Her Second Chance Family (Contemporary Romance)

by Holly Jacobs

  He smiled. “Well, if you two walk around getting all disgusting with each other I’m going to hurl, but otherwise, yeah.”

  “But he didn’t believe Willow,” Audrey said, arguing against what Willow said, what her heart wanted.

  “But he wanted to,” Willow reminded again as she reached the ground. “And let’s face it—if he had doubts, I deserved them.”

  “But...” Part of her wanted to just let it all go. Let go of the guilt and the nightmares. Everyone from the cops, to Clinton, to Willow, said it wasn’t anyone’s fault. And her head had always known they were right. But her heart had never been sure. Now, looking at the kids, she felt so full of love she didn’t have any room left for doubts.

  “I love him?” she half asked, half stated. Willow gave her a “duh” look. “I love him,” Audrey said more firmly.

  “So what are you waiting for?” Willow asked. “I’ll keep an eye on the kids and go tell Maggie May you’re gone. When you’re done spilling your heart to Sawyer, you should probably call Ava and Merrill, and you should all three RSVP to that stupid reunion.”

  “You know there’s a fine line between wise woman and wiseass.”

  Willow snorted. “Maybe, but I’m happy being a bit of both.”

  * * *

  WILLOW WATCHED AS Audrey got in the car and headed to Sawyer’s.

  “I’m nervous,” said Bea. “What if Sawyer’s mad at her and us and sends her away.”

  Willow knelt down. “He won’t. He loves her.”

  “Okay.” That was enough to settle things in Bea’s mind.

  “I’ll go tell Maggie,” Bea hollered as she sprinted toward their neighbor’s house. “I think Mr. Lebowitz is coming over later.”

  Clinton and Willow followed her at a much more sedate pace.

  “I meant it,” Clinton said, “if Audrey and Sawyer start getting all PDA I’m going to hurl.”

  “Nah,” Willow told him. “You’ll just leave the room and let them be.”

  He sighed. “Probably.”

  They walked into Maggie’s house and Willow realized that this, too, was home. It occurred to her that when Sawyer and Audrey got together, they might want to move in with each other at some point. If Audrey moved them to Sawyer’s, this house would still be a home...because Maggie was family.

  “Audrey went to talk to Sawyer,” Bea shouted.

  Willow was grinning so hard she thought her face might split.

  Maggie’s smile was just as broad. “It’s about time.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Bea said.

  Before Maggie could say anything else, Bea hollered, “Mr. Lebowitz is here. Come on, Clinton.” She pulled him toward the front door.

  Willow took the quiet moment and said, “Maggie, while Audrey’s gone, I want to call that Trooper Stevens and tell him who was with me when I broke into Sawyer’s, because I’m pretty sure they’re the ones who broke into that other house.”

  “All this time you haven’t said a word,” Maggie said. “What’s changed?”

  “I realized that I have an old soul and I believe in things like balancing your karma and making amends. Those boys have some karma that needs a whole lot of balancing. I know I don’t have to prove anything to Audrey...”

  “Or me,” Maggie May declared staunchly.

  Family, Willow thought, and hugged the older woman. “Thanks. Or you. But if I don’t say something they might never get caught and they might go on doing worse things. They need to be held responsible.”

  Willow glanced out Maggie’s window. Clinton and Bea were talking to Mr. Lebowitz. Bea caught her looking and waved. Mr. Lebowitz and Clinton looked up and smiled at her, too.

  Willow waved back and felt warm all over again.

  “You go make your call,” Maggie said, “and I’ll wrangle in the kids.”

  Willow went into Maggie’s bedroom so she’d have some privacy. She pulled out her cell phone. She’d looked at the cop’s card countless times, but this time she was going to do more than look. She dialed the number now and felt a huge wave of release. She’d made a decision...the right decision. She knew Nico and Dusty wouldn’t thank her for it, but it truly was for their own good.

  Trooper Stevens answered, “Hello?”

  “Sir, this is Willow Jones. If you have time, I’d like to talk to you about who was with me when I broke into Sawyer’s. I’m pretty sure they’re the ones you’re looking for in the new break-in.”

  “Is your guardian there?” he asked.

  “My neighbor Maggie Mayberry is here and Mr. Lebowitz. They’re family and can be your adult witnesses. But Audrey would approve.”

  “I’ll be over soon,” he promised.

  When she hung up from him, she picked up the phone and dialed Austen. “Hey, Willow,” he said.

  “Austen, could you come over here? I have to talk to you and don’t want to do it over the phone.”

  She heard him holler to his mom, asking permission, then he came back on the phone and said, “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  She walked out onto Maggie’s front porch.

  “You’re sure about this, Willow?” Maggie May asked.

  Willow took a deep breath and nodded. “I’m positive.”

  Maggie May smiled at her with approval. And Willow knew that Audrey would feel that same sense of approval.

  It was the right thing.

  She didn’t want to do it before Sawyer and Audrey made up because she wanted Sawyer to realize that even if they never found out who did it, even if he always wondered if Willow had done it, he and Audrey were meant to be a couple.

  Willow realized how much she’d changed in the few months she’d been with Audrey. She knew that even if social services took her away tomorrow, she’d take those changes with her. They’d become a part of her.

  Even as she had the thought she realized that if social services tried to take her, Audrey would fight for her.

  And odds were she’d win.

  She knew it because Audrey loved her. She took a moment to bask in the glow of that knowledge.

  When she’d got busted at Sawyer’s, she’d thought it was the worst thing that ever happened to her. But she’d been wrong. It was the best.

  She hoped that even if the boys didn’t believe it today, that someday they’d find that her making them own up to their mistakes was the start of a new and better path.

  * * *

  AUDREY PULLED INTO Sawyer’s driveway, just as she had so many times in the past few months.

  Those first few times, she’d stayed in the car and sent Willow out to knock on his door.

  This time it was her turn.

  As she opened her car door she realized that this was probably the hardest thing she’d ever done. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized just what she’d asked of Willow. And yet the girl had met the challenge with grace and bravery.

  There was nothing for her to do but hope she managed as much.

  She walked to the front door and knocked.

  Sawyer smiled when he saw her and simply said her name. “Audrey.”

  “Hi, do you have a minute? I’d like to talk to you.” She nodded at the chairs on the porch.

  “Sure.” He stepped out on the porch, and took one of the two metal chairs.

  She saw Austen’s car go down the street. He waved at her. She waved back.

  “So?” Sawyer prompted as they sat down.

  Audrey drank in the sight of him. Looking at him, she realized how right Willow had been about her feelings. “I never realized what I’d asked of Willow until today,” she murmured.

  “What do you mean?”

  She realized she’d said the words out loud and explained. “Willow’s first visit here was bad enough, but that
second week, when I brought her back and had her knock on your door again? I knew that she was brave, but I didn’t realize how brave. It turns out that showing up at someone’s house and asking for forgiveness is tougher than I thought.”

  He shook his head. “Audrey, you don’t have to...”

  “I do,” she told him. “Let me say this. Sawyer, I’m sorry. A very wise person pointed out that maybe I push people away. More specifically, I was using Willow as an excuse to pull away from you because cutting you off was easier.”

  “Easier than what?” he asked.

  “Easier than seeing where we were going. No, it wasn’t the seeing—it was the getting to where we were going that scared me. So I found an excuse to back away.”

  Sawyer shook his head. “I should have given Willow the benefit of the doubt.”

  “Maybe. And maybe I should have given you the benefit of the doubt, too,” Audrey said. “I didn’t expect you, you know. I didn’t expect to have feelings for you.”

  “Feelings?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I was comfortable with my life. I have work I love. I have the family I always longed for, and I have good friends. I thought I didn’t need anything more than that—anyone more than that—then you showed up.”

  “To be accurate, Willow is the one who showed up,” he said. “And if I tell you I’m still not a hundred percent sure she didn’t have something to do with the Mellons’ break-in?”

  She smiled. “I’d say that there’s nothing in life that’s a hundred percent.”

  He sighed. “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you all.”

  “We’ve all missed you, as well. Bea’s been lamenting about the pool,” she said. “I suspect she misses you, too, but the pool wins out.”

  He laughed. “I don’t mind coming in second to the pool.”

  “What I’m saying is, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I pushed you away and...” Audrey thought about Willow, standing at Sawyer’s front door, week after week, trying to make amends. She was such a brave kid—young woman.

  It was time that Audrey tried to be just as brave. “I love you.”

  “What?” was Sawyer’s inelegant response.

  Audrey realized it didn’t matter if he loved her back. Maybe he’d learn to someday, maybe he wouldn’t, but she’d said the words. Words that needed to be said.

  “I love you. I don’t expect or need anything from you. But I wanted you to know how I feel. And how I feel is, I love you.”

  Rather than respond with Ditto, or Sorry, I don’t feel the same, or even Thank you, he said, “The other day, I was at the Greenhouse, or rather the lot where the Greenhouse will be someday, and I realized I felt a part of it because you’re a part of it. When my fiancée left, I didn’t follow. She kind of halfheartedly asked me to come, but she also said that she really didn’t expect me to. If you loved me and left town, you’d expect me to leave with you, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I would, too. If I had to leave town, I’d expect the person I loved to come with me. Audrey, what I’m saying is, wherever you go, I want to be there, too. Whatever projects you have, I want to help.”

  She started to say something, but he held up a hand. “Let me finish. I’m an only child and there’s a chance that’s made me a bit selfish. When Willow broke in I was furious that someone would take my things. And while I’m not saying I invite people to break in and take my stuff, I realized I’d get rid of all of it to follow if you left. You and the kids...you mean more to me than anything in this house does.”

  He paused a moment and said, “I love you, too.”

  “You don’t have to say it back because I did,” she said.

  He finally did what she’d been waiting for—longing for. He leaned over and kissed her. “I said the words because they’re true.”

  Audrey realized that she’d truly come home.

  “And wherever you go, whatever you do, I’ll be there. Speaking of which, I applied for a grant from the bank for the Greenhouse, but that will take a while to go through so...” He stood. “Hang on.”

  Normally, thoughts of more funding for the Greenhouse would have had her dancing with glee, but at the moment, her thoughts were on Sawyer and what they’d just shared.

  He handed her a paper. “What’s this?”

  “It’s the title for my car. Not my regular one, but the one in the garage.”

  “The one Willow almost stole?” Why would he give her that car?

  As if he could read her mind, he said, “I thought we could either sell it or auction it or something. The money can go to the Greenhouse.”

  “I don’t need you to...”

  “Don’t you see?” he asked. “You’re invested in the project and so am I. I want to help. I figure it should be enough to do something fun...”

  She listened as he talked about the gray-water systems he’d been researching and heard the enthusiasm in his voice.

  Some women might want poetry or flowers, but listening to Sawyer talk about his research was probably the most romantic thing Audrey could imagine. As he slowed down, she leaned over and kissed him.

  “I love you,” she said again.

  “I love you, too.” This time Sawyer kissed her.

  They only broke apart as they both spotted a state police cruiser pull into the Mellons’ drive. “Do you think there’s more trouble?” Audrey asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sawyer said.

  They both watched as Trooper Stevens went into the house. And then another car came down the street. It was Austen’s.

  He pulled into Sawyer’s driveway instead of his own. Willow got out of the passenger’s side.

  Audrey felt herself blush.

  “Yeah, we know you were sitting on the front porch and kissing, but I promise I won’t tell Clinton,” Willow yelled. To Sawyer she said, “He says he’s going to hurl if you and Audrey get all gooey and PDA all over the place.”

  “Is something wrong?” Audrey asked.

  Willow shook her head and joined them on the porch. “No, something’s right. I got Austen to bring me over so I could tell you that I called Trooper Stevens and told him who was with me that day when I broke into your house. The day Nico, Dusty and I broke into your house,” she corrected. She nodded toward Austen.

  Sawyer reacted. “Your stepbrothers?” he asked Austen, who nodded.

  “I knew them from my old school,” Willow explained. “And they knew you worked at the bank. They didn’t know that you sometimes got out early or worked from home.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were going to call Trooper Stevens?” Audrey asked. “I’d have been there with you.”

  “Because I wanted you two to figure out it didn’t matter if Sawyer believed I didn’t rob the Mellons. And I was right.” Willow wore a look of smugness.

  “Smart-ass,” Audrey said softly with a grin.

  “I’d better get home,” Austen said. “Mom and their dad are gonna be a wreck.”

  “I’m sorry for that,” Willow said.

  “I know.” He took her hand and squeezed it.

  They all watched him get back in his car and drive home.

  “I know I horned in on your big lovefest,” Willow said, “but Bea wanted me to tell you it’s time to bring Sawyer home. Clinton didn’t say it, but he nodded.”

  “So, what do you say?” Audrey asked, though she didn’t need to.

  Sawyer took her hand. “I say, let’s go get our kids.”

  * * *

  TWO WEEKS LATER, Bea called, “Willow, hurry up. Sawyer’s got some people from the bank going to the Greenhouse and Audrey wants the family to beat them there. We gotta go.”

  “I’m just taking out the last of the garbage,” she hollered. “Go get in the car.”

  Willow
glanced at the house as she carried out the garbage. When Sawyer and Audrey got married, she wasn’t sure if they’d live here, or at his house, but she knew it didn’t matter. As much as she loved this house, it wasn’t her home.

  She walked toward the car. Audrey was in the passenger seat, which left the driver’s seat open for her. Clinton and Bea were in the back.

  And she knew that it didn’t matter what house they lived in because the people in that car were her home.

  “Come on, Willow,” Bea yelled through her open window.

  Willow got into the car without looking back at the ugly, avocado-green suitcase she’d left at the curb.

  EPILOGUE

  AUDREY FELT LIKE CINDERELLA.

  Willow and Bea had helped her get ready. Bea decided that she needed a pedicure and despite Audrey hating anyone touching her feet, she had endured it. Her bright red toenails were disconcerting, but Willow had agreed with Bea that Audrey’s painted toenails were nicer than her naked ones.

  “I think I should wear the other dress,” she said, fingering her hair. Willow had curled it and it felt unfamiliar and well behaved as it brushed against her cheeks.

  “That other dress is fine for church or funerals,” Willow objected, “but not for reunions. Your job at a reunion is to show everyone you’ve still got it.”

  “Yeah, you show ’em, Audrey,” Bea chimed in.

  “There’s no still about it, because I never had it,” Audrey assured them.

  Willow grinned. “No, you never knew you had it, but you did. And you definitely have it tonight.”

  “Yeah, if Sawyer was taking you, he’d go nuts...in a good way,” Bea hastily added.

  Audrey let the girls finish their primping. Clinton pounded on the door. “What are you two doing to Audrey? She normally gets dressed in under ten minutes. You’ve been in there almost two hours!”

  Willow opened the door and said, “Ta-daaaa.”

  “Wow,” said Clinton. “You don’t look like you at all.”

  “Just who do I look like?” Audrey asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said, “but it’s weird.”

  Willow snorted. “That’s boy-speak for ‘You look lovely, Audrey.’”