Last Chance Hero

by Cathleen Armstrong

  “Nothing!”

  It was clear to Andy that Jess did not want to talk any further about her trip to the bookstore, and it must have been clear to Chris as well, as he appeared in the window to the kitchen and hit the bell with the palm of his hand.

  Juanita rolled her eyes and huffed a loud sigh. “Good night, nurse, Chris. What now? I’m just handing the doctor a menu. Is that allowed? And I know that she doesn’t have to explain her reading selections to anyone. She’s over twenty-one.”

  By now everyone in the diner was following the conversation with undisguised interest. Andy almost felt sorry for Jess, whose cheeks were beginning to match the color of her hair.

  “You know, I don’t think I’ll have time for lunch after all.” Jess got up to go, and as she fumbled with her purse, the bag fell to the floor and her book slid out.

  “Good night, is that what you were all mysterious about?” Juanita picked it up and handed it to her. “Here I thought you had picked up some X-rated romance novel, and all you got was Football for the Clueless.”

  18

  When Eva brought Marta Quintana back to talk to Jess, she was as pleasant and proficient as Jess had ever seen her. In fact, since Jess had told her that Marta would be coming in today and why, Eva had been practically singing, and Jess was beginning to remember why she had asked for Eva in the first place.

  “Dr. MacLeod, Marta Quintana is here to see you.” Eva stood in the doorway after ushering Marta into Jess’s office. “And since we don’t have any more patients today, is it all right if I close up and go home?”

  “Sure. Go ahead.” The question and the reply had become automatic with daily use, and Jess barely glanced Eva’s way as she rose from her desk to greet Marta Quintana.

  The door closed behind Eva but promptly opened again as she stuck her head back in. “Good luck, Marta!”

  This time Jess did frown at her, but if Eva noticed her annoyance, she gave no sign. She just wiggled her fingers in a wave, smiled, and closed the door again.

  Jess gestured to the chair in front of her desk as she sat down again. “As you can probably guess, Eva has high hopes for this interview.”

  “Eva is a nice girl.” Marta’s smile was warm and kind. “I know her mother. She dated my older brother a long time ago.”

  Of course she did. Jess had the distinct impression that if she started tugging on the string intertwined through Last Chance families, she’d find a continuous thread that bound everyone to everyone else.

  “I was really impressed with your résumé, Marta.” Jess tapped the document in front of her. “What made you go into nursing?”

  “I don’t know if Gabe told you or not, but my husband is serving a life term in the state penitentiary.” Marta’s voice was as serene as if she were discussing the weather. “When I understood that I was going to be the sole provider for our family, I knew I had to prepare for that, and since I had always wanted to be a doctor—just like Gabe—I packed up the kids and we all went to El Paso so I could go to school.”

  “El Paso?” Jess tried to keep her voice and her expression free from astonishment.

  “My parents had moved to El Paso, so we all piled in on them.” Marta laughed a little. “Of course, there was no way I could have become a doctor, not at this point, and not with five kids I needed to take care of. So I went into nursing and became an LPN. It was a good decision.”

  It didn’t take more than a few more questions for Jess to realize that her original instincts had been right: she really did want Marta working with her here at the Last Chance office. She went ahead with every question on the list she had made for herself anyway, making notes as she did. Marta was the first person she had ever interviewed and would be her first employee. It was important that she get this right, and if Marta never got a clue that Jess didn’t do this every day, well, that would be okay too.

  When Marta left a half hour later with the promise that a written offer would follow the verbal one, it took a little doing for Jess to merely walk Marta to the door in a dignified, professional manner and not click her heels and offer a high five. First of all, she was hiring what appeared to be an outstanding office assistant with deep ties to Last Chance. Second, it was gratifying to see Marta so pleased to be able to work for her, in the daytime and near her kids. And finally, though it paled in importance compared to reasons one and two, Jess was not going to have to tell Eva that her escape from Last Chance had been delayed.

  Marta stopped at the door and squeezed Jess’s hand. “Thank you again for helping Gabe. Do you really think he can become a doctor?”

  “I know he can. No question.” Jess chose her words carefully. “He’s smart enough, focused enough, and I don’t need to tell you what a hard worker he is. But I know I also don’t need to tell you, of all people, that it’s not going to be easy. He’s got a long journey ahead, and there are so many things that could derail his plans along the way.”

  “Not with me for his mother.” Marta lifted her chin. “I can’t make it easier for him to get there, but I can make it impossible for him to give up.”

  After seeing her out, Jess turned out the lights in the waiting room and smiled to herself as she headed back down the hall. She knew Gabe was headed for medical school. Anything else was just not an option.

  It wasn’t late but was already nearly dark when Jess let herself out the back door of her office. The wind that had rattled the windows all afternoon had died down, leaving the evening cold and still. Jess pulled her coat tighter as she got in her car. It was a good night for a fire.

  She had just touched match to kindling and sat back on her heels to watch the flames lick at the piñon logs stacked there when her phone rang.

  “Hey there, are you home yet?” Sarah always sounded like she had something exciting going on.

  “Just walked in a minute ago.”

  “Good. I didn’t want to bother you at work. What are you doing Friday night?”

  “I don’t have any plans. Why? Has The House Down the Road 5 come out?” Jess sat cross-legged on her couch and tucked a cushion behind her back.

  “No, that doesn’t come out till next spring. Anyway, that’s not why I called. There’s a home game this week, and we’re meeting Lainie and Ray at halftime. Come with us.”

  Jess let her head drop back and gazed up at the ceiling. People should not begin conversations by saying, “What are you doing this weekend?” They should tell you what they have in mind straight off the bat so you can say, “Oh, I’d love to, but I’m having a migraine that day.”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Sarah. It’s going to be cold and windy and dark. And I won’t know what’s going on.”

  “Then read your book. You have plenty of time before Friday to at least get a general idea.”

  “My book.” Jess had been cringing with embarrassment every time she thought of her noontime encounter with Juanita. Of course, Andy had been there to witness it. She felt her face flaming again.

  “Chris told me all about it. If it will make you feel any better, Chris really raked Juanita over the coals this time, and Juanita actually feels bad that you left. I know this for a fact because I asked Chris if she threatened to quit, and he said no. She just hopes you come back so she can say she’s sorry. And I have never heard Juanita say she’s sorry for anything.”

  Jess closed her eyes. One of two things was going to happen, and happen soon. She was going to understand, and even embrace, the fact that there were no secrets in Last Chance, or she was going to call her mother’s friend Moira Conner and talk to her about coming back to Mill Valley.

  “Jess? Are you there? Are you okay?”

  “I’m here.” Jess sighed. “Just trying to get used to running down Main Street naked, that’s all.”

  “Really? Oh, girl, that was nothing—other than it made Chris really mad. No one but you even remembers it.”

  “You did.”

  “Mainly what I remembered was that you had a book on football.
If I had thought about the rest, I may not have mentioned it. Now, can you come with us to the game?”

  “Okay. Sure. I’ll go.” Jess realized she had spoken mostly to change the subject, but the damage had been done. She had agreed to go to a football game—and sit in the cold and the dark and the wind, watching a bunch of high school kids run into each other and fall down, while she tried not to notice the coach.

  “Oh, good. Since Chris and I can’t get there till halftime, Ray and Lainie will pick you up. You’ll have a much better time knowing what’s going on if you watch it from the beginning. And then afterward, we’re all going over to Gran’s for coffee. She can’t go to the games anymore, but she still likes a play-by-play account as soon as she can get one.”

  “Seriously?” Jess shook her head. “I can’t get over the fact that Elizabeth, of all people, is a football fan.”

  “Gran? Oh, yes. She never used to miss. Of course, most years she had a family member on the team, starting with my dad and uncle and moving on to my brother and my cousins. Now I’ve got some nephews headed that direction, but I think Gran’s days of going herself are over now. That’s why she looks forward to us rehashing the game with her.”

  “You know? That actually sounds like the best part. At least we’ll be inside and warm.”

  After Sarah hung up, Jess pulled a throw over herself and snuggled down on the sofa to watch the flames crackling in the fireplace. It looked like she was going to a football game on Friday, in spite of herself. It wasn’t that she hated football—how could she? She’d never even been to a game. It was simply that she’d never wanted to. There were always too many other things that she’d rather be doing. But Last Chance didn’t seem to understand that. And the more she tried to explain that she just didn’t care about the game, the more everyone seemed bent on getting her to one, until what began as mild disinterest had mushroomed into common knowledge shared by all of Last Chance: Dr. Jess MacLeod hates football.

  “How did you do on your chem test?” Jess popped into her office, where Gabe was already studying, between patients the next day.

  “Aced it.” He looked up with a grin.

  “Hey!” Jess held up her hand for a high five. “That’s what I want to hear. And do you feel good about the calculus quiz coming up tomorrow?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. Sure. Calculus is my favorite subject.”

  “Seriously? It was mine too, when I was in high school. In fact, I was a real math geek. I used to joke about making a sign that said ‘Will solve math problems for food’ and taking it on the road. Fortunately for both of us, math aptitude is a good thing to have if you’re going to medical school.”

  “Good.” He nodded absently and went back to his book. The boy was not easily distracted, perhaps the result of having to study while caring for four younger siblings.

  “Gabe, I need to talk to you a minute. I won’t keep you from your studies long.” Jess sat down in the chair next to his. After a second or two, he looked up, a frown of concentration still furrowing his eyebrows. “First let me take a look at your cut.” She took his chin between her thumb and forefinger and turned it so she could better examine him. “That’s healing well. Good.” She rested one elbow on the table and propped her chin on it. “I had a talk with Coach Ryan the other day.”

  Now she did have his attention. He put down his pencil.

  “He told me that quitting the team in the middle of the season is a really big deal. That it’s not something you do just because you feel like it.”

  He ducked his head. “I didn’t do it because I just felt like it. I did it because I need to make straight A’s, like you said.”

  “I know that, and believe it or not, Coach Ryan knows that too. But he posed an interesting question.”

  Gabe looked up and fastened his gaze on Jess’s face.

  She took a deep breath. “He asked me if playing three or four more football games during your senior year in high school was really going to make the difference between your going to medical school or doing something else with your life. After thinking about it, I have to say no, or at least, it doesn’t have to. What do you think? We’re talking about a month here. Do you think you can play and still make your A’s?”

  “Yes.” His answer came immediately. “Yes, I can. I know I can.”

  Jess leaned back and folded her arms. “Then it’s your decision, Gabe. You know what you can do. And from what I’ve seen since we first talked, it’s pretty much anything you set your mind to. But you still need to wait at least a week before you go back to practice. Are we clear on that?”

  “We’re clear.”

  Gabe picked up his pencil and went back to his books. Within moments, his concentration appeared as deep as if she had never spoken. Jess watched him for a moment before quietly letting herself out of the office. No problems there. She could help him with his college applications, perhaps, and she did know about scholarships and loans, but now that Gabe knew what was required to get those scholarships, she had no doubt that he would come through.

  Friday was a shirtsleeve day: warm, sunny, and spicy with the scent of chile, even though the harvest was over. Whether it was the mellow warmth of the day or the anticipation of spending an evening out with friends—even if it was at a football game—Jess found she was singing to herself and glancing at her watch almost as much as Eva looked at hers.

  Even though the sun had gone down by the time she drove into her own driveway, the warmth of the day still lingered just beneath the cool breeze that gusted through the trees on her street and ruffled her hair when she got out of her car. Checking her watch yet again, Jess trotted into the house and down the hall to her room, where she started digging around in her closet. She had fifteen minutes to get ready before Ray and Lainie came to pick her up, and this beautiful day didn’t fool her one bit. She was going to dress warm.

  She was sitting on a front porch chair with one foot tucked up when Ray’s pickup slowed to a stop in front of her house.

  “Did you see the sunset tonight?” Lainie scooted over to the middle of the seat to make room for Jess. “It was absolutely breathtaking. I’ve been here for over two years now and I cannot get used to them. I don’t think Ray even sees them anymore.”

  “You cut me to the quick, woman.” Ray turned onto Main Street and headed south, where the glow of stadium lights lit the sky. “I paint landscapes, in case you hadn’t noticed. And you might find a sunset or two among them, if you look real carefully.”

  “Oh. Yeah. I forgot.” Lainie didn’t sound the slightest bit embarrassed. “I guess you have to look at them to paint them, don’t you? But what I mean is, do you ever just sit and take it all in? Just let all those rich colors feed your soul?”

  “Nah. I just throw a little red paint on, a little yellow and pink. It all pretty much looks the same.”

  Lainie nudged Jess. “I think I’d better quit while I’m ahead.”

  “Too late. The last you were ahead was when you said the sunset tonight was pretty. It’s pretty much been all downhill from then.” Ray kept his eyes on the road.

  “Oh, but you’re not going to be mad, are you?” Lainie leaned her head on his shoulder and looked up at him. “I’m too cute to be mad at, and besides, I’m the mother of your child.”

  Ray glanced down at her. “Boy, you play rough, don’t you? You think just because you’re cute and you’re going to be a mother, I can’t be mad?”

  “That’s right.” She looked up at him and batted her eyes.

  “Well, I guess you have a point.”

  He turned past a bronze statue of a snarling puma mounted on a six-foot pedestal and a marquee announcing the dates of homecoming and drove down a long asphalt driveway, toward the banks of lights that towered over the school and the stadium behind it. The dirt parking lot was already nearly full, but Ray found a spot to park, and the three of them, with Ray in the lead, headed into the stadium.

  Jess stopped and stared. No wonder every
one always sounded surprised when she said she wasn’t going to the game. The stands were filled. Jess had no idea there were that many people in Last Chance and that every last one of them would be at the game.

  “I don’t know how Chris and Sarah will ever find us.” Jess couldn’t take her eyes off the crowd. The population sign on the edge of town said seven hundred something, but there were way more than that in the stands. “I guess they can call from the parking lot and one of us can go get them.”

  “Oh, they’ll know where to look.” Ray took Lainie’s arm as they began to climb the stands. “It’s like church; everyone has their own spot. And the Cooleys have been sitting about a third of the way up on the scoreboard forty since before my time.”

  “Scoreboard forty?” Jess muttered under her breath to Lainie.

  “The forty yard line. See the white markings? And on the side of the fifty that has the scoreboard. See? That’s the scoreboard, so we sit about a third of the way up right here.”

  Jess followed them both up the concrete steps to the row a third of the way up that was indeed empty, or nearly so, as if it had been awaiting their arrival.

  “Oh my goodness! Look who’s here!” Lainie entered the row and threw her arms around a tall blond man standing next to Kaitlyn. “When did you get in?”

  Jess hadn’t seen Kaitlyn until Lainie spoke, since she had been walking behind Lainie and Ray, but even without an introduction, she was willing to take a wild guess and say that this was Steven.

  “And why didn’t you tell us you were coming?” Ray reached across Lainie to hug his brother.

  “Taking your questions in order. I got in around noon, and I didn’t say anything because I wanted to see Kaitlyn for a little while before anyone knew I was home.”