At Home in Last Chance

by Cathleen Armstrong

  “Man, you don’t waste any time, do you?” Ray tossed his hat on the piano.

  Kaitlyn looked from one to the other. “What?”

  “Just come see.” Steven held his hand out. “We should go now while it’s still light.”

  She still made no move to get up. “What’s going on?”

  “Oh, go ahead and go.” Elizabeth slipped her arm around Olivia. “We’re doing fine here. I’m not a bit tired. They’ve had me doing laps around that nursing home nonstop, don’t forget. This is the most restful day I’ve had in weeks.”

  “Okay.” Kaitlyn took the hand Steven held out to her, and he pulled her to her feet. “We can’t be gone long, though. Livvy needs to get home and start her homework.”

  “All right, let’s go then.” Steven helped her into her coat and ushered her out the front door into the wind.

  “Where are we going?” Kaitlyn clutched her coat around her. “Why are you being so mysterious?”

  But Steven clearly had said all he was going to say about the excursion and just leered at her.

  “You don’t look mysterious when you do that. You look creepy.”

  When Steven stopped the truck in front of the High Lonesome again, Kaitlyn made no effort to get out. “Yes. This is your bar. I work right across the street, remember? I see it every day.”

  “But you’ve never seen inside. Come on.”

  Kaitlyn had no idea why it had suddenly become so important to Steven that she see the inside of the old bar, but she followed him inside. The room was cold and smelled a bit musty. Clearly it had been empty for a while, but there was something about it she liked. It seemed to tell a story.

  “So this is the High Lonesome.” Some framed photos hung over the booths along one wall, and she crossed the room to look at them. “Who’s this?”

  “Those are of my dad in his rodeo days. He made quite a name for himself. When I was a kid, every day or so, someone who had seen him compete would come in just to shake his hand.”

  She turned to him with a smile. “I think I know why you brought me here now.”

  “You do?”

  “You’ve changed your mind about running this place, and you want to reopen it, right?”

  “What? No! This was my dad’s dream. Maybe for a while I thought I wanted it, but I’m going into law enforcement.”

  “All right then, tell me.” Kaitlyn was starting to feel a bit exasperated. “Why are we here?”

  “Well, as you probably know, it’s been sitting here closed up for about a year now, and Rita’s really been on my case to do something with it. She says it’s an eyesore, and since it’s the first building you come to when you enter Last Chance, it gives the wrong impression of the town.”

  “I’ve heard her say so, and she may have a point.”

  “Yeah, well, that’s where the problem is. What do I do with it? I know it’s not going to be a bar again. Couldn’t do that to Gran. But there aren’t that many businesses looking to set up shop in such a small town.”

  Kaitlyn waited. Eventually, she knew, Steven would get around to saying what he wanted to say.

  “So, today I thought, what about a beauty shop? Do you think it might work as a beauty shop?”

  “A salon here? In the bar?” Kaitlyn looked around the room again.

  “No, it wouldn’t be a bar, it would be a beauty shop . . . salon.”

  “Steven, these bits and pieces you’re throwing at me aren’t making any sense. Now please tell me exactly what you’re talking about. And leave Rita and Elizabeth out of it.”

  “Okay, I’ll try. This building needs a tenant, and if you are interested, I would like to make this place over according to your specs and have you and your . . . salon as that tenant. Look, there’s plumbing along that wall, and there’s a storeroom right through here, and there are restrooms down the hall. I don’t know what all you’d need, but I bet we can work it out.”

  Kaitlyn sat down in the chair Steven had turned around earlier when he and Ray were there. “I don’t know what to say. I need to think about it. Maybe talk to Chris. He owns his own business. When do you need to know?”

  “Take your time. No rush. If Rita backs me into a corner, I’ll send her to talk to you. Kidding. But I only have about six weeks before I go, so the more time I have to work on this, the prettier I can make it for you.”

  “But what if you make all these changes, and I don’t have enough business to support it? Then what?”

  “You know, maybe I should be worried about that, but I’m not. You are an amazing woman, and I have every confidence that you can do pretty much everything you put your mind to.”

  The sun had long since crossed the sky and was dropping into the hills behind the High Lonesome, and the narrow beams that had found their way between the boards on the window faded away. The single light Steven had switched on when they came in left much of the room in shadow, and that was just as well, because at Steven’s unswerving faith in her, Kaitlyn’s eyes had filled with tears, and she really did not want him to see that.

  24

  As she often said, when Juanita Sheppard had a good idea, she wasn’t about to let it just lie there and die from lack of attention. And after a couple weeks of Lainie spending every day with Elizabeth and Kaitlyn still working at the Dip ’n’ Dine, she found the opportunity to take matters into her own hands one afternoon when Lainie and Elizabeth came in for lunch.

  “Well, look who’s here.” Juanita held the door open as Elizabeth maneuvered her walker through. “And hello to you too, Miss Lainie. Come in here and sit down. My gracious, it’s good to see you up and about.”

  “It’s good to be up and about.” Elizabeth smiled as she made her way across the room. “It’s not like I was always on the go before this all happened, but at least it was my choice to stay in or go out. Now it’s such an aggravation to get me anywhere, most of the time I just choose to stay home.”

  “Well, I’m glad you decided to come out today. We miss you.” Kaitlyn followed Elizabeth to her favorite booth and waited to take her walker.

  It took Lainie a while to get there, though, because at every table someone jumped up to grab her in a big hug and welcome her back to Last Chance. Even Carlos came out of the kitchen to say hello. This time it was Lainie who grabbed him.

  “Carlos, I have missed you so much. You know, Santa Fe is known for its restaurants, but I have yet to taste any green chile stew, or chile rellenos, or carne adovada that can hold a candle to yours.”

  “So what’s wrong with my enchiladas?”

  “Nothing! They’re fabulous.” Lainie laughed out loud. “You are the best cook in the whole state. Fayette always said so, and I’m here to swear it’s true.”

  “Are you going to stay this time?”

  “I hope so. We thought we were coming down to give Elizabeth a hand, but with all the improvements Steven made to the house, and Elizabeth’s stubborn streak, she needs us about as much as you need a cookbook.”

  “Well, good to see you. Glad you’re back.” Carlos had a well-known low threshold for chitchat, and apparently he had reached it. He patted her shoulder and headed back to the kitchen.

  “Now, see? This is exactly what I was talking about.” Juanita spoke to the room at large as she poured Lainie’s iced tea.

  “What?” Lainie smiled her thanks.

  “You are just a natural when it comes to the hospitality industry.”

  “Juanita.” Chris appeared in the kitchen window.

  “Be there in a minute, Chris.” Juanita didn’t turn around. “You and I both know that there is a whole lot more to good service than just throwing food on the table. Not everybody gets that.”

  “Juanita.” Chris spoke a little louder.

  “Be there in a minute, Chris.” This time Juanita flapped a hand in his direction. “So, what I want to know is, when are you coming back in here where you belong?”

  “Oh, I don’t know, Juanita. The deal we made with Nancy Jo
and Joe Jr. was that Elizabeth would stay in her own home as long as there was someone there in case she needed anything, and that’s my priority these days.”

  “I may need that contraption over there to get around because of my leg, but I’m far from being an invalid, and my mind, thank the Lord, still seems to work. Despite what Nancy Jo thinks, I do not need a babysitter.” Elizabeth unwrapped her napkin and set her flatware on the table with a little clank.

  “Of course you don’t. Anyone can see that.” Juanita waved that idea away. “But what if someone came over just to keep you company? I’m talking about Kaitlyn. That shop Steven is fixing up for her is going to be opening soon, and she needs to be building up her clientele, not trying to figure out how to be a waitress.”

  Both Elizabeth and Lainie looked confused.

  “I’m just saying that if she were over at your house and someone came to get their hair cut, why, you’d get a little company and she’d get a little practice and impress some of the local folk with what a good hairdresser she is, and Lainie, well, Lainie would be doing something she does really well and getting out of the house for a few hours every day while she does it. I think it sounds like a perfect solution.”

  Kaitlyn couldn’t believe her life was being discussed so thoroughly within her hearing and without her being involved in the conversation at all. The other diners, however, apparently thought Juanita had a good idea. They were unabashedly listening, occasionally nodding their approval.

  “Excuse me.” Chris brushed past her on his way to Elizabeth’s table.

  Juanita barely glanced his way when he loomed up beside her.

  “Hey there, Lainie, Miss Elizabeth. It’s good to see you out. Have you had a chance to order?”

  When he turned to motion her over, Kaitlyn could see that his smile was barely hanging on by a thread, and by the time she hurried to the table, he had turned his attention to Juanita.

  “I don’t know if you heard me call you,” he began.

  “Of course I heard you, Chris. I said I’d be right there. What do you need?”

  “I need to talk to you.” His voice was carefully controlled and even, almost pleasant. “And I think we’d have a little more privacy in the kitchen, so would you come with me?”

  Juanita rolled her eyes. “Oh, good night, nurse, Chris. Are we going to go through this again? Are you going to fuss at me about a conversation that you weren’t even part of but you listened in on anyway?”

  He didn’t answer, but indicated the kitchen with his hand. Juanita flounced off with Chris right behind her. In a few seconds, Kaitlyn saw, through the window to the kitchen, the back door open and close again.

  She turned back to Elizabeth and Lainie with her order pad in hand and smiled. “Do you know what you want? Or do you still need a little more time?”

  Lainie was still looking toward the kitchen. A little scowl creased her forehead. “I hope we didn’t cause problems for Juanita.”

  “The only one who causes problems for Juanita is Juanita.” Elizabeth handed Kaitlyn her menu. “I think I’ll just have a bowl of posole and some flour tortillas, if you please.”

  “I’ll have the chile rellenos. My mouth’s been watering since Carlos and I talked about them.” Lainie also handed over her menu. “But I think Chris was mad. I hope everything’s going to be okay.”

  “Everything’s going to be okay. Strange as it seems, this is pretty standard procedure around here. Every couple weeks, there’s a bit of a tussle over who the boss is. Chris has won every time so far, but who knows? She may be wearing him down.” Kaitlyn smiled. “I’ll go put your order in.”

  A few minutes later, the back door opened again, and Juanita, followed by Chris, came back in the dining room. Kaitlyn watched them for some sense of what might have happened on the back porch. Chris was always hard to read in the restaurant; his demeanor was unfailingly congenial and professional. But Juanita, who could be moody, was as cheerful as ever as she went from table to table, taking orders and serving meals. Kaitlyn did notice, however, that Juanita left Elizabeth and Lainie’s table to her.

  After their lunch, Lainie and Elizabeth left with more hugs all around and compliments called out to Carlos, but later that afternoon, Lainie came back.

  “Elizabeth’s watching one of her shows, so I thought I’d run over for a minute.” She climbed on a stool at the counter and looked around. “Where’s Juanita?”

  “In the storage room, looking for coffee filters, I think.” Kaitlyn finished dishing up a slice of chocolate cream pie.

  “Good.” She leaned forward across the counter like she had a secret to tell, and Kaitlyn leaned to meet her. “Quick! What do you think of her idea? Me working here and you staying with Elizabeth?”

  “Love it!” Kaitlyn widened her eyes.

  “That’s all I need to know.” She slipped off her stool as Juanita came back in with the coffee filters, then tapped on the kitchen door while she pushed it open. “Chris? Do you have a minute? Maybe we could use your back porch office.”

  On an afternoon a week or so later, Rita Sandoval, draped in a nylon cape, sat on a high step stool in Elizabeth’s kitchen while Kaitlyn cut her hair.

  “I stuck my head in the High Lonesome yesterday to see how it’s coming along, and it doesn’t even look like the same place.”

  “Yes, Steven’s really working hard.” Kaitlyn stepped back, cocked her head as she examined her work, and snipped a little more off the left side.

  “He told me all the things you’re going to be doing in there. I guess I thought since it’s in an old bar, you’d go with the rustic, cowboy look. You know, some calico curtains, maybe some dried flowers in a milk bottle. But it’s going to be real swanky, like some fancy Scottsdale salon. Think that will go over here?”

  “I’m counting on it. I want to make everyone who comes in feel special. Like they deserve this. If I make them feel welcome, and my prices aren’t any higher, and they like the way they look, well, hopefully they’ll come back.” Kaitlyn drew a comb through Rita’s hair to check the length. “Since I’m going to have to get folks from San Ramon down here in order to make a go of it, I need to give them something they can’t find in San Ramon.”

  “My goodness, what are you going to be doing?” Elizabeth was sitting at the table doing some handwork on a pile of gauzy, white fabric that was slowly becoming Sarah’s wedding dress. “It sounds quite spectacular.”

  “I don’t know about spectacular, but I’m excited about it. The decorator calls it ‘desert chic.’”

  “You have a decorator too? Good gracious, Kaitlyn, now I am starting to get worried. I don’t think a decorator has set foot in Last Chance since I’ve been here, and I’ve been here all my life.” Rita fluffed her curls with her fingers and nodded as she examined her haircut in the mirror Kaitlyn held up for her. “I want your shop to succeed almost as much as you do. It’s good for Last Chance. But if folks get the idea we’re just not good enough for you, well, they’ll just keep right on going to San Ramon, and we’ll be stuck with another closed-up business.”

  “Well, that’s just the silliest thing I’ve ever heard, Rita.” Elizabeth looked up from her sewing. “If I’ve heard anything from you, even before you got elected mayor, it’s that we should be promoting Last Chance, and here’s Kaitlyn fixing to bring the traffic to Last Chance from San Ramon, instead of the other way round. I’d think you’d be cheering her on, instead of throwing cold water all over everything.”

  “Well, I do wish you well, Kaitlyn. I really do, and I hope my worrying didn’t upset you. I didn’t mean for it to.” She reached for her purse. “Here. This is for you.”

  Kaitlyn’s eyes widened as she looked at the check Rita handed her. “What’s this for?”

  “It’s for anything you might want to spend it on. Everyone whose hair or makeup you’ve done has chipped in. I know you call what you’re doing here building goodwill, but I call it working for free, and that’s just not right.” She rai
sed a hand to ward off Kaitlyn’s protest. “I know, I know. You can’t charge until you have a designated workspace. But you’ve saved a lot of trips to San Ramon and made us all look good in the bargain, so just think of this as a big thank-you.”

  “I don’t know what to say.” Kaitlyn still looked at the check like she didn’t know what it was.

  “You don’t need to say a thing, darlin’, except ‘you’re welcome.’ Now, if you’re going to have a grand opening, and I surely hope you are, I’d love to help you plan it. We really need to make this big.”

  After she left, Kaitlyn went back into the kitchen where Elizabeth still sat working on Kaitlyn’s dress. “Did you know about this?”

  “I did.” Elizabeth smiled up at her. “And I can’t tell you how much pleasure it gave me to get to take part. Now, why don’t you put the kettle on for us, and then sit right down here and tell me all about what you’re doing with your salon? You have no idea what an answer to prayer it is to see that benighted place turn into something beautiful.”

  “Oh, it is going to be beautiful, Elizabeth.” Kaitlyn tucked the check in her purse and turned with a smile as she felt the excitement bubble up inside her. “I can’t wait for you to see the job Steven’s doing. I had no idea he was such a craftsman.”

  “To tell you the truth, I didn’t either. But he’s just been full of surprises lately.” Elizabeth knotted her thread and bit it off. “Now tell me, what’s desert chic, and where did you find a decorator? I know it wasn’t here, and I wasn’t even aware there were decorators in San Ramon.”

  “This one’s from Scottsdale. My mother knows her. In fact, my mother’s paying for her services. She’s really excited about my salon, and it’s kind of weird. She hasn’t been really interested in the things I’ve done before.”

  The teakettle whistled, and Kaitlyn went to pour boiling water over the leaves in the pot.

  “I wonder what made the difference.”

  “Maybe because it’s my business. She’s a business owner, you know. She and my dad have their own real estate firm, and she handles the commercial side. I guess the idea of a new business space really gets the wheels turning. Plus she knows a whole lot about salons. Her three places to be are work, the gym, or the salon.”