Love's Second Chance (Second Chances Series)

by L. P. Dover

  Tabatha Vargo ~ On the Plus Side

  Tiffany King ~ Meant to Be

  Beth Balmanno ~ Set in Stone

  Lizzy Ford ~ Dark Summer (Witchling Saga #1)

  Ella James ~ Selling Scarlett

  Tara West ~ Visions of the Witch

  Heidi McLaughlin ~ Forever Your Girl

  Melissa Andrea ~ Flutter

  Komal Lewis ~ Falling for Hadie

  Melissa Pearl ~ Betwixt

  Sarah M. Ross ~ Awaken

  Brina Courtney ~ Reveal

  COMING SPRING 2013

  Chapter 1 - Sweet Serendipity

  Rebecca pulled open the curtains in her bedroom and looked out at the bright May morning. The sunlight cascaded through the window pane causing miniature rainbow prisms to dance along her walls. Another day, she thought to herself. Let the morning craziness begin.

  As if on cue, her sixteen-year-old daughter, Riley, screamed at the top of her lungs, “Mom!

  Rebecca ran down the hall where she spotted her ten-year-old son, Adam, holding a big black spider in front of his older sister’s face.

  “Get him out of my room, now! I’m going to be late for school.” Riley demanded.

  “Come on, Adam, stop teasing your sister, please. You need to get dressed and eat your breakfast.” Rebecca gave her son the look that told him to get moving or else.

  “Geez mom, I was only having fun,” Adam responded as he slowly walked down the stairs into the kitchen, opened up the back door and lowered the spider on the deck. Rebecca poured a cup of coffee while she lovingly watched her son spare the spider’s life.

  “OK buddy, what would you like for breakfast this morning?” she asked him.

  “Pancakes,” he answered instantly.

  “Pancakes it is then.”

  Rebecca pulled a large bowl from a cabinet and began mixing together the ingredients for the pancakes. She didn’t believe in feeding her children frozen food. She wanted her kids to start their mornings with a homemade meal. While the pancakes were cooking, she hurried around the kitchen packing lunches for her husband, Jack, and her children, Riley and Adam.

  Some mornings she felt as if she was Wonder Woman, capable of taking on the world. While other mornings she felt as if she was on auto pilot, following the same monotonous routines day in and day out.

  Riley charged into the kitchen with her backpack on her back. She grabbed her lunch bag and headed for the door when Rebecca yelled out to her, “Oh no you don’t young lady, get your butt back here.”

  “I don’t have time, Mom. Ashlee is already out in the driveway waiting for me. I’m going to be late.”

  Rebecca handed her a plain pancake and told her to eat it on her way to school. She kissed her cheek and wished her a good day.

  “What do you have planned after school?” Rebecca quickly asked her as she walked out the door.

  “I have basketball practice, so you’ll have to pick me up at five thirty.”

  “Thanks for the advanced notice, Kiddo, Adam has hockey at four so I might be a few minutes late.”

  “Yeah, fine, whatever. See ya!” Riley waved goodbye as she got into the car and closed the passenger door.

  Rebecca took a deep breath; she knew she should be grateful that Riley was a good kid as far as seventeen-year-olds went. She got good grades and played team sports, but Rebecca missed the times when Riley needed her and looked up to her as her hero. Rebecca watched as the car pulled out of the driveway. She gave a quick wave goodbye. She knew that Riley now had her own friends and her own routines. She no longer needed Rebecca the same way that she used to. She was her own person now.

  “Mom, can I have my breakfast?” Adam asked, interrupting her thoughts.

  Rebecca smiled at her son as she walked back in the house. She placed three pancakes on a plate, added a few fresh strawberries, and topped it off with maple syrup. Adam ate every bite.

  Jack rushed through the kitchen like a frantic maniac, which was his typical morning routine. Rebecca stood aside as he slammed doors and hastily rummaged through drawers looking for something. He appeared in the kitchen with an annoyed expression upon his face.

  “Have you seen my keys?” He asked with a testy tone to his voice.

  Rebecca held them up and shook her head. Every day it was the same. Every day Jack rushed around in the morning, never able to leave for work on time. He hastily grabbed his lunch and ran his fingers over Adam’s head.

  “Bye buddy, have a good day at school today, kick some ass in hockey later.”

  Adam giggled at his father’s use of profanity.

  “OK, Dad, I’ll see you later.”

  Jack then looked over at Rebecca and very dryly said to her, “I’ll talk to you later,” as he rushed past her and out the door without as much as a simple goodbye.

  Jack owned a garage in town. He had opened shop ten years earlier after being sick and tired of turning wrenches for someone else for many years. He ran a very successful garage and was the local go-to guy. Rebecca didn’t mind. It allowed her to be able to stay at home and raise the kids. That was all she had ever wanted to do…or so she thought.

  At eight thirty, Rebecca put Adam on the bus and waved goodbye as the bus pulled down the street. She was walking back toward her door when she noticed her next-door neighbor was outside watering her flowers, so she waved hello. Her neighbor didn’t bother to wave back. She turned away from Rebecca and resumed watering her flowers. She simply smiled to herself as she shook her head. Fifteen years they have lived in this very house. Fifteen years and her neighbor never once waved back.

  She popped another K-Cup into her machine and hit the brew button. As if on cue, the phone rang. She smiled to herself, knowing how much she loved her morning routine.

  “Good morning, Em.” She smiled into the phone. Emily and Rebecca became fast friends when they worked in the local mall together as teens. They have been the best of friends ever since.

  “Oh, thank God you answered, my morning is a wreck. My damn dog decided to dig up my plants therefore throwing dirt all over my white carpets. Andrew decided to moisturize himself from head to toe and top it off with baby powder. Do you know what happens when baby powder gets mixed with moisturizer? I’ll tell you; it turns into a very thick glue-like paste. I had to bathe him twice just to get it off. I now need to shampoo the carpets. I think that the baby can sense all of the stress because it has been kicking up a storm. I am exhausted and unbelievably uncomfortable!”

  “Would you like me to take Andrew for a while so you can relax?” Rebecca asked.

  “I couldn’t do that to you. You already have so much going on.”

  “I’m fine with it. My house is quiet now, and I really don’t mind. You can get some much needed rest. It’s a beautiful day outside. I’ll take him to the playground and wear him out for you.”

  “I’d owe you big time. It’s so hard to do all of this alone.”

  “Well, you are not alone. I am here for you, and James will be home from the Army around the time the baby is born.”

  “I am eternally grateful. As for James, he can’t get here soon enough. I just hope we don’t end up hating one another. We’ve never spent more than a few weeks at a time with each other. What if we end up hating one another?”

  “You married him, and you are about to have your second child, so I am pretty sure you guys don’t hate each other.”

  “I know. You are right. I’m just tired and really hormonal. I appreciate you, Becca.”

  “I know you do. I’ll be there soon.”

  Rebecca hung up the phone, placed her coffee cup in the dishwasher, and set out for Emily’s house. She arrived within a half hour and was greeted at the door by Daisy, the St. Bernard, who jumped up on her and slobbered a big wet kiss on her. Andrew could hear Rebecca’s voice, so he came running and jumped into her arms as he squealed.

  “Hi Auntie, we go play?” he said with all the enthusiasm of a three-year-old.

  “Yes, Bud! Doe
s that sound like fun? Then mommy can get a little rest.”

  “OK!” The little blued-eyed preschooler answered.

  “I don’t get it, Rebecca. You are always so put together, and you always look so pretty.”

  Rebecca cracked up laughing. At thirty-six years old and married for nearly eighteen years, she didn’t feel very pretty anymore.

  “Oh, you know how to charm me, my friend.” They said their goodbyes, and Emily headed straight to her bedroom for a much needed nap.

  Rebecca pulled into Nelson Park and Andrew ran off to the swings. She pulled out a snack bag for him and a book for herself. She began walking to a nearby bench when she heard her name being called. She looked over her shoulder and noticed Tasha waving to her. She stopped and waited for her to catch up to her. Tasha was out of breath by the time she reached Rebecca. At thirty-six, Natasha was in better shape now than she was back in high school. She reminded Rebecca of Beyoncé, with her mocha skin and long, sexy hair. It suited her. They had been friends since high school and had their daughters around the same time.

  “You put me to shame, Tasha. Look at you all hot and sweaty.”

  “Please, don’t give me that crap. I have to work at my image. You are just one of those lucky skinny bitches. What are you doing here anyway, aren’t the kids at school?”

  “Yes they are. I’m watching Emily’s little guy. She needs some rest, and I thought I’d let him run around here. Why aren’t you at work?”

  “I have no clients and no court, so I am enjoying this beautiful day. Let’s go sit and chat.”

  Tasha took a sip from her water bottle and followed Rebecca to a bench. Rebecca waved to Andrew to let him know where she was, and he waved back as he excitedly followed another boy over to the slide.

  “So, what’s been happening girlfriend? How’s Jack?”

  “Jack is…Jack. He works and he sleeps.”

  “Wow, let me please contain myself…sounds pretty boring. Is he having an affair?”

  Rebecca was caught off guard by the blunt question. She had suspected for some time that he had been seeing someone. They didn’t seem to have anything left between them anymore. They barely spoke to one another, and although they slept in the same bed, that was it, they slept. They hadn’t had sex in over a year. Neither one of them even bothered to try anymore.

  “Hello…Becca?”

  “Sorry. I, um, I don’t know if he is. I’d like to think he’s not. I mean, I’ve been with him since I was eighteen. I’ve never been with anyone else.”

  “Well, that’s your fault. I always told you he was too old for you. Eight years difference is too much. He wanted to settle down with someone young, now he’s middle-aged and never around. I mean, at least that’s how I see it. I see you with your kids all the time. You are the one who is always driving them here and there, to this event or that. What about you, Becca?”

  “What about me? I get to stay home with them. Jack works hard. He works really long hours. That’s all. When he comes home, he’s tired.”

  “No offense, babe, but the shop closes at five. He doesn’t come home until after eight every night. I’m sorry, but that sends up red flags. I’m just saying, girlfriend, that you need to think about you. The kids are going to be gone soon enough, and what will you have then? Richard and I split when Ashlee was small. We just knew that we couldn’t be married. He’s a great friend and a wonderful father. We have a much better relationship now than we had before, so just think about it. You’ve been with one man your whole life, and you are not happy. You just don’t smile the way you used to. Even Emily agrees with me.”

  “Wow! So you discuss me and my marriage with Emily, too? I’m the last to know? Gee thanks,” Rebecca said in astonishment.

  “We both love you, Becca. We are just concerned for your happiness. You deserve to be happy, and quite frankly, Jack doesn’t do that for you.”

  Tasha changed the topic of conversation to a lighter one before she headed back down the beach to finish her run. Rebecca was left in the park on a bench, thinking about her life. She knew deep down that her friends were right. She had run off with Jack eighteen years ago. She married him at eighteen and had Riley by nineteen. She had never gone to college. She barely made it out of high school. If she didn’t have the kids, what would she have?

  Her thoughts wondered back to Jack and all his late nights. She wasn’t stupid; she heard the late night texts that came to his phone when he thought she was sleeping. She was awake when he’d sneak out of bed and not return for an hour. No, she wasn’t stupid. However, she was afraid—afraid he would replace her.

  For the rest of the day, she felt as though she was forcing herself to get everything done that needed to be done. She put on her happy face as she rushed Adam from school to hockey practice, and then swung by Riley’s school to pick her up from basketball. She cooked dinner and helped with homework. She folded the laundered clothes and towels and put them away. She tucked Adam into bed, and listened as Riley gossiped with her friends on the phone.

  Jack came home around eight o’clock that evening. He stayed downstairs while Rebecca remained upstairs. Around midnight, she felt him sneak into their bed and roll on his side. She really did feel dead inside. She had been trying so hard to be the perfect wife and the perfect mother that somewhere along the way she never had a chance to figure out who she really was.

  Part of her wanted to curl up with her husband, just so she’d know they were all right and that he did still love her. She was too afraid of his rejection, and the thoughts of him with someone else made her stomach turn, so instead of reaching out to him, she forced herself to close her eyes and fall asleep.

  She woke the next morning and got out of bed. She didn’t hear the shower running as usual. She made her way down to the kitchen, but Jack was nowhere to be seen. Adam was sitting at the table with a bowl of cereal.

  “Where is your father?” she asked him.

  “Oh, he left for work already. He said something about being short-handed.”

  Rebecca poured a mug of coffee and took a seat at the table with her son.

  “Are you OK, mom? You look sad.”

  “I’ll be OK, buddy.” She forced herself to smile for him.

  Riley came bounding into the kitchen and shouted, “Hey Mom, Ashlee is going with her dad to New Hampshire this weekend. I really want to go. Can I go?”

  “I, um…yeah if it’s alright with Richard, then fine.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” She ran back up the stairs to pack a bag to be ready when Ashlee came to pick her up.

  When the kids were gone, Rebecca closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. She had a few hours to herself. She decided she would pack a lunch and surprise Jack at work since he had left so early. She took a quick shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She blow dried her hair, applied a little make-up, and set out to the kitchen.

  She packed homemade chicken salad sandwiches, macaroni salad, chips and soda. The phone rang; it was her neighbor, Ellie, asking if Adam would be interested in having a sleepover with her son, David. Rebecca set up the plans and agreed to drop off some things for Adam at her house.

  That was it. Rebecca now had the night off. It didn’t happen very often so, she wanted to make the best of it. Maybe she could convince Jack to take her out on a date—just the two of them. She was beginning to feel a little better. She tried to keep a positive attitude, and she decided that she would make the first move toward attempting to rekindle things with her husband.

  She packed up her car and drove across town to Jack’s shop. When she pulled into the parking lot she didn’t spot his truck anywhere. She parked and walked into the waiting room where she was greeted by Dana. Dana spotted Rebecca and immediately stopped typing on the computer.

  “Hi Rebecca, Jack’s not here. He said something about a meeting with a new supplier. He won’t be back until after one o’clock. Do you want me to tell him that you were here?”

  Reb
ecca sighed and shook her head. “That’s alright Dana, thanks anyway.”

  Rebecca walked back out into the parking lot. She knew she couldn’t automatically jump to conclusions about his whereabouts. If he said he was at a meeting, then he was at a meeting. She sat behind the wheel of her car and her hands trembled from the wrenching feeling in her gut.

  She decided to swing by Tasha’s office to share the lunch that she had packed for her husband.

  “Well, it’s his loss. This chicken salad is to die for. You are such a good cook. I’m going to have to go to the gym just to work it off.”

  “Oh, you are just being nice. So, Richard is taking the girls to New Hampshire this weekend? Is there a special reason?”

  “Yeah! Richard has been seeing this girlfriend for a while now. He wants Ashlee to like her because he plans on asking her to marry him.”

  “Wow! And you are alright with this?”

  “Totally! Why wouldn’t I be? He deserves to be happy. We truly are best friends. If he’s happy, then so am I. I’ve met her a few times, her name is Rochelle. She seems nice. It took her a while to realize that Richard and I are truly just friends, but now she seems to be a fit to our little family unit.”

  “You are amazing, Tasha. I don’t know if I could ever do that.” Rebecca laughed despite her sinking feeling.

  “So, since you are child-free, how about a girl’s night? Let’s go to dinner and have a few drinks somewhere.”

  “I was going to ask Jack if he wanted to go out. Maybe it is just what we need to get things back on track again.”

  “Alright, but I think you are wasting your time. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”

  At four in the afternoon, Jack called Rebecca on her cell phone. His voice came off as very robotic and matter-of-fact.

  “Yeah, Dana told me that you stopped by earlier. Are the kids alright?”

  “Um. yeah, I just packed a lunch and was going to surprise you.” The line went quiet.