One More Second Chance

by Jana Richards

  She hadn’t meant to let the anguish she’d held inside for the last three years bubble to the surface. She rose on unsteady legs. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… I should go.”

  She grabbed her purse and started for the back door. Wyatt rose and followed her. “Wait. Are you saying what Russ told me isn’t true?”

  Keeping her face averted, she pulled her coat out of the closet and pushed her arms through the sleeves. “Yes.”

  “Are you saying he lied to me?”

  She turned to face him then, lifting her chin slightly and looking him straight in the eye. Even though her hands shook, she would not back down from the truth. “Yes.”

  Wyatt bowed his head, sorrow etched on his face. “He lied to me. My son lied to me.”

  He felt his way to a kitchen chair and sat, slumping forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

  “I wanted to believe him. I wanted to put all the blame on you. It was easier that way.” He gave a bitter, anguished laugh. “But I think I knew the truth all along.”

  “I’m sorry, Wyatt.”

  “It’s not your fault.” He laughed again, the sound raw and angry. “That’s ironic, isn’t it? Russ wanted me to believe you were to blame for everything. Tell me something else. Was the divorce your idea?”

  “No.”

  “Another lie. He said you were all for going back to Thailand, but when he went on ahead to find a place for the three of you to live, you changed your mind. You called him and told him you wanted a divorce.”

  Julia took a few steps toward him. “I never wanted to go back to Thailand. I wanted to raise Ava here. My parents were getting older, and I wanted to be around to look after them. And I’d just gotten the principalship of the high school. But Russ insisted, and I was afraid if I didn’t give in, he’d leave me. So we both quit our jobs at the end of June, and he went on ahead to find us a house, and I stayed here to pack our things. Then I got a call. He said I should stay in Maine. He’d met a Thai woman named Kanda, and he was in love with her. Actually he’d met Kanda three years earlier when we were in Thailand together. He told me they’d had an affair then, though I hadn’t known it at the time. But I suspected.” She’d never told anyone that Russ had cheated on her, not even Edie and Tracy. She’d been too ashamed to talk about it. “He looked her up when he got back, and he decided he wanted to marry her. So he told me not to come, that he wanted a divorce. Apparently Kanda is everything he wanted in a woman—domestic, pliable, obedient. Everything I’m not.”

  “He told me he’d married a Thai woman. They have two children together.”

  The news wasn’t unexpected. She waited for the pain that usually swept over her when she let herself think of Russ and the way their marriage had ended, but this time it didn’t come. She sighed in relief.

  Perhaps it was finally over.

  “That’s when you asked if you could have your job back. The board was happy to have you.”

  “Well, not everyone on the board. As I recall, you had some tough questions for me. The past three years have not been easy between the two of us.”

  He sighed heavily. “I was angry. Russ blamed you and so did I. He said you were more interested in your career than you were in him.”

  “That’s not true either. I loved Russ from the time I was fifteen years old. I know I made mistakes, but I tried very hard to be a good wife. I realize now I wasn’t what he needed.”

  “What kind of a son did I raise?” Wyatt shook his head. “What kind of man ignores his child and lies to his father? What did I do wrong?”

  She closed the distance between them and touched his shoulder. “I asked myself that question a thousand times. What did I do to make Russ stop loving me? I finally came to the conclusion that Russ made his own decisions. You’re not at fault any more than I am.”

  He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, the sadness and grief making him look years older. “Ava is going to be the only grandchild we’ll be allowed to know. I asked Russ if we could visit him and meet his wife and children, and he said he didn’t want us to come to Thailand. He doesn’t want his children to know us.”

  Julia felt a swift stab of pain for him and Lily. As much as Russ had hurt her, she realized now that he had hurt his parents just as much. Perhaps more. The hurt he inflicted on them kept going on and on. At least hers was over now.

  “I’m sorry.”

  He covered her hand with his. “Yes, so am I. But I’m grateful to have Ava in our lives. She’s a wonderful child.”

  Julia smiled. “Yes, I think she’s pretty special. I’m glad she has you and Lily.”

  “How ’bout I give you a lift home? It’s dark now, and getting colder.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  After slipping on her shoes, she followed Wyatt to his car, and they drove the short distance in silence. Wyatt pulled up in front of her house and put the car in neutral, leaving the engine running. He turned to look at her, his tense face illuminated in the light from the dashboard.

  “I need to apologize to you.”

  She shook her head. “It’s over now.”

  “I don’t mean just for everything about Russ, though I want you to know I’m deeply sorry about that. I want to apologize for my behavior the morning after the Harvest of the Sea Festival. I was rude to both you and Dr. Campbell, and it was inexcusable.”

  Julia felt her face heating at the memory of her humiliation that morning. Worse, she remembered the fight she’d picked with Alex. She looked down at her hands clenched in her lap.

  “I’d rather just forget about it.”

  “When we arrived at Dr. Campbell’s house and you were there, it hit me that we could lose Ava just as we’re getting to know her. For the first time I realized the relationship between the two of you was deeper and more serious than I’d believed. I realized you and Ava could go with him to San Diego when he leaves, and we could lose her forever. So I lashed out at you.”

  Julia kept her face averted. “I thought you were angry because you found out Alex and I had slept together.”

  “You’ve been divorced from my son for three years. I’ve always known there was a possibility you would remarry and Ava would have a stepfather. I just hoped it would be someone from the island. The prospect of the two of you moving across the country threw me for a loop.”

  “We won’t be going with Alex when he leaves.”

  “But I thought—”

  “It didn’t work out. I can’t leave here. I can’t leave my parents, my friends, my school.” She tried to laugh. “It looks like you’re stuck with me.”

  “I’m sorry, Julia. Alex Campbell is a good man.”

  She couldn’t stop the sob that escaped. “Yes, he is.”

  “He seems to care for you a great deal, and for Ava, as well. Perhaps you could convince him to stay.”

  “He says he loves me and that he wants to stay with me in Lobster Cove, but…”

  “But what?”

  “I guess I have a hard time believing he means it.”

  Wyatt stared out the windshield. “Not every man is like my son. Some of them tell the truth. Don’t compare him to Russ.”

  Was she letting the sad end of her marriage ruin her chance for happiness now?

  “I hope you can work things out with him, and for a lot of reasons, mostly selfish, I hope you’ll stay in Lobster Cove. The town needs both of you. But if you decide to leave with him, I want you to know I understand, and I wish you well.”

  How strange it was to be having this conversation with her ex-father-in-law. They’d probably talked more honestly and emotionally this evening than they had in all the years they’d known each other. But they’d both needed to clear the air and hear the truth.

  “Thank you. For everything.”

  “Good night, Julia.”

  She opened the car door and walked to her front door. Wyatt waited in the idling car. When she opened the door, she waved, and he took off down the street.

&
nbsp; The phone rang almost as soon as she walked in. She turned on the kitchen light and found the cordless phone on the counter, the call display telling her someone from the hospital was on the line. Her stomach flipped. Alex.

  “Hello?”

  “Where have you been?” Tracy asked without preamble. “I’ve been calling you all evening. Why aren’t you answering your cell?’

  “I’m sorry. Ava and I were at the Stewarts’ house for dinner.” She rummaged in her purse and pulled out her phone. “I forgot to charge my cell. It’s dead. What’s going on?”

  “I wanted to make sure you heard the news.”

  “What news?”

  “Alex told the staff at the hospital today that he plans to stay permanently in Lobster Cove. He signed a new contract with the health board. Isn’t that great?”

  Alex was staying? Julia dropped into a kitchen chair. What did this mean?

  “Julia? Are you still there?”

  “Yes. Yes, I’m here. You’re sure about this, Tracy?”

  “Of course I’m sure! Alex told us himself. He said he’s come to appreciate the kind of medicine he practices in Lobster Cove, and he loves the community. He likes the way we look after each other. Didn’t he tell you?”

  Julia covered her mouth with her hand to hold back her sob. When she could talk, she said, “No, I haven’t spoken to him in a while.”

  “Honey, he’s going to stay. He wants to stay. He’s not going to leave you.”

  This time she couldn’t hold back the tears. “Oh, Tracy.”

  “Don’t let him slip away. He’s throwing you a lifeline. Maybe you should grab it and hang on.”

  She was right. “Is Alex at the hospital now?”

  “Yes. He’s doing his regular shift in the ER. He’ll be off at midnight.”

  “Thanks for letting me know. I love you, Trace.”

  “I love you too, Jules. Good luck.”

  “Bye.”

  “Bye.”

  Julia carefully set the phone on the counter, her heart racing as if it were trying to beat its way out of her chest. She checked the clock on the stove; it was only eight-thirty. Midnight couldn’t come fast enough.

  ****

  By five minutes to twelve, Julia was sitting in her car in front of Alex’s house, waiting for him to come home. Fall had turned to winter in the space of a few hours, and the thermometer had dipped below zero. She turned the heater on high and prayed no emergency would keep him late at the hospital. She needed to talk to him, to see his face and the look in his eyes when he told her about his decision to stay. She needed to see that his decision was sincere, that it was what he really wanted. Regardless of what Tracy had told her, Julia needed to know he was staying because he wanted to, and not just to make her happy.

  At twenty minutes after midnight, a car drove down the street and turned into Alex’s driveway. She turned off the ignition and got out of her car, her stomach tied up in knots. As she took a few steps down the driveway she saw Alex get out of his car.

  “Alex!”

  He saw her then and hurried toward her, clasping her shoulders when he reached her.

  “What are you doing here? You’re cold. Let’s go inside.”

  She dug in her heels when he tried to pull her along. “Wait a minute. Is it true? Have you decided to stay in Lobster Cove?”

  His face was perfectly calm. “Yes, it’s true. I signed a new contract yesterday.”

  She watched his eyes. “Why did you extend your contract?”

  He grinned. “Because there’s never a dull moment as a family physician in Lobster Cove.”

  “Be serious, Alex.”

  “I am serious. I deal with a wide variety of diseases and injuries that test all my abilities and skills as a doctor. I don’t just treat one body part and move on, never to see that patient again. I treat the whole person, and I can’t tell you how satisfying it is to follow a patient’s progress and see them getting better. As an added bonus, I still get the rush of working in the emergency room.”

  “You mean that, don’t you?”

  He kissed the end of her nose. “Of course I mean it. Lobster Cove has become my home in the last few months. This community cares about its members, and I want to be part of that.” He wrapped her in his arms and brought her close. “And then there’s this cute little blonde shortstop that I’m crazy about. There’s no way I’m ever leaving her.”

  A tear rolled down her cheek. “You really mean it.”

  He brushed away the tear with his thumb. “Of course I do. There’s nowhere else I want to be. I love Lobster Cove, and I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  He rested his forehead against hers. There was a hitch in his voice when he spoke. “I’ve been waiting a long time to hear you say that.”

  “I’ve wanted to say it for a long time, but I was too scared. I’m not scared anymore.”

  She pressed herself again him and brought his head down for a deep drugging kiss. Alex lifted her off her feet and swung her around. Julia threw her head back and laughed.

  He set her on her feet and kissed her again. “Is Ava with the Stewarts again?”

  “Yes, she’s staying overnight and spending all day tomorrow with them.”

  He grinned down at her. “That’s good. Since I’m not about to let you leave here tonight, are you sure you don’t want to move your car so the neighbors don’t see it? Someone’s going to notice that it’s been sitting in front of my house all night. People will talk, you know.”

  “Let them talk. I’m in love, and I don’t care who knows it or what they say. As long as you love me too, that’s all that matters.”

  “Sweetheart, that’s no problem at all.”

  A word about the author...

  Jana Richards has been making up stories since childhood, but she was in her thirties before she began to put pen to paper. She loves writing romance fiction because of its message of hopefulness and its steadfast belief that love makes people better human beings.

  When not writing or working at her day job as a bookkeeper, Jana can be found reading, gardening, spending time with her family or tearing up her favourite golf course. Jana lives in Manitoba, Canada with her husband Warren.

  Visit Jana at http://www.janarichards.com

  Thank you for purchasing

  this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.