Chance of a Lifetime by Jodi Thomas Page A

to hear what everyone’s writing.”
    She laughed. “I’d better get back.” Then, just to torture him, she added, “I’ll tell you every detail over dinner.”
    The second person to read was Geraldine. She was writing a romance set in Washington, D.C., right after the CivilWar. “There’s no hidden meaning or at least I haven’t found it. I just wanted to write a love story and thought the Civil War would make a good setting. It begins the day after Lincoln died.”
    With that she passed out copies and began. By the third page, her heroine was in bed with one of Grant’s captains and she had no idea how her character’s undergarments got off her lovely, well-rounded body.
    When she finished, Martha Q slapped the woman on the back and proclaimed her writing grand. “Only, honey,” she added, “underwear never just disappears—we just wish it would. You did a good job of the writing. I could believe I was right there in the sheets with the handsome captain.”
    Peter said it was interesting and Zack Hunter asked if she had any pages that they could take home and read ahead.
    Since they’d all now lived through a war and love scene together, the group seemed to relax. They talked about writing as if they’d all been hidden away writing for years and thought they were the only ones in town doing so.
    The odd mix of people bonded. When Zack read the first chapter of his mystery, everyone joined in to help him with the plot. He had a body at a train station but no clues. For a few minutes, clues were flying around the room like popcorn at a G-rated movie.
    At nine, Emily broke up the group. Zack shoved the last two cookies into his pocket and everyone hurried downstairs still talking.
    When she reached the desk, she saw Tannon smiling. “It went well?”
    “It went well,” she confirmed, then realized Tannon was behind the desk and not in front of it. “Where’s Pamela Sue?”
    “Her cat sitter called and said one of Pamela Sue’s cats ate an earring. Pamela Sue had to run home. Since it was a matter of life or death, I offered to take over. It was me, the janitor, or that kissing kid upstairs. Sam said he wouldn’tdo it because he used to date Martha Q in high school and he didn’t want to see her when she came down. I couldn’t ask the kid, so that left me no option.”
    “Thanks.” Emily smiled as she began turning off lights. “I should tell Sam not to worry about Martha Q. Half the town used to date her from what I understand.”
    Tannon followed her. “No, you don’t understand, Emily. I think the old guy still has a crush on her. I watched him stand out of sight and watch her leave before he left. I think he’s still sweet on her.”
    Emily laughed. “You sound like Pamela Sue. She’s always thinking people are daydreaming about lives they wish they had.”
    “Speaking of Pamela Sue”—here he furrowed his brow—“you should fire her. If I hadn’t been here, I think she would have simply left.”
    “She’s a volunteer.”
    “In her case, you got what you paid for.” He waited for Emily to collect the grocery bag she carried as a briefcase. “Can we go? I’m starving.”
    “Of course. Where are we going?”
    “We could drive out to the mall and try one of the fast-food places, or over to the highway for the truck stop, or we could go to the diner. It’s open for another hour or so.”
    “The diner.” She smiled. “I haven’t been there in years. Do they still have chili fries with cheese?”
    “Of course.” As they locked up, he added, “Where do you usually go?”
    “I never eat out. When I was in college, money was tight and I got in the habit of cooking. My only eating out is the bakery for a muffin.” She didn’t add that people always gave her sad looks when they saw her eating alone. Men could ask for a table for one and have a meal in peace, but the public seemed to think women should travel in groups.
    “You live a wild life, Emily Tomlinson,” Tanner