A Secret Wish

by Barbara Freethy

  She’d tried to get Blake into counseling after her last birthday, but he’d stalled, and after two months of fighting over how their lives were going to go, she’d filed for divorce. It hadn’t been an easy decision to make. She’d been his wife since she was twenty-two years old. She hadn’t worked during their marriage, except as his corporate wife, so she’d been faced with some scary choices. And Blake had not gone away easily. He’d made her pay dearly for her decision. She hadn’t realized how much of his money he’d hidden away until it had come time to settle their divorce. But in the end, the money hadn’t mattered. She’d needed her freedom. And with that freedom had come a new relationship with her children.

  They’d handled the divorce better than expected, not even complaining when she’d moved them into a smaller house. Because what they’d given up in acreage, they’d gotten back in love. She’d become a part of their lives. It hadn’t happened overnight, but every day they grew closer, and she would never regret her decision to put them before her marriage. They’d been worth the fight.

  “Did you two do this?” she asked.

  “It wasn’t us,” Sophie said. “But someone who knows you really well said he owed you a cake. So we let him get you this one.”

  “Alex,” she said with a soft smile. She’d introduced Alex to her kids a month ago. At first, they’d been wary of another man coming into their lives, but Alex had won them over. He was good with them. He respected them, and he didn’t try to act like a father figure. He was just their friend.

  Her relationship with Alex had evolved slowly. It had taken her months to get him to trust her enough to have dinner with her. He hadn’t wanted to be her rebound guy, or the one she ran back to just because she was lonely. She’d had to prove to him she could stand on her own and that she knew what she wanted – who she wanted. She’d appreciated the time, because she’d needed to prove that to herself, too. She’d used her experience planning her husband’s parties to get a part-time job with a local wedding consultant, and found the work and the new friendships to be just what she needed to heal. Life was good now.

  “Looks like I’m just in time,” Alex said, appearing at the table. “I know you wanted just family tonight,” he added, “But Nora and the kids thought you might not mind if I showed up for cake.”

  “I don’t mind at all. It’s a beautiful cake. It reminds me of the view from the park.”

  “The one you used to dream on,” he said, meeting her gaze. “You'd better make your wish before the candle burns all the way down.

  She closed her eyes and smiled. Last year she'd wanted…her family back. And that wish had come true. So this year…Love and joy and happiness for all of us.

  She opened her eyes and blew out the candle.

  “What did you wish for?” Sophie asked.

  “It’s a secret. She can’t tell you, or it won’t come true,” Nora interjected.

  “Please,” Sophie begged.

  “Maybe she wished for you to stop talking,” Michael said.

  Sophie punched her brother in the arm. “Maybe she wished for you to disappear.”

  “She wouldn’t do that. She likes me better than you.”

  “She does not,” Sophie countered.

  Carole smiled at their bickering. She didn’t mind their arguments, because she was a part of them. They were no longer eating with the nanny in the other room as they’d done so often when they were growing up.

  “Why don’t you sit down, Alex?" she suggested. "We can make room.”

  As Alex squeezed into the booth next to her, they were all touching shoulder to shoulder. “My life is so good,” she said. “I thought forty was the end, but it turns out it was just the beginning.” She lifted her glass. “To us.”

  “To us,” they echoed, clinking glasses.

  As they finished the toast, the waiters gathered around the table next to hers and once again burst into song.

  “You’ve got competition,” Alex said.

  She stared at the brunette woman sitting at the next table and realized with amazement that she’d seen her before – a year ago to the day. The moment flashed in her head. After seeing Blake with Krystal, she’d run out of the hotel and into the street, right in front of a car. That woman’s car. She’d almost been run over. It was then that she’d realized how close she’d come to dying. It was then that she’d realized she’d been given a second chance. How odd that they shared the same birthday. And yet it was strangely fitting, too.

  * * *

  Angela blushed as the waiters sang long and loud. It was certainly a busy birthday night in the restaurant. “I told you not to say it was my birthday, Colin.”

  Her husband shrugged. “Hey, I got you out of the big family party this year. Your mother may never speak to me again.”

  “She’ll survive. And we’re going to see her tomorrow anyway.”

  “Can I help you blow out the candles?” Kimmie asked, getting on her knees on the bench seat next to Angela.

  “She has to make her wish first,” Laurel said. “Be patient.”

  She smiled at Kimmie and Laurel, thinking how much they’d grown in the past year and how much they’d changed. After that first night in her apartment, the girls had spent several weeks in two separate foster homes despite her pleas to keep them together. Knowing the girls were apart, she and Colin had worked harder and faster to be licensed as foster parents. Eventually Laurel and Kimmie had been placed in their care while their mother went through rehab.

  For months they’d all hoped that the girls’ mother would recover enough to take care of them, but every rehab stint ended in failure. In a heartbreaking moment of motherly love, Laurel’s mother had finally admitted she couldn’t take care of them. After seeing how happy her girls were, she’d agreed to give up her parental rights.

  Now Angela and Colin were making plans to officially adopt the girls. They were going to be a family. It seemed shocking that it had all started when Laurel had tried to mug her.

  “What are you smiling at?” Colin asked.

  “Just thinking about how we all met.”

  Laurel flushed. “I thought we weren’t going to talk about it ever again. I did a stupid thing that night.”

  “It was stupid, but I think it was also fate,” Angela said. “Before I ran into you, I spoke to an old friend. He's a priest now. I told him that I wouldn’t come back to church unless I had a child, and he told me that God loves a good challenge. A half hour later, I met you.”

  “And now we go to church on Sundays,” Laurel said with a grin.

  “I had to keep up my end of the bargain,” she replied.

  “Honey, make your wish,” Colin said.

  “Last year I wished for a baby,” she said. “But I got two beautiful girls instead.”

  “So what’s it going to be this year?” Colin asked.

  She gave him a little smile and wished for … a little boy to make our family complete. Then she blew out the candle.

  “Are you going to tell us what you wished for?” Laurel asked.

  “You’ll all find out in about six months.”

  “What?” Colin asked, confusion and a hint of wonder in his gaze. “What are you talking about, Angie?”

  “I’m pregnant, Colin. I don’t know how it happened, but I passed the three-month mark yesterday. I didn’t want to tell you until I knew whether it was going to take. I didn’t want any of us to be disappointed. But it looks like I’m doing okay.”

  “Are you serious? This is unbelievable."

  It was unbelievable. They hadn't done the IVF, because they'd spent their money on the girls.

  “The doctor said it wasn’t completely uncommon for women to conceive after they gave up worrying about getting pregnant. Something about relaxing," she said.

  “I can’t believe it,” Colin said again.

  “You’re going to have a baby?” Laurel asked, a worried gleam in her eyes.

  “A little brother or sister for you and
Kimmie,” she said. “Colin and I are still adopting you. We already consider you both our daughters, and our lives have been incredibly blessed by your presence. Now we’re going to welcome one more.”

  “I always thought three kids was the perfect number,” Colin said.

  “I want a little brother,” Kimmie said.

  “Me, too,” Laurel added.

  “Boy or girl, our child will be loved,” Angela said. She sat back in her seat as Colin cut the cake. “It’s been another great birthday. I didn’t think I could top last year, but every year gets better and better.” As she looked around the restaurant, she saw two other cakes, two other women who were celebrating their birthdays. “Oh, my God,” she said, sitting up straight. “Those women…”

  “What women?” Colin asked.

  “The other two women celebrating their birthdays tonight. I met both of them last year on my birthday. The brunette with the guy – she was in the drugstore when I went to buy Kimmie cough medicine. She had condoms and said she was hoping to get lucky.”

  “Looks like that worked out,” Colin said dryly.

  “And the blonde over there – I almost ran her down with the car when I first left our house. I was so angry and hurt that I couldn’t see straight. And she was running away from someone. I remember she jumped into a limo and took off. I had no idea we all shared the same birthday. It’s strange that we’d end up here a year later.”

  “Fate,” Colin said. “And everyone looks happy.”

  She couldn’t agree more, because the other two women were both looking back at her with wide smiles on their faces and sparks of recognition. “I have a feeling all our wishes came true,” she said.

  “Guess you were born on a lucky day.”

  “We all were.”

  THE END

  JUST A WISH AWAY

  Excerpt @ Copyright 2012 Barbara Freethy

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Prologue

  Fifteen years earlier …

  "Race you to Dragon Rock," Braden Elliott challenged.

  Twelve-year-old Alexa Parker barely heard him. Her attention was focused on the pile of pebbles and shells that had washed ashore. She was looking for tiny shards of sea glass or mermaid tears, as the locals called them. The Sand Harbor Beach on the coast of Washington State was known for the glass that the sea tossed up after years of being tumbled and turned by the waves and the salt water, finally landing on the sand as beautiful, colorful gems. When she grew up, she wanted to become a glassmaker, turn all those broken pieces into something amazing.

  "Come on, Alexa," Braden urged.

  She looked up at him, her determination wavering as she stared into his beautiful green eyes, that sometimes reminded her of the glass she collected. Braden had grown three inches over the summer, now towering over her at nearly six feet. His brown hair was thick and wavy and messed up by the wind. He was so cute; sometimes she just couldn't stop looking at him.

  They'd known each other since they were ten, but this was the first summer she'd looked at him as more than just a friend. In fact, her stomach did a little flip flop every time he smiled at her. She didn't really know what to do about her new feelings. Part of her wanted to say something and the other part of her was just too scared. A couple of her friends had boyfriends, but she wasn't sure she was ready, and she only saw Braden in the summer.

  While Braden lived at Sand Harbor year round, she only came for holidays and summers. Every June, she and her mom packed up the car and left Seattle to stay with her Aunt Phoebe at the beach. Her dad would come down on Thursdays and take long weekends in July and August. It was the perfect way to spend the summer.

  She'd met some of Braden's Sand Harbor friends over the years, but when she was in town it was mostly just the two of them. They would meet up every morning on their bikes and take off to explore one of the three beaches that dotted the coastline. They'd search for sea glass, fly kites, build sand castles and make up stories about the people who vacationed in the big houses along the bluff. Sand Harbor was a quiet fishing village in the winter, but in summer, the town filled up with tourists and celebrities looking for a summer escape. Every year there seemed to be new houses being built along the bluffs.

  "Alexa," Braden said impatiently. "You're daydreaming again."

  It was a bad habit of hers, but one that didn't usually make him mad. Braden put his hands in the pockets of his jeans and stared out to sea, and she realized Braden's bad mood was more about his dad than about her. Braden's father was a soldier in the Army, and he was supposed to have come home by now, but they kept postponing his release date. Now they were talking about Christmas. Braden seemed to grow more worried with each passing day, and she knew that deep down he was afraid that his dad would never come home.

  Wanting to cheer him up, she got to her feet. "Okay, I'll race you," she said. Making Braden smile again seemed more important than finding glass to add to her collection.

  Her words did make him smile and no wonder. Braden loved action, running, biking, hiking. He hated to stand still.

  She tossed the few pieces of glass she had collected into her backpack.

  "I'll carry it for you," Braden said, taking the pack out of her hands. "I don't want you to say the backpack slowed you down."

  "Fine." Braden would beat her whether she was carrying anything or not. She couldn't keep up with his long legs.

  "And I'll give you a head start," he added.

  She didn't bother to say thanks, just took off down the beach. She didn't like to run as much as Braden did, but there were times like this afternoon when it felt good to have the wind in her hair and the sun on her face. She was going to miss summer, and she was going to miss Braden.

  Moisture filled her eyes. She hadn’t told him yet about the change in plans. She hadn't wanted to ruin the day, but as the sun sank down to meet the sea she knew she was almost out of time.

  Braden passed her, his stride long and easy, as if he wasn't making any effort at all, and he probably wasn't. He was a born athlete.

  By the time she got to the rock that looked like a dragon, Braden was sprawled on the sand, a satisfied smile on his face.

  She flopped down, breathless, her cheeks warm from the sun and the run.

  Braden gazed at her with an odd expression in his eyes. Her heart skipped a beat.

  He looked like he wanted to kiss her.

  Surprise and nervousness flared. She'd never kissed a boy, but she wanted to kiss Braden. She just didn't know how to get from where she was to where he was. There had to be at least three feet between them.

  "You're staring at me," she said, licking her suddenly dry lips.

  "You're – pretty."

  Her heart skipped another beat. "I am?"

  "You know you are." His jaw tightened, and then he jumped to his feet. "Hey, what's that?" He took off, jogging toward the base of the cliff.

  She got up more slowly, disappointed that nothing had happened. Her friend at home, Colette, had already kissed two boys. Braden had said she was pretty, but maybe she wasn't pretty enough. She always freckled in the summer, and her fair skin was more likely to burn than tan. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail, because it tangled so easily in the wind. It certainly wasn't thin and silky like Colette's. And she didn't have on any make up, because her mother wouldn't let her wear more than lip gloss, even though she was in middle school.

  No wonder Braden hadn't kissed her. He was one of the most popular boys in Sand Harbor. There were always girls calling out to him when they rode into town. She'd always felt a little special that she was the one he was with. But maybe that's because she liked to explore and was more of a tomboy.

  "Alexa, come on," Braden said impatiently.

  She walked over to join him. "What?"

  "Look." He pulled out a sparkly, oddly shaped blue glass bottle from the sand. They'd found bottles before, but nothing like this. It appeared very old and unusual, like it had come from a shipwreck. "Wow," sh
e murmured, dropping to her knees beside him. She took the bottle from him and spun it around, the blue turning to purple and red in the dusky light. "It's beautiful."

  "You could break it apart and mix it with your other glass and make something amazing."

  "Oh, no, I couldn't break this apart. Look at the colors. They're -- magical."

  "Magic doesn't exist."

  "It does if you believe."

  "Well, I don't believe."

  "Why not?"

  "Because I don't," he said with a frown. "It's stupid. Magic is just about tricks."

  "Not real magic," she argued. "Not miracle kind of magic."

  He rolled his eyes.

  "This could be a genie's bottle," she said, her imagination taking hold as she spun the glass in her hands. The colors created a kaleidoscope, a fast-moving rainbow, unlike anything she'd ever seen. She glanced over at Braden, who still had an expression of disgust on his face, but behind that stubborn glint in his eye was a hint of hope. And she fed on that hope. "If we pull out the cork, a genie might appear, and then we'll get to make a wish," she said.

  "Yeah, right."

  "You should try to believe."

  "Why?"

  "Because if you don't try, it might not work. And I want to make a wish. It's important to me."

  "It's just a bottle, Alexa. It doesn't matter if you make a wish or not, because it won't come true."

  She ignored him, her fingers tightening on the cork. There was something so compelling about the bottle that she couldn't believe it was something ordinary. There was no label on it, nothing to suggest what had once been inside, or might still be inside. It felt light, empty, but the glass was so thick, it was impossible to be sure. So she pulled the cork. It didn't budge. She tried again, but she couldn't move it.

  "Give me that," Braden said. He grabbed the bottle and yanked out the cork.

  As he did so, a spray of water hit her right in the face. She gasped at the unexpected wave that had hit the beach so close to them. They were yards away from where the tide usually hit. Wiping the salt water from her eyes, she stared at Braden. "What was that?"