A Second Chance House

by Stacey Wilk

  “I don’t care who started it. I won’t have it. You hear me? Now, both of you, get off this property before I throw your sorry asses off myself.” Beau’s face cycled through a few shades of red. He hoped Beau didn’t have a heart attack on the front lawn.

  Grace pounded down the steps. “Beau, let’s not be hasty. The boys are sorry, I’m sure. Right, boys?” No one said anything. She let out a big sigh. “If you fire them, we won’t have a crew and I won’t make my deadline. Please rethink this.”

  “Grace is right,” Blaise said. “Let’s think this through.”

  “There’s nothing to think about. Now git.” Beau turned on his heel and with as much strength as he could muster, limped back into the house.

  “I don’t want to work here anyway,” Cash yelled at his retreating back. “I’m out of here.” He marched across the lawn.

  “Cash, come back,” Blaise yelled.

  But Cash didn’t answer. He kept moving down the street and turned toward town. Jud grabbed his stuff off the porch.

  “Where are you going?” Blaise asked.

  “I’m not staying either. He’s the criminal, not me. Why should I get fired?”

  “Jud, shut up.” Colton’s eyes gave Jud a warning, but he paid no attention.

  “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true. He set that fire. He hit me first because he can’t handle the truth. He’s a loser.”

  “Knock it off.” Colton stepped into Jud’s space. Jud backed up.

  Blaise’s vision blurred. “Be very glad right now that you are my sister’s son.” His bad hand hurt from the tight fist he made.

  “It isn’t fair that I got in trouble because of Cash. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m leaving. I’ll get another job. A better one.” Jud waved to Chloe, but she turned without so much as an acknowledgement and went inside.

  Blaise didn’t know what to do. Did he follow Cash? Should he make Jud stay and apologize? What was Savannah going to say when she found out? It was going to be the bad preamble to the admission he might not be at the fundraiser.

  Grace dropped down on the steps and hung her head between her knees. Colton moved up the steps, patted her on the shoulder, and went back to work. Blaise took up the spot next to her. He could smell her scent of vanilla and cinnamon.

  “I’m sorry.” That was all he could think of saying. It wasn’t enough.

  Grace cupped her chin in her hands and propped her elbows on her knees. Her blonde hair spilled out of the rubber band. He wanted to let his fingers run through it, but the moment wasn’t a good one. He had at least that much sense.

  “I’m not going to make my deadline with only Beau and Colton. Beau said he’d called his old crew, but they haven’t come.” She turned to look at him. Her blue eyes darkened. “What’s going to happen when the tour starts? Beau can’t finish this project by himself.” She sat up straight. “You have to convince Beau to hire the boys back. And to find out when his old crew is going to start. You owe me that much.”

  “Me? What did I do?” He tried not to laugh because she was mad, but he liked the way her eyebrows squished together when she yelled at him.

  “It’s your son and nephew. Your entire Savage family has wrapped its web around me, and now I’m at your mercy.”

  He leaned in. “I’d like to see what you would do at my mercy,” he whispered.

  She swatted at him. “Now? You’re going to flirt with me now?”

  He couldn’t help but laugh this time. He threw his hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry. I won’t flirt with you right now. Unless you want me to.”

  She smiled that slow, beautiful, lyrical smile, and his heart played a different rhythm in his chest.

  “What I want you to do is help me find Claire Phillips.”

  “I can do that.” He could try at least. “We can use my computer.”

  A black sedan pulled up to the house. A short man with a head of white hair pushed his way out of the driver’s side. Hoke Carter adjusted his tie and his belt before moving around the front of the car and standing on her lawn.

  “Morning, Grace, Blaise.” He tipped his hand as if he were wearing a hat. “It’s going to be another hot one today.” He looked at the blue sky, then back at them. “How are the renovations going?”

  “Good.” The lilt had returned to Grace’s voice.

  Blaise couldn’t look at her for fear he’d make a face at the lie. He stood and shook Hoke’s hand. Grace stood alongside him.

  “What brings you by?” She smoothed her shirt as she spoke.

  He wanted to reach for her hand and hold it in his, let her know she didn’t have to be nervous, but this wasn’t the right place or time.

  Hoke hooked his thumbs through his belt loops. “Wanted to see how the progress was coming along. That deadline is coming down the track.”

  “She’ll make it.”

  Grace smiled up at him.

  “Glad to hear it. I was over at May’s the other day, just sitting with my paper and my coffee—she makes the best coffee. Have you been over there yet?”

  She shook her head, and Blaise wondered if he should stay around. “I should be going,” he said.

  “No, stay.” She grabbed his wrist. She didn’t have to ask him twice.

  “Like I was saying, I was over at May’s and heard some talk. There’s always talk in a small town like Heritage River. You can’t believe half of it, but as it was coming from a reliable source, I thought I might look into it further.”

  “Did something happen?” Blaise didn’t like where Hoke was taking the conversation. Grace had given up on smoothing her shirt and had begun working her bottom lip under her teeth. She sensed it too.

  “Nothing happened as far as I can tell. Just some nosing around going on. People sticking their noses where they don’t belong.”

  Blaise stepped in front of her. “Who was doing that?”

  Hoke ignored Blaise and continued to speak directly to Grace. “You do remember your agreement to taking this house, don’t you?”

  “Certainly.” She shoved her chin up.

  That a girl. Don’t let him scare you.

  “Then you remember if you try and find out who bought this house for you, the deal is null and void and all the money spent on the renovations has to be repaid.”

  “Hoke, I don’t know what you’re getting at,” she said.

  “I’m just here to remind you, that’s all. Can I take a look inside and see how things are coming? I’d like to say hello to my old friend too.”

  Grace stepped aside. “Be my guest.”

  Blaise waited until Hoke went inside. “He knows.”

  Grace yanked her hair out of the rubber band and retied it. “How does he know? Who told him?”

  “The assisted living, maybe?”

  She gnawed on her lip again. He wanted to do that too and then berated himself for thinking about fooling around with this woman while she was in trouble.

  “Do you think Beau could’ve told him?”

  “I’m sure the whole town knows you ran out of gas on Route 1. Anyone could’ve told him where you were that day.”

  “But who knew I went to the assisted living?” She shielded her eyes from the sun.

  “Besides me? I don’t know. Who did you tell?”

  “I didn’t tell anyone. I don’t think. Oh, I can’t remember.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. “No, no. I didn’t. I didn’t even tell Chloe where I was going.”

  “What are you going to do now?”

  “I’m going to find Claire Phillips.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “No, but I have to know who bought this house for me. Are you going to talk me out of it?” She held his gaze.

  “I gave up on that a long time ago. If you need to know so badly, I’ll help you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’re risking a lot for information that won’t change anything.”

  “It will for me.”

  “How?”


  She looked back at the house, then at him. “What if I have a family some place?”

  “What if you don’t? Or what if you have a family that doesn’t want to be found? Then you risked this house for nothing.”

  She hesitated, then nodded. “It’s worth taking the risk.”

  “If you want to take a risk, I can help you find one somewhere else.”

  She fisted her hands on her hips. “You know, you sound like everyone who told me not to come down here and take this house. No one thinks I’m capable of handling a risk, but I can. If you don’t want to help me, don’t. I’ll find Claire Phillips myself.”

  She was feisty and he liked it. He tried not to laugh, but he couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, Ms. Starr, ma’am. I aim to please.”

  “You shouldn’t hide your accent. It suits you.” She dropped her gaze for a moment. He didn’t miss the red creeping up her neck.

  “I’ll work on it.” He winked. She was so easily riled. It was fun to see how she’d react to him. He bet her ex couldn’t get her to respond this way because if he did, Grace wouldn’t be standing toe to toe with him. Blaise was suddenly grateful for this anonymous person giving her the house next door to his. Maybe he should thank whoever this person was by keeping them hidden.

  His phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out. “Savannah. She must’ve heard from Jud.”

  “What are you going to tell her?”

  “I’m going to ignore her for now.” He shoved the phone back in his pocket.

  “Why do those two boys dislike each other so much?”

  He took a deep breath. “I don’t know. I’ll see if I can’t get Beau to hire the boys back.” His heart picked up tempo. He’d help Grace get her crew back.

  His phone buzzed again. This time he saw Melissa’s name. He debated on ignoring her too, but knew she wouldn’t go away so easily. “I have to take this.”

  “Sure. I’ll see you later.” Grace turned and headed inside. Not so much as a grumble about being interrupted. Not a pout or a glaring eye. He could get used to that.

  He slid his finger across the screen. “What’s up, Melis?”

  “Hello to you too. I just called Cash. Honestly, I didn’t expect him to pick up because he never does, but he did and I managed to get out of him he had another fight with Jud and he got fired from his job. Is that right?”

  Blaise wiped a hand over his face. He hoped to talk to Cash first or even Beau before Melissa had to find out. “It wasn’t a big deal. Just boys being boys. I can talk to Beau and get his job back.”

  “You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on him. If he’s going to get in trouble with you, then I want him to come back home.”

  “I am watching him, but he’s practically an adult. I can’t hold his hand all day. He and Jud got into it, no big deal, and I’ll fix it.” He gritted his teeth.

  “You can’t fix it. He needs to learn to fix it himself. You can’t go throwing your name around and making things all right again. When is he going to learn?”

  “You’re going to lecture me about throwing my name around? You’ve been doing that for years. On airplanes, in restaurants, concerts. You name it.”

  “Don’t start that again. This isn’t about us. It’s about Cash and how he has to learn to take responsibility for his actions.”

  “You don’t give that kid enough credit. He got this job himself, and he’s doing his community service every day.” Blaise couldn’t believe how easy Cash had been overall.

  “I want him home.”

  Should he tell her what Cash said or leave that to his son? “He wants to finish out his community service here. And I was thinking. Why not let him go to school out here?” He wasn’t going to tell her about the tour. She was sure to throw a fit if she knew he would be on the road and Cash would be alone.

  “His home is with me.”

  “I’m his parent too. He can live with me.”

  “Since when do you want him to live with you?”

  “I never said I didn’t want him, Melissa.” A fire began burning in his stomach. “It just made more sense for him to stay with you because of my schedule. What kind of life would it have been for a child on the road?”

  “If you wanted him so badly, why weren’t you around more?”

  She could never stay away from that sore spot. The fire burned in his veins, and it took all the control he could find not to punch a hole in the fence. “It was my schedule. Being on the road made us money. Money you went through like water.”

  “I wasn’t the only one who spent money. You didn’t need those fancy cars, and you had to keep that stupid house in Heritage River. And the instruments you collected.”

  “Those were antiques. An investment.”

  “A waste. Being home for your family, a few less shows a year, wouldn’t have made a difference, but you couldn’t wait to be away from us. You never wanted a family.”

  He couldn’t hold the burning lid on any longer. The fire boiled over, and now the whole street heard him. “I was on the road so much to get away from you, not Cash. I couldn’t stand to be around you any longer than I had to. I’m sorry I ever married you.”

  Colton stood beside him. Blaise hadn’t seen him approach because all he could see was red.

  His brother grabbed the phone from his shaking hand. “Melissa, it’s Colton. I don’t know what you and my brother are talking about, but I’m going to give you some advice. Shut the fuck up.” He ended the call and handed the phone back to Blaise.

  “Thanks.” Blaise’s voice croaked.

  Colton shrugged. “Hey, what are brothers for? You really shouldn’t let her get you that upset. At your age, you’re bound to have a heart attack.”

  “I’ll remember that.” The fire returned to a simmer. “Was I really that bad of a father?”

  “What do I know about being a father?”

  “But I didn’t stay home like Dad did. Should I have stayed home?” Were Cash’s troubles because of him? Did his son know he loved him?

  “Dad didn’t think he had a choice. Three little kids. No wife. He wanted some kind of stability. He knew all the people here. He could have help at home. It was different for you.”

  “I’m not so sure.”

  “Cash seems okay.”

  “I’m not so sure about that either.”

  “You wouldn’t have been happy at home. Touring was in your blood. You wouldn’t stop Cash from going after his dreams, would you?”

  “Well, no, but I had a responsibility to take care of my son. My dreams needed to take a back seat.”

  “Really? I don’t think so. I’ve got to get back to work. Beau’s going to blow his top in there, and Hoke isn’t helping any. I don’t know what they’re talking about, but it isn’t good. I can tell you that. You think that hand of yours is well enough to help us out?”

  “It might be.” His hand wasn’t hurting as much as it had. His doctor appointment wasn’t for another few weeks. “What did you want me to do?”

  “Just follow my lead.”

  As he had his whole life.

  ****

  The sun had set an hour ago. Blaise stood at the kitchen sink, trying to reach Cash. The call went to voice mail again. “Cash, call me. Just let me know you’re okay.”

  Savannah had called again sometime after his fight with Melissa. Cash hadn’t shown up for his community service hours, and he hadn’t called her to let her know. She knew about the fight, and she didn’t care. She’d said the boys had to work it out themselves.

  Blaise couldn’t sit still any longer. He yanked his keys off the entry table and swung open the door. Grace stood there, hand in midair.

  “I was about to knock.” She dropped her hand. “Now must be a bad time. I’ll go. I’m sorry.” She turned, but he grabbed her arm.

  “Wait. I was going to look for Cash. He never showed up at the library today for community service, and he hasn’t come home yet. He’s not answering his phone either.” The sight
of her hair hanging loosely around her shoulders, shorts to her knees, and a baggy T-shirt, the collar hanging off one shoulder, eased his tightly strung nerves.

  “Let me text Chloe and see if she’s heard from him.” She pulled her phone from her pocket. “Nope.” She held the phone up for him to see Chloe’s response. “I’m sorry. He was pretty upset today. He might be cooling off someplace.”

  How did Cash cool off, exactly? Blaise didn’t know. Add that to the list of things he didn’t know about his kid. Was Cash off somewhere setting a fire? Was he drinking the way Blaise might have done at that age? Did he have his uncle’s penchant for something stronger than alcohol? Wasn’t addiction genetic?

  “Would you come with me?” Here he was again, asking her to help him be a father.

  “Of course.” She typed away at her phone again. “Just letting Chloe know I’ll be out for a while.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m taking you away from time with your daughter. Never mind, I can ask Colton to come with me.” He didn’t want Colton with him, but an extra pair of eyes wouldn’t hurt, and Cash was more likely to talk to Colton.

  “You need help, and Chloe’s watching a show on her computer. She isn’t interested in hanging with me, I’m afraid.” She pressed her lips together and tucked the hair behind her ear. “Teenagers can be tough, can’t they?”

  “I’m seeing that.” He shut the front door and hit the button on the key fob to make the truck come to life. He opened the truck door for Grace, and she slid inside. Her shorts rode up, and he could see more of her thigh. She definitely had nice legs.

  “Has there always been a problem between Cash and Jud?”

  He stole a glance at her while he navigated the streets. He didn’t know where he was going to find Cash, but at least driving around gave him something to do. “For a while now.”

  “Why don’t they get along?” She had pulled her leg up onto the seat and tucked her foot under. She’d slid her sandals off. The casual way she sat beside him made his insides warm up.