The Extra (28 page)
Amanda found her purse and jacket in the break room and then lowered her card into the time clock and punched out. She moved through the kitchen where the cook was busy scrubbing the grill. “Good night, Sonny!” she called out.
“You take care, now!” he called back.
Amanda pushed her way through the swinging door for the last time that night. Floyd was gone and Lucy was at the front window flipping the “Open” sign to “Closed.”
“See you tomorrow, Lucy.”
“Have a good evening.”
“Thanks.”
Amanda walked out and across the parking lot to her faded green Ford Focus, illuminated by a single street light mounted directly above. A chill was in the air with the arrival of fall. Soon it would be winter, with the plains covered in a thick white blanket of snow. Another winter stuck here in Quincy. No love. No life. She tried not to feel sorry for herself. She tried to take a lesson from Piper, to be happy with whatever came her way. Piper wasn’t a glass half-full type of person, she was a glass completely full person. Life was simply what it was, with no time for regrets or second guessing. One had to make the most of it, and that was all. Amanda wished she had the same outlook. She longed for it, but wanting it and having it were too different things.
Putting her purse on the roof of her car, Amanda slid into her jacket. When she’d zipped it up, she lifted her purse again and searched through until her fingers found her keys. She opened the car door and slid inside. The starter struggled a few times before the engine turned over and Amanda headed home to the small house she and Piper shared. To another night spent sitting on the couch, watching TV all alone.
Thanks for reading this excerpt from
Bachelor Number Five
. If you enjoyed it and want to check out the rest of the novel you can find it on Amazon here:
http://bit.ly/1ej3xyc
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