TAKE A CHANCE (Chance Colorado Series) Read Online Free

keep him out of the car even longer.
    The clerk smiled a welcome as she approached the counter with her cans of soda.
    “Afternoon, ma’am. How can I help you?”
    Without being aware of exactly when it had happened, somewhere in the last couple of years she’d managed to transform from a miss to a ma’am. Considering that she felt like the most ancient twenty-five-year-old on the face of the planet today, the greeting fit.
    “Is there a restaurant you can recommend somewhere nearby? Maybe within walking distance?”
    “Everything in Scarlet Springs is pretty much within walking distance.” The young man behind the counter grinned. “Your best bet is Caribou Joe’s. You can’t miss it if you head down that way. Looks like a log cabin. And if you’re hanging out until later tonight, they always have some sort of live entertainment. I know that’s where I’ll be after I get off work.”
    “We’re not here to hang out,” Matt growled, suddenly standing at her side. “Just passing through, Romeo, so you can save the charm.” He dumped an armful of cellophane packages on the counter and turned from the clerk to her. “Jerky bonanza,” he explained, with the first real smile she’d seen in days.
    “I guess this means you don’t want to stop for a sit-down lunch?” she asked, handing over her much-used credit card to the red-faced clerk.
    “That’s right,” Matt confirmed as he ripped into one of the bags. “All I want is to get home in time to get rested up for tomorrow.”
    As if his words had reminded him of what awaited them when they reached their destination, his smile faded and he headed back outside, leaning heavily on his cane.
    The clerk refused to make eye contact as he handed back her card.
    “Sorry about my brother,” she muttered, her own cheeks feeling much warmer than they had been when she’d walked into the store. It hardly seemed enough to make up for Matt’s comment, but it was the best she had to offer.
    By the time Allie joined him in the car, Matt had his earphones in place and his tunes cranked up so loud she could hear a tinny thread of sound pulsing from his side of the car. Though his eyes were closed, the steady movement of his jaw as he chewed the jerky assured her he wasn’t sleeping. He simply didn’t want to talk.
    Not that she could blame him. Having to face everyone they’d ever known in Chance tomorrow morning at the dedication of the new community center was a daunting enough prospect for her. It had to be a hundred times worse for Matt. Add that worry to the frustrations he’d wrestled today when they’d visited Fort Logan military cemetery in Denver, and it was little wonder he was seeking escape. He had a lot on his mind.
    Back on the highway, Allie’s thoughts drifted over the path that had led her brother to this moment.
    Matt, Danny Collins and Logan O’Connor had been known as the Three Amigos since they’d become best friends in first grade. They’d done everything together, including going off to Boulder after they graduated from high school to attend college. But two years later, when Matt’s money ran out, Danny decided they should all drop out of school and join the Army. Only Logan remained behind to finish his education while Matt and Danny headed off to war.
    And now Danny was dead.
    Had Matt hopped out of that truck a step ahead of Danny to assist those wounded soldiers, they might be naming the community center after him tomorrow.
    Just thinking about the possibility made Allie’s stomach roll.
    She tightened her grip on the steering wheel to stop herself from reaching over to touch her brother’s arm to reassure herself that he indeed sat in the front seat of her little car, safe and whole.
    They’d come so close to losing him.
    These last few months had taught her how important her family was to her. Much more important than losing her job or a boyfriend who couldn’t be trusted the second she turned her back. Family was even more