The Captain's Second Chance

by Elana Johnson

  “And tonight, she’d do me the greatest honor of becoming my fiancée.” He turned toward her and dropped to both knees. He wasn’t in front of the mic anymore, but the place was so silent, he didn’t need to be.

  “Brooklynn Perrish, you’re everything to me. Will you marry me?” He cracked the lid on the box as if the ring inside would be needed to sway her decision.

  But she supposed she’d brought a sugary, bacony breakfast sandwich to the beach to do the same thing.

  She nodded, her words stuck somewhere behind the lump in her throat.

  “Yeah?” he asked.

  Brooklynn looked out into the sea of military faces, and she felt brave and bold for just that moment. Long enough to stand up and say, “Yes, sir,” in a loud, clear voice.

  The room erupted into applause and whoops, and Dave swooped her into his arms, kissing her in front of everyone.

  “You don’t have to call me sir,” he murmured into her ear before pulling back. He slipped the diamond on her finger and looked at her, his expression full of mischief. “But I sure like it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Dave stood very still while he waited in line with the other groomsmen. Everyone else pulled at their collars or adjusted their cufflinks. Not Dave. He’d had plenty of experience wearing a uniform that rubbed and pinched in places, and this suit actually felt great.

  Finally, the women came out of the bride’s room, and Brooklynn stepped to his side, a beaming smile on her face.

  “All ready?” he asked.

  “Aunt Mabel’s finishing up,” she said, linking her arm through his. “Don’t you dare let me fall in these ridiculous heels.” She glanced at her feet. “I don’t see why I have to wear them. You’re not that much taller than me.”

  He was, but he wasn’t going to argue with her. “You’ll be okay,” he said instead, tucking her arm tighter against him. “I’ve got you.”

  And he did have her. They’d been engaged for a couple of months now, with their wedding looming on the horizon. Before the new year, they’d be married, and Dave’s greatest wish would be his reality.

  He still couldn’t believe it sometimes.

  “I’m so excited for Aunt Mabel,” Brooklynn said. “It’s just so sweet she gets to have the wedding she’s always wanted, all these years later.”

  “Hmm,” he said, though he identified with Mabel Magleby a lot. As Brooklynn had been married before and claimed she’d already had her big affair, she and her mother were planning something a little more low-key.

  They hadn’t told him much, only that she wanted him to wear his uniform, and that it would be a simple affair. “Is that okay?” she’d asked.

  Dave had kissed her until he couldn’t breathe, and then he’d said, “Sweetheart, I’d marry you tomorrow at City Hall. Whatever you want is fine with me.”

  As a Magleby, she was part of the wedding party, and he’d agreed to be her groomsman. It would easily take ten minutes for all the Magleby’s to march in with someone, and yet the line didn’t move. Mabel didn’t come out.

  “I was married at the Mansion before,” Brooklynn said, and Dave glanced at her.

  “Is this where we’re getting married?”

  “No,” she said.

  “Where is that happening?” he asked. “It’ll be December.”

  “I’m aware of when we’re getting married,” she said with a coy smile.

  “So I don’t get to know? How will I know where to show up?” He watched her, and she certainly didn’t seem like she’d tell him. “You do want me to show up, don’t you?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  Plenty of surprise moved through Dave. “So when people ask me, what am I supposed to say?”

  “What I just said.”

  “Brooklynn,” he said, a hint of frustration in his voice. “I can’t know?”

  She considered him, her dark eyes searching his. “Fine,” she said. “But remember you said you didn’t care where we got married.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  She shrugged and tried to hold back a smile. “I booked a ship.”

  “A ship?” He didn’t mean to shout it, but several other members of the wedding party, including both of her sisters, looked his way. “You’ve got to be kidding,” he said in a much quieter voice.

  The door behind them opened, and Mabel came out. Several women gasped, and Dave had to admit that Mabel, even as many years as she had in her, glowed with a radiance only a bride could achieve.

  “I’m not kidding,” Brooklynn whispered as the line tidied up and got ready to enter the hall. “Brian said I could have the Adelie, and I booked it.”

  Before Dave could say a single word, the wedding party advanced, and he’d been given strict instructions to do two things: Smile and remain silent.

  But the first chance he got, he was going to kiss Brooklynn until he couldn’t see straight. He steadied her as they moved down the aisle, one painstaking step at a time. Then he moved to the right, while all the women went left.

  Mabel came down the aisle with Brooklynn’s father escorting her. They both wore smiles with as much luster as the sun, and Dave couldn’t help the feeling of comfort and peace that flowed over him.

  He caught Brooklynn’s eye, and that same warm feeling expanded and grew. In just a few short months, he’d be waiting at that altar, watching her walk toward him on her father’s arm.

  Smiling, he mouthed I love you, and she pressed her fingertips to her lips and blew him a quick kiss.

  The pastor at the front of the hall gave a nice speech about finding true love, even in hard times, or in unexpected places, or later in life. He cheered with everyone else when Mabel and Clyde finally kissed, and he was ready to dart forward and catch the older woman as she lifted her bouquet of pink and white flowers high above her head.

  It seemed like the entire town of Hawthorne Harbor had crammed into the banquet hall at Magleby Mansion, which of course, they had. Mabel had been the matron of this town for a long time, and there were more wet eyes than dry ones.

  Dave clapped along with everyone else, glad when the happy couple finally moved down the aisle so he could be reunited with Brooklynn.

  “The Adelie?” he asked.

  “Well, she was your ship for five years,” Brooklynn said. “And I figured it was a good place for us to start our lives together.”

  He tucked a lock of fallen hair behind her ear. “And you’re sure you want to wait until December? You know what the ocean is like in December, right?”

  “I can handle it,” she said. “And Brian said we could go below deck if it’s raining.”

  “So how many people can I invite?” he asked, following the crowd out into the main part of the Mansion. The staff would get the chairs down and the tables up, and then the wedding luncheon would be served.

  “We each get ten guests,” she said, glancing up at him. “It’s way harder for me than you. My family is huge.”

  He did some mental calculations. “Do kids count?”

  “Brian would say yes.”

  “Oh, Brian will be fine,” Dave said, guiding her to the door. “Want to walk outside while they set up?”

  She nodded and picked up the hem of her bridesmaid dress to move down the steps.

  “So I have five,” he said. “With my parents and my brothers and Charlie’s wife, if kids don’t count.”

  “And I’ve got six with just my parents and siblings. My grandmother will freak if I don’t invite her. And Julie. And Darcy.” She started ticking up fingers, getting to ten and continuing. When she stopped, she looked at Dave with apprehension in her expression. Now that he was retired, he wanted to do everything in his power to never see that look in her eye again.

  “Am I doing the right thing? Maybe we should just have it here, so everyone who wants to can come.”

  He took her effortlessly into his arms, enjoying the sunshine on his face and the way she fit right where he wanted her. “You wanted sm
all. The ship is small.” He kissed her ear, then her neck. “You can have my five extra.”

  “You don’t have any friends you want to invite?”

  “Well, the crew of the Adelie will be there, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Those are my friends.” He gazed down at her. “I just need you there, sweetheart.” He kissed her, glad when some of her nervous tension bled away. “And you’re sure you want to wait until December?”

  She giggled and pushed on his chest, a futile effort to get him to step back. “Yes, now behave yourself. We’re in public.”

  “I’m aware,” he said dryly, glancing around though no one paid any attention to them. “I just want you at home with me.”

  She smiled up at him, the softest, sweetest smile that showed how much she loved him. “Oh, that reminds me. We’re going to look at that house next week. The one out on the south side of town.”

  “All right,” he said. They’d decided to buy a new house together for their new lives. “You tell me when, and I’ll check my schedule.”

  She laughed again, and Dave secured her hand in his. A bell rang, signaling that everyone could go back inside now and find their seats for the luncheon. Dave turned that way, but Brooklynn increased the pressure on his hand, making him face her again.

  “What is it?” he asked, searching her face.

  Instead of answering with words, she balanced in her heels and kissed him. “I love you, Dave.”

  He chuckled, kissed her again quickly, and said, “I love you too, sweetheart.”

  Dave and Brooklynn managed to make their second chance work! If you liked this book, please leave a review for it today.

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  Sneak Peek! The Professor’s Secret Crush Chapter One

  Cassie Caldwell forced herself away from her desk off the instructional kitchen in the coldest building on Northwestern Michigan College. A new round of classes had begun that day, and she just had one more to make it through.

  The practice kitchen, with its stainless steel workstations and industrial ovens, felt even chillier than her drab office. She set about putting the tools the students would be using that evening at each spot, thinking of who Thomas would be, or Katia, or Jonathan.

  She loved her special needs course, and she only got one per semester. They brought a vibrancy to the kitchen that no other group could, and they always proved her point that anyone could learn to cook.

  As she put a syllabus printed on goldenrod paper at each spot beside the hand soap, cinnamon, oil, and paring knife, a rush of gratitude for this job hit her. She’d only been at the university for a year, and this was only her third introductory culinary course for special needs students.

  But she loved teaching her other four classes too, especially compared to waking up at two-thirty in the morning and heading to Donut Delight to make pastries for the five a.m. open time. No one in Forbidden Lake even came to the doughnut shop that early, but Addalyn Merchant—the closest thing to a best friend Cassie had allowed herself to have—insisted they open at the ungodly hour.

  “Just in case,” she said.

  Cassie had only made the mistake of asking her “Just in case of what?” once. And she’d only worked at the shop for a week before she found out the answer. One Carlson Bixby.

  Cassie could admit he was good-looking, with all his dark hair and those dreamy eyes. He wore a suit every day to his office in the city buildings, and he stopped by for coffee and a cherry fritter every Thursday morning.

  So “just in case” was for Thursdays, and Addy’s huge crush on the parks department director that claimed he’d be mayor one day.

  Cassie shook her head as she placed the last paper at the last station. “Ninety minutes,” she muttered to herself. If she could just get through the next ninety minutes, she could get home to Lars and Kyle, her twin half-brothers.

  Fifteen was no joke for anyone, and her half-siblings had been through a lot in the past year and a half. A sharp pang of missing hit Cassie right behind her ribs, and she wondered if she’d ever be able to think about her mother without the accompanying pain in her chest.

  Probably not.

  She pressed against her side and went up to the front of the room, where a demo kitchen sat, an angular mirror above it so students could see what she was doing on the counter from anywhere in the room.

  Her fantasies took over for a moment, and she closed her eyes as she imagined herself to be a celebrity chef, whisking something together in front of a camera. She opened her eyes and tilted the empty bowl toward the classroom, a picture-perfect smile on her face. “See how it comes together, but you haven’t lost the air in the egg whites? That’s what you want it to look like.”

  When she let go of it, the bowl made a clanging sound as the bottom of it hit the counter. She wasn’t going to be a celebrity chef. Then the twins’ father would know where she was. Where his sons were.

  And Cassie could absolutely not allow that.

  She pulled her phone out, her anxiety suddenly boiling over. It was Larry Glassman’s parole hearing today, and Cassie still had a few friends in Chicago she could rely on. Willie Ashford was one, but the cute stylist Cassie had gone to for years hadn’t texted yet. Maybe Larry’s parole had been denied.

  Hope floated behind Cassie’s heart, but she never let it stay for long. She’d gotten legal guardianship and custody of Lars and Kyle after their mother had died fifteen months ago. They’d immediately had a family council and decided to leave Chicago.

  Five hours north, they’d stopped in the quaint lakeside town—and cherry capital of the nation—of Forbidden Lake. She’d gotten the job at the bakery, and then the university, and Cassie was doing the best she could to keep them all safe, secret, and together.

  The door at the back of the room opened, and her first student peered inside. “Welcome,” she said in a falsely bright voice, though class didn’t start for another fifteen minutes. Her special needs students often came very early, as some of them had trouble with directions or finding their classrooms.

  “Is this introductory cooking?” the man asked, his words a bit thick.

  “Yes,” she said. “You can choose any station.”

  “I’m Drew,” he said, entering the room. An older woman—clearly his mother—came in behind him. “And this is my mom, Ruthann.”

  “Hello,” Cassie said. “I’m Cassandra Caldwell. I’ll be your professor.” She shook hands with Drew and his mother, who then promptly left. As the minutes ticked by, Cassie met all but one of her students, and they’d all chosen a station.

  The clock ticked to five, and she strode to the front of the room, saying, “All right, it’s time to begin. Let’s start with the roll. Let me know you’re here when I call your name.” She went down the list, trying to memorize the name that went with each face as the students indicated they were here.

  “So we’re missing Jonathan Addler,” she said, glancing around. At that moment, the door in the back opened again, and a man stepped inside.

  He clearly did not have special needs, unless drop-dead gorgeous made the list of handicaps one might suffer from. And he definitely wasn’t suffering.

  He wore a crisp pair of jeans and a polo the color the cherries would be in the summer. His dark hair swooped to the side like he’d just gotten off the set of an action movie where he rode a motorcycle along the beach.

  There was a beach here, so maybe he h
ad.

  Cassie’s heart pinged around inside her chest, and she didn’t even know why. She’d met good-looking men before. Dated a few. Kissed a couple.

  He ran his hand down his face, where he wore a neatly trimmed beard, as he glanced around and then to her. “Here,” he said, an arrogant smile curving his mouth.

  Wow, what a mouth.

  Cassie tore her gaze from his lips and cleared her throat. “Jonathan Addler?” she asked.

  He strode over to the only empty station and sat on the stool like everyone else, his smile moving from arrogance to curiosity the longer she stared at him. He really was going to stay. She glanced around at the other students. Half of them were looking at her, and the other half were watching Jonathan.

  She put her clipboard down and cocked her head toward the office door to her left. “Can I speak with you for a moment?”

  “Am I in trouble already?” he asked. “I was five minutes late.”

  “Now,” she said, marching over to her office and waiting for him to enter in front of her. Closing herself in a tighter space with this delicious male specimen wasn’t her greatest idea. Or maybe it was. She wasn’t exactly thinking straight at the moment. Not with all that pine tree, musky goodness now filling her nose.

  The door clicked closed behind her, and Cassie wondered what in the blazes she was doing. Hadn’t another professor just been fired for having a relationship with a student?

  Yes! her mind screamed. Open the door!

  But she couldn’t have this conversation with him in front of the other students. She cracked the door and glanced over her shoulder. With the large window, she could see several other students, which meant they could see her too.

  “This is a special needs course, Jonathan,” she said as quietly as she could.

  “Jon,” he said.

  She blinked and employed her patience. “Okay. Jon. This is a special needs course. For students with special needs.”