by Laura Scott
Devon rose to his feet and headed into the kitchen, hoping to speak to Janelle alone. “Actually, I don’t have to report in for my regular shift, Sheriff Torretti gave me some time to finish up the investigation, which included getting Sebastian’s statement.”
“Oh, I see.” She gestured toward the fridge. “Do you want something to drink? I have ice tea or lemonade.”
Since she had lemonade on the table, he nodded. “Lemonade would be great, thanks.”
When she handed him the glass, he took a sip and then set it down. He felt ridiculously nervous. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”
She lifted her eyebrow in surprise. “Sure, do you need my statement too?”
“No.” He waited until she sat down, then took the seat next to her, so he could take her hand in his. “Janelle, I need to ask you something, and I want you to be completely honest with me, okay?”
She looked a bit apprehensive, but nodded “of course.”
He couldn’t ever remember feeling this uncertain about a woman. Maybe because he and Debra had known each other for a long time, dated since college. Being with his fiancée had been comfortable, familiar.
Sitting next to Janelle, getting ready to pour his heart and soul out to her, was way outside of his comfort zone. But he wasn’t a coward. “Would you consider going out with me?”
She blinked. “You mean, on a date?”
Wasn’t it obvious? “Yes, on a date. I don’t want to take the job in Madison,” he blurted. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“Me? Or Sebastian?”
“Both of you. I care about Sebastian, but it’s you that I keep thinking about.” He tightened his grip on her hand. “But if you don’t feel the same way, I’ll understand.”
She looked surprised. “I care about you, too, Devon, but all this time, I thought you were still in love with your fiancée. Wasn’t that part of the reason you wanted to move away from here?”
“Not exactly” he knew it was time to tell her the truth. “The Feds want me to help them work on a multi-district task force that would keep me here in Crystal Lake. I wasn’t trying to avoid the area, I just wanted to do something important with my life, the way my older brother did.”
She didn’t look as if she believed him. “I’m sure you have memories of Debra everywhere you look.”
He knew it was time to put his past to rest. “I loved Debra, and I was devastated when she was killed. No one knows this, but she was pregnant, just eight weeks along, when she died. And I blamed God for taking her and our child away from me.”
“Oh, Dev,” she whispered, her eyes full of sympathy. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you, but you’ve shown me the way back to God and my faith. I was wrong to avoid going back to church. But I have to be honest, Janelle. When I realized you had taken custody of Sebastian, I tried to stay away because I couldn’t stop thinking about my unborn child a little girl or a boy who would have been close to his age if he or she had lived.”
Her gaze was full of compassion. “Those hours that Sebastian was gone were the longest of my entire life. I can’t even imagine what you must have gone through.”
He was glad she seemed to understand. “Janelle, I didn’t intend to open myself up to loving anyone ever again, but somehow, you wiggled your way under my skin and into my heart. I know that it’s probably too soon for you to hear this, but I’ve fallen in love with you. I’m willing to be patient, to give you the time you need to see if you feel the same way.”
Janelle’s face filled with joy. “Oh, Devon, it’s not too soon at all. And I don’t need time, I feel the same way. I was so upset about the thought of you moving away from Crystal Lake, I tried to ignore my feelings, but I love you, too. More than I can possibly say.”
He surged to his feet, drawing her up and into his arms. “Janelle,” he murmured, before leaning down and covering her mouth with his.
She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him back, showing him without words that he wasn’t in this alone. Her citrusy scent filled his senses and Devon couldn’t believe how blessed he was to have been given a second chance.
A second chance to love and to have a family.
He prolonged the kiss, completely forgetting the fact that they weren’t alone until Sebastian interrupted them.
“Why are you kissing Mommy?”
Devon lifted his head, struggling to catch his breath. Janelle hid her face in his shoulder, shaking with repressed laughter.
What kind of question was that? He tried to pull his scrambled brain cells together. “Because I love her,” Devon finally responded.
“Me, too,” Sebastian agreed.
Dev held his hand out to Sebastian, encouraging him to come over to join them. Using one arm, he lifted the boy up and held him close, keeping his other arm firmly around Janelle.
“Sebastian, I love your mommy very much. How do you feel about us being a family?”
Janelle’s face broke into a wide smile, and she put her arm around Sebastian, including him in the three-way hug.
“Would we live together like a real family?” Sebastian asked.
Devon nodded. “I’d be your new daddy,” he added “if that’s okay with you.”
“Yay!” Sebastian cried out. “God answered my prayers!”
Devon tightened his grip on Janelle and Sebastian, knowing that God had answered his prayers, too.
Epilogue
Janelle stood in the back of the church, smoothing a hand over her white gown as she waited for Lexi Ryerson, Julie and Derek’s daughter, and Sebastian to walk down the aisle. They looked so cute, even though Lexi hadn’t wanted anything to do with holding Sebastian’s hand.
When Sebastian reached the front of the church, Devon stepped forward to take the wedding rings from the little boy, then he drew Sebastian to his side, where he would participate in their wedding ceremony.
The music swelled, and Janelle stepped forward to make her way down the aisle. Devon’s dark gaze captured hers, admiration and happiness shining from his eyes.
She smiled, anxious to begin a new life with Devon. The past few months had passed in a whirlwind of wedding plans, since neither one of them had wanted a long engagement.
Janelle was so thankful the Lord had brought them together, and with their friends and the Crystal Lake townsfolk watching, they’d vow to love and honor each other for the rest of their lives.
Devon couldn’t wait, but stepped forward to take her hand in his. She let him draw her up to the front of the church where Pastor John waited for them.
The ceremony was sweetly poignant. “This ring is a sign of my love and fidelity, for as long as we both shall live,” Devon murmured, slipping her wedding band on the third finger of her left hand.
She took his ring, and repeated the vow to him. “This ring is a sign of my love and fidelity, for as long as we both shall live.”
Pastor John’s grin was broad as he lifted his hands to encompass the crowd packed into the church. “I know pronounce you husband and wife. Please welcome Devon and Janelle Armbruster.”
The crowd broke into wild applause, and Devon bent his head to give her a firm kiss. “I love you, Mrs. Armbruster,” he whispered.
“I love you, too, Deputy Armbruster,” she replied. She placed her hand in the crook of Devon’s arm, then she grasped Sebastian’s hand so the three of them could walk down the aisle, together. They made their way to the back of the church, where everyone would gather for their reception.
“Are you ready for your wedding present?” Devon asked in a low tone as they took their place in the receiving line.
She glanced at him in surprise. “A present? But I didn’t get you anything,” she protested.
Devon grinned. “This present is for our family. I didn’t want to say anything until I knew for sure, but I had my blood and tissue testing done to see if I’m a potential match for Sebastian. Turns out, my blood type is O negative. I’ve been approved
to donate a kidney for our son.”
“What?” Janelle could hardly believe what he was saying. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, the doctors assured me that my kidney would absolutely work for Sebastian. We can schedule the surgery any time.”
“Oh, Devon, that’s amazing news, but are you absolutely sure you want to do this?” Janelle was surprised and humbled by his willingness to donate a kidney for Sebastian. “This isn’t something to take lightly, there are risks. Not just surgical risks, but the risk of you suffering kidney failure later in life.”
“I know, the transplant surgeon explained everything to me, and I know there’s a possibility I’ll have more complications as I get older, but Janelle, it’s worth the risk to provide Sebastian a healthy life.” He stared down at her intently. “You would do this for our son if you were a match, so why shouldn’t I?”
She didn’t have an argument for that one, so she simply threw her arms around his neck and kissed him again. “I love you so much,” she whispered.
“I love you, too,” he whispered back.
Janelle was forced to release him when the wedding guests filed out of the church and lined up to wish them well.
As she thanked everyone for coming, she knew deep in her heart that everything would work out fine, because she and Devon loved each other.
There was no doubt God was watching over them.
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed Second Chance, the sixth book in my Crystal Lake Series. Many readers have been asking for Deputy Devon Armbruster’s story, so I decided to give him a second chance at love and faith. As a critical care nurse, I also worked with transplant recipients so I decided to give the story a bit of a twist with ER nurse Janelle’s nephew, Sebastian, requiring peritoneal dialysis and hopefully one day being given the gift of life with a kidney transplant. And of course, there is nothing better than falling in love and becoming a family.
If you would be so kind as to leave a review from the site where you purchased this book, I’d greatly appreciate it. Reviews are very important for sales although trust me, I understand we as customers are being reviewed to death.
I’m currently working on the last book in my Love Inspired Suspense SWAT series due to be published in March of 2016. Once that book is finished, I hope to write another Crystal Lake story. I love hearing from my readers. You can write to me and sign up for my newsletter through my website at www.laurascottbooks.com, or find me on Facebook at Laura Scott Books Author, and on Twitter @laurascottbooks.
Yours in faith,
Laura Scott
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Dear Reader