Second Chances (Fairshore Series Book 1)

by Christina Butrum

  “It feels good to sit. I’m glad I finally have a chance to talk to you. I don’t even know where to start.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Okay. Work is going great. We were super busy today. Which Anna said we would be on meat counter and checkout days. She based the day chart around the busy business days.” Amelia explained to Bailey. “Anna and I talked about her husband, Larry, which was heartbreaking.”

  “Yes, it’s sad. Larry was a good man. They were married for a lot of years. He’s the one who encouraged her to open the grocery store.”

  “That’s so sweet. My heart ached when she said how lonely she gets,” Amelia pouted.

  “I’m sure she does get lonely. But you have to remember, just because you’re lonely doesn’t mean you’re alone.”

  Amelia nodded. She enjoyed her talks with Bailey. Bailey always knew the right words to say and the right time to say them.

  Amelia continued on, “I met a part-timer today. She seemed nice.”

  “Who? What’s her name?” Bailey questioned innocently.

  “Courtney Drake.”

  Bailey’s eyes grew wide as Amelia said the name Courtney. She relaxed when Amelia said the last name. Amelia was alerted by Bailey’s reaction. “What? Is she Crazy Courtney?”

  Bailey shook her head. “Nope, she isn’t. But you did have my heart racing when you said the name. The Drake family owns the Drake Automotive out on the highway here in town.”

  “I heard. She told me her father owns it.”

  Bailey rolled her eyes.

  “She’s one of those girls who gets everything from her parents.”

  “She’s probably really nice. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

  “I know. I just get irritated. Even Anna was ranting about her.” Amelia laughed.

  “Oh, no! I bet that was something worth listening to!” Bailey laughed. “That woman is wise beyond her years and she tells it like it is.”

  “Exactly. I loved her ‘back in my day’ speech.”

  “Aww. She’s such a hoot.”

  “Want to hear something else?”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Zach showed up yesterday and took me to the movie P.S. I Love You. And to the restaurant on the highway with the balcony.”

  “Surge’s Bar and Grill?”

  “Yep! That’s the place! We ate while we watched the sun set and the moon hung right above us! I was in love with everything!”

  “Easy now. Don’t go falling that fast,” Bailey said as she laughed.

  Amelia knew she was joking. “No worries there. I’m moving slow.”

  “Sounds like it. Tongues-deep-in-each-other’s-mouths slow, huh?”

  Amelia slapped Bailey’s arm and laughed with her. “Seriously, Bai, I’m taking it slow. I have no idea if I’m ready for this.”

  “I know. You don’t have to be sure at this exact moment. Let it take its own course. Relax and enjoy it.”

  Amelia wrapped her arm around Bailey’s shoulders. “Have I ever told you how thankful I am to have you for a friend? You know exactly what to say and when to say it. You’re such an awesome friend. More like ‘a sister I never had’ type of friend,” Amelia said while she made quotation marks with her fingers.

  Bailey’s face brightened as she smiled. “Aww, thanks. I can say the same about you.”

  “You…” Amelia stopped herself from mentioning Kim, Bailey’s sister.

  “What?” Bailey questioned.

  “I was going to ask if you have any junk food. I want ice cream.”

  Nice cover up, Amelia thought.

  “Actually, I think I do. Let’s check the freezer.”

  They walked into the house. Bailey opened the freezer and pulled out the container of chocolate ice cream.

  “Have I said that you’re the best?” Amelia smiled as she grabbed a bowl and scooped two scoopfuls of ice cream into her bowl.

  “Not at all,” Bailey joked sarcastically as she scooped ice cream into her bowl.

  They sat on the couch by each other. Bailey looked at Amelia and asked, “So, have you been in contact with your friends back home in Linford?”

  Amelia took a spoonful of ice cream and stuck it in her mouth. After she swallowed she said, “It’s funny you ask. I called Alisa. I actually called her today after work, before I came over here.”

  Bailey swallowed a spoonful of ice cream. “How’d that go?”

  Amelia shrugged. “I have a feeling I won’t hear from her again.”

  “Why? What makes you say that?”

  “She just seemed distant.”

  “Weren’t you two close? Like best friends?”

  “We were very good friends. But we’ve always had that bumpy friendship. She never liked it if I had other friends.”

  “Possessive?”

  “Yeah, I guess you could call it that. The thing is, she could have all the friends she wanted, but I couldn’t.

  Bailey chuckled while she shook her head. “That’s because you didn’t care.”

  “That’s true. I didn’t. Anyways, she got worse when I started dating Ryan. She started telling me she felt left out and she missed me. So I asked Ryan if she could come along on a couple nights out.”

  “Did he say it was okay for her to go along?”

  “He never had a problem. My friends were his friends and vice versa. He was really sweet like that,” Amelia said as memories came flooding back.

  “So now she doesn’t seem to care about your friendship or what?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know. She seems depressed and jealous.”

  “Maybe she envies you for leaving Linford and making a better life for yourself.”

  “Maybe. You never know. I miss her and everyone else back home. But they need to realize I did this for me.”

  “Give them time. I’m sure she’ll come around.”

  Amelia shrugged. “They can have all the time they want. I’m here. If they want to contact me, they can ask my parents for my info,” Amelia stated confidently. “Maybe in a month or so, I’ll plan a trip back for a visit. I’ll take you and whoever else wants to go with me.”

  Bailey smiled. “You know that I’d be good for a trip. I’ll take any kind of vacation I can get. Meeting your hometown friends would be neat.”

  “It would be fun, wouldn’t it?”

  “Yes, it would be.”

  “Then we’ll plan on it. Let’s plan it in a couple of weeks. That way I know what my schedule is like.”

  “And if a certain special someone will be in your life or not.”

  Amelia’s cheeks blushed. “Yes, that too.”

  “I’m most certain he will be. You two will be a couple before we even plan this trip.”

  “Ha! Don’t be so sure! I might surprise you!”

  “Doubt it.” Bailey winked and laughed.

  Chapter Ten

  Amelia worked through the next two weeks. She kept Bailey in the loop. She managed to go on another date with Zach. He treated her better than any other man had ever treated her. The date night went well. They watched a movie at Amelia’s house and ordered a pizza. The night ended with a make out session.

  Everything seemed to be going in the right direction in Amelia’s life. She was satisfied with her decision to move to Fairshore.

  At work, she and Courtney talked more. Amelia realized she and Courtney had a lot in common. It helped their friendship grow.

  “Hey, Amelia.” Courtney said, as she walked past Amelia at the time clock. Amelia waited one more minute before she clocked in.

  “Hey, Court. Ready for a busy day?”

  Courtney was easy going. She was very laid back and down to earth, much like Amelia and Bailey. Amelia walked over to the schedule that hung on the wall. She needed to plan a few days for their trip to her hometown. She wanted to go to Linford before the first snowfall.

  Courtney walked by Amelia again. “What are you doing?”

  “Just checking wha
t days I have off.”

  “None,” Courtney joked. “What’s a day off?”

  Amelia chuckled, “I want to take a trip back home.”

  Courtney waved a hand, and encouraged Amelia to walk with her. “Let’s work and talk. Anna said she would do checkout so you and I could work the meat counter together.”

  “That’s nice of her.” Amelia stated. They gathered meat from the fridge and stocked the counter.

  “Where’d you move here from?”

  “Linford. It’s about eighty miles or so from here.”

  Courtney shook her head and stated, “I’ve never heard of it.”

  “It’s a much smaller town than this town. Linford has a population of five-hundred, if that. Depending on the last time they updated their count.”

  “What’s Linford like?”

  “It’s sort of like Fairshore. Not as many businesses as Fairshore has. Jobs are scarce.”

  “What’d you do for a job there?”

  “I worked at Susie’s Fine Diner for eight years. I started there when I turned eighteen and graduated from high school.”

  “What do your parents do?”

  “My dad works nights at the grain elevator. My mom stays at home.”

  “Cool,” Courtney said as she placed the last row of meat into the case. “When are you planning to leave?”

  “Well, I have a few days I’ve requested off in a week or so. So hopefully then I’ll be able to go. I want to go before the snow starts falling.”

  “That’d be a good idea.”

  “Bailey and I are planning to go together.”

  Courtney gave a puzzled look. “Who’s Bailey?”

  Amelia never talked about Bailey at work before. “She’s my neighbor.” Amelia smiled, “Well, now she’s a really good friend. We met the first day I moved into my house.”

  Courtney smiled. “That’s sweet.”

  Amelia knew Courtney probably would not know who Bailey was. Courtney was younger than them.

  Amelia asked Courtney anyway, “Do you know Bailey Thomas?”

  Courtney thought for a minute. She shook her head. “Nope, can’t say that I do.”

  “Well, maybe one of these days we all have off from work, we can get together so you can meet her.” Amelia smiled at Courtney. “She’s a housekeeper at the hospital.”

  “Does she clean the morgue?” Courtney crinkled her nose.

  Amelia chuckled at Courtney’s expression. “She said she does.”

  Courtney widened her eyes in shock and said, “That’d be creepy.”

  “I agree. She said at first it was very creepy, but now she’s used to it.”

  Courtney grinned. “I don’t know how cool that’d be. I’d be freaked out down there. It’d be spooky.”

  Amelia’s thought gave her chills and she shared it. “What if dead bodies came out at you while you were cleaning?”

  Courtney let out a high pitched scream as she jumped and shook at the thought. “Oh, my gosh! No way! I’d never work there! Way too creepy for me.”

  Amelia laughed. Courtney’s facial expressions were fun to watch. Courtney squirmed and stomped her foot.

  “Everything alright back there, girls?” Anna called out from the front of the store.

  “Yep!” Amelia hollered back.

  Both of them giggled and continued to work and talk.

  “Did you bring a boyfriend along or did you make the move by yourself?”

  A sense of dread came over Amelia. A knot formed in her stomach. She hated when people she just met asked about her personal life. It was not their fault, though. She knew it was curiosity. She even liked to ask the same questions. It was difficult to share her past. She hated the fact she wanted to tell everyone everything because that is what therapy helped her with. Therapy helped encourage her to tell anyone who would listen. Her question had always been, “What if they don’t care? What if they don’t want to hear it?” Her therapist had said, “Tell them anyway.” Amelia struggled to tell people and she was unsure if it would get easier.

  “Solo,” Amelia said with a fake smile. She knew what the next question was going to be. She needed to decide if she would answer with a lie or if she would tell the truth.

  “What made you move here?” Courtney asked.

  Amelia swallowed hard. Courtney seemed like she would be a good friend, but Amelia was unsure. The last thing she wanted was someone to take the truth and spread it through gossip all around Fairshore. “Just needed a change.” Amelia put on a fake smile. She felt a little guilty for not saying the real reason. She imagined she would tell Courtney and Anna within time.

  Courtney smiled. “That’s good.”

  Amelia nodded. If you only knew the real reason, Amelia thought. “Yep, it is.”

  Throughout their morning, by noon, they had a total of thirty people buy meat.

  They both took a lunch break. Amelia stayed at the store and ate a turkey sandwich. Courtney ate a ham sandwich. They returned to the meat counter after they finished their sandwiches. When Amelia approached the meat counter, the front door opened and the bell that hung over the door rang.

  Zach walked in and stopped at the counter. Anna handed him a folded paper or envelope. Amelia could not tell from where she stood what Anna had handed him. Anna walked out from behind the counter and hugged Zach. She placed her lips on his cheek with a quick peck of a kiss.

  Amelia stood still. She wondered why Anna would hug and kiss Zach. She wondered how Anna knew Zach.

  “Earth to Amelia. Come in Amelia. Earth to Amelia.” Courtney waved a hand in front of Amelia’s face.

  Amelia shook her head and came back to focus. She laughed nervously. “Sorry, I must’ve spaced off for a minute.”

  Courtney nodded. “More like five minutes.”

  Amelia was thankful Courtney had not noticed her focus had been on Zach and Anna.

  “Do you know Zach?” Courtney asked.

  Busted, Amelia thought, she noticed. “We met my first day here. I bought my furniture from him.”

  “He owns the Gallagher’s Furniture store. He’s really nice.” Courtney glanced at Amelia and smiled. “And he’s cute.”

  Amelia felt a ping of jealousy, but covered it with a grin.

  Courtney continued to talk about Zach. “Every girl in town has wanted to date him. It’s every girl’s dream to date him. He’s like Prince Charming in one of those fairytales,” Courtney said while she swooned over Zach.

  Amelia chuckled nervously. She debated whether or not to tell Courtney about their dates. Hearing Courtney talk about Zach made it awkward, but it amused her. Amelia did not feel jealous at the moment. She thought of all the girls who chased after Zach. It made her happy to know he chose her over all of these girls who swooned over him.

  Courtney giggled like a school girl and whispered, “Here he comes. He’s walking this way.”

  Amelia looked over her shoulder. Zach looked right at her. He smiled. She smiled back. She tried to contain her excitement in order to keep them a secret. It was no use, he made it perfectly clear as he approached the counter. There was no way Amelia could deny it as he said, “Hello, beautiful.”

  Amelia saw Courtney’s face from the corner of her eye. Courtney’s jaw dropped, and her smile faded. Her face twisted into confusion and hurt. Amelia felt bad, but she had done nothing wrong. She wondered if she should have told Courtney about her and Zach before Zach walked back to the meat counter.

  Amelia smiled at Zach. “Hey, you.”

  “How’s your day going?”

  “Good. Courtney and I have been gabbing all day.”

  He glanced at Courtney and said, “Hi, Courtney.”

  Courtney fidgeted nervously and said, “Hi, Zach.”

  His attention focused back on Amelia. “Anything good to talk about?”

  Amelia giggled. “Maybe.”

  “Maybe, huh?” Zach winked. “Maybe this will give you two something to talk about.”

  Amelia fe
lt the flutters of butterflies in her stomach and felt weak in her knees as he walked behind the counter. He reached out to her and grabbed her by the hand. He pulled her close to him and kissed her. His lips pressed firmly against hers.

  After the kiss, Zach stepped away from Amelia. She felt dizzy. Her whole world spun in circles.

  “I’ll see you tonight.” Zach said as he winked and walked to the front of the store.

  Amelia looked over at Courtney. She stood in one spot with her mouth open in shock.

  Chapter Eleven

  “I feel bad. I think she was in shock.” Amelia said, as she sat down on her couch.

  Bailey had walked over to Amelia’s house when she had seen Amelia’s car pull into the driveway. She sat on the other end of the couch by Amelia.

  “I can’t believe she didn’t know about you guys! This town spreads news like wildfire!” Bailey said. “Everyone knows everyone’s business here in small towns.” She chuckled as she grabbed her glass of tea.

  Amelia was worried. “What if Courtney is madly in love with him? What if seeing him kiss me broke her heart?”

  “I don’t want to sound mean, but so what? Zach chose you. Over all of those girls, he chose you. And here you’re worrying if it broke her heart?” Bailey took a sip of her tea. She repositioned herself and faced toward Amelia. “Amelia, when are you going to start caring about you?”

  Amelia knew she needed to think about herself. The biggest problem she faced throughout her life was she cared too much about other people, and not enough about herself. She always put herself last. She placed everyone in front. She shrugged. “I’ve always cared too much about others.”

  “Well, now is the time to think about you. That’s why you moved here, right? To start fresh and escape?”

  It pained Amelia to think about it. She hated to admit she ran away from her problems. She hoped her problems would not follow her here. She felt foolish to think they would disappear. “Yes, I did. I moved here to get away from Ryan. To get away from the same hurt and anger I feel every day.” Her emotions were on a rollercoaster lately. “I’m just hoping I made the right decision. So far, it feels right.”

  Bailey smiled. “Always go with your gut. Your gut instinct is never wrong.”