The Second Chance

by Morgan Utley

  “No, I’m sure I did. I was probably too much for him,” Peyton decided. She moved off of him and kept pulling weeds, thinking that it would help her not to cry, but she still had some tears escape.

  “You probably were,” Chris agreed and Peyton spun her head around to glare at him.

  “Excuse me?” she fumed.

  “Peyton, listen to me. You kinda have baggage. A lot more baggage than most women in their twenties have, right?” Chris said.

  “He knew all that, Chris! I told him everything, and he was fine with it! Or at least he said he was!” Peyton snapped.

  “I know, and maybe he was. But then you got mad at him for Brittany, thinking she was his mistress, and then you had Lucy yell at you like that in front of him. The guy is probably freaked out. I mean, you were in therapy because your husband was killed, and that’s a lot for a guy to handle!”

  “So, you're saying I’m too much drama? That I’m destined to be alone till the day I die? That’s great, Chris, thanks!” She stood up and stomped away from him, but Chris followed behind her.

  “No! That’s not what I’m saying. He’s about to graduate dental school, right?” Chris asked her.

  “Yeah, I think so. I don’t know since he won’t talk to me, remember?” she howled and was about to open the back door when Chris jumped in front of her to block the door.

  “Okay. Well, imagine how he feels. He’s put in four years’ worth of time and money to graduate. Don’t you think he’s feeling a little overwhelmed already? And then throw you and me into the mix…” Chris trailed off.

  “It’s not like I sought him out. He sought me out,” Peyton said tartly.

  “Well, can you blame him? You’re a catch! You're beautiful, funny, considerate, and strong. Any guy would be attracted to you. Why wouldn’t he approach you? I’m telling you, I bet he’s just taking a step back to focus on school and to think. Guys do that. I do that. I’m not saying it’s the right thing to leave a girl hanging or ignore her like this, but I promise it’s a guy thing,” Chris insisted and put his hand on her shoulder. “He likes you. I would bet he loves you. I mean, he knew you were going to therapy and still wanted to get to know you. Therapy is usually the biggest red flag ever, but he thought you were special regardless.”

  “Are you trying to make me feel better?” Peyton insinuated, “Because I’ve got to say, you keep offending me then complimenting me, and it feels a little like whiplash.”

  “I’m trying to give you the perspective of a guy. Sometimes we're idiots.”

  “Sometimes?” Peyton interrupted.

  “Hey!” Chris said, pretending to be offended. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is sometimes we don’t handle situations in the best way. So, maybe consider cutting him a little slack?”

  “It’s been almost three weeks, Chris,” Peyton retorted.

  “I said consider it. You don’t have to. It's your prerogative. But I have a feeling you might because, if I were a betting man, I would say you love him too. And deep, deep, deep down, I think you know that,” he pointed out.

  “So, what? It doesn’t matter. He won’t talk to me. He’s obviously avoiding me,” Peyton faltered.

  “I told you that I was going to take care of it," Chris reminded her and touched her nose.

  “What are you going to do?” Peyton asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’ll let you know,” he shrugged and walked away from her back to his car.

  “I don’t even know where he lives!” she called after him.

  “I’ve got this! I’ll see you later. Tell Mom that I’m coming for dinner and bringing Gloria, will ya?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Peyton agreed and headed into the house. She shook her head in disbelief. “There goes one of the biggest idiots of them all,” she muttered to herself and walked upstairs to wash off all the dirt… and tears.

  “So, Chris is coming for dinner? I don’t even think I pulled out enough meat for two more people!” her mother said perplexed when Peyton returned from upstairs. “That boy kills me. Gloria is going to have her hands full with him.”

  “Well, the great part about that, Mom, is that she’s going to have to put up with him, not you,” Peyton chuckled.

  “Yeah, right. He always shows up when he wants something. That boy is never really going to leave me!”

  “Oh, brother,” Peyton rolled her eyes, “you love it. He keeps you on your toes.”

  Her mom snorted, “You got that right. Well, what are we going to do with only a pound of hamburger?”

  “Tacos, again?” Peyton suggested.

  “That’s such a cop-out,” her mother said.

  “How about enchiladas? You can fill it with other things like beans and cheese, and then you won’t have to worry about pulling out more meat and trying to get it thawed in time,” she offered.

  “OK, that’s a good idea. Will you pull out some enchilada sauce and tortillas then, please? Dinner is in an hour. I should probably tell your brother.”

  “Is it five already?” Peyton asked, sounding surprised.

  “Yep, we gotta get moving if were going to finish before they show up,” she said.

  “Wow, this day has flown,” Peyton said quietly.

  Peyton did what her mother asked and started setting the table. “Where has dad been at?” she asked.

  “He’s working on that stupid fence again,” her mom replied. “The last couple of days he’s been saying that he’s ready to shoot all the cows and be done.”

  “I’m surprised he didn’t ask me to come and help him. I haven’t seen him all day, and it must have given him a hard time.”

  “Well, he noticed you were having a hard time, and then after your conversation with Chris, he didn’t want to bug you,” her mom explained.

  “Oh, okay,” muttered Peyton.

  “By the way, have you heard from him since that talk?”

  “No, I haven’t. I don’t know what Chris could possibly do to fix what he’s done. I feel that if Noah wanted to see me or clear the air, he would have done that by now. But Chris has it in his mind that boys think differently, and that it's innocent and whatever,” Peyton prattled.

  “Well, I’m curious to see what he does,” her mom said as she started cooking the meat and preparing the enchilada mixture.

  “Me too,” mumbled Peyton. “I’m going to call Dad and see if he needs my help,” she decided and walked over to the dining room to call him. As the phone began ringing, there was a knock at the door.

  “Peyton, will you get that? My hands are covered, and it’s most likely your bratty brother,” she called.

  “Yeah, I can,” she said and lumbered over to the door. She opened the door to find Chris, Gloria, and… Noah.

  “What the…” Peyton trailed off, but Chris cut her off.

  “Peyton, don’t be mad. I know I shouldn’t have surprised you. Especially considering what you're wearing,” he pointed out. Peyton happened to be wearing a pair of her old high school sweats, one of her dad’s t-shirts, and her hair up in a high, messy bun with hair shooting out every which way.

  “Thanks for pointing that out, Sherlock,” Peyton scowled. She hung up her phone, once she heard it go to voicemail and crossed her arms.

  “But it turns out he was getting ready to come to see you anyway, so I just helped move the process along. See? I told you I would fix it!” he said cheerily. However, the smile on Chris’s face made her want to punch him right in the mouth.

  “Okay, thanks, Chris,” Peyton spat out. She looked at Noah and noticed he was smiling. She wondered why on earth he would be smiling right now and if maybe she missed a joke somewhere. He looked as handsome as ever. Especially with a smile spread across his face, he was irresistible, and Peyton couldn’t seem to look away once they locked eyes. It was as if the last few weeks never happened, and they were walking hand in hand by the river again, falling in love.

  “Chris, I think I can take it from here now,” Noah said in his deep voice, an
d Chris spun around to see him staring at his older sister.

  “Alrighty, dinner smells good. Although we probably freaked out Mom by coming early,” Chris laughed and walked past Peyton, who was still standing in the doorway as if she had been petrified.

  “You did!” her mom called from the kitchen.

  “Good luck,” Chris whispered in her ear, and, in response, Peyton swatted his back.

  Chris shut the door behind her and forced her to step out onto the front porch. She looked down at herself, regretting her choice of clothes, but decided to own it and squared her shoulders.

  Chapter 19

  “Hi,” Peyton said curtly.

  “Hi, Peyton, do you mind if we talk for a minute?” Noah asked.

  “Sure,” she responded and sat on the porch bench.

  Noah sat next to her and noticed the cold manner she had, so he thought it was better to not try and hold her hand.

  “How have you been?” he wondered.

  “Well…” Peyton fussed with her hair and straightened out her shirt, “I’ve been good. Just getting ready for the wedding.”

  “The wedding?” Noah questioned and then he remembered, “Oh, Chris and Gloria’s, that’s right. How’s that going?”

  “It’s going good. My mom has been keeping my dad and me busy. They decided to do the whole thing here outside since there’s so much room, so we’ve been trying to clean up around here and keep up on it. What have you been up to?” Peyton asked, genuinely curious how he was going to answer this question.

  “The last couple of weeks I’ve been studying like crazy for finals and boards,” Noah answered.

  “How did that go?”

  “It went great. I finished up a couple of days ago,” he added.

  “Wow! That’s awesome. How do you feel? I bet you can finally breathe again like a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders,” she said as she imitated lifting something.

  He chuckled and revealed Peyton’s favorite crooked smile. “Yeah, I have to admit it feels pretty amazing. I officially graduate this weekend,” he informed her.

  “That’s great,” she nodded. “I bet you're very excited.”

  “Yeah, I am. I was actually going to ask you if you would come,” Noah wondered.

  “Wait, what?” she said perplexed.

  “I want you to come to my graduation ceremony,” he stated again.

  “Are you serious?” She could feel her eyebrows furrowing and her head tilting, but she didn’t bother relaxing.

  “Yeah,” he smirked, “I am.” He sounded so relaxed and calm. His tone was so even, it was like he experienced a completely different last couple of weeks than what she had.

  “Noah, I haven’t heard from you in weeks,” she stated.

  “I know,” he replied.

  “I tried to get a hold of you. You got my texts and phone calls, didn’t you?” she quizzed him, becoming more and more irritated by the minute.

  “Yes, I got them,” he admitted.

  “So, you ignored me,” Peyton challenged and felt her face becoming hotter, which meant she was starting to turn red.

  “I know and I’m sorry. There was a misunderstanding, but your brother cleared it up,” Noah explained. “I should have messaged you back and heard your side of the story. I was a little freaked out from our dinner date, and then the very next morning, I found your brother kicking my car, and then he punched me!”

  Peyton put her head in her hands, shaking her head. She still couldn’t believe her brother had done that and was still embarrassed about it. Especially hearing Noah recount his part of the story.

  He continued, “I guess you could say I got lost in my studies and didn’t realize it had been so long since I had talked to you. I never thought sitting in the same room studying for days on end would make time fly by so much. When I wasn’t studying, you were constantly on my mind. I missed you every day and wanted to make excuses to come out here to see you. I also wanted to text you and see how you were doing, but I was too afraid you would be upset with me and ignore my messages as I had done to you. Not that I wouldn’t have deserved it, but I was a chicken. It was your brother who finally gave me the boost of confidence.”

  “Oh boy,” Peyton rolled her eyes.

  Noah laughed. “It wasn’t that bad. He did have to do a little bit of hunting. First, he went to my uncle’s office to track me down and ask how he could find me. Luckily, my cousin, who’s been working the front desk for me while I’ve been studying…” He trailed off and smiled at her as if he read her mind, and she smiled sheepishly in response. “And no, it wasn’t because I was trying to avoid you. Well, she told him I was studying on campus, which is where I have practically lived the last few weeks, and he tracked me down. I guess he kept asking people on campus if they knew who I was and where he could find me. He eventually found me and told me the whole story. He assured me that he had acted completely on his own and misunderstood the situation. And of course, he explained this in a very ‘Chris’ way.”

  “I felt terrible about what had happened that night. I know I shouldn’t have blown you off the way I did, but at the time I just didn’t know how to handle the situation. So, I’m sorry about that,” Peyton apologized.

  “It’s okay. I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t have known what to say either. Your brother mentioned you passed out after you had gotten home. Are you okay?” Noah asked.

  “I think I was just overwhelmed. Just as I walked through the door, I was hounded with questions. When I agreed to go out with you, my biggest fear was that something like that would happen. That someone would see me going out with another guy and confront me the way Lucy did. And it happened. Not twenty minutes into our date, I get yelled at in front of the entire restaurant,” Peyton shrugged her shoulders, unable to find her thoughts.

  “Peyton,” Noah whispered. “I know you’re still trying to get over the death of your husband. And that’s okay. I know you’re always going to love him, and why wouldn’t you? He sounded like a great guy. I just hope you’ll still give me a chance because when I’m with you, I feel complete. I know what I want to do, where I want to be, and what I want in life. I really did miss you like crazy the last couple of weeks. I missed the touch of your hand,” he took her hand gently when he said this. “I missed your infectious smile,” naturally, she smiled, “and I missed pulling you in close and holding you.” Peyton could feel that her face was beet red by now, and she tried to look down at their intertwined hands in an attempt to hide it, but Peyton knew she couldn’t fool him. “Man, I missed that blush too,” he chuckled, which didn’t help Peyton’s case at all. “I know I wasn’t the smartest person in the world the last couple of weeks, but I’m here now, and there’s no other place that I would rather be. Do you believe me?”

  Peyton looked up at him and nodded. “Yes, I do.”

  “Good,” he smiled crookedly at her, and she smiled back.

  “That smile kills me every time,” she admitted. “You could get away with murder with that smile.”

  “Does that mean I’m off the hook?” he teased. He scooted closer to Peyton and wrapped his arms around her so that their faces were only inches apart.

  “Maybe,” Peyton asked, “Are you ever going to drop off the face of the earth again?” she asked, trying not to sound so serious. However, she genuinely wanted to know the answer.

  “I promise I won’t ever drop off the planet again. That wasn’t fair to you, and I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Thank you. I promise not to blow you off and to open up more to you,” Peyton vowed.

  “Thank you. You know you’re pretty amazing, Peyton,” Noah beamed at her.

  “Really? You don’t think I’m too much drama?” she questioned. This is what she had feared the most from him.

  “No, Peyton. I think you’ve been through way too much for someone your age, but despite your trials, you’ve handled it extremely well. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for.” Noah bent over a
nd gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead that sent an electric shock through Peyton’s entire body.

  “You’re just trying to butter me up now,” she flirted and smirked up at him, waiting for his retort. He was so handsome that just looking at him made Peyton’s heart skip a beat.

  Noah slowly started inching toward her lips, which made Peyton feel jittery. “Is it working?” he whispered, only mere centimeters away from locking lips.

  “Maybe…” she stammered out.

  “You sure like that word. Do you love me?” he asked.

  “Maybe…” she giggled, and Noah laughed in response.

  “Oh, Peyton, what am I gonna do with you?” he teased.

  “Kiss me.”

  Noah urgently and passionately pressed his lips onto hers, and she melted into his arms. Peyton could feel her heart racing a million beats a minute, her face flushing, and tingles running down her spine. She was falling in love with this man more and more by the minute.

  He gently pulled away but kept his arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace. Peyton never wanted to leave this moment. She wanted to stay forever if that meant always being able to be with Noah.

  “I like the sweats, by the way,” he chuckled, and Peyton tried to escape his arms, but he squeezed a little tighter so that she couldn’t wiggle out so easily.

  “You think you're so funny. I didn’t expect you to be showing up today! I’ve been doing yard work all day and didn’t see a reason to get ready,” she complained and hid her face in her chest.

  “Are you glad I came?”

  She turned her head to the side, so he could hear her clearly, “Yes, I am.” He couldn’t see, but below his chin, she had a big smile spread across her face.

  Peyton and Noah walked back into the house hand in hand, and her mother started jumping up and down ecstatically at the sight of them.