Her Second Chance Family (Contemporary Romance)

by Holly Jacobs

  “Bea, did Willow tell you all this, or were you snooping?” Audrey asked mildly. Bea had a problem with boundaries sometimes.

  “Yeah, I know. Everyone should have some privacy. And you don’t tell my secrets, so I shouldn’t tell others. Sorry. Are you gonna tell Willow I snooped again?”

  “Not this time. But you need to be more aware of respecting people’s privacy and not telling tales.”

  “Okay. I will.” A second lunchtime crisis averted. She managed two more bites before Bea said, “So, you really think when you marry Sawyer he’ll still like us?” Bea circled back to her previous question.

  Audrey realized how much this must be weighing on her. She set the fork down, took a fortifying sip of her tea and then said, “First off, I’m not planning on marrying Sawyer or anyone else. However, if that changes, I will let you know. Secondly, I promise you that if anyone’s not nice to my kids I’d forget about them.”

  She put a hand on either side of Bea’s face, making sure she was paying attention. “Bea, you, Clinton and Willow are the most important people in my life. You are kids, and part of signing on as your parent means I promised I’d always put the three of you first. So, I cross my heart—” she made the motion “—that if I ever do get married, you three would have to be as happy about it as I was.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She mock spit in her hand this time, then crossed her heart again. “Positive. How could I ever love a man enough to marry him if he wasn’t nice to the most important people in my life? If he could do that, then he couldn’t really love me. And from what I’ve heard, marriage is hard enough when you love someone. I wouldn’t ever marry someone who didn’t love me.”

  “Okay, then. I’m going back over to our place. Clinton’s gonna teach me a new video game.”

  Audrey felt a wave of relief sweep over her. She’d obviously reassured Bea.

  “Remember the rules?”

  “No more than an hour screen time. TV, video game, computer. Doesn’t matter. Just one hour. And no place other than our house or Maggie May’s, unless we ask.”

  Audrey smiled. “Right.”

  “That’s okay. I’m gonna spend the afternoon in the tree house finishing a book when me and Clinton are done.”

  “Don’t fall out,” Audrey warned because Bea loved heights. They’d gone to Cooks Forest last year, and Bea had scampered up the old fire tower as if it was just a quick climb up their stairs at home.

  “I never fall. I’m a tree nymph, remember?”

  Bea ran out as Maggie May came back in.

  “So?” Audrey asked.

  Maggie May sat in the chair next to her and hefted a sigh that sounded reminiscent of Bea’s. “Well, I did it. I’ve got a date. A real, honest-to-goodness date. We had to negotiate, though.”

  She looked as if the negotiations had been a trial.

  “About?”

  Maggie May shook her head. “I told Abe that since I asked him out, the date was on me. I told him that he just had to sit back and let me plan it. He fought with me. He said a gentleman always pays for a date, and I told him that he was so last century.”

  “Go, you,” Audrey cheered.

  Maggie sighed. “The only problem is, it turns out that I’m last century, too. I don’t have a clue what to do. Do you think he’d like some fancy champagne sort of dinner? Dancing? Though I never danced well in my younger days.”

  Audrey could sense how distressed Maggie was. Then an idea came to her. “I know something fun and different for both of you.”

  “What?”

  “Take a class at a studio, maybe pottery or painting. Wait. I saw an ad recently offering date nights at a painting studio. Everybody paints the same thing, one person leads them all. And you get drinks. Mr. Lebowitz likes creative stuff.”

  “I’ve never painted a thing,” Maggie said, not looking convinced.

  “Then you’re exactly the kind of person it’s perfect for. It’s meant for absolute novices.”

  Maggie May kissed her cheek. “That is a very good date. Can you get me the information?”

  “They’ve got a website. I’ll send it to you.”

  “Good.”

  This had been a productive lunch. She’d played matchmaker to two of her favorite people on earth, and she’d hopefully calmed some of Bea’s worries. “I should probably get back.”

  “Before you go, what about you? Are you going out on another date with that boy soon?”

  “Maggie, I don’t think Sawyer would like being referred to as a boy.”

  Maggie May didn’t go on the defensive; she just laughed and said, “When you get to be my age, most of the men who are still alive are boys. Abe, now, he’s a man.”

  “Duly noted.” Audrey hoped this was the last time they’d have this particular discussion. She liked the idea of two of her favorite people getting together, but she didn’t want to ever know about Mr. Lebowitz’s manliness. “I really should go.”

  “So about you and Sawyer...are you going out again soon?”

  Audrey gave in to the inevitable. “Yes, I think so.”

  “If he hasn’t asked you, you know it’s the new millennium. You can ask him.”

  Audrey laughed. “Hoisted on my own petard.”

  “Ask him,” Maggie May said.

  * * *

  “SO HOW WAS the big date?” Audrey asked Thursday morning.

  Mr. Lebowitz smiled. “Not really our first date, but our first official one.”

  Audrey nodded. She understood the distinction.

  “But it was good. We painted sunflowers.” He pointed to the flower over his shoulder. “It’s Maggie’s. I took hers as a remembrance of our first date and she took mine.”

  Audrey didn’t tease him, but she did sigh a bit. That was very sweet.

  “And it occurred to me that the only thing I’ve ever drawn was buildings. Maybe it’s time to branch out. I think I’ve convinced her to take some art lessons with me.”

  “That will be nice. I’m always hard-pressed to figure out what to do on a date. Coffee, a meal.”

  “Swimming in Sawyer’s pool?” he asked with a laugh. “I hear you’re going over today after work.”

  “I don’t know if that qualifies as a date. All the kids will be there.”

  “Would you like my thoughts on the subject?” Mr. Lebowitz asked.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  He laughed again. “No. When my wife was alive, we simply liked being together. Friends laughed when we referred to grocery shopping or Saturday morning chores as dates, because for us, they were. Cooking dinner. Weeding the garden. Whenever we were together, we considered it a date. Since she’s gone, I’ve dated a few other women, but those dates were work. Finding things to talk about. Finding common ground. I think that’s why none of those women came to anything more. You can’t build a life with someone when it’s that much work. But Maggie...it’s different. I’ve known her for a long time through you, and the first few times we went out, we were just acquaintances of an age doing something together. And I just want to be with her. Cleaning a house...”

  Audrey interrupted. “Weeding a garden?”

  He nodded. “Or swimming with your kids. You like Sawyer, he likes you. Anyone with eyes can see that.”

  She felt her cheeks warm.

  “And speaking of odd dates, I mentioned my wanting to go to Fallingwater to Maggie and she said she’s always wanted to see it, too. We got to talking and thought, with your permission, we’d steal the kids away on Saturday and head to Pittsburgh. Maybe go to a few museums. We’d stay in a hotel, but I’d have Clinton in my room and Maggie would take the girls. Then Fallingwater on the way home on Sunday.”

  “So you’re using the kids as your chaperones?”


  He laughed. “Something like that. We both know they’re your chaperones. Or maybe sometimes your excuse. And we thought that maybe without them you and Sawyer could...well, see what it’s like to date without chaperones.” Mr. Lebowitz blushed this time.

  “I refuse to talk to you about being unchaperoned with Sawyer, but yes, you and Maggie can certainly take the kids.” Audrey had never known her father, but she imagined if she had, this was the kind of discomfort these conversations would have produced.

  “I know Clinton and Bea will be game,” Mr. Lebowitz said, “but do you think Willow will mind?”

  “We’ll ask her and see, but I think she’ll be thrilled.”

  That night as the kids swam in the pool at Sawyer’s and she sat on the deck talking about her day with him, it occurred to her that Mr. Lebowitz was right. It didn’t matter what they were doing, being with Sawyer felt like a date.

  It felt right.

  * * *

  ON SATURDAY MORNING, Audrey said goodbye to the kids and watched them drive away with Maggie and Mr. Lebowitz. Then she stood alone on her front porch and wondered what she should do next.

  She hadn’t told Sawyer she had a weekend free...she wasn’t sure why. Maybe because she didn’t want him to feel obliged to do something with her. No, she was pretty sure that there would be no sense of obligation and that he’d want to spend time with her. It was the something he might want to do that...worried her? Excited her? Intrigued her?

  It had been a long time since she’d been intimate with someone. Between kids and work there just weren’t enough hours in the day.

  Okay, that was a lie. She hadn’t been with someone in a long time because she wasn’t into casual sex.

  And she was pretty sure that sex with Sawyer wouldn’t be casual, at least for her.

  So maybe she hadn’t told him about her single status this weekend because she wasn’t sure she was ready for more than casual with Sawyer.

  It felt as though she’d known him forever. It felt as if he’d been part of their lives for a long time, but it really hadn’t been that long. She simply wasn’t sure if she was ready to take their relationship to a new level.

  She could always call Ava and see how things were going with her father and her grandfather.

  Or she could enjoy a day to herself.

  She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had one of those.

  Audrey realized that she was only twenty-eight and couldn’t decide what to do with a day off. In the end, she simply rambled through the house, picking up the mess the kids had left behind in the wake of their packing.

  That took a whole hour.

  Disgusted with herself, she got in the car and drove to the vacant lot in town. There was work there that needed done.

  She no longer felt adrift as she got out of the car and looked over the weed-infested lot. Here she could make a difference.

  She’d come out with the kids a few more times, and they’d really started to make an impact. Her small raised-bed garden would soon be green with kale, swiss chard and cabbage. She spent a while weeding the bed, then got her gloves and trash bags out of the car. People had thrown more garbage in the lot since the last time she was here. She was hoping that once she got the weeds knocked down and started using the lot on a regular basis that would change.

  Four bags later, she assessed her work.

  “It looks good,” said a voice from behind her.

  She knew who it was, and she knew that she was happy. She turned around. “Thanks, Sawyer.”

  He was wearing a business suit and looking very bankerish.

  “I’d say feel free to pitch in, but you’re obviously not dressed for the occasion,” she teased.

  “Our branch has hours on Saturdays. I work at least one of them a month.” He paused. “I just realized—where are your minions? It’s rare to see you without them, especially on a weekend.”

  Audrey, who’d felt so indecisive this morning, suddenly knew what she wanted to do this weekend. “They’re out of town until tomorrow. Maggie and Mr. Lebowitz are taking them to Pittsburgh. Truth be told, I think they wanted chaperones.”

  “The kids do make very good chaperones,” Sawyer said slowly.

  Audrey nodded. “Sometimes it’s a good thing, sometimes not so much.

  As a gleam appeared in his eyes, Audrey thought she knew what he was thinking about. “So, do you have plans for your minion-free weekend?”

  Audrey realized that she’d made her decision the moment she’d seen him.

  “One of the first things I thought about was calling you.”

  “And yet, you didn’t,” he pointed out.

  “I was...” She harped about honesty and karma to the kids. She wouldn’t do less with Sawyer. “I was nervous.”

  “Audrey, we don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. I wouldn’t take the lack of chaperones as carte blanche.” He touched her. Just his hand resting gently on her forearm. There was no suggestiveness, no manipulation. Just his steady reassurance.

  “Don’t you see?” she said. “It wasn’t you I was nervous about—it was me.”

  “And the problem is?”

  She didn’t know what the problem was. “It’s a bunch of things. It’s me getting too close and getting hurt. It’s letting you into our lives and the kids getting hurt. It’s that we’re two very different people.” She waved her hand between them. “You’re all business suits and number crunching and I’m compost piles and steel-toed boots. And—”

  “Listen, I want to spend the day with you. And still, maybe I’m afraid of getting hurt, too. I was engaged before. I don’t think ever I’ve told you that.”

  She shook her head.

  “She left me without a backward glance. No, that’s wrong. She left to pursue a dream. She asked me to come, but it was a halfhearted offer. She decided she was going before she told me about it. And I didn’t go with her, or follow after her. Her dream wasn’t my dream. I asked her to stay and she couldn’t. She tried to keep the lines of communication open, but I shut her off.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It was my fault. I’d put a stranglehold on her, on our relationship. I won’t make that mistake again. You can be whoever you are. I should mention here that I like who you are.”

  “Sawyer...”

  “I’ve thought about that relationship a lot since I met you. When Millie left, I was mad. I was hurt. But, Audrey, I wasn’t crushed. What I’ve realized is that maybe neither of us loved each other enough. She couldn’t let go of her dream job for me, and I wasn’t willing to go after her. If we had loved each other, we’d have worked it out.”

  “I’m still sorry,” Audrey said again.

  “Thanks. But as I stand here in this vacant, dilapidated lot, I can see your vision. I understand why this is important to you and I find I want to do anything I can to help you realize it. Maybe that says something about the two of us and what we could have.”

  “I...”

  “Let’s get to work.” He slid his arms free from his jacket.

  Audrey scoffed, “Don’t be silly. You’re wearing a suit.”

  Sawyer undid his tie, took it off and undid the top button of his dress shirt. “No. Now I’m wearing a shirt and pants.”

  He started to roll up his sleeves.

  “Stop,” she said. “I’ve worked here enough for the day. Do you want to know the real reason I didn’t call you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Because I was afraid I’d do this.” She walked into his arms and kissed him. She kissed him with all her pent-up longing and tried to infuse it with all the feelings she’d kept bottled up.

  When they finally ended the kiss, she took a step back. “That’s why.”

  “Audrey, we don’t have
to do anything you don’t want to do,” he said again.

  “The problem is, I want to. I want to very much.”

  “Even then, we don’t have to.”

  “Come home with me,” she said, decision made. “Not because we have to, and not because I’m asking for assurances. Come home with me because I care for you and because I want you.”

  There were so many things about Sawyer Williams that touched her. The way he acted with her kids was one of the biggest. The way he’d not only allowed Willow into his yard to mow, but the way he’d taken her newest charge under his wing. He cared about Willow. He was helping her with her math and had found someone to help with her science. And he’d never said a word.

  She thought she might have something with him. Something that might grow, given time.

  “Come home with me,” she repeated.

  He smiled and draped his jacket over his shoulder.

  “I thought you’d never ask.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  THE NEXT MORNING, Audrey sat in the kitchen, her coffee cup in hand and her unopened Sunday paper on the table. She stared out the window and let her one overriding thought sink in.

  She was...happy.

  Overwhelmingly, completely happy.

  She wasn’t sure what the etiquette was when a woman had someone spend the night. Frankly, it wasn’t something she’d had experience with. So when she woke up, she tiptoed out of the room and left Sawyer sleeping...in her bed. But not before she took a moment to enjoy the view.

  Out of his very professional-looking banker suit he was hot. Oh, she’d seen him in a bathing suit, so she’d been aware of the fact, but still, helping him disrobe last night had been rather like unwrapping a present at Christmas. One you’d snooped into and knew what it was, but still were very pleased when you confirmed it was exactly what you’d thought.

  Sawyer was...

  “Penny for your thoughts,” he said from the doorway.

  She hadn’t heard him on the stairs, the very squeaky stair. She turned around and he was wearing only his boxer shorts.