Are you ready for the next chapter in Give Me A Chance? You can catch up with the Prologue and Chapter 1 if you’d like to first.

I won’t keep you waiting, so here you go!

Pride Be Damned

Quinn was sitting in the booth behind the couple. She hadn’t been eavesdropping, not really. Only it was hard not to hear what they were saying with the restaurant quiet in the back corner.

There was the normal lull in the breakfast crowd, so she took the time to sit and roll silverware into napkins.

Should she say something to him? She wanted to. She wanted to know about this job opening she’d just heard him talking about. By the sound of it, it seemed full time. Not to mention a place to live…even better.

From experience, she knew nothing ever fell into her lap. Hard work and speaking up had always gotten her where she needed to be. Not that she’d gotten far in life, but far enough.

Enough to survive and that’s all she’d ever been concerned with.

What the hell, the worst he could say was no. She cleared her throat hoping to get his attention, but he didn’t lift his head, just continued to eat his breakfast.

So she cleared her throat again, this time a bit louder. He glanced up at her briefly, then back down. At least she got a closer look at him. He didn’t seem old enough to have kids that age. Then again, she wasn’t a good judge of a man’s age.

All she could tell was he was clean-shaven, even on a Saturday morning. His shirt looked nice and expensive. More than she’d ever pay, she was sure. More than she could afford, by the look of the logo on the front pocket.

Obviously he had money since he was looking for a nanny. She wondered what he did. Well, only one way to find out.

She stood up and moved a few feet in front of him, then waited until he looked up at her again. His eyes looked troubled, but she pushed on. “I’m sorry to interrupt you. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.”

He titled his head slightly, his full lips forming a grimace that didn’t detract from his handsomeness at all, now that she was seeing him up close. He had thicker brows, strong cheekbones, and a square chin.

“No problem. It’s not a good morning, as I’m sure you heard.”

“You’re looking for a nanny?” she asked, wanting to get clarification.

“I guess. Though Jennifer is probably right. I really need more of a housekeeper and cook who is willing to keep an eye on the kids and cart them around. I’m not always available. Do you know someone?”

“Me,” she said before she lost her nerve. He looked skeptical, but she pushed on, “Do you mind if I sit for a minute and ask a few questions?”

He gestured to the booth across from him. “Don’t you have work to do, Quinn?” he asked, eying her nametag.

“It’s a little slow. Max, right?” Quinn said, and hoped he wasn’t offended that she called him by the name she’d heard. She took it as a good sign he wasn’t telling her to get lost.

“Yes, Max Hamilton. Quinn…?”

“Baker,” she said, holding her hand out for his. “I’m sorry to be so forward, but like I said, I heard your conversation.”

“So tell me why you think you can do this job?”

“I’m a line cook at another restaurant. I’m confident that I can fulfill that part of the job description, and I’ll gladly give you references.”

“I expect them. These are my children, after all. What else?” he asked.

“I raised my younger brothers and sister for years. I started doing it when I was around twelve.”

“Twelve?” he asked, not looking convinced.

She opted for honesty. “My mother wasn’t around much and there was no other adult in the picture. It was me or no one.”

“What were their ages?” He seemed more curious than skeptical.

“Seven, six, and two at the time.”

She didn’t often tell people that information. Not many were privy to her background and she’d prefer to keep it that way, but she wouldn’t lie either.

He winced, and something like sympathy crossed his face, but he didn’t ask anything else along those lines.

“What about cleaning?”

“I’m a neat person. I have to be to be a cook. Well, I’ll amend that, not all cooks are neat, but I am. There are codes to follow and health regulations. All my references will also gladly attest to my cleanliness at work. I do whatever needs to be done. If they need me to clean the kitchen top to bottom, I will. If they need someone to scrub toilets, I’ll do that too.”

She wasn’t afraid of hard work. If it got her some extra hours and a little bit more money to put away, her pride could handle it.

Besides, her pride had suffered plenty in her life. At this point, there was nothing wrong with an honest day’s work.

“I need someone to live at the house. Not just come in the mornings and leave at night. I could be called out in the middle of the night and I won’t have time to wait for someone to show up.”

“What do you do?” It seemed the right time to ask.

“I’m a plastic surgeon.”

She wanted to ask how many emergency facelifts were done in the middle of the night, but didn’t. Plastic surgery was as foreign to her as living on Mars. It didn’t even warrant a minute of time in her life.

“It’s not a problem to live there.”

Actually it was perfect, but she didn’t want to sound desperate. Her lease was up at the end of this month and she didn’t want to renew it, but didn’t have enough money put aside to find a better place either.

“Do you have a clean driver’s license?”

“Yes,” she said.

“Good. I have an extra car at the house. The kids need to be transported around, so I provide the transportation.”

“Okay.” She didn’t know what else to say at that point. This didn’t seem to be happening. She had to be dreaming. It was almost too good to be true. A place to live and a car. She wouldn’t have to worry about her next auto bill either. Or the new tires that she needed before the first snowfall.

“You would have to meet my kids first. They have to decide if they like you and want you. I won’t make any decision without their input. Or Jennifer’s, either. I value her opinion too much.”

“I’d expect no less than that from a parent.” Not that she’d ever seen much of that side of parenting.

Oh my God, this actually sounded like it might work out. She was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“You’d need to clear a background check. The same check that all my employees have to clear for my practice.”

And there the heavy metal-studded shoe clanged loudly onto the floor. She’d have to admit her record might have marks on it. She wasn’t sure, she’d been a juvenile and wasn’t positive how it all worked. She would have needed money to consult with a lawyer to find out. Extra money and Quinn were like the symphony and skateboarding. They just didn’t coexist.

“I should be honest with you. I don’t know what my record will say.”

He lifted his eyebrow at her, then he crossed his arms. “That’s not negotiable. Even more so since you just admitted that.”

“I know. I get that. I completely do. I’ll be honest with you. I told you I was taking care of my siblings at age twelve. I ended up in foster care. We all did and I did some things I’m not proud of. Things I had to do to survive, but I don’t know if they will show up on my record.”

“What kind of things?” he asked, and this wasn’t looking good for her right now. But she’d come this far. Again, pride be damned.

“There wasn’t always enough funds for food or other items. At times I had to steal what was needed, and I was caught.”

She felt her face heat up. She was still embarrassed to this day.

That stupid day she was stressed because the baby wasn’t feeling good and the boys were starving. She wasn’t on her game and still blamed herself for being so sloppy.

“Explain the other items. Like drugs?” he asked.

He was sitting across from her calmly asking the question, but that didn’t change the way he was making her feel. She hadn’t noticed until this moment how much bigger he was than her. After all, he’d been sitting down, and she hadn’t paid attention to him when he first walked in.

But now she noticed how wide his shoulders were, and how large his hands were. It didn’t matter he seemed on the slim side, there was still an aura of strength and authority behind him.

“No,” she rushed to say. She cleared her throat and wanted to put her head down, but maintained eye contact and said as directly as she could. “Personal hygiene products. Soap, toothpaste…other things that public assistance won’t cover.”

She wasn’t sure she could get any more mortified than she was. It was bad enough telling a complete stranger about her horrific childhood and her criminal record. Telling him the things she stole, well, that kind of made it worse. Thankfully, he seemed to understand.

“Okay. Well, I appreciate you being honest with me. I’ll think about it and let you know. Obviously I just found out about my situation, so I’m sure I’ll have other applicants.”

She saw the hammer coming down to nail the coffin shut. She couldn’t let that happen.

“Just give me a chance. A trial run. Three months,” she said quickly. “The first month can be with Jennifer while she watches over and trains me. Then one month on my own. The third month is because if it doesn’t work out, I might have a hard time finding another place to live. I’ll need time.”

He hesitated and she could almost see him flipping the hammer over and pulling a nail out. Almost…

“I won’t let you down,” she continued. “I’ll take whatever background check you need. Fingerprinting, peeing in a cup, blood work. You name it. I’m being honest with you. I really don’t know what will show up. All I ever did was steal what we needed to survive and that was over a decade ago. I ended up in juvy for a short period of time, but I kept my nose clean. I really did.”

“I’ll tell you what. Give me your number and I’ll talk to Jennifer tonight.”

She pulled her pad out and wrote down her name and number, then continued on writing.

“I’m going to put down three references and their phone numbers for you, too. All restaurants in Lake Placid. Please feel free to call them. Two of them I’m working at right now. The third was just a short period of time for some extra cash, but I had trouble balancing all three jobs. I guarantee you will get nothing but glowing references, and I can get you more if you want.”

He reached across for the piece of paper she slid in front of him. Then she decided not to overstay her welcome. “Thank you. All I ask for is a chance. I’ll let you finish your breakfast in peace.”

She walked away and held her breath, praying to a God that had never listened to her before.

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Another teaser for you from Second Chance. If you want to catch up, you can read the Prologue and then Chapter 1.

Chapter 2 is called:

Mistake

After driving through the night Nick was completely exhausted, but he hadn’t wanted to stop. Part of him said to keep pushing and just get there. Get to the woman who always put him in his place when he was wrong, and praised him when he was right.

To the woman who would know the right thing to say to him to get him out of the hole he’d just dug.

His parents were too close to everything that had happened in the last year. His grandmother would be more of a neutral party. She would be able to see both sides of the story and tell him where he went wrong and how to fix it. How to fix his life.

Maybe he just wanted to hand it all over to someone else for once so he didn’t mess up again. Or maybe he wanted to be that teenager again with little to no responsibilities.

He should have listened to his parents years ago when they cautioned him about building his company too big and too fast and never giving himself a chance to live. A chance to enjoy life.

His grandmother was the epitome of take no bull, no holds barred when it came to her grandchildren. Her ways weren’t always conventional, but she knew what was best for those around her.

It was exactly the attitude he needed right now. Someone else to call the shots so he could put it behind him.

Pulling in front of the log cabin on Lake Placid, Nick looked around at the beauty surrounding him and just paused. Took a moment to reflect and look at how peaceful everything seemed.

He’d been here at least once a year his entire life. Summers were spent here when he was a child, weeks at a time, if not a month. Just him and Rene on the lake, running wild.

Then when he got older, his visits weren’t as long, but they were more frequent. A week in the winter for skiing, a week in the summer on the lake, a week in the fall admiring the scenery.

Lake Placid might be small compared to Richmond, but it made up for it in serenity, peace, and quiet.

Nick took a deep breath, got out of his car, and walked toward the front door. The door opened before he could even knock and there she stood. The love of his life. Or one of them. His mother was right up there with his grandmother. But no one held a candle to his grandmother.

No one—except possibly another woman…the one that disappeared twelve years ago and hadn’t been heard from or seen since.

“It took you long enough,” his grandmother said, looking at him sternly.

He dipped his head like a child being caught lying about taking the last piece of cake even with the chocolate smeared on his face. “I had work to do.”

“Don’t you always.” She held the door open wider for him. “We both know that isn’t true, but you needed to do what you could in order to run away from it, right?”

Nick walked up and stopped in front of his grandmother, her hair a light brown and cut in a shoulder-length bob, looking much younger than her seventy-five years. She’d always been active and fit, and looked no less than that now.

He reached toward her and hugged her tight, needing that reassurance only she could give, regardless of the fact he wanted to argue he wasn’t exactly running.

“How did you know I would come?”

“You always end up here when you’re battling something.”

Yeah, he did, she knew that, and she knew him well. She kissed him on the cheek. “Come on in. You look like hell. Let me get you something to eat or drink at the very least.”

“Thanks. I drove through the night, so I’m beat. Coffee would be good.”

“No coffee for you,” she said firmly. “It will only keep you up. You need to sleep. I’ll make you a sandwich. We can chat while you eat, then you can bring your stuff to your old room and take a nap.”

He smiled. She was still bossing him around and he didn’t mind in the least. This was why he came.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, knowing she would swat her hand at him.

She did, then said what she always did, “Don’t ma’am me. I’m not Southern. If you can’t call me Grandma, then call me Trixie.”

“You know I can’t call you Trixie without laughing.”

There was something about the name Trixie—short for Beatrice—that made him think of prostitutes working a street corner or turning tricks, and his grandmother knew it.

He’d once slipped and told her that when he was in his teens. She’d laughed so hard at him then, and whenever she knew he was down or needed a laugh, she’d tell him to call her Trixie, knowing he couldn’t.

“Have a seat on the couch then, and I’ll go make you some lunch.”

So he did what he was told and sat on the couch in her living room, then looked around. The house hadn’t changed much since he was a kid. A few new pieces of furniture but not much more. The same light blue paint on the walls, the same hardwood floors, and the same big brick fireplace.

He was always at peace here. Always so relaxed. It was no wonder he ended up here, or that his grandmother had expected him.

Less than two minutes later, she brought him out a plate with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and glass of milk. The same thing she’d fed him for years on his first day of a visit.

He wanted to remind her he was thirty-two, not twelve, but didn’t. He just picked the sandwich up and took a healthy bite, then a big swig of milk.

“So tell me what’s on your mind,” she said.

“Not much. I just need a breather. Can I stay here and work for a bit?”

“You can stay as long as you like. You know that. How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine. I wish everyone would stop worrying about me. Kendra is the one everyone should be asking about. I’m just the jerk that canceled the wedding.”

“You aren’t a jerk, Nick. If you didn’t love her, then you didn’t. You can’t force yourself to feel something for someone just because you want it. It’s there or it’s not.”

“It wasn’t there,” he said sadly. “I tried, I wanted it, but I couldn’t do it. She didn’t deserve to be led on the way she was. I thought having her as my wife would help. I thought she could put me on track, personally and professionally, but that was wrong and selfish of me to think that.”

“You didn’t lead her on, Nick,” his grandmother argued.

“How do you know?”

“Because that isn’t who you are. Leading her on would have been if you actually went through with the wedding even knowing you couldn’t give her what she wanted. She pursued you, and we all knew it. But deep down she isn’t the one for you, and we all know that, too.”

“I thought I wanted the same thing she did. I guess I do, but I don’t want it with her. Maybe I’ll never find the person to have it with. Maybe that person isn’t out there anymore.”

He’d had it once and threw it away. That was his biggest regret. Trying to find it with someone else only fed that guilt and regret more.

“Thinking and knowing are two different things. Be thankful you called it off now instead of trying to fix a mistake later down the road. Time will heal everyone.”

“I guess.” But time still hadn’t healed him. “Why do you keep looking in the kitchen? Are you expecting someone? A hot date?” he asked, joking.

Though the thought of some older gentleman calling on his dear old granny was making the sandwich turn in his stomach, he couldn’t understand why she was acting so antsy.

“No, I’m not expecting a hot date. You know better than that. Us Millers love only once. I lost my love twenty years ago. No one will ever replace your grandfather. And you know your mother and father were just meant to be. My Susan always knew who she wanted and who she loved, and she chose well with your father. So I’m thinking you Buchanans are the same.”

“Not me though, right? I didn’t do a good job of choosing.”

“You haven’t chosen yet, so don’t say that.”

He didn’t believe it though. Or maybe his grandmother was right. Maybe he was destined to have one soulmate and he’d lost her. Maybe he’d never find another.

“I guess time will tell. But for now, I’m going to get my clothes out of my car and go take a shower, then sleep. Don’t let me sleep too long. Wake me for dinner and I can take my best girl out for taking such good care of me.”

“You always were a charmer. I’ll let you do that.”

 

***

 

Mallory Denning rushed down the hill toward the dock and her waiting kayak, holding her breath the entire way. She didn’t even waste the time to put her life vest on…just threw it on top of the kayak, climbed in, pushed away fast, and headed back toward her own house a mile away.

She normally visited Trixie a few times a week and today was no different. She’d been stuck on work and needed some fresh air. Trixie always helped her get through it and relaxed her enough to get back on track.

But when she opened the back door, she’d heard Trixie talking. She stood back a few feet in the kitchen to see if Trixie had company or was on the phone.

Then she heard another voice. A male voice. A voice she hadn’t heard in almost twelve years. It was manlier now, but she still recognized it. The voice of her past, the voice of her dreams, the voice of her first love.

The voice of the boy—no, man now—that broke her heart.

Trixie always told her when family was coming for a visit. A forewarning for Mallory to stay away. To not be seen by anyone on the lake or in town when they were here.

It was always inconvenient to hide for weeks on end, but she was used to it by now.

Why hadn’t Trixie told her Nick was coming? She wondered what he was doing here. She knew all about his upcoming wedding and how it ended. Trixie always kept her informed, even though Mallory didn’t ask and didn’t want to know.

That was a life she’d put behind her and she didn’t need it to be relived. Part of the reason she still hid. No one from her past knew she was alive. No one knew anything but Trixie.

Still, she’d have to find a way to talk to Trixie and see how long Nick planned on being in town. She wasn’t prepared to stay in her house long. Since she’d overheard Nick was going to shower and take a nap, she figured she better run into town and stock up on food and anything else she needed now and not risk being seen.

What could he be doing here? Why did he have to come? And why did she have to hear his voice?

It would be exactly twelve years in a week since she’d left Richmond. She’d thought she’d done a great job hiding all this time.

Now Mallory was worried this unexpected trip of Nick’s might unbalance her. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt it deep in her soul.

Her world was going to be turned upside down once again.

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