Second Chance (Lake Placid Series Book 1)

by Natalie Ann

  Nick shrugged. He’d never said it before, but watching Mindy battle addiction and always wondering how Mallory or even Paul cared for her was a driving force.

  Or how Mallory helped her mother when she was recovering from the accident. The revolving doors of nurses and caregivers, even his own parents going to Mallory’s house to help out. So many things lost in the shuffle. Not to mention Mallory being ignored half the time.

  There had to be an easier way to pass information on to the next person. He’d been stewing on this idea for years and with his life in flux he felt now was the time to devote all his attention to it.

  He wondered if it was fate to bring him in contact with the person that inspired this brainchild.

  He’d polled his staff last year on this topic too and was shocked to hear the number of people who’d had to take care of a loved one at some point and how hard it was to keep everything straight. Medicines, pills, side effects, doctor’s appointments, multiple doctors…added in with other family members and their lives.

  They had pieces of paper everywhere, notes and appointments in different places. This would allow them to take a picture of instructions from the doctor, or upload a file, and the software would sort and highlight based on keywords. Everything would be in one place and easily searchable, at least on the medical end. He still had to work out the other components in his mind on the social end of it. How to schedule shifts and everyday life.

  “Nothing to really be in awe about. Technology and data rule our world right now. Might as well profit from it. At the moment I’m not touching on actual illnesses; it’s just more of the caregiver end.”

  “Very true, but the bottom line wasn’t always what drove you. Does it now?”

  “No. It never did and still doesn’t.”

  His father knew him well. It was all about creating things to help people. To make life easier for someone. Give a helping hand. That was more important to him than the money. And that was the foundation of all the software they developed.

  “Anything else going on, or just working on your latest project?”

  “Nothing much.” Unless you consider the fact I came in contact with a ghost from my past, but he didn’t voice those words. “Actually, Zach called me yesterday. You know how he’s always scouting out developers and trying to recruit them.” Zachery Monroe was his Chief Operational Officer and instrumental in bringing the right talent to NB Innovations.

  “I hear more about Zach’s ideas than I care to,” his father said dryly. Nick bet his father was bored silly listening to Zach. Zach had a habit of going on and on, with most people droning him out.

  “Anyway, he’s been trying to find a developer for years. Caleb Ryder. He’s created some unique and effective programs in the last few years, things that fit right in with my mission at NB. He’s very sought after in the tech industry, but he’s kind of a recluse. Most can’t even figure out a way to reach him directly.”

  “I bet that has Zach’s panties in a twist.”

  “You know it. He has a lead though. Not sure where he got it and I never did ask. But you’ll never guess where Zach heard Caleb is right now?”

  “Where?”

  “Close to me. Around Lake Placid somewhere. He hasn’t really pinned a spot down, but he’s pretty sure he knows.”

  “Talk about ironic.”

  “Tell me about it. With any luck, Zach can find out some more details and I’ll see what I can do about finding Caleb while I’m here.” His father was quiet and Nick finally asked, “You still there, Dad?”

  “You haven’t asked about Kendra.”

  No, he hadn’t. “I figured you’d tell me if there was anything to say. Rene and Mom said they took care of everything in regards to the wedding and the bills.”

  “They did. That’s all been taken care of. You’ve been gone almost a month. Have you talked to her at all?”

  It hadn’t seemed like a month since he canceled the wedding, but he realized now that it was. Two weeks on the road and then almost two weeks here. “No.”

  “Nick,” his father said, chastising him.

  “I tried, Dad. She doesn’t want to talk to me and I can’t blame her. I’ve called a few times, but she never answers.”

  “Have you tried leaving a message for her to call you?”

  “What good would it do? She knows my number; she knows I’m calling. She’d answer if she wanted to talk to me.”

  “True. But…”

  “No buts. I sent her an email and she didn’t reply to that either.”

  “Really, Nick. An email, that’s a little impersonal.” That comment made him feel almost as guilty as his grandmother had made him feel here at different times. Almost as much as Kendra did at times when she accused him of not being around enough.

  “What do you want from me, Dad? It was hard enough calling the wedding off. Do you know, I haven’t told anyone this, and I’m not sure why I’m even telling you, but she didn’t even cry. Not one tear.”

  “What?” his father asked. Nick had obviously managed to surprise him.

  “Nothing. Not a tear, not even a sniffle. Who doesn’t cry when they get their wedding canceled a week before? I agonized over it for weeks…months. It didn’t feel right to me. She’d never been much of an emotional person, I know that, but I expected something. Anger, tears, frustration, anything. But nothing. She just looked at me like I was crazy. Then she started to list all the reasons that we should get married, logical like, as if I didn’t know what they were and she needed to remind me. Details for a meeting almost.”

  All the reasons that Nick had heard before when they were dating. That they “made a good team” and that she could help him both professionally and personally.

  She’d kept his work so organized and even his life at home, and he’d come to depend on her. Somehow it all made sense as time went by, until one day nothing made sense at all.

  “I really don’t know what to say about that. Did you know she still went on the honeymoon?”

  “Did she?” That didn’t surprise Nick much. Kendra was practical that way. She would have thought the tickets and trip were paid for and she might as well use them. “Why be wasteful,” she would have said.

  “Yeah. She came back and told everyone how wonderful Paris was and it was exactly what she needed to clear her head before she returned to work.”

  “Don’t sound so appalled, Dad.” Kendra was always a bit on the robotic side. Not much emotion, not many facial expressions, always practical and never fanciful. That she suggested Paris—the city of love—as their honeymoon was indeed a shock to Nick. It wasn’t his choice of places to go, and he never thought it would be hers. “So she’s still there? At work?”

  “I’d tell you if she wasn’t. I honestly can’t believe it, but she came in acting like nothing happened. As if her fiancé didn’t just cancel her wedding and they were no longer even together, let alone talking. Instead she looked and acted like someone who took a two-week vacation, came back recharged and ready to work again.”

  He was trying not to be annoyed over that…or even hurt. He’d stressed and worried over her and her reaction to what he did and what he’d planned on doing, and yet there she was acting as if it wasn’t a big deal to everyone around her. It just reaffirmed that he’d made the right call and the right decision. She wasn’t the person for him.

  Even though he knew he wasn’t in love with her the way he should be, he still cared deeply for her. He still shed plenty of tears over what he did. She got the raw end of the deal and yet she was acting like it was nothing at all. It made no sense to him.

  “Sounds like she’s handling things well.” What more could he say?

  “There are some rumors she went on a job interview last week.”

  “Really?”

  After what his father just told him about her behavior in the office, he’d resigned himself to thinking she’d still be there when he returned and he’d have to figure out how to work w
ith her again in the building. Based on her reaction to everything, she obviously didn’t think it would be awkward.

  “Just a rumor. I can’t seem to pin down much more, though.”

  “Look into it. Find out what you can and where it might be and let me know. I’ll put in a good word for her. It’s probably for the best at this point. I don’t know why she’s still there. She won’t return my calls or emails.” He stopped, then laughed. “I wonder if I sent her an email in an official capacity as her boss if she’d respond.”

  “That’s cold, Nick.”

  “It is. Which is why I laughed. But still, it seems to me she is all business. Let’s be honest—I’m still her boss.”

  “True. I’ll see what I can find out. She isn’t avoiding me altogether, but she’s only kept it businesslike. I’m not really sure what she is doing in terms of work, now that I think about it. I’ve tried to keep my distance with everything that’s happened, but maybe I should look at this differently.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Nothing. Don’t worry about it, Nick. Just focus on you. Don’t let anything I said just now change you.”

  “All right. I’ll talk to you later. Keep me posted on anything new.”

  He hung up with his father and tried to think about his father’s parting words. “Don’t let anything I said change you.”

  But how could it not? What he did to Kendra brought him here—guilt over his actions, but maybe they were misplaced.

  Was he beating himself up over nothing? He didn’t think so.

  Even if deep down he knew he did the right thing by calling off the wedding, that didn’t mean Kendra wasn’t justified in her actions now.

  He’d be the first person to say he was acting out of character right now. Leaving town for a month, running away…not that he’d admit that to anyone.

  He was working still, sure he was. But it wasn’t like him to walk away from everything he’d worked so hard for, and still was. It wasn’t like him to put that work aside and focus on something in the past, regardless of how much it’d eaten at him.

  So would he let what his father said today change him? No. Would it change the way he was thinking about his life? Maybe.

  Second Chance

  Mallory stood up and stretched her arms over her head, arched her back, then bent down and touched the floor. She repeated this several times, but it wasn’t working. She was still cramped up and had no one to blame but herself for being up all night writing.

  Looking at the clock, she realized she’d been up over twenty-four hours at this point. It wasn’t the first time she’d done that, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last.

  Nick had interrupted her train of thought yesterday, but she wasn’t about to turn away his offer to spend some time together. It had been worth it in her eyes, putting her work on hold—something she’d never done before.

  Thinking back to yesterday now, she’d been nervous at first, agreeing to lunch with Nick. But they had to start somewhere, so why not there?

  Not that it had been a date, not really. But it sure did seem like one. Sitting together in the restaurant, talking about everyday things. Nothing serious, nothing in depth about their lives, but enough to keep the conversation moving and the memories flowing.

  Then walking down Main Street and shopping for his sunglasses—his idea, and a good one. For the life of her, she didn’t know what possessed her to pick up those glasses and put them on his head, then lean over and adjust them. Frivolous and flirty, something she did with him long ago, and nothing like she’d done with another person since.

  He’d seemed shocked that she’d done it, but then he smiled, and she remembered. Remembered the same smile he rewarded her before, in the past, the one that said he understood and appreciated her little gesture.

  After they left the sporting goods store and bought their popcorn, he grabbed her hand and held it—oh yeah—that really made it feel like a date.

  At first she wasn’t sure if it was an accident or not. They’d been brushing up against each other the entire time walking, trying to avoid traffic. His hand against hers didn’t feel any different than another time or another man, even if she did want it to mean more.

  But when he purposely grabbed her fingers and threaded them through his…well, then she had no choice but to hold on. And when she did, it meant more, it meant close to the same it did so many years ago.

  Walking hand in hand with him, she tried to remember the last time a man held her hand, and realized it was Nick. Twelve years ago, that summer before she’d left, it was him. No one had held her hand since he did in her backyard, sitting on her bench under the stars.

  They’d been talking about books back then, like they normally did, making her wonder what he saw in her. The hometown athlete, the favorite son that everyone loved, and her, the shy timid girl with a broken home that no one knew existed.

  Then she remembered he saw more than what there was; he’d even told her that. Told her that she was a mystery at times to him, one he’d like to solve, even if she thought it was an odd statement.

  Thinking back, her teenage years were enjoyable only when Nick was a part of them. Memories she wanted to hold on to. Memories that got her through the weeks, months, and years that followed.

  Sure, she remembered he broke her heart, but with the turmoil of leaving, she focused on the happy times, not the heartbroken ones.

  So while her broken heart was there, always buried deep in the back of her mind, she tried to keep it locked behind closed doors in her brain. Only now, with him in town, it was hard to keep it locked there, and she knew she had to be guarded going forward.

  She started to remember one of their conversations from back then. A nerdy one really, from a young girl who was trying to impress an older boy with her intelligence. To make him think she was older and wiser than seventeen. “Remember reading Of Mice and Men in school?”

  “Yeah? Why?”

  She’d shrugged and forced herself to continue on with her thoughts. “Ever wonder what would have happened if George hadn’t shot Lennie? If maybe George hid him away and they found their farm after all?”

  Nick had smiled at her, not a silly smile like others did when she tried to change the ending of a book. “I think the same thing would have happened again. I think Lennie would have accidentally killed another person or animal. Not on purpose, but he didn’t know any better. He really couldn’t have been taught or reformed, if that makes sense.”

  She frowned, not thrilled he was taking away her “Happily Ever After” ending that she’d created in her mind. “Why is that? Why couldn’t they have bought land and made a life for themselves away from everyone, and just lived in peace with no one to bother them?”

  “Because you couldn’t change the person Lennie was. If you change the book, you have to change Lennie as a whole. I think he knew the difference between right and wrong, but he couldn’t control himself either. He never meant to harm anything or anyone, but that didn’t stop it from happening. Which means it would most likely happen again. George killing him wasn’t right by any means, but the lynch mob would have found him. I don’t know how George and Lennie could have ever gotten away and lived the life you’re thinking.”

  Back then though, she refused to believe they couldn’t have gotten away, that they couldn’t have made a life for themselves and stayed hidden, so she dropped it.

  Thinking of her life now though, she’d done just that. She’d gotten away, she’d stayed hidden, and no one found her.

  Until now. She knew deep down there was no comparison to her past and Lennie’s, but getting away had always been her goal. Somehow, someway, just not the way it happened.

  After she and Nick walked down Main Street, they went to her car and drove here, to her house. On the deck they ate their popcorn and talked some more. “I shouldn’t be surprised you’re a writer.”

  “Why’s that?” she asked.

  “Because I remember you
always had your nose in a book and you always wanted to change the endings. Do you do that now? Write a book and then change your own ending?”

  She thought it was a funny comment. “Not really. That would give me more work than necessary.”

  “Do your books have happy endings?” he’d asked, then tossed some of his popcorn in his mouth.

  “They do. Eventually.” Each book ended with the mystery solved, if you wanted to consider that a happy ending, but she didn’t tell him that. She couldn’t, not without giving more details about what she wrote. “I’ve never cared for books with no closure, or a sad ending.”

  He tossed more popcorn in his mouth, then looked at his hand to see the chocolate smeared all over it. He shrugged, then got a mischievous look in his eyes and slowly licked the chocolate off each finger. “Not real proper etiquette here, but I’m with a friend, right?”

  She looked down at her own sticky fingers, dyed pink and blue. “Yeah, you are.” Then she cleaned them off the same way he did, both of them laughing and her feeling like the past wasn’t hanging so heavily in the air for a brief moment.

  Finally though, with their popcorn gone, and the conversation starting to stall, he’d stood up and said, “I should let you get back to work. My grandmother is probably wondering where I am right now, too.”

  “You didn’t tell her?” she asked, knowing Trixie wouldn’t worry too much.

  “Nah. I told her I was going for a walk. She’s smart. She probably knew I was hunting you down.”

  “And you found me, didn’t you?”

  He looked at her deeply, deeper than she cared for at the moment, and she regretted voicing those words just like that.

  “Yeah, I did. Am I going to have to find you again?” he asked softly.

  “What does that mean?”

  There was a buzzing in her ears just now. She wasn’t sure what he meant. She knew what she wanted it to mean, but didn’t want to assume.