Her Second Chance Family (Contemporary Romance)

by Holly Jacobs

  Sawyer’s friend Mart came with his wife and three boys. Their kids were five, four and three according to their dad. Jack, Auggie and Gus. They were kind of cute names, but then Sawyer whispered to her that their real names were Julius, Augustus and Gaius.

  Who did that to kids? The boys were definitely in danger of getting beat up if their real names came out in school.

  Five minutes into playing with the boys convinced Willow that they would be just fine. No one would dare mess with them.

  “Come on, Will, you can do it,” Jack instructed. They had shortened her name to Will, and all of them wanted to wrestle with her. She was buried under them within seconds.

  Suddenly, one by one, the boys were peeled off her.

  “No fair, Will had to get free on her own,” Jack informed her rescuer.

  “Your dad said to tell you that the last one in the water loses.” The three boys tore off toward the pool.

  She looked up at her rescuer. He was tall, gangly and wore glasses. He also wore skinny jeans that only served to emphasize how skinny he was. He had brown hair that sort of looked as if it lived life on its own terms.

  “Thanks,” she said.

  The guy smiled and suddenly he was transformed. Rather than geeky and gangly, he was cute, even if it was in a nerdy way.

  “I take it you just met them?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Sawyer has them over a lot, so I’ve met them before. One on one, they’re not too bad, but all three together? Never attempt that solo.” He laughed and added, “I’m Austen.”

  “Willow.”

  “I know,” he said. “I asked Sawyer who you were.” He offered her his hand and pulled her to her feet.

  “Why?”

  He gave her a look that said she was nuts if she had to ask. “So you’ve been mowing Sawyer’s grass?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ve seen you on my way home and thought about coming over to say hi, but I didn’t want to seem creepy.” He paused. “Of course, saying that just now makes me seem creepy.”

  Willow laughed. “Nah, it makes you seem nice.” He’d mentioned coming home, so she asked, “Do you work?”

  “I’m volunteering at a wildlife rescue. They work mainly with birds, but sometimes if there’s room, they rehab other animals, too.”

  “Oh, that’s so cool.” She didn’t know much about birds. She could spot a cardinal or blue jay, and even knew what a sparrow was, but not much beyond that.

  “Yeah, don’t be too impressed,” he said with a laugh. “I go out a few days a week and clean stuff.”

  “Do you get to work with the birds?”

  He shook his head, which made his hair look as though it was in danger of whiplash. “Not yet. I do grunt work mainly. But I get to see them, and someday Mr. Stone says I can do more. Everyone has to pay their dues.”

  Austen reminded her of Audrey. Paying your dues sounded like balancing your karma. She smiled at the thought as she listened to him talk about one of the owls that had come in a few weeks ago.

  He told her he was seventeen and was going to be a senior. She told him she was sixteen and going to be a junior. He asked how her driving was going. She told him, but didn’t mention her Sound of Music humming.

  They didn’t talk about anything deep or even all that personal, but it was nice. Willow decided she liked him.

  “I know you cut the grass on Mondays,” Austen said, “but I go out to the rehab center on Wednesdays and Fridays, too. If you want to come out and don’t mind cleaning cages and other stuff like that, you could come with me and see them.”

  Willow had never really thought much about birds, but suddenly she wanted to volunteer. She’d be helping the birds, and spending time with Austen. She figured her karma wouldn’t mind if helping the birds helped her get to know him better, too. “I’d have to ask Audrey.”

  “Okay, let me know if you want to. Want to exchange numbers?”

  It was the first time a guy had asked for her phone number. Maybe it was just about the birds, but maybe it wasn’t. She grinned. “Sure.”

  Willow turned as Sawyer called out that there was food for whoever was hungry. “Let me ask Audrey if I can go with you on Wednesday,” she said.

  “Great. I’ll find us a seat.”

  Willow watched him walk toward some picnic tables. She forced herself to turn away and find Audrey. She was talking to Bea, who was still in the pool.

  “What’s up?” Willow asked as she approached.

  “I’m trying to talk Bea into coming out long enough to eat,” Audrey said, her voice heavy with amusement.

  Bea shook her head, spraying water all over. “And I’m trying to talk her into bringing me a burger so I don’t have to get out.”

  “I think there’s a chance that Bea’s part fish,” Audrey said.

  “Or squid,” Willow teased.

  Bea blew a raspberry at her.

  “You stay in the pool, squirt,” she found herself offering. “I’ll get you a burger.”

  They both looked at Audrey, who laughed and said, “You go for it. Just don’t spill your burger in Sawyer’s pool.”

  Willow walked toward the deck where the food was set up with Audrey. She was nervous about asking. What if Audrey said no? When she’d lived in other homes, she never asked permission for anything. She found it was easier to apologize, or even get punished, for doing what she wanted, rather than asking first and running the risk of being told no.

  But Audrey wasn’t like that. She didn’t say no to things arbitrarily.

  “I was talking to this guy,” she started. “Austen. His family’s friends with Sawyer, so I’m sure Sawyer would vouch for him. Anyway, he volunteers for a bird sanctuary—they rehabilitate injured animals and stuff like that. He said if you agree, I can go with him on Wednesday.”

  Audrey looked a bit concerned, and before she could say no, Willow hurriedly added, “He’s seventeen and going to be a senior. He looks like a nerd, but he’s really nice. I’ll wear a seat belt the whole drive and we won’t goof around. I’ll take my cell and text you the moment we get there, then when we’re leaving for home and when I get home. I won’t be touching any of the birds, just cleaning cages and stuff like that. I’d be volunteering, so that has to be good for my karma.” She desperately tried to think of other reasons to convince Audrey to say yes.

  Audrey reached out and touched her arm. “Take a breath, Willow. Yes. Yes, of course you can go.”

  Willow let out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding. “Thanks. I was afraid you’d say no.”

  “Listen, here’s my thoughts on you asking permission for things. You’re sixteen. And I realize that in two years you’re legally an adult. So our job is to get you ready for that. You need to learn to make good decisions on your own. So when you ask to do something, I’ll say yes unless I have a concern. If I do have a concern, I’ll tell you what it is, and we’ll see if we can fix it so I can say yes.” Audrey looked serious as she added, “I don’t say no if I can help it. And volunteering, well, that’s something I’ll always support.”

  “Maybe I want a chance to hang out with Austen, too,” she added, worried that Audrey would tell her that negated the volunteering aspect.

  Audrey didn’t seem put off. She chuckled as she said, “Well, that just sounds like plain old multitasking to me.”

  Willow could feel herself grinning like Bea, and just like Bea, she reached out and hugged Audrey. “Thanks.”

  * * *

  AUDREY WAS SURPRISED by Willow’s hug. Pleasantly surprised.

  She hugged her back. “Anytime, Willow. That’s what I’m here for. By the way, I was talking to Mrs. Wilson, the lady who lives across the street from Sawyer. She wants to talk to you if you have a minute.”


  “Am I in trouble for something?”

  Audrey shook her head. “Not at all.”

  “Okay, let me get Bea and me some food and then I’ll go find Mrs. Wilson.” She started toward the food table.

  “And, Willow?” Audrey called.

  Willow turned around. “Yeah?”

  “I’m proud of you. Volunteering is definitely good for your karma. Even if there are side benefits.”

  Willow blushed. “Thanks.”

  Every day things with Willow were getting better. She wasn’t as at ease as Bea or Clinton, but she was starting to trust. And Audrey hoped she was beginning to feel like part of the family.

  She looked at the kids. Bea, aka the fish, was never going to get out of the pool. Willow took her a plate and sat it on the deck near the shallow end. Clinton was filling up his own plate at the buffet table. And Willow had walked over to sit beside a boy at one of the picnic tables. That must be Austen. They were both grinning.

  Everyone was having fun, including her, Audrey had to confess.

  She sat on the deck with most of the other adults, while the kids claimed the pool area. Mr. Lebowitz and Maggie were talking in a corner, and Audrey was enjoying a conversation with Sawyer’s neighbors Bill and Gina Tellers.

  Gina was saying, “We’ve been married since Halloween. Making a blended family work is...”

  “Interesting,” Bill filled in. “Austen’s doing better than my boys are. I think that maybe the fact I only get them on weekends and a few weeks in the summer is part of it.”

  “It’s hard to feel connected when you know you’re only part-time,” Audrey said. “I had some okay foster families, but I never knew how long I’d be with them, so I kept them at arm’s length.”

  Gina patted her husband’s hand. “Austen’s with us every day, but Nico and Dusty aren’t. I try to make them feel like part of the family. I don’t know what more to do.”

  “I had friends in high school,” Audrey said, and realized that Merrill and Ava had been on her mind a lot lately. “I was in a group home by then, but my friends became the family I always wanted because they were always there for me. Just keep trying with the boys...keep being there no matter what. Eventually, they’ll realize what a good thing they have.”

  Before Bill or Gina could respond, Audrey said, “And that is the end of my parenting lecture. For someone who’s never had a child of her own, I can be obnoxiously full of opinions.”

  “No, from the look of you and your three kids,” Bill said, “you definitely have kids of your own.”

  Gina leaned closer to Bill. Her hand still rested on his. It was as if she needed to be as close to him as possible. She nodded and said, “No, it’s good to hear. I want us to come together and be a real family. So far we aren’t like that at all.”

  Bill put his arm over her shoulders and said, “Someday, they’ll see what a good thing I have in you...a good thing they have, too.”

  He looked beyond them and continued. “Speaking of kids.” He waved and two teenage boys came up. “Hey, you guys made it.”

  “Yeah,” said the taller, dark-haired one.

  “Audrey, these are my boys, Nico and Dusty.” Dusty was the shorter, lighter-haired one. “Austen and the other kids are down at the pool.”

  “Whoopee,” Nico scoffed. The two boys went to join the others.

  “Gus, don’t throw your burger at your brothers,” Jan Pennington said from the table next to them.

  “Need help?” Bill asked, and headed over to help Jan and her husband, Mart, with their boys, who were having a burger fight.

  “He’s a good guy,” Gina said, gazing after her husband. “But I don’t think his kids are ever going to accept me and Austen.”

  Bill’s sons had joined the older kids at the pool. One of them leaned over and said something to Willow, who stiffened.

  Everything in Audrey wanted to rush over and see what the problem was, but she didn’t have a chance. Willow gave Nico a push and he landed in the pool next to Bea, who howled with laughter.

  Audrey and Gina both hurried down.

  “Something wrong?” Audrey asked Willow.

  Willow shook her head. “Nope. We were just kidding around.”

  “Nico?” Gina asked her stepson, who was crawling out of the pool.

  “Like she said, we were just kidding around.” He smiled at her, but Audrey could see the expression didn’t reach his eyes. “We’ve known Willow for a while. We went to school with her last year.”

  Gina smiled. “Oh. That’s nice that you all know one another.”

  “Yeah, nice,” Willow said, her tone saying it was anything but.

  Audrey could see that Gina bought the explanation, but she knew there was more to it. “Willow, why don’t you go up and see Mrs. Wilson now? She’s talking to Mr. Lebowitz and Maggie May.”

  Willow headed off in that direction. “Ms. Smith,” Austen said. “Thanks for letting Willow come to the sanctuary with me.”

  “Just drive carefully,” Audrey warned. She’d thought teaching the kids to drive was going to be one of her hardest challenges, but she realized letting them ride with other kids was worse. A lot worse.

  “I promise, I’ll drive very carefully,” the boy said.

  “What’s this?” Gina asked.

  Austen looked from Audrey to his mom. “Willow’s coming with me on Wednesday. I figure it’s always good to have another cage scrubber along for the fun.”

  His mom laughed and mussed his hair.

  Audrey noticed that Nico was glaring at Austen and Gina as he toweled off.

  “Gina, I’m going to go back to your place to change,” Nico said.

  “Sure, honey.”

  He winced at the endearment. Audrey could tell that Gina had noticed he hadn’t said he was going home. She shot her a look of sympathy. “He’ll come around,” she said as they walked back up to the deck.

  “I hope so,” Gina said. “I mean, I knew it would be hard. You can make people live under the same roof, but that’s not the same as being a family. I know that the fact Nico and Dusty don’t like me and Austen weighs on Bill. He keeps trying. I keep trying.” She shrugged.

  Audrey nodded. “I understand you more than you can know. Willow’s only been with us since February. Not even half a year yet. We’re getting closer, but it’s hard. Hard on all of us. All we can do is take it one day at a time and trust that it will all work out in the end.”

  Gina glanced in the direction Nico had gone, then at her husband. “But what if it doesn’t?”

  She didn’t think Gina expected an answer, which was good because Audrey didn’t have one.

  * * *

  SAWYER WAS NOT usually a party kind of guy, but as he looked out his kitchen window at his neighbors and friends, he had to admit this one seemed to be going well.

  The only fly in his ointment was that he’d had to divide his time between Audrey and the rest of his guests. He was setting out the desserts when Willow came into the kitchen via the sliding glass doors.

  She grabbed a chocolate chip cookie as she said, “Sawyer, I have a business proposition for you.”

  “Okay. Shoot.”

  “I want to rent your lawn mower. Mrs. Wilson said she was so impressed with the job I’ve done at your house that she’d like to hire me to mow her place and take care of her flower beds. Rather than haul Audrey’s over every time, I thought maybe you’d consider letting me use yours. I mean, I’ll pay to use it and I’ll supply the gas.”

  His first inclination was to tell her of course she could use it and he wouldn’t think of renting it to her, but he was curious about what she had in mind. “What are you suggesting?”

  Willow didn’t hesitate. “I’ll give you ten percent of what she pays me, if you let m
e use your equipment.”

  He shook his head. “That seems like too much.”

  She shook her head. “No. It’s a brand-new lawn mower and I’d be putting wear and tear on it for my own financial gain. Ten percent return seems reasonable to me. And if I can drum up a few more jobs, I’d like to be able to negotiate for those, too.”

  “Sure, Willow, but really, you don’t...”

  “I do,” she said emphatically. “If I do this, I need to make it work on my own. And I’ll need you to take the mower and tools over to Mrs. Wilson’s on Mondays. She said she’d come get me after lunch, so I can mow her place first, then I’ll do yours and Audrey can still pick me up.”

  “I could give you a key...” he started.

  Willow interrupted, shaking her head wildly. “No way am I touching your keys.”

  “Why?” Even as he asked, he remembered why. Willow was mowing his lawn to pay him back for breaking into his place.

  He remembered his initial anger toward her.

  He looked at her now, and he didn’t see a thief. He saw Willow.

  “No matter how cool you are about it, we both know I broke into your home. I almost stole that car you’ve got stashed in your garage. I know better now—hell, I knew better then. I let myself be talked...” She shook her head. “I’ve changed—I’m still changing—but mowing your yard for a few weeks doesn’t negate what I did. You shouldn’t trust me.”

  “But what if I do?” he asked. And he was surprised to find out he did. Despite all the reasons he shouldn’t, he trusted her.

  Willow shook her head. “No. Our deal would have to include you taking the mower and clippers and stuff over to Mrs. Wilson’s on Monday mornings. For that, and the use of the equipment, you get a straight ten percent.”

  “Five percent?”

  “No. Ten percent is fair. If you say no, then I’ll just pack up Audrey’s stuff and haul it over here on Mondays.”

  “You strike a very hard bargain.” He held out his hand. “Deal.”

  Willow looked relieved and shook on it. “Great. It’s all contingent on Audrey’s answer.”