Where the Heart is (Interracial with Baby) (BWWM) Read Free Page A

asked, glancing at her and then back at the grill.
    "Today wasn't one of her good days, let's just say," Jamie replied. "She's gonna have to go back in for another round of tests or something, I guess. I dunno what's making her so tired, but just getting her out of bed is starting to become a struggle."
    Sal made a sympathetic noise. "She's a strong lady, Adelaide is," he said, nodding his head. "She'll pull through."
    Jamie gave him a wan smile. She appreciated the optimism, but she'd been preparing herself for the reality that one day she would let herself into the house and her mother wouldn't be there anymore for a long time. There wasn't a cure for her mother out there, and she knew that. Anytime they had together was borrowed at this point, and there was very little anyone could do about that.
    Wishing otherwise would just make things worse when the inevitable came to pass and she had to deal with how much it was going to hurt.
    But now wasn't the time to think about that.
    Now was the time to tuck her order book into the pocket of her apron, stick a pencil behind her ear, and put on her 'I would be thrilled to serve you' smile.'
    The sound of a tray crashing to the floor made her jump, and she peered out the kitchen window to see Megan scrambling to pick up a tray loaded with silverware. She and Sal exchanged a glance and Jamie shook her head.
    It was going to be a long night at this rate.
    She dove into the fray, sidestepping Megan and going over to her table, smile in place, pencil poised and ready to take down orders. "Hi," she said. "Welcome to The Pit. I'm Jamie, and I'll be taking care of you this evening. What can I get you to drink?"
    It was a familiar speech, and one that she said about thirty times a day when she was working a full shift. Sometimes more. It was ingrained in her head so well that she didn't even have to think about it anymore. Just replace the time of day, rattle it off, and wait.
    Her table, full of tired looking twenty somethings, clearly on their way to or from some kind of road trip, probably home for the holidays and just passing through, ordered coffee and sodas, and Jamie made a note on her pad to pour them the extra strong stuff. She winked at the one who had his head on the table and a yawn cracking his jaws and recommended the chili. "So spicy, it'll wake you right up," she said, before dashing off to take the drink orders of the next three tables so she could fill them all at once.
    She'd worked out a system in the six years she'd been working at The Pit, and it served her well. Drinks were easy to bring out, keep an eye on the cups for refills, serve people in a line.
    Jamie had been working at the diner since she'd started community college, and while it wasn't anywhere close to what she wanted to do with her life, the money was alright, the tips were excellent, and it kept her in enough free food that her grocery bill was the smallest thing she had to pay.
    It also had flexible enough hours that if her mother needed her, she could move her schedule around easily.
    She liked most of the people she worked with, Megan not withstanding, and it wasn't a job that took a lot of mental energy, though by the end of the night her feet were going to be killing her.
    "Hey, Jamie," said Adam, one of the cooks who worked under Sal. "What're you doing after your shift?"
    Jamie made a face at him. "Well, since I don't get off until midnight, I think that's pretty obvious," she said as she poured sixteen cups of coffee.
    "Hot date?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her, leaning against the counter while she arranged her trays.
    "Oh, yeah. Steamy even. It's gonna be long and I'm gonna be naked in under five minutes."
    It was sort of hilarious how caught off guard Adam looked, and Jamie rolled her eyes, hefting the tray with practiced ease. "Because I'm going to go home and take a long bath, idiot," she said, flashing him a smile and heading back out to deliver her drinks.
    "He wants to bone you so hard,"