One Thursday Morning: Inspirational Christian Romance (Diamond Lake Series Book 1) Read Free Page A

else?”
    “No. I think we’re good for now,” the father said with a smile. How come I can’t find a guy like that? Being in my late twenties, I was starting to notice a trend in a world outside of marriage. All the good guys were married, and anybody who wasn’t . . . usually wasn’t for a reason.
    “Enjoy. I’ll be back in a bit to check on you,” I replied and left the table. The front door chimed, and I saw a couple that were regulars walk in—Sue and Frank. I held my breath a little as I watched them walk into my section minutes before I was scheduled to leave. My love for them ran deep, but my legs were exhausted. Seeing the couple sit down at a booth in my section, I scraped the bottom of my barrel of energy and pushed a smile out. Taking my pencil from behind my ear and the order pad from my apron, I walked over to them.
    “Who let you two in here?” I asked jokingly.
    They both laughed, and Frank asked, “How have you been holding up, Amy?” He was an older man who always wore an oil-stained, ragged hat and was missing a few of his teeth. He was, by far, one of the kindest people that I had met in Newport, always curious about my well-being and worried about me living out at the end of Piker’s Drive, a gravel road just on the outskirts of town.
    “Good,” I replied as I tilted my head and flashed my smile to Sue. “Milo is good too. He’s kind of an odd cat, but it’s nice to have someone around.”
    Sue smiled back at me and then proceeded to say, “You should really get out to some of the community events more. Lots of the women around town go to them, and maybe you’ll even meet a guy. You never know.”
    I kept my smile, even though my thoughts were anything but happy. “Thank you. We’ll see. The usual for you two?”
    “That’d be great,” Frank said.
    Jotting down their usual meatloaf and potatoes meal for the both of them, I turned and left the table. On the way back, I saw Miley at a table apologizing for a mix-up of some kind of order, and I laughed a little inside. Gotta love when that happens. Diego was on the line behind the server window and saw me attach the order slip to a clip above.
    “Good evening. How’s the battlefield?” he asked as he slid a hamburger patty onto a bun. Diego was a kind older man with a little mustache who worked hard to provide for his four children and wife at home. Dixie’s Diner wasn’t the only place he worked. He put quite a few hours in down at Lucky’s Automotive too.
    “It’s busy tonight,” I replied as I glanced over my shoulder at the packed out diner. “Guess that’s all due to your mouth watering food.”
    He smiled and looked up at me for a moment. “I told you already, Amy. You can have the car. There’s no reason to butter me up with compliments.”
    “C’mon. Just take the five hundred, Diego. I don’t want it for free. I know you have mouths to feed.”
    He laughed. “You just can’t let someone do something nice for you. Can you?” It was true. I couldn’t. I felt an overwhelming desire to work for anything and everything that came my way after leaving John. I didn’t want handouts. After a moment of quiet, he said, “ Fine. I’ll take the money. But you come to me for repairs if you need it.”
    “Amy,” the manager, Wendy, said from behind me. Whirling around, I gripped the counter behind me and squeezed. She wasn’t the most pleasant woman to work for, and intimidating didn’t begin to describe her. A giant at a staggering six feet nine inches tall, she towered over anyone and everything around her. Once, making a joke about her relation to the fast food Wendy’s girl had landed me with hours cut for the next month. She’s all-around mean, but word on the street was she had good reason. Her husband of twenty years left her for his secretary—so cliché.
    “Yes?” I asked.
    “Number fourteen needs refills. Their cups are empty.” Her tone was direct and flat. It was always that way.
    Nodding, I