One Last Chance_A Small-Town Romance

by Nancy Stopper

  Michael pulled her aside. “I wanted to let you know… I have some information.”

  Rachel’s heart thudded heavily in her chest. In this room was her real family, regardless of what was written on a piece of paper. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready. For now, I have my family here with me.”

  Robert peeked around the corner. “The crowd is getting antsy out here, Sheriff. You about ready?”

  “Not sheriff yet. Still Deputy Truman to you for a few more minutes.”

  “Not if you don’t get out here.” Robert laughed.

  They all trooped out of the room and into the lobby of the courthouse. Rachel could barely stand still while Sawyer took the oath of office as Sheriff of Oak Grove, surrounded by friends, family, and residents of the town that embraced and supported him.

  After the short ceremony ended, Deputy Watkins approached them. After her kidnapping, Leon had tried and failed to blame Sawyer for it, to anyone in town who would listen during the campaign. His strategy had bombed and, if anything, his negativity had driven votes toward Sawyer. “Congratulations, Sheriff.”

  “Thanks, Deputy.”

  “I, uh, I want to apologize. To both of you. I said some things I shouldn’t have during the campaign. I got caught up in the whirlwind and became someone I didn’t like.”

  Rachel tucked her hand in Sawyer’s arm. “Thanks, Leon. I appreciate you saying that.”

  “That’s a good woman you’ve got there, Sheriff.”

  Sawyer smiled and gazed down at her. Her heart warmed at the love that shone in his eyes. “Don’t I know it.”

  A whistle rang through the hall, and everyone grew silent.

  Rachel’s family stood near the door. Dad slung his arm around Mom and addressed the crowd. “I’d like to invite all of you to a reception at our house to celebrate our new sheriff. I hope you’ll all join us.”

  The crowd began to dissipate. Sawyer tugged on Rachel’s hand and hustled her toward the door.

  “What’s the hurry?”

  “With all of these people, if we don’t get there first, there won’t be any food left. Besides, maybe I want to have a few minutes alone with you.”

  They snuck out the door and rushed over the icy sidewalks to his car. He nudged her against the door, leaning in until his mouth was a breath away from hers. “I love you. Thank you so much for being by my side today.”

  “I love you, too.” She kissed him. “But I’m freezing. Can we go?”

  He chuckled and they climbed in the Mercedes. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “For me? Tonight is your night.”

  “We both have something to celebrate today. Getting into University of Pennsylvania is a big deal. I’m so proud of you.”

  “It’s gonna be tough for a while, commuting back and forth.”

  Sawyer had encouraged her to get an apartment in Philly or take over Michael’s lease when he relocated to Oak Grove. She debated it, but in the end, coming home to Sawyer every night won out. The extra time on the road would be worth it.

  He kissed her knuckles and then rested their clasped hands on his thigh. “We’ll make it work.”

  “So, about my surprise…” She grinned at him.

  He chuckled. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

  She slid their clasped hands higher on his thigh. “I have my ways of making you talk.”

  He moved their joined hands to the console. “Nope.”

  She batted her eyelashes. Overdramatic, yes, but her feminine wiles often swayed him. “Please, Sawyer.”

  “Not working.” Her persuasion was kinda making a difference, if the way he’d drawn out the words was any indication.

  Bright spotlights shined on the driveway and yard of her parents’ house and lit the walkway in the November gloom. As snow blew around them, they hustled into the bright, cheery house.

  There were already wall-to-wall people in the living and dining rooms, voices raised in laughter and conversation. Through the mob, she spied Joey in the kitchen. She tugged Sawyer across the room.

  Rachel shook the snow off her hair. “Wow. So much better.” She nudged her Dad who was unwrapping some platters on the table. “Who are all of those people?”

  Dad clapped his hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “They all just want to congratulate Sawyer.”

  Mom stepped up beside Dad and nodded at Sawyer.

  Sawyer grinned at Rachel like a kid in the candy store. “Do you want your surprise now?”

  “Wait…” Rachel turned back to her parents. “You were in on this?”

  Mom nodded, a twinkle in her eye. “Sawyer needed some help. It’s in the laundry room.” Butterflies danced in Rachel’s stomach. Her birthdays and Christmas had always been favorite holidays, when she got to unwrap something picked out just for her.

  Sawyer returned carrying a pile of Mom’s old beach towels in his hands. What in the heck was he up to? He uncovered the top of the pile to reveal a beautiful black puppy, long ears hanging most of the way down to huge paws.

  “Oh, Sawyer. It’s a little chocolate version of Chloe.”

  He placed the puppy in Rachel’s arms. “Chloe’s gonna be lonely during the day, now that you’re going back to school. I thought she could use a friend. And then I saw this little darling and I knew that she’d be perfect.”

  “She’s mine?”

  Rachel nuzzled the puppy’s nose. The dog licked Rachel’s cheek, and Rachel laughed and wiped at the wet spot. She tickled the puppy’s cheeks and she tried to nip at Rachel’s fingers. “I think she likes me.”

  “She does. All she needs is a name.”

  “I get to name her?” She bit her lip. “I don’t know, her name has to fit her perfectly. What do you think she looks like?”

  Rachel raised her head to find that her family had left them alone in the kitchen.

  Rachel held the puppy and studied her face. “What do you think, honey? Do you have a name all picked out for yourself?”

  Sawyer hugged Rachel and rubbed the puppy’s head. “So what do you think?”

  The puppy raised her head, her deep brown eyes looking up at Rachel. The sweetie’s huge paws lay across Rachel’s arms and her ears hung down.

  “I think I’d like to call her Glory… after your grandmother Gloria.”

  “She’d like that. I miss her, especially on days like today. She took me in when my parents died, even though she was already getting up there in years. She introduced me to Robert and encouraged me to join the army. I wish she had lived long enough to see me come home. If it wasn’t for her, I doubt I’d be standing beside you today.”

  “She’d be so proud of you, of everything you’ve done. She would have loved to see you sworn in today.”

  “I think so, too. Almost as much as she would have loved knowing that finally, after all these years, we’re together and in love. She always thought we’d end up together, from the first day I came home talking about you. That all I needed was a chance with you.”

  “She did? You never told me that.”

  “She did. And she was right.”

  I hope you enjoyed Sawyer and Rachel’s story. One Last Chance is Book 3 in the Oak Grove series featuring the Bennett family and their friends living in Oak Grove, PA. All of the stories are stand-alone complete stories with a guaranteed happily-ever-after. You’re invited to come back over and over to see old friends and meet new ones.

  If you enjoyed this book, I would be extremely grateful if you’d leave a short review on Amazon.

  Want to know the day the next Oak Grove book is released? Sign up for my mailing list!

  Turn the page for a sneak peek at the first chapter of One Last Objection, book 4 in the Oak Grove Series.

  ONE LAST OBJECTION

  Book 4 in the Oak Grove Series

  By: Nancy Stopper

  Warning: The following excerpt is a steamy scene between two passionate adults who know what they want and aren’t afraid to ask for it!

  Pr
ologue

  KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK. Michael adjusted the collar of his polo and then slumped against the doorframe when Maggie didn’t answer right away. He really shouldn’t be here. There was a pile of work building on his desk by the minute. His boss had thrown him the stink-eye when Michael’d said he was actually taking the Labor Day holiday off. He’d busted his ass to get where he was, right on the brink of making partner. Five different cases demanded his attention right now, but the bombshell his sister Rachel had dropped had thrown him for a loop. So instead of heading back to the office, he found himself here.

  He really didn’t have time to stay. But with all the crap running through his head, he’d make the time. Maggie was the only one who could make him forget everything, at least for a little while.

  He knocked for the third time. One more minute and he’d leave. With the upcoming partnership evaluation period, he just didn’t know when he’d be back in town again.

  He snatched his phone from his pocket to dash off a quick text to Maggie when the door opened behind him.

  He turned.

  Water dripped off of the deep red hair hanging over Maggie’s shoulders. She sopped up the moisture with the towel in her hand. When she raised her head, her smile grew even bigger.

  “Get your ass in here and make love to me.” She fisted his polo and yanked him out of the hall and into her condo.

  Michael had barely crossed the threshold before he fell hard into her, the silk of her robe soft against his arms. He cupped her ass, bare and smooth against his palms and the towel dropped to the floor. Holy shit. She wasn’t wearing any panties. Just like that, his cock was so hard he could pound nails. He pulled her tight against him, desperate to ease the ache in his crotch. He dug his fingers into her ass, and she held onto him like her life depended on it. When he speared his tongue into her mouth, she moaned, the sound digging deep into his gut.

  Thank God she was here. She could take the edge off after the day he’d had.

  She broke the kiss and stroked his chest. “Hello to you, too. I didn’t know you were in town.”

  He trailed kisses down her cheek, to that spot right at the base of her neck that had her squirming every time. “Just a quick trip. Had to see you.”

  She pushed him away and quirked her eyebrow.

  That little trick may work on her patients, but he was immune to her interrogation techniques. Sort of. She had a way of getting him to talk about things he’d rather keep to himself. The skill made her a great counselor. But he wasn’t her patient—he was her lover.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Who said anything is wrong?” He cupped her breast and kissed her again.

  She pushed him away. “I know you, Michael Bennett, and I can tell when something’s wrong.”

  “Don’t go analyzing me, Doc. I’m not your patient.” He licked her earlobe and then sucked it into his mouth.

  She moaned.

  That worked. He was not about to be psychoanalyzed. His life was perfectly fine, and he’d keep telling himself that as long as he had to.

  She wasn’t deterred today. “You may not be my patient, but you are my friend, and if you need to talk, I want to be here for you.”

  He sighed. Maggie deserved so much more than the hit and run relationship they had. Neither of them had the time or the interest in anything more, but they both enjoyed a few hours in bed whenever their schedules allowed. Even that had been a stretch recently with his schedule.

  Maggie ran her finger between his brows. “Right there. It’s all scrunched up. You’ll get wrinkles if you keep scowling like that.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “Are you saying you don’t find me sexy anymore?”

  She slunk away, her hips swaying beneath the kimono that barely covered her ass. “Did I say that? I don’t think I said that.”

  He toed off his shoes and ripped his polo over his head as he hustled behind her. When they reached her bedroom doorway, he grabbed her wrist and spun her into his arms.

  She came willingly, her stiff-peaked nipples pressing against his chest and her core grinding into his cock. Damn. How long had it been? He counted the weeks in his head.

  “Stop thinking so hard.”

  He couldn’t help it. He’d never been able to turn his brain off. He couldn’t solve a problem if he didn’t analyze it from all directions and devise the best solution. A necessary skill for any successful lawyer.

  Maggie was the only way he’d found to calm his mind, to really live in the moment. With her, every rational thought flew right out of his head. But it wasn’t just the sex. She challenged him, helped him look at a situation in a different way, made him admit to himself things he never would have otherwise.

  But tonight, even the feel of her body against his wasn’t driving the anxiety out of his mind. It was no wonder, with the shocking revelation Rachel just dropped on him.

  He nudged Maggie into the bedroom, never breaking the kiss, until they bumped against her king-sized bed. She fell backward, pulling him with her, until he was sprawled on top of her. She ran her hands up his chest, brushing his nipple, and he sucked in a breath. Her lips and tongue followed.

  He moaned. Two could play at this game.

  He backed away and slid the silky fabric up, exposing her sex. He nudged her thighs apart. Her musky smell and the fresh scent of her mango body wash mingled together, surrounding him. Damn, that was sexy. He breathed deeply, letting the aroma calm him before he lowered his head and licked.

  Her fingers wrapped around his hair and held tight. “Oh, God.”

  He chuckled. She was always ready. He tasted her again, driving a finger deep inside and stroking. She arched off the bed and her core thrust against his mouth. He licked and rubbed, turning his finger and finding that place deep inside that drove her wild.

  Low, keening moans vibrated from deep in her throat. Her body shuddered and flexed as he swept his tongue over her again and then withdrew his fingers. With his eyes locked on hers, he brought his hand to his mouth and sucked her musky flavor off.

  “Michael, please,” she begged. The sound had his cock twitching again.

  The two of them were so good together. He had found her at just the right time in his life, and for her to live in Oak Grove, all the better. He snickered and lowered his head. Right as he plunged three fingers into her, he sucked her clit into his mouth. She screamed and yanked at his hair, her legs wrapping around his shoulders, holding him tight to her.

  He didn’t mind. She could possess him anytime. She writhed beneath him while her sex clenched his fingers, throbbing as she moaned over and over.

  He slowed his strokes and pulled back, circling her core one more time as the trembling slowed and she relaxed. Her legs fell to his sides and her body collapsed onto the bed as the final waves passed through her. Sated Maggie was almost sexier than aroused Maggie.

  She huffed out a breath, her ragged gasps slowing. Damn, he loved watching her come. He slid onto the bed beside her, wrapped his arm around her waist, and tucked her head into the crook of his neck.

  “I don’t know how, but that gets better every time.” A gentle smile crossed her lips. He sprinkled a kiss on each corner of her mouth and then fully on her mouth. She sighed as he continued peppering kisses along her nose, across her eyes, to her ear. She lay in his arms like a wet noodle.

  Before long, a hand snaked along his back, tracing the muscles across his shoulder. Her other hand crossed her body and slid down his chest, across his belt, and stroked his cock through his shorts. He grew even bigger, throbbing as she pressed harder.

  “Damn, that feels good.”

  She ran her tongue along his lips and then spoke against his mouth. “What has you so stressed?”

  He sighed and flopped back. She was trying to shrink him again. He must really be putting off a vibe for her to be asking all these questions. “Just family stuff.”

  Her hand stilled and every muscle in her body stiffened.

  He eyed her
suspiciously. “What?”

  She shook her head and climbed on top of him. “It’s nothing. Now where were we?”

  Interesting. Maggie was his sister’s shrink. Did she know something about what Rachel had just revealed? Before he could consider that further, Maggie started to slide down his body. Nope, none of that. He wasn’t done playing yet. He flipped them over so her delicious curves lay beneath him. He slid his hands up her hips, hiking up her robe until he’d exposed her full breasts, nipples hard and begging to be kissed. “I think I was right here.”

  Her skin tasted clean and fresh against his tongue. He sucked while he squeezed and kneaded her other breast. He let that nipple go with a pop and slithered to the other side. God, he could spend an hour just feasting on her breasts.

  She shoved him away and he fell onto his back. “Oh, no, we weren’t there at all. I think we were…”

  She grabbed his belt and in a minute, his shorts and boxer briefs were down at his ankles. His cock stretched up onto his belly. Maggie straddled his knees, the silk of her robe brushing against his thighs and her core so close to the satisfaction his cock begged for.

  She grinned wolfishly at him as she cupped him. He dug his fingers into the sheets and gave himself over to her. He might be in charge in the courtroom—hell, he was the one in control in most of his life—but Maggie would have none of that. She loved sex as much as he did and could do some wicked things with those fingers and lips of hers. He’d happily share control if it meant having her hands on his body.

  She stroked his cock, whispering her thumb over the tip and around the crown before squeezing and sliding her hand to the base. He couldn’t keep his eyes open. Up and down, again and again. Every muscle in his body tightened. He could barely breathe, his gasps coming in short huffs as she worked him. Before he could stop her, she drew him into her hot mouth, her tongue stroking the underside of his cock.

  She sucked him deeper into her mouth, the delicious pressure building deep in his gut. Hell, he usually lasted longer than this. He shouldn’t wait this long between visits again. She released his cock with a pop and circled the tip with her tongue. She lowered her head to take him in again.