Romance: New Beginnings (Young Adult and Adult Romance, Christian Christmas Fiction book as a Love Story) (Second Chances Trilogy 3)

by Morris Fenris

  Jane laughed and pushed away from him, “Don’t you know it. Dani and I have a thing for the apes. Which reminds me, we had quite the excitement while you were up in Los Angeles. Grace’s neighbor has a litter of the cutest puppies.”

  “Wow! Her neighbor is a dog?” Samuel teased her.

  “No! Her neighbor has a dog with nine of the cutest puppies I’ve ever seen.”

  “Nine?! Wow! That’s a lot of puppies. What breed are they?” Samuel pulled the steaks he had been marinating in the fridge out and began preparing them for the grill.

  “Golden retrievers. Just like Lucky. Anyway, they managed to dig their way under the fence and Dani found one of them. Before Grace or I knew it, she had brought the puppy into the house, named it Arianna, and was hiding it in her closet.”

  “She didn’t? That little minx. How long was the puppy in there before you all found it?”

  “Only a few minutes. Dani wouldn’t leave it alone. She had this little tent made inside her closet, and was willing to forego the butterfly house to keep it hidden. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a girl puppy and she had to change the name to Max.”

  “Max, huh? So Grace is letting her keep it?” Samuel questioned.

  Jane laughed, “No. The puppies aren’t fully weaned yet, but I will be very surprised if Dani doesn’t end up with at least one of them. The neighbor also has a nine-year old little girl named Emily, who seems to have taken a liking to Dani.”

  “Does she like to play dress up and have tea parties?” Samuel asked hopefully. Daniella had been trying for weeks to convince him to play dress up with her, but each time, Samuel had managed to elude her plastic earrings and tiaras.

  “You are going to have to give in one of these days and play with her. She’ll think you don’t like her if you don’t.” Jane scolded him, taking the potatoes from the oven and preparing to scrape the insides out.

  “Yeah, well I think Michael has everything well under control for us both. I’ll just leave the wearing of the jewelry to him.” Samuel headed towards the grill, not waiting for Jane to reply back.

  Jane shook her head and then scraped the potatoes into a bowl. She added sour cream, bacon, cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper and then mixed it all up. Once she was satisfied that it was seasoned to her liking, she spooned the mixture back into the potato shells and popped them back into the oven.

  Since Samuel hadn’t come back inside, she wandered out onto the deck to find him almost to the beach where Lucky danced around with her stick. That dog never tires of the game! When he looked back up at the house, she waved at him and then watched him throw the stick down the beach half a dozen times.

  She checked the steaks, turning them twice before he rejoined her on the deck. He was rubbing his shoulder and she smiled at him, “Arm sore?”

  “Yeah. I need to find her a smaller stick; one that doesn’t weigh as much.” Currently Lucky’s stick was almost three-feet long, all the bark had been removed, and it was worn smooth from being handled so much.

  “Why don’t you just throw a ball for her?” Jane asked, thinking about the tennis balls she used to throw for the family dog when she was a little girl.

  “Because she eats them.”

  Jane looked at him with a look of disbelief on her face, “Really? Like, chews them up and ingests them?”

  “Yeah, sometimes. She bites on them until she punctures them with her teeth. Once that happens, the ball doesn’t even last a day before I find it lying in pieces all over the house. Most of the time, she loses interest in them after they fall apart, but there have been a couple of times where I only found half of the ball. I have to assume she ate the rest of it.”

  Lucky chose that moment to come up onto the deck, stick in mouth, and tail beating a rhythm on the side of the deck. Jane scratched behind the dog’s ears, “Silly mutt. You’re supposed to chase the ball, not eat it.”

  The timer on the oven went off and Jane hurried to remove the potatoes from the oven, while Samuel brought their steak in from the grill. They ate and discussed the other aspects of their day, before the conversation turned back to their upcoming wedding.

  “I guess I should probably call Trent and make sure he doesn’t mind us having the wedding in Castle Peaks.”

  “You know both he and Sara are going to be thrilled to host the wedding. In fact, why don’t you give them a call right now? Otherwise, you’ll worry about it all night.”

  Jane blushed, knowing that Samuel was right, “Okay. But he’s going to want to know when we want to have it.”

  “Well, grab a calendar and let’s figure this out. It shouldn’t be too hard. Grace and Daniella will want to come so it probably needs to be during their two-weeks off in March. Julian and Trevor’s trials aren’t set till later in April, so I can take some time off whenever we want during the month of March.”

  After spending several minutes looking at the calendar, they settled on March fifteenth, provided Castle Peaks could accommodate their wedding that week. Samuel could already see the worry beginning, and grabbed the phone, dialing Trent before Jane could protest.

  “Hello?”

  “Trent, Samuel.”

  “Hey, how’s California?”

  “Warm and sunny. Wish you were here?” Samuel asked, having played this game with Trent often over the years.

  “Now why would I want to give up shoveling snow for hours upon hours, just to have to apply sunscreen to my lily white body and lay in the sun all day?”

  “I saw you all were going to get some more snow up there.”

  “You would have heard correctly. We got ten inches last night, and it’s been snowing all day. The only people still happy about the snow are the skiers and ski resort owners. I, and the rest of Montana, are ready for spring about now.”

  Samuel chuckled before saying, “I’m going to put you on speaker phone so Jane and I can both talk and hear.” Samuel looked at her with a no after pushing the right button.

  “Trent?”

  “Jane, how’s the new kitchen working out?”

  “Trent, it’s so cool. And I would love to tell you all about it, but that’s not why we’re calling. Samuel and I have been talking, and I really don’t want to get married here in California where I don’t know very many people. I was wondering if you thought it would be possible for us to come to Castle Peaks for the ceremony.”

  “Really? You want to get married here? That sounds fantastic. Sara will be excited when she hears that.”

  “Is she there?” Jane asked.

  “Not right now. She’s meeting with Bill and the new medical director of the foundation tonight.”

  “She hired someone?” Samuel asked. “That was quick.”

  “I agree, but once you meet this young man, you’ll understand how she made her decision so quickly. When were you guys wanting to have the ceremony?”

  “March fifteenth. Grace and Daniella will be able to travel that week without missing work or school.”

  “That sounds good. Why don’t I talk to Pastor Jameson in the morning and make sure that date works for him? I can let you know what he says and you all can make your plans from there.”

  “Thanks Trent.”

  “Don’t thank me, Jane. This is as much your home as it is mine. You know mom and dad probably won’t be home by then, right?”

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to wait until the fall. They’ll understand why I didn’t wait.”

  “Yes, they will. Okay, I’ll talk to everyone and then have Sara call you tomorrow. She can coordinate whatever you need on this end.”

  “Great! Talk to you tomorrow!” Jane pushed the button to end the call, smiling in happiness as she looked at Samuel.

  “Now that’s what I like to see,” he commented, using a finger to trace her smiling lips. “You happy!”

  “You make me happy.” Jane nipped his finger playfully and then collapsed back against the couch cushions. “If you had asked me three months ago if I could ever see myself thi
s happy again, I would have said ‘No’ and laughed at you.”

  “I would have been right there with you. It’s amazing how quickly things can change.”

  “That it is. Would you change anything, if you could?” Samuel asked, watching Jane’s eyes.

  “No. Would you?” Jane asked, looking right back at him.

  “Yes, the amount of time it took for us to get to this place. I feel like we wasted a bunch of years, being unhappy, when all we needed to do was take a step out of our comfort zones and have a little faith.”

  Jane considered his statement and then shook her head, “It wouldn’t have been the same. Three years ago. Five years ago. Even one year ago, we weren’t the same people.”

  “Probably not. This is one of those instances where you’re not supposed to analyze things too much, isn’t it?”

  Jane smiled up at him and then kissed him tenderly on the lips, “Yes. It doesn’t really matter how long it took us to get here, the important thing is that we arrived.”

  “Good point! Now, how about we take a walk along the beach before you head home?”

  “That sounds really nice. I missed you the last few days. How did things go up in court?”

  Samuel led her down the deck stairs to the beach and then tossed Lucky’s stick down the beach. “Good. We managed to get a different judge assigned to the case and it looks like Trevor and Julian will be spending quite a bit of time in solitary confinement while they await their trials.”

  “That’s got to set your mind at ease somewhat,” she said, watching Lucky come running back with the stick.

  “Yeah! With that out of the way, I can focus on finally making you my wife.” They walked down the beach a little further before they turned and headed back. After walking her to her car, Samuel kissed her tenderly, murmuring in her ear, “Drive safely. I love you.”

  “I love you too. I can’t wait to marry you,” Jane told him, finding it harder than ever to leave him at the end of the day. Only a few more weeks and then they would be married, starting their lives together and making new memories.

  Chapter 6

  Castle Peaks, Montana …

  “Sara, I have to say, I really like that young man,” Bill Mercer told her as they stood next to the fireplace in his living room. Bill Mercer had insisted on hosting a special dinner to give some of the townsfolk a chance to meet Jackson. It had been a nice chance for everyone to get better acquainted in an informal setting, and Sara was in agreement – Jackson Myers was the perfect man to head up the Mercer-Brownell Foundation’s medical team.

  “His credentials are amazing for someone who’s only twenty-seven.” Sara felt so lucky to have found someone like Jackson, and she just knew that his coming to Castle Peaks was meant to be.

  “When is he planning to move up here?” Bill asked, having discussed everything else with the young man but that.

  “First part of March is what we discussed earlier today. He’s already finished his work back in California, and can pack up and move anytime. With the wedding happening March 15th, I didn’t want him arriving only a few days before and everyone being busy doing other things.”

  Sara had arrived home several nights earlier to the news that Samuel and Jane wanted to get married in Castle Peaks. Pastor Jameson had readily agreed to perform the ceremony, and the date had been locked down. Grace and Daniella would be flying in on the 12th, and Samuel and Jane would be arriving a few days prior to that.

  “The first part of March should be fine,” Bill nodded his head. “I’m glad Jane’s coming home so we can all see her get married. That girl has had a tough life and deserves her own little slice of happiness.”

  “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Sara said. She watched Jackson laugh at something Dr. Baker said, and then turned to Bill, “He’ll need to find someplace to live, but I was hoping you or Trent might be able to direct him there. Being so new to town myself, I really haven’t a clue where to even begin.”

  Trent overheard his wife’s comment as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, “Who needs a place to live?”

  “Jackson does. He’s planning to move up here the first of March.”

  Trent thought for a moment and then nodded his head, “Well, there’s the Beckett place. It’s been sitting empty for almost a year, and the place is rather large for one person, but I think it’s the only vacant property around.”

  Bill nodded his head, “That sounds about right. Jim Beckett passed away right before Easter last year,” he told Sara, “His four of kids came from across the country for the funeral, but not one of them wants to move back to Castle Peaks. I’ll give Dillon a call tomorrow and see if he and his siblings are interested in selling the place.”

  Pastor Jameson nodded in agreement, “I can’t see why he wouldn’t want to. Let me know if he pushes back any. I might have to give him a friendly reminder of the fact that the community has been taking care of the yard and the weeds this last year without any sort of compensation.”

  Sara looked at her husband and smiled, “That’s what’s so nice about living in a small town. In California, it was hard to get your neighbors to even say a kind word, let alone help with yard work.”

  Bill patted her shoulder, “We take care of each other around here.”

  “I can see that.” Sara looked over and noticed Jackson hide a yawn behind his hand. “It looks like our guest of honor is ready to turn in.”

  Everyone looked in that direction and then Trent suggested they start heading home themselves. They could drop Jackson off at the B&B on their way.

  Sara’s cell phone rang just as she made a move to follow Trent and she turned towards the other end of the room for some privacy as she answered the phone, “Hello?”

  “Hey, sis. How’s it going up there?”

  “Gracie! Hey, it’s really good to hear from you. Things are going fantastic. In fact, I hired a medical director for the foundation the other day. A young man who just happens to live outside San Diego.”

  “Wow! The world’s getting smaller and smaller.”

  Sara chuckled, “Isn’t it though?”

  “Yeah, hey. The reason I called was I wanted to ask you a question about the acupressure techniques you used on mom. I’ve been struggling to remember, but I haven’t been able to come up with anything yet.”

  Sara stopped moving and held still as she asked, “Gracie, who’s hurting?”

  Grace heard the fear in her sister’s voice and hurried to explain, “It’s not anyone you know. I met my next door neighbor earlier this week and she’s recovering from breast cancer chemo. From what I could tell, she’s suffering massive headaches and joint pain. I thought maybe there was something that might help her headaches besides the pills. She has a little girl who’s nine and just as cute as can be.”

  Sara’s heart hurt for the pain the woman must be suffering, “How old is she?”

  “That’s the hardest part about this, Sara, she’s only twenty-five years old.” Both women were quiet as the implications of having cancer so young set in.

  “At least she already has a child. From what I hear, the chemo and radiation make most women sterile afterwards,” Sara said softly.

  Grace sighed, “She’s lost all of her hair and she just looks so fragile, but she’s determined to take care of her little girl. I don’t know where her husband is, or if she even has one. From what I can tell, she’s been dealing with this all alone for months.”

  “That is so not right!”

  “I know. Jane and I talked about it and we’re doing what we can for her and her little girl until she gets back on her feet. Anyway, do you happen to remember what pressure point was good for headaches?”

  “Yeah. It’s right between the thumbs and the first finger, deep into the webbing. Remember to squeeze hard and have her talk to you. She should feel the pressure go away once you hit the right spot. You’ll have to hold it for at least ten minutes before you can release the pressure.” />
  “Okay, now I remember. I think I can handle that.”

  “Grace, if she’s in a lot of pain, she might need to go to the hospital…”

  “She won’t do it. She’s a registered nurse and says that they’ll only admit her and pump her full of pain drugs that take her ability to function away from her. She’d rather suffer some pain and be in control than the alternative. This was her last chemo session, and she’s determined to fight this on her terms.”

  “I guess I can understand that,” Sara said, turning as she felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned to see Jackson standing behind her. “Hang on a sec,” she told Grace before pulling the phone from her ear.

  “Ready to go?” she asked Jackson with a smile.

  “Yeah. Trent is pulling the car up to the front,” Jackson said, wanting to ask her about the conversation he had just overheard, but deciding to wait until they were in the car.

  “Great! Let me finish up this call and I’ll be right out.” Sara put the phone back to her ear and said, “Grace, I need to go, but call me if you have any other questions. I don’t know what help I can be long distance like this, but I’ll do what I can.”

  “Thanks, sis. Maybe you could send up some extra prayers for her. I think she could really use them.”

  “I’ll do that. I’ll call you tomorrow night and see how things are.”

  “Thanks, Sara. Have a good night.”

  Sara pocketed the phone and then turned to see Jackson and Trent saying their farewells to Bill and his other guests. Making her way across the room, she hugged Bill tightly and thanked him for the lovely dinner. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow afternoon,” she smiled at him.

  “The meeting’s set for 2 o’clock. Feel free to bring these two along with you if they’re available.”

  Sara smiled at Jackson and Trent and then nodded, “I’ll see what I can do. I personally can’t wait to see their video presentation.”

  “You and me both. Drive safe.”

  Before leaving, she pulled Pastor Jameson aside and asked him to remember Gracie’s new neighbor in his evening prayers. From what Gracie had said, it sounded like the young woman needed all the help she could get.