Worth the Risk

gate. “See you tonight, Lexi.” She stopped, hand on the gate, then spun around and called out to Brad, “I’m going to win your contest. Count on it!”
    Lexi waited until Amber slammed the gate shut. “I hope she doesn’t win.”
    Her reaction surprised him. “Really, why?”
    Lexi hesitated for a moment. “I want her to get a college education. I don’t want her slaving over a hot stove only to find out the job’s not as glamorous as she thinks.”
    “She could do both,” Brad responded, a little shocked at the frustration he detected in her voice.
    “Not Amber. She’s got a one-track mind. Right now all she can think about is winning that contest and she’s neglecting her schoolwork. I want her in summer school, not tagging around after some pastry chef.”
    “I wouldn’t worry about it,” Brad said, attempting to assure her. “What are the chances she’ll win?”
    “She’s an excellent cook. Baking is Amber’s specialty.” Lexi sounded defensive. “And if she loses, she’ll be disappointed, crushed.”
    Cripes, Brad thought. There was no reasoning with women.
    “I have an idea that might solve your problem.”

Chapter 4
    Lexi followed Amber through the double-wide doors into Black Jack’s on Saturday. Amber had been so excited about lunch that she’d changed outfits at least six times. Brad had persuaded Lexi that a visit to his restaurant and a tour of the kitchen during the hectic noon rush would show Amber that working in a restaurant wasn’t glamorous. But what if he was wrong? Suppose the chaos and hair-trigger tempers Brad had so vividly described actually energized Amber?
    “Wow! This is awesome!” Amber made no attempt to hide her enthusiasm.
    The place had a Caribbean style to it with dark wood floors and plantation shutters that filtered the light. High above their heads, ceiling fans shaped like palm fronds circulated the air above the wicker and bamboo furniture.
    Lexi hadn’t dated a lot, but she had been out enough to know there were ritzier restaurants in Houston. Amber had only eaten at fast-food places, so this had to seem highly sophisticated to her.
    “You must be the Morrisons,” said a perky blonde hostess when they walked up to her.
    “Yep. That’s us,” Amber responded with a beaming smile.
    Lexi hoped they were suitably dressed. She’d worn a tan pair of slacks and a coral blouse with a thin tan stripe running through it. A conservative outfit but one that looked nice, she thought. Amber couldn’t be talked out of a very short raspberry-pink skirt and a matching tank top that revealed her midriff whenever she raised her arms.
    The hostess picked up menus the size of wall posters and led them to a corner table. “Brad will be right out.”
    “Look at this menu! A-mazing!” Amber exclaimed after they’d been seated. “Ribs, steaks, chicken and zillions of yummy desserts.”
    “Interesting salads and chicken dishes,” Lexi said. If she came out and told Amber to make a healthy choice, her sister would balk.
    Amber didn’t reply as she intently read the menu word for word. Great, Lexi thought. Amber would study a recipe or cookbook or menu as if it was a treasure map, but she could barely find the time to scan her schoolbooks. But now was not the time for that discussion, Lexi reminded herself.
    “I don’t see our red wave lettuce on the menu,” Amber whispered, even though no one nearby was paying any attention to them.
    “The waiter usually tells customers what the specials of the day are,” Lexi said. “That way they don’t have to reprint menus all the time. It would be too expensive.”
    Amber gazed at her with something akin to respect—a first. “How do you know? Do your dates bring you to places like this?”
    Lexi had been receiving more and more questions from Amber about boys and dating. Aunt Callie hadn’t allowed Lexi to date until she was sixteen. Lexi thought that was a good rule, but Amber insisted all the girls she knew were already dating. Soon some boy would ask Amber out and Lexi would be forced to make a decision. “I’ve been to nice places like this a few times, but young guys mostly take you to fast-food places.”
    “Oh, yuck!”
    “Think about it,” Lexi said. “It costs a lot to have dinner and go to a movie. Most guys can’t afford anything fancy.”
    “Matt could.”
    Matthew Hastens. Lexi’s former boyfriend. She’d broken up with him because he’d gotten too serious. At the time she’d been