by Avery Ford
Second Chance for Christmas: A Gay Christmas Romance
Avery Ford
Copyright © 2019 by Avery Ford
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Introduction
1. Blake
2. Toby
3. Blake
4. Toby
5. Blake
6. Toby
7. Blake
8. Toby
9. Blake
10. Toby
11. Blake
12. Toby
13. Blake
14. Toby
15. Blake
16. Toby
17. Blake
Afterword
Introduction
“I tried falling in love once. I won’t make that mistake again.”
The last thing Toby Carver wants for Christmas is to fall in love. His life in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas, might not be flashy or exciting, but it suits him just fine. And even if there was a hot guy within a fifty mile radius, (spoiler: there isn’t) Toby wouldn’t be interested. He learned the hard way a long time ago that love only leads to one thing—a broken heart.
“I don’t even know what I want anymore. I can’t trust my heart.”
There is nothing for Blake Rivers in Cottonwood Falls. Nothing he hasn’t already ruined for himself, anyway. He left town ten years ago after graduation and hasn’t looked back since. But after a messy breakup and a mostly unsuccessful slog trying to make it as an actor in L.A., Blake is back home in Kansas to get his life together.
“We’ve been down this road before. We can’t do it again… can we?”
When Toby and Blake meet again after so many years apart, it’s obvious that the chemistry and attraction between them is still as strong as ever. Will the magic of Christmas be enough for them to overcome a decade of hard feelings and take a second chance on love?
Blake
Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.
Population: 909
Blake Rivers had mixed feelings as he passed the old, familiar green sign at the edge of his hometown. It took him twenty-two hours to drive the fourteen hundred miles from his apartment—his former apartment—in Los Angeles.
He should have been happy about the fact that he would finally be seeing his family and some of his old friends after so many years hustling for a dollar on the West Coast. He should have at least been relieved at the prospect of sleeping in a real bed instead of his car for the night.
But happiness was a feeling he couldn’t manage. It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in… weeks. Not since Jeremy had cheated on him and then left him with the cute little puppy who was currently staring over at Blake from the passenger seat of his car with sad, tired eyes.
The dog’s expression perfectly mirrored Blake’s emotions. But the fact that he looked so tired, that he wasn’t even wagging his tail anymore, had Blake worried.
“It’s gonna be okay, Coop.” He reached over to scratch behind Cooper’s ears, hoping the bouncy lab’s favorite form of attention would perk him up a little.
But no.
Cooper just sighed and rested his head back on the seat where he’d been whining and whimpering in fits and starts since they’d left L.A.
“Don’t worry, buddy,” Blake said, feeling very worried. “We’re gonna get you in to see Dr. Carver and he’s gonna take good care of you, okay?”
Obviously, he didn’t expect the pup to answer, but some response would have at least given Blake a little encouragement.
He had called ahead to tell his mom he’d be late, then had called the vet’s office to make sure Dr. Carver was still there and still able to help.
Blake didn’t even care that the only vet in town also happened to be his very first boyfriend’s dad. Well… he didn’t care much. A few awkward minutes catching up and making small-talk would be a small price to pay if it meant getting Cooper back to his old hyper, fun-loving self.
Dr. Carver had been the only veterinarian in Cottonwood Falls for as long as Blake could remember, and he’d helped take care of all Blake’s childhood pets. If anyone could help Cooper, it would be Gary Carver.
He pulled up in front of the vet clinic, a modest building that had been there on the corner of Main Street for at least a hundred years. It looked like the place had been painted recently, but it would take more than some fresh paint to erase the years of wear and tear on the old building.
It was reassuring, though, in a way. That building—and the old vet inside—represented safety and stability. Dr. Carver had been there forever, his steady hand and comforting manner putting everyone in town at ease at one point or another over the years.
Blake turned off the engine and got out of the car, only taking a few seconds to stretch his legs before walking over to the passenger side and scooping Cooper up off the seat.
“It’s okay, Coop,” he whispered, nuzzling against the pup’s warm fur. “Just hang in there, buddy.”
He normally would have barely been able to contain the curious, wriggling puppy in his arms, but Cooper barely even moved as Blake carried him up to the front door of the clinic.
Please let him be okay. Please just let this be something minor.
Please, please, please.
“Blake Rivers? Is that really you?” The receptionist squinted against the sunlight as Blake walked in, a big smile spreading across her face. “My goodness, you’ve grown into a handsome young man. I didn’t believe it could really be you when I answered the phone earlier, but here you are!”
As worried as Blake was, he couldn’t help but smile a little as Nina Flores, Dr. Carver’s longtime receptionist, walked around from her desk and hurried over to greet him.
She gave Blake a quick squeeze on the arm and then turned her attention to the sick puppy. “And this little furbaby must be Cooper,” she said, her soothing tone making one of Cooper’s ears perk up at last. “Poor baby.”
“That’s the most he’s moved in hours,” Blake said, sighing as he looked down at his dog. “I hope Dr. Carver can do something for him. I hope he’ll at least know what’s wrong. Not being able to help him is killing me right now.”
“I know, dear,” Nina nodded, her eyes full of sympathy as she looked up at Blake. “But don’t you worry. If anyone can help this sweet baby, it’s Dr. Carver. He’s finishing up with a darling little chihuahua right now but he should be right out.” She pointed to a seat near the door. “Did you want to have a seat while you wait? I can bring some water…”
“Oh, I’m not thirsty,” Blake said. “But thank you, Mrs. Flores. I appreciate it.”
“I didn’t mean for you, dear,” she said, tossing him a wink as she walked over to her desk and pulled out a small plastic bowl and a bottle of water. “I meant for little Cooper.”
Blake felt his face flush with embarrassment. “Oh, right. Of course. Well… sure,” he nodded. “I don’t know that he’ll actually drink anything, but we can try. He hasn’t really eaten or anything since he started throwing up yesterday.”
“Poor baby,” she repeated, bringing the bowl of water over and holding it near Cooper’s nose before finally frowning and setting it on the floor nearby. “Well, I’ll leave it right here if he changes his mind. And then—oh, perfect! Here’s Dr. Carver now.”
Blake turned to look as the door opposite them opened. A tiny chihuahua pranced out, followed by a lady whose frosted hair a
lmost perfectly matched her pet’s fur.
And then Blake sucked in a sharp breath, because the person who came out next wasn’t Dr. Carver.
Or… oh, shit.
Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
The veterinarian Blake had been waiting on wasn’t the friendly, easy-going old Dr. Carver that he’d been expecting.
It was his much younger, much more handsome son.
Blake’s ex.
Dr. Toby Carver.
Toby
Toby had stepped through the doorway and into the small waiting area of his clinic before he realized who was standing across from him.
He’d been so distracted by Iris Milton and Lovey, her adorably high-strung chihuahua, that he had actually started greeting the next patient—a black lab puppy—before even setting eyes on the man who had brought him.
And then… oh, God.
“Blake?” Toby felt like his chest had constricted, making it hard to breathe. And why was it suddenly super hot in the waiting room? “I… um, hi?”
Toby could feel his cheeks heat up as his mind raced. His tongue was tied. He was standing there with his mouth open. Toby had spent more time than he cared to admit thinking of what he’d say or do if he ever ran into his old ex from high school again, but those idle daydreams had never turned out like this.
This was awkward.
And weird.
And… sort of nauseating.
“Toby, I…” Blake swallowed hard. He looked just as shocked as Toby felt. Which was actually a little comforting, in a way. “I didn’t know you were here. I just assumed Dr. Carver meant—”
“My dad,” Toby finished, feeling a little better as the realization dawned. Blake was here to see Toby’s dad. Not to profess his undying love or to say he’d made a terrible mistake all those years ago when he’d run away to Los Angeles. Which was good. Great. Because that would have made things even more awkward, right? “He handed the practice over to me a couple of years ago so he could retire. He and my mom have been living it up in Florida ever since.”
“Oh, wow,” Blake’s eyes went wide. Wider than they already were. “I had no idea. But it’s good to see you. You look… really good.”
Toby blinked.
Maybe he really was dreaming, after all.
Because this was exactly they way he’d always pictured this conversation going.
Toby didn’t even know how to respond, though. Blake looked good, too, of course. He looked really good, actually.
But that wasn’t why he was here. That wasn’t why either of them were here.
“Who have you brought me?” Toby asked, belatedly remembering what he was supposed to be doing as he turned his attention to the black lab. “Looks like we’ve got a sick little puppy.”
Blake nodded, all of the other emotions that had been evident in his expression giving way to pure concern. “He’s been like this since we left California. Moping and whimpering. Yesterday he was vomiting but that seems to have passed for now.”
Toby frowned, his own concern for his new patient taking over and pushing all his thoughts of Blake aside. Most of his thoughts, anyway. “Bring him back to the exam room. Let’s see if we can figure out what’s wrong.”
He held the door open as Blake followed him to the back of the clinic. God, why did Blake still have to look so good? Even better than before, if Toby was being honest.
Blake even still smelled really good, a fact that was impossible to ignore once they were together in the small exam room, only separated by the table where Toby motioned for Blake to set the puppy.
“You said he only started showing these symptoms once you left California?” Toby asked, running his hands over the dog’s coat and then beginning a routine check of his vitals.
Blake nodded. “It was like a switch flipped once we got in the car, and he’s just gotten progressively worse. I brought him straight here as soon as I got to town. I haven’t even stopped to see my mom yet.”
Toby didn’t reply for a moment as he finished listening to the puppy’s heartbeat. “I’m going to draw some blood so I can run some tests, but I’m pretty sure we’re just dealing with a case of car sickness.”
“Seriously?” Blake cocked his head to the side as he looked at the dog and then back to Toby. “Car sickness? I didn’t even know that was a thing dogs could get. I used to get car sick when I was a kid.”
Toby grinned. “And did it make you dizzy and sluggish? Loss of appetite? Nausea and vomiting?”
“Damn,” Blake’s mouth fell open as he nodded to each of the symptoms Toby had just rattled off. “I never would have put it together like that, but yeah. And that’s exactly what Cooper has been dealing with since we left home. Since we got in the car.”
“Well, I’m going to draw some blood and run some tests just to be absolutely sure, but…” Toby paused to scratch under Cooper’s chin. Such a cute dog. And a cute owner. But no. Can’t think like that. Not now. “I’m going to give him a small dose of diphenhydramine—Benadryl, basically—and that should take care of the nausea. If he gets worse or is still exhibiting these same symptoms tomorrow, you need to bring him back in, okay?”
“Thanks, Toby,” Blake said, then frowned slightly. “I mean… Dr. Carver. Man, that feels weird.”
“Really weird,” Toby agreed, laughing. “Let’s stick with first names, hm?”
Both men were quiet as Toby drew some of Cooper’s blood and then administered the anti-nausea medicine. There were a million things Toby wanted to say—a million questions that he’d wanted to ask for years, in fact—but this wasn’t the time.
Not here. Not now.
Maybe not ever.
Because even though it was really nice—weird, for sure, but nice—to see Blake again, Toby knew that this meeting had been a complete fluke.
A fluke that probably wouldn’t happen again.
So all of his questions, all of his thoughts, all of his daydreams about what might have been really didn’t matter anymore, did they?
Toby had a different life now, and so did Blake. The feelings they’d shared for each other had come and gone a long time ago.
Blake and his cute puppy would be gone in a few minutes and for all Toby knew it might be the last time he would see either of them.
Which was fine. Totally fine.
Because Toby was absolutely, one hundred percent positive that he was completely over all of those old feelings.
Mostly.
Blake
“Oh, that poor little thing,” Blake’s mother, Sharon, said for at least the hundredth time in the hour that had passed since Blake had brought him home. “Are you sure he’s going to be okay? He’s been dead asleep since you walked through the door.”
Blake flinched at his mom’s choice of words, an expression that she mirrored just a moment later as she realized what she’d just said.
“You know that’s not what I meant, dear,” she sighed as she looked from the puppy to Blake and then back again. “I’m just worried about the poor thing.”
“I know,” Blake said, nodding. “I’m worried about him, too. But Toby-er, Dr. Carver said that the medicine would make him drowsy and that some extra sleep would be good for him after the stress of riding around in the car for two days.”
He’d hoped that she would let his little slip-up slide without commenting, but he also knew that would take a level of restraint that his mother—for all of her other amazing qualities—had never possessed.
“I was wondering if you had a chance to speak to Toby while you were there,” she said, her usual smile returning as she leaned forward on the couch across from Blake. “How did he look? Good? Did he recognize you? Did he say anything?”
Blake slumped in the armchair next to the fireplace where he’d been sitting, then cast another furtive glance in Cooper’s direction, wishing the sick, tired puppy would suddenly bounce up and offer some kind of distraction.
Weren’t dogs supposed to have some kind of sixth sen
se when it came to their owners being in distress? Wasn’t that a thing?
“He was good,” Blake said, knowing full well that sort of answer would never satisfy her. “He seemed good, I mean. I guess. We were both more concerned with Cooper than, uh… anything else.”
Her smile slipped a little. “So you didn’t get a chance to catch up at all? Did he act like he might want to talk more? You know, if Cooper hadn’t been there?”
Blake shook his head. He didn’t want to be rude, but he also didn’t want to indulge his mom’s life-long fantasy that he would come to his senses and settle down with Toby Cooper and live happily ever after just on the other side of town from the house he’d grown up in.
And even if a part of that did sound kind of appealing given his current circumstances—and although Toby had looked really good—Blake knew that ship had sailed a long time ago.
Sharon might never admit it, but she had to know it, too.
“I don’t know, Mom,” he said, shrugging. “It was all sort of… I mean, I really was mostly focused on Coop while I was there. I guess there was sort of a weird, awkward moment when we first saw each other.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Weird and awkward like what? Was he smiling?”
“I honestly can’t remember,” Blake said. “It doesn’t matter anyway, does it? A long time has passed since high school, Mom. He has his own life now and so do I.”
“Well, I’m pretty sure he’s still single,” she said, then gave him a pointed look. “And so are you. So I don’t see what the harm would be if you just…” Her voice trailed off and she sat back against the couch cushions. “I’ve just always liked Toby, that’s all. He’s so much nicer than the guys you’ve been seeing in California. I just want you to be happy, dear, but I also want you to be with someone who deserves your love.”
