Second Chance

by Audra North

This time, she ignored the way the air seemed to not only be listening, but laughing, as well.

  Chapter Two

  Collin took off his gloves and slid them on to Claire’s hands. A single one of the wool-lined brown leather gloves could have held three of his niece’s hands—not that she had three, of course—but she seemed to enjoy flexing her fingers inside of the warmth.

  “Thanks, Uncle Collin.” Claire beamed up at him, and he couldn’t resist tweaking her nose. She was such a sweet little girl, always eager to make him or her mother laugh. Ever since Graham had run out on Deirdre, it was hard to make his sister smile. Even when they’d emigrated from Ireland, when Collin was thirteen and Deirdre was ten, she hadn’t lost her sunny spark and ability to see the good in everything. But Graham’s abandonment had changed that.

  That constant melancholy that Deirdre carried with her was so different from the personality she’d grown up with that it was almost as though his true sister were gone, replaced with some stranger who was dying from the inside out.

  Someone had to take care of her and Claire. It was why he was making an effort to be more involved. It wasn’t easy, trying to find the time away from work. But it was worth it.

  He looked down at the little girl and ruffled her hair. “That better?”

  She nodded. “Toasty warm!”

  He grinned. “Why don’t we head over to Kiki’s for some hot chocolate? I think we’ve visited nearly all the shops on Main Street now. It’s almost time for me to get you home, anyway.”

  Claire wrinkled her nose, but she didn’t cry or object. “Can we just go to one more place before Kiki’s? Please?”

  Collin looked down into those wide blue eyes and wondered…if he ever had a daughter, would she have those same blue eyes, like his, or big brown ones ringed with thick, dark lashes…

  Like Marnie Thomas’s eyes.

  It had been a shock to see her today, for the first time in nearly ten years, and not just because he hadn’t realized that she had become the new librarian. The shy, gawky girl he remembered from high school had become a gorgeous woman. Her skin had cleared and she’d filled out quite a bit in all the right places. He’d found himself wondering what her dark hair might look like when she took it out of that stern bun, whether it was long and wavy like it had been in high school, and how it might feel, sliding over his bare chest.

  That thought had surprised the hell out of him. He’d never thought of Marnie that way. He’d always liked her. She was a sweet, smart girl who he suspected had a crush on him all those years ago. But he’d never wondered what she looked like naked.

  Until today.

  The sensual images that had filled his mind when he’d seen her earlier had surprised him enough that when that sniveling little jerk of a kid had tossed the bookmark in the trash can, Collin had been too distracted to react right away. But when that kid’s dad had been so obviously uncaring, his brain had finally caught up to the situation and he hadn’t been able to stop himself from saying anything.

  And he’d been impressed with the way Marnie handled herself in the situation. It was her quiet confidence that had struck him, more than anything. She seemed to have acquired a spine of steel at some point, and she had used it to remain calm throughout the afternoon’s activity.

  Weird, that he would notice so much about her. She wasn’t his usual type. Not that the flashy women he was known for dating were really his type, either. But until today, he’d always been too busy to care. As a real estate developer who had built the homes of most of Coventon’s pro team football players, he had become good friends with the owner and manager of the team, and many of the players, too, which had led to a lot more contracts but a lot less free time.

  It suited his schedule to date women who were easily satisfied by the small investment of money or the chance to hobnob with famous athletes—not poetically gorgeous librarians with quiet dignity.

  Claire grabbed his hand, the too-large glove flopping around as she curled her fingers around his from inside the leather. “Come on, Uncle Collin!”

  In his pocket, his phone started buzzing. Shit. He couldn’t take it out just as they were crossing the street. And he could see where she was taking him—toward Stitches and Such, at the end of the block of shops on that side.

  He almost groaned. His high school girlfriend owned the shop, and he didn’t relish seeing her today.

  Buzz buzz buzz.

  “Hold on, sweetie. I’m getting a phone call. I’ve got to take it.”

  Claire stopped and frowned. “That’s the fourth phone call you’ve gotten since we left the library. I thought you said we were going to spend some special time together.”

  God, she sounded just like Deirdre when she talked like that. He gave a small sigh and met her eyes, and the hurt in them gave him pause. “So I did.” He let the phone slip back inside his pocket, and took her hand again. “Come on, pet. Let’s go.”

  She squealed in delight and did a little skip-hop onto the curb, all trace of annoyance gone. Once they were on the sidewalk, she pulled on his hand until he looked down at her. “Did you do this when you were little, too?”

  He shook his head. “By the time Gran and Papa and your ma and I moved here from Donegal, I was already fourteen and your ma was nearly twelve. I was too old for this.”

  “Doesn’t Ireland have Halloween?”

  “Aye, it does.” He grinned at himself when he realized he’d slipped back into the brogue of his childhood. He and Deirdre had lost the heaviness of their accents fairly quickly, but sometimes when he talked about the past, it came back.

  It had been a pretty easy transition, all things considered. He’d liked living in Wilford. It had been a nice change of pace from Donegal. Similar feeling, but at least in America, Da wasn’t known as a cheat and ostracized for something that he hadn’t done. And they were still poor, but they’d been accepted. He’d even go so far as to say that he’d been popular.

  But it had been hard on Ma. And Deirdre had complained about how it was hard for her to make friends. She’d said the local girls had a way of banding together against outsiders, and it meant she was too often alone.

  One of those local girls had been Natalie, who owned Stitches and Such.

  He really didn’t feel like seeing her again. Especially not today, when he was only back here because he was trying to help Deirdre, not dredge up bad memories.

  Maybe they could go back to the library. Definitely no bad memories there. In fact, there was something decidedly good about Marnie Thomas. No. Not just good. The stuff of fantasies. Those plump, pink lips on his, his hands on her lush hips, her long legs wrapped around his waist—

  Christ, he was getting distracted. And that meant Claire was leading him ever closer to Stitches and Such. He forced himself to focus.

  “Hey, pet.” He stopped and knelt down in front of Claire. “I have an idea. Why don’t we skip this last place and instead go back home and see if your mom wants to join us at Kiki’s?”

  Claire’s eyes lit up and her head bobbed up and down excitedly. Collin’s heart squeezed. It was so obvious how much she loved her mother and craved Deidre’s attention, though he knew she wasn’t getting what she wanted.

  “Let’s go right away!”

  At least he was getting what he wanted.

  Well, sort of, anyway. Hot chocolate wasn’t exactly a substitute for hot sex, though it had been a while since he’d had either. Maybe that’s why he was so distracted by Marnie.

  Except…somehow, he didn’t think so.

  Claire took his hand and tugged, pulling him toward one of the side streets that led back to his childhood home, where Deirdre had moved back in after that son of a bitch Graham abandoned his wife and daughter.

  When they banged their way in the door, Deirdre was in the kitchen, still dressed in work clothes. She looked exhausted. But what caught Collin’s eyes was the broad smile on his sister’s face.

  Claire launched herself at Deirdre, who
enveloped her daughter in a strong hug. “Oh, look at you! You make a great Power Ranger, love. Did you get way too much candy for your own good?”

  Claire giggled and nodded. “And a bookmark!”

  Deirdre laughed and set Claire down again, but kept one arm around the girl’s shoulders. “Thanks for taking her out, Col.”

  He nodded. “No problem. We were actually coming back ‘round to see if you wanted to walk up to Kiki’s with us for a cocoa.”

  “With marshmallows,” Claire chimed in.

  “Ah, yes. Of course. With marshmallows.” He raised an eyebrow at Deirdre, trying to somehow will her to say yes, even if just this once, and to his relief, she smiled and nodded.

  “That sounds like a lovely plan. Let me just change out of my work clothes and then we’ll go, okay?”

  “Hooray!” shrieked Claire, forcing both adults to recoil a bit at the volume, but then they all laughed. “I’ll go tell Papa that we’re going!”

  She scampered off to the back part of the house. Da was probably dozing in front of the TV, where Collin and Claire had left him just a couple of hours before. Ma was at her bridge game all afternoon and likely wouldn’t be home until dinnertime.

  Collin gestured with his chin at Deirdre’s pencil skirt and prim button-down blouse. “Everything went okay at the office?”

  “Yes!” His sister nearly squealed like Claire. “I got the raise I asked for and I even managed to get my boss to agree that I’ll have a title promotion in another three months if I can meet my quarterly goals!” Her smile was bright, like he hadn’t seen in ages.

  The relief and pride rushed out of him in a shout. “Hey, atta girl, Deirdre!” He hugged her as she bounced up and down, as triumphant and confident as he’d ever seen her. Thank God. Maybe she’d pull out of this horrible time without as much pain as Ma had gone through when they’d left home.

  When they parted, her eyes were sparkling. Damn, it reminded him so much of Claire. What must that feel like, to have created a small person with so many of your qualities? Who shared your blood and genes and mannerisms, and who brought so much innocent wonder into everything?

  For the first time in his life, Collin found himself wishing he had a family of his own, and the thought surprised him enough that he almost didn’t hear what Deirdre said next.

  “I’m so excited! With a raise, I can probably even afford dance lessons for Claire.”

  But when it finally registered, he frowned. “Hey, now. I already told you that I’d pay for those—”

  “I know, Col. But I’m her mom. And I can’t keep depending on a man for something, even if you’re my brother. I lost too much when Graham walked out. I didn’t realize how much I’d invested in him. I-I need to do this as much as she needs me to do it.”

  He backed off, nodding. It bothered him that she wouldn’t take his money, because God knows he had more than enough of it, but he could see how important it was to her. Instead he shrugged and gave her a cheeky smile. “Fine, but I’m paying for the cocoa.”

  “In that case, I’m definitely getting marshmallows with mine.”

  By the time they’d gone to Kiki’s and drunk way too much sugar for Collin’s taste, it was getting late and he’d gotten six more calls, all left unanswered. They were getting ready to leave the café when Deirdre asked him if he needed a ride to his car.

  He shook his head and pulled his jacket on. “Nah, I parked back at the library. I’ll walk back. It’s not far.”

  “If you’re sure…”

  “Yeah, I’m sure. But speaking of the library, I didn’t know Marnie Thomas was the librarian now. You remember her? I think she was your year.”

  He hoped he sounded more nonchalant than he felt. For some reason, even saying her name out loud was making his blood pump harder and giving him a funny feeling in his chest. But if Deirdre sensed any of that, she’d never let up.

  Deirdre nodded. “Yes, she was. She went away to college, but she didn’t stay away. I think she returned because her mom got sick, then languished for a long time. Marnie managed to hold down the job at the library and take care of Mrs. Thomas ‘round the clock in those last years.”

  Oh, damn. That sounded rough. He made a sound of sympathy. “I’m sorry to hear that. I had Mrs. Thomas for eleventh grade English. What happened to her, anyway?”

  “Cancer of some sort. I think she had chemo treatments for a while, because I remember her walking around town with a scarf over her head at some point. But about a year later, I ran into Marnie at the pharmacy and she told me that her mom was too frail to walk anymore. Mrs. Thomas died the next month.”

  Collin was silent, taking it in. He remembered Marnie’s mom as a nice woman, but already a little faded even ten years ago. Marnie, though…despite her awkwardness, she’d been bright and vibrant. Intense, even. She’d been kind of girl that somehow endeared herself in a man’s heart.

  And now she was the kind of woman who heated a man’s blood.

  He wondered whether she got out much. Whether she was still mourning her mother. He shook his head. “It’s a shame. Both parents gone.”

  “Actually, Mr. Thomas is back now. He actually moved back here with his new wife and his bratty little son. The kid is in Claire’s class, in fact. You might have seen him today. Dark hair, really nasty attitude.”

  No way.

  Collin was willing to bet the Granger development that the man he’d rebuked this afternoon was Marnie’s dad. “You don’t say. Does the kid’s name happen to be Patrick, by any chance?”

  Deirdre blinked in surprise. “Yes, how did you know?”

  “His nasty attitude got out of hand even during the story hour at the library.”

  “Oh, no. Don’t tell me that Mr. Thomas was there even when Marnie was reading…” Deirdre trailed off when Collin nodded. “Oh, good gracious. He ran out on them, too, you know. Just like Graham did to me and Claire.”

  Damn. He shouldn’t be surprised that the guy was such an asshole, but it made him think about how shy and reserved Marnie had been in high school, and he regretted not making more of an effort to draw her out of her shell back then.

  “I didn’t realize. I always thought he’d died.”

  She shook her head. “May as well have. He left when Marnie was twelve, right before we moved here. It was a pretty bad time. But I didn’t know her well enough in high school to get any more details from her.”

  At least some generous spirit had seen fit to deliver a form of payback in the library. He snorted in amusement, remembering the scene, and told Deirdre, “Well he got a smidge of comeuppance, anyway, by falling on his face in front of all the kids and their parents at the library today.”

  “What?” Her tone was mildly concerned, but a smile played on her lips while Collin shared the story. When he was finished, she laughed. “Serves him right.”

  That’s what Collin had thought at the time. But now, he could only think about how that was nothing compared to the pain that man had inflicted on his wife and kids.

  They were both silent for a second, until Claire chirped, “C’mon, I’m ready!”

  “Oh, hell.” Deirdre muttered under her breath. “I’ve been faffing about with you in the kitchen and haven’t changed. Back in a tick.”

  She disappeared upstairs just as Claire walked in wearing pink sweatpants and a shirt with a cat on it. So his niece hadn’t been kidding earlier, when she said she liked kitties. After a couple of minutes, Deirdre raced back in, looking more casual, as well, and they all headed to the door.

  Claire walked out first and Collin gestured for Deirdre to go ahead. As she passed him, she asked under her breath, “What’s Chloe up to tonight?”

  Chloe? Oh, right. He shrugged. “I don’t know. We broke up a couple weeks ago.”

  Claire skipped ahead, and Deirdre sighed loudly as Collin shut the door and they followed after the girl. “Well, thank God for little miracles.”

  “What? She was nice.”

  He t
urned and frowned at his sister, but she was staring down the sidewalk at Claire. “You and I have a very different definition of nice, Col.”

  He shrugged. “So maybe she was a little catty.”

  “Frankly, I’d have preferred that she scratched up the furniture and pissed on the rug rather than flung nasty comments at me all night about how Graham had left me because I’d let myself go.”

  That stopped him in his tracks. He stared at Deirdre “She did what?”

  She made a sound of frustration. “Crap. I’m sorry. I told myself I wasn’t going to say anything, especially if you felt serious about her. I’d almost be willing to forgive something like that if you’d just find a good woman to settle down with. Not that I should be giving relationship advice at the moment. Like Ma says, I burnt my coal and didn’t get a lick of warmth from it.”

  “Don’t listen to her. You know she’s had a hard time of it, too. But I’m sorry about Chloe. You should have told me sooner and I would have booted her to the curb. Family comes first, okay?”

  She hugged him and kissed his cheek. “Whoever you end up with someday will be so lucky to have a guy like you.” She pulled back a bit and pinched his cheek fondly. “Just make sure she’s someone I like, too.”

  Chapter Three

  Marnie was exhausted. After the dramatic story hour, she’d spent another two hours helping patrons, answering e-mails, and shelving books.

  It was just past four o’clock and she still had another hour before the library closed and she could go home and fall into bed. She’d bought several bags of candy to give out to trick-or-treaters later, which she usually loved to do, but seeing her father had sucked all the energy right out of her.

  She hadn’t been this tired since the last days of Mom’s life in hospice, when she’d kept a near-constant vigil, too afraid to sleep lest she miss the moment of Mom’s passing.

  She wiped a tear from her eye. Goodness, what was going on today? She never cried, and she’d already teared up twice in the span of a few hours. And then there had been Collin, who made her body and her mind go wild with something she hadn’t felt in a long time.