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.

You can buy the book now!

A few weeks ago I posted the prologue to Second Chance and said I was going to post a bit of the book each week as a teaser.

Since I’m a woman of my word…here is the first Chapter titled I’ll Try. If you haven’t read the prologue first, you can do it here.

I’ll Try

Twelve years later

Nick pulled out his suitcase and started to throw clothes at random into it, ignoring his younger sister sitting on his bed. “You don’t need to do this, Nick.”

“I do. It’s best for everyone if I just leave town for a while.”

“How long is a while?” Rene asked, reaching into his suitcase and folding the clothes he was tossing in.

“I don’t know—does it matter?”

He opened another drawer and grabbed some shorts without looking, then tossed them toward the bed, where they half landed in the suitcase, half on the floor.

Rene pushed her glasses up on her nose, then reached over and picked up his shorts. “I guess not. Where are you going?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“You don’t need to leave, Nick,” she said, trying to convince him not to, but it wasn’t going to work.

His mind was made up and his sister of all people should know when Nick had his mind made up, nothing would ever change it. Stubborn was a word she’d often used when describing him.

“You know better than that. A few weeks, maybe a month and things will settle down. It’s better for me to not be seen.”

“No one hates you.”

“Again, you know better than that,” he said softly.

He walked into his bathroom and started grabbing products haphazardly in there, too. He’d buy the rest of what he needed. It didn’t matter at this point.

“It’s not like you left her at the altar.”

“Close enough.”

Calling the wedding off a week before was just as bad—he knew that. But he couldn’t go through with it…he couldn’t force himself to marry Kendra. She deserved better than what he could give her.

“Nick,” Rene said, standing up and marching toward him, then stopping. She barely reached his shoulders but still gripped them tight with her small hands. She’d gotten her tiny build from their grandmother. “You can’t run from this.”

“I’m not running. I’m giving Kendra time to adjust without having to see me. It’s the least I can do.”

“So you’re leaving for Kendra’s sake?”

For both of us, but he didn’t say that. Instead he just shrugged and took a step away. “I appreciate the concern, but I need to do this.”

“Are you hoping she’ll leave while you’re gone?”

“Leave town or work?” He hoped both, but knew it wouldn’t happen and it was cowardly to think that.

“She’ll never leave this city and you know that. Work. Are you hoping she’ll quit while you’re gone and you won’t have to face her?”

“Why would Kendra want to continue to work for me? She was already planning on being off this week to get ready for the wedding, and who knows if she’ll come back? I don’t want to be there when she does. If she does. She should be able to make that decision without me being in the building breathing down her neck. I’m trying to make it easier for her right now. Maybe she’ll come to the decision to leave on her own. I was wrong, I know it; everyone knows it. The least I can do is let her try to save face.”

“Nick, not wanting to marry someone doesn’t make you wrong.”

He didn’t want Rene’s sympathy. He didn’t need it.

What he needed was to breathe and he couldn’t do that right now, right here, or even in this city. “I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Don’t worry.”

“Who’s going to run the company while you’re gone? You can’t just walk away from it.”

“I’m not walking away. I’m on the road more often than I’m in the office anyway. This is no different. Dad is going to step in while I’m gone. I just talked to him.”

“Dad? You’re leaving Dad in control. Is that smart?”

“Dad knows what he’s doing. He’s bored with retirement, he’s been a manager for years, and he can handle the day-to-day operation of things. Anything else, I’ll be reachable like I always am. Why, do you want the job?” he asked, smirking at her.

“No way!”

It was no secret his sister couldn’t stand computers or technology and barely touched them unless necessary. Which was funny, considering Nick was one of the top software developers in the US, with employees and branches scattered across multiple states. He could work from anywhere and had. All he needed was his laptop.

Stopping in his tracks, he moved back to his closet and grabbed a few pairs of pants and shirts, then flung them toward Rene too. He doubted he’d need them, but he still didn’t know where he was going.

He’d always been casual in the office, even as the President and CEO of NB Innovations. No time like the present to visit his branches, but casual or not, he drew the line at T-shirts and shorts, so he should have something presentable to wear.

“Are you done questioning me?” Nick asked his sister. “I want to get on the road.”

“You’re driving?”

“Yeah.” He’d just decided it. Why bother flying? He had no clue where to go first and he detested spending time in airports.

Rene inhaled deeply, walked over to him, and gave him a big hug. “I love you, Nick. Don’t beat yourself up too much about this. People make mistakes.”

“It’s not a mistake. I’m not going to change my mind,” he said, his face set.

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

“I know. Again, I appreciate everything you and Mom and Dad have said and done since I told Kendra yesterday. Dad is letting the venue know, along with all the guests. I’m sorry to dump everything on you, but I can’t leave it for Kendra.”

He knew his eyes were filling, and he didn’t want his sister to think he was weak, but he was emotional. Part of him would always love Kendra, but not the way he should be, not in love. Not as a husband should.

“We’ll take care of it. You go take care of yourself.”

“I’ll try.” Though he didn’t know the first thing he could or should do.

He walked over and shoved the rest of his clothes that Rene hadn’t folded into his suitcase and zipped it up. He threw another bag of miscellaneous items over his shoulder along with his laptop bag and walked toward the door of his bedroom, then turned to look at his sister sitting on the bed once more. “Lock up for me and keep an eye on the house, please.”

“You know I will,” Rene said, knuckling a tear. “Don’t forget to call me tomorrow.”

Nick nodded and walked out the door, down the stairs and to his car. He tossed everything in the trunk, climbed in, started the engine and pulled away as fast as he could, never looking back.

 ***

 In the last two weeks, Nick had visited two of his branches and gotten a head start on a new software program he’d been envisioning for years. Maybe the break out of the office was what he needed.

He’d been more productive than he could remember lately. Whether it was because he was trying to put the canceled wedding and Kendra behind and just focus on work or it was relief, he didn’t know.

He knew that had been a big issue before…that he’d focused on work more than Kendra. That sometimes when they were in the same room together she’d say, “Nick, you’re not paying attention to me.”

She knew he had a lot on his plate. She was the one who was always saying, “Let me do that for you.” Then she’d give him more work to do in its place. They never spent time together alone. They never relaxed, no matter how many times he wanted to do it. Sometimes she pushed him more than he pushed himself, and he realized now it wasn’t healthy. Not for their relationship and not for him as person.

So he needed to leave Richmond to put it behind him for now. He’d driven to St. Louis and met up with several developers there. They talked about what everyone was working on and he stayed in a hotel for five days, pushing to see if they shared the same vision he had.

His next stop was Salt Lake City, where he did the same thing—rode his staff hard, kept his mind off his personal life, and got down to business.

He talked to his mother, father, and sister just about every day. He knew the business was running as smoothly as normal. Anything his father couldn’t handle, he passed along to Nick or other senior management, but it wasn’t much. He had a good team and they ran everything well without him.

His father, John, had told him Kendra had indeed returned to work this week, but there were rumors she was looking for another job. Nick left instructions with his father to help her in any way he could.

Kendra had been hired years ago as his executive assistant. She was perfect for him. She had the uncanny skill of knowing what he needed and when, without ever having to be told.

Years ago, all those late nights and business trips, being in close proximity of each other, led to something more. Then before he knew it, they were engaged.

He’d like to think he finally realized the error of his ways before making it official, but that didn’t stop the pain and the hurt he’d caused her, and himself.

With visits to St. Louis and Salt Lake City behind him, he was unsure of his next move. He wasn’t ready to go back to Richmond, but didn’t have it in him to stop at his last branch in Atlanta.

With as much work as he’d been doing, he was burned out. He needed to clear his head. There was only one place to do that, and one person who would snap him out of it, so he headed north to Lake Placid. To his grandmother.

Stay tuned for part of chapter two next week! You can pre-order Second Chance now!