor jerk from Tulsa last summer, none of them was as shocked as she was, not even Joe. Thank God, the doc had hooked up with Avi Grant and moved out of state with her last month.
    Just because the doc was gone, though, didn’t mean there weren’t plenty of other guys out there waiting for their shot at Lucy. She’d be the type to meet cute—someone changing a flat for her, helping her out of a tough spot, or reaching for the same loaf of bread she did—and boom .
    Joe’s feet had grown cold on the wood floor, and the reflection looking back at him in the window wore a scowl. Grabbing a protein drink and an orange, he returned to the living room, sliding over the back of the couch, landing on the cushions just as his phone rang. What his nieces called his grouchy face disappeared the instant he checked Caller ID, a grin taking its place. “Hey, Luce.”
    “Have you had dinner yet?”
    He set the fruit and drink on the coffee table. “Nope. I looked in the refrigerator three times, and there was nothing to eat in there.”
    “You know, there are times when protein drinks and fruit just don’t make the grade.”
    “Yeah, I know.”
    She laughed, and he thought it was one of the best sounds in the world. She hadn’t laughed a lot in the beginning, still mourning her husband, trying to figure out how her perfect life had come to such a screeching halt. But eventually the laughs had returned, and the smiles and the grins, and they’d grown a topflight friendship. She was the easiest woman to be with that he’d ever known—the sweetest, funniest, most giving. The time spent with her was the highlight of his life. Well, along with the time spent on the football field. And with his family. But, yeah, Luce definitely ranked in the top three.
    Her voice interrupted his thoughts. “…beef and cabbage stew and a loaf of peasant bread still warm from the oven, if you want to join me.”
    He definitely wanted. But he kept his tone casual. “And all I have to do is…What? Persuade Norton to go out in the sleet and do his