A SECOND CHANCE ROMANCE BOXED SET

by Lewis, Laurie

  “And yet you have them all.”

  “You could say that Axel Hunter was my mentor. In a way, he gave me my start.”

  “Yet you’re throwing all his books away?”

  Avery cast her eyes down. “I was feeling a little bitter today.” She looked up and smiled. “Shocker, huh?”

  Gabriel laughed in commiseration. “And now?”

  “And now I guess I’m glad I didn’t get a chance to toss them. Would you be interested in reading them? You’re welcome to.”

  “I’d love to. I’d appreciate anything to help me pass the time while I’m here.”

  “I take it you’re not here happily?”

  “Call it an overdue retreat from my family.” Gabriel wasn’t sure how much he wanted to disclose, but he felt he could trust Avery not to reveal whatever he chose to share.

  Her eyes registered confusion.

  “I recently became aware that I’ve been a helicopter,” he rotated a finger above his head as he whistled. “I’ve hovered too protectively over my girls for too long. My good intentions were crippling them, so, when this opportunity to work away from home for a while presented itself, I took it. Now all three of us are miserable. How’s that for great parenting?”

  “I wish I had some good advice for you, but there’s no wisdom in this old well.”

  “I assume family drama is not your genre?”

  “Personally, I’d have to say yes. Professionally? No.”

  “I’d love to read some of your books. What name do you write under?”

  “Avery Elkins Thompson. And the correct term is ‘wrote’ under. I haven’t written anything in years.”

  “Avery Elkins Thompson? The mystery writer?” His eyes widened in surprise. “I’ve seen your books everywhere.”

  “Seen? Hmm. Not read, huh?”

  Gabriel blushed in embarrassment. “I’m certainly going to fix that.”

  “I’d be pleased if you did. After all, you’ve got six miserable months to endure.”

  Soon packets of information and keys were exchanged, and the pair parted company. Gabriel would move in immediately, and Avery would take possession of his home sometime after April fifteenth, in time to have it ready when Wes arrived. They agreed to a lease ending September 30, with options for extending if necessary.

  Avery sat at her airport gate, ready to begin mending hearts back home. She already missed Teddie and Rider. She smiled a melancholy smile as she thought about the events of the day—Gabriel’s generosity and the protectiveness of her two “colorful” Baltimore heroes, Clark and Chuck, who she saw anew through Gabriel Carson’s eyes. She wondered why she hadn’t seen their colorfulness before. The heroes—Clark Kent, the mild-mannered Superman, and Chuck, the funky seasonal sportsman, sailor by summer and ski bum in the winter. They’re a quirky pair, she told herself. Hmm . . . quirky pair, she mused as a crazy story line popped into her head. She pushed the idea away, but it kept returning to her with vivid characters and a plot that excited her. She pulled out her laptop and typed, “Chapter One . . .”

  Chapter Nine

  Logan, Utah, March 25

  Jamie invited her brothers to a family meeting disguised as an informal supper before they left to pick their mother up at Salt Lake International Airport.

  “Why aren’t we holding dinner until Mom gets here?” Luke asked.

  “I thought we ought to spend a little time alone discussing this situation with Mom.”

  “What situation with Mom?” challenged Luke. “What’s happened now?”

  “Nothing’s actually happened. I just think we should be united when we talk to her.”

  Wes looked at Brady, who sat stiff and awkward in his chair. “I didn’t know supper was actually an invitation to a summit.”

  Jamie turned on him abruptly. “All I’m saying is that I’m not sure I’m comfortable with this plan anymore.”

  “What plan?” asked Wes.

  “The whole Florida thing. I’m just not sure it’s a good idea. If you need to get away, fine, but I don’t feel right about Mom leaving. We thought she was going to Baltimore to visit her family. Instead, she packed up most of the condo and leased the place to a total stranger.”

  “It pays for her place in Florida, Jamie. I think it was a pretty savvy move on her part.”

  “Maybe financially, Wes, but can you imagine what it must have been like for her, packing all those memories away alone? It’s too much, too soon. I don’t think she should be making so many changes so quickly.”

  Luke had been sitting quietly, listening to the verbal volley between his siblings. “So, what do you suggest?”

  “I want us to encourage her to stay here, so she won’t be alone.”

  Wes’s jaw dropped. “She won’t be alone in Florida. I’ll be there with her.”

  Jamie rose on her toes. “Sure you will, until some little beach babe catches your eye. You know it’s likely to happen, Wes, and if it does, what will Mom do then?”

  Wes’s expression made it clear he was about to lose it. “Jamie, what kind of jerk do you think I am?”

  Luke’s stunned gaze volleyed between Jamie and Wes. “Stop. Just Stop! What’s going on? Is this the new family dynamic now that Dad’s gone? Are you two going to play tug-of-war over Mom like she’s incompetent? The last time I checked, she was still capable of making her own decisions.”

  Jamie breathed in, obviously preparing for another barrage, but Brady stepped in, appearing to fold himself up to appear less formidable than his tall frame normally made him. He placed his hands on Jamie’s shoulders and turned her around and faced her.

  “Just tell them what this is really about, Jamie,” he whispered.

  Wes overheard his brother-in-law and leapt to his feet. “Is something wrong?”

  “Tell them, Jamie,” Brady encouraged. “You’re scaring them to death.”

  Jamie leaned against Brady as if he were a fence post and, with tearful eyes, admitted, “I’m an emotional train wreck because . . . I’m pregnant.”

  “Pregnant?” Wes repeated as he walked toward his sister. “Does Mom know?”

  Luke seemed relieved over the happy news. “Hey, you,” he said to Brady as he punched him in the arm. “Why didn’t you tell us?”

  Brady huffed and rubbed his arm. “I just found out myself a half hour ago. She’s three months along and she barely told me. She said she didn’t want the family to have to deal with another sorrow if something went wrong again.”

  “Jamie!” Luke cried out. “What is it with the Thompson women? Why do you all think you have to tough everything out? You should have at least told Brady.”

  “I wanted to tell him. Brady understands. Since my first miscarriage, Mom probes him for baby news every time they talk. I knew he’d never be able to keep the secret, and I didn’t want her to know until the doctors felt confident I could carry the baby full term.”

  Wes looked at his brother-in-law sympathetically. “She was thrust on us, but you chose her.”

  “And that’s why you’re suddenly militant about Mom staying in Utah?” Luke wondered.

  “Yeah. Sorry I ran all over you with the Hormone Express. I need her to be here. I can’t explain it. I know I’ll feel more comfortable if she’s close by.”

  Wes smiled glumly at his brother-in-law and leaned down to look his sister in the eyes. “Then ask her. Don’t coerce her or trick her. Just ask.”

  All four of her loved ones met Avery at the baggage claim, a spectacle that immediately set her on guard. “Okay, what gives?” she asked after hugging each one.

  Wes put his hands on his hips. “Can’t you accept that your loving children wanted to welcome you home?”

  Avery raised one eyebrow and waited.

  “Okay, okay.” Jamie sighed. “But not until we get back to my house.”

  A moment of inspiration flooded Avery. “You’re pregnant!”

  “Mother!” Jamie made a poor attempt at refuting the assertion.

>   Avery next turned to Brady, who, as Jamie had presumed, had “guilty as charged” written all over his face.

  “I knew it! I knew it!” Avery took Jamie into her arms. Then she turned to her son-in-law, hugged him, and scolded him humorously. “How long have you known, buster? You were supposed to be my ally. You were supposed to spill your guts to me as soon as you found out.”

  Wes chuckled. “Believe me, he did.”

  During the short ride to the expectant couple’s home, Wes continued to tease Brady about the late notice of his impending fatherhood while Jamie supported her decision by citing more examples of Brady’s inability to keep a secret. And though Wes and Luke chuckled at the pair, Avery saw a new mood settle over the normally nonplussed Brady, and it worried her.

  An hour later, Avery was drying the dessert plates when Jamie sidled over. “Now that you know the news about the baby, I was hoping you’d decide to cancel your Florida plans and stay home.”

  Avery only turned her head to indicate that she’d heard.

  “Think of how much fun we could have shopping for the baby and fixing up the nursery! This is your first grandchild, Mom. You could share every stage of its life with me.”

  Avery caught Brady sitting at the kitchen table holding his fork suspended in midair as he stared blankly forward. “Don’t you mean share this with you and Brady?”

  Jamie shot a cursory glance in her husband’s direction. “Of course I mean Brady too. That goes without saying.”

  “Apparently,” the expectant father replied as he crossed the room and deposited his dishes in the sink.

  Jamie rolled her eyes and continued her persuasion. “You can go to Florida another time, Mom.” She moved within inches of Avery’s face and whispered, “you don’t want to miss the sonogram, or hearing the heartbeat for the first time, or being there when we find out if we’re having a boy or a girl.”

  Internally, Avery was salivating. Jamie was pushing every one of her maternal buttons, stirring up a motherly hunger so strong that she weighed the option of tossing her plans aside. That was until she saw Brady sitting at the computer desk, his face downcast as he stared absently at a blue ball bouncing around the screensaver during the women’s girls-only conversation. Surprisingly, Gabriel Carson’s words came to Avery as she saw his finger circling overhead. “I hovered too protectively over my girls for too long. My good intentions were crippling them . . . now all three of us are miserable.”

  Avery cleared her throat and looked tenderly at Jamie. “Oh, how I wish I could, honey, but I’ve signed contracts and made promises to Gabriel Carson. He’s already moved in.”

  “Gabriel Carson?”

  “Jamie,“ Avery sighed.

  “I’m sorry, Mom,” she conceded. “I don’t want you to go. I’d feel safer knowing you were close by, in case . . .”

  Wrapping her arms around Jamie, Avery looked past Jamie’s shoulder to where Brady sat, looking helpless and invisible. She heard her maternal helicopter rev up again and whispered in Jamie’s ear, “You know how badly I want to stay here and share in all the preparations for my first grandchild. It’s only because I trust Brady so much that I can bear to be away. You’re lucky to have him, Jamie. Lean on him. He has always come through for me whenever I have.”

  Jamie pulled away and raised a curious eyebrow at her mother. “You’ve leaned on Brady?”

  “Does that surprise you?”

  “When? Why Brady, when you have all of us?”

  Avery was momentarily disappointed in her daughter. “Sometimes I’ve needed an objective opinion. Brady has a way of seeing things . . .” She chuckled softly. “Lean on him, Jamie,” she whispered in her ear. “You know if anything happened, anything at all, I’d be on the next plane here, but your first line of support is that sweet guy over there.”

  Catching Brady’s attention, Avery waved him over. He approached timidly, clearly unsure about his role in this new development, but as soon as he reached his wife’s side, she released her mother and hugged him.

  Avery happily withdrew from the room as apologies drifted between the young couple. She found her sons in the living room, their eyes glued to a baseball game on ESPN. Flopping down between them, she threw an arm over each of their shoulders, causing them to cast sideways glances at her while scooting left and right.

  “Hey, Mom,” Luke greeted her. “Everything okay?”

  His voice rose at the end of his question in that way that usually annoyed her, but for some reason it made her want to squeeze him all the more. “Yep. Just swell,” she answered with a laugh.

  Wes raised an eyebrow at her. “Sniffin’ the vanilla again, Mom?” he teased. Then, he stared at her, his face suddenly serious. “Make-up, new hair-do . . . with highlights . . . What exactly happened to you in Baltimore?”

  She closed her eyes and moved her arms down to clasp her sons’ hands. “I found myself again, and I think I’m beginning to understand some things about your dad as well.”

  Chapter Ten

  Baltimore, Maryland, April 19

  Two new adventures hovered on Avery’s previously bleak horizons—grandmotherhood and her trip to Florida—and each brought her diverse pleasure. The thought of living on the beach instilled such a bathing-suit fright into her that she found heretofore-unknown willpower and dropped twelve pounds and a dress size in six weeks. Aside from washing and sorting through her old summer wardrobe, she happily added shopping for new things to her to-do list. She packed her bags a week early so she could spend time settling Luke back home and shopping for baby things with Jamie.

  Avery’s mental calendar was filled with Wes’s planned weekend stays, as well as with dates when the kids would fly down for visits. Adding even more sweetness to an already nearly perfect situation, she and Teddie emailed back and forth almost every day, and Avery secured a promise from her dear friends to join her in Florida for a week or two during the summer.

  On Thursday, April 18, Avery received her regular update from Teddie, but this email included an attachment. When Avery opened it, she found a plane reservation in her name from Salt Lake to Baltimore, scheduled for the next day. She called her impulsive Texas friend on her cell and was greeted by that familiar, enthusiastic voice.

  “I bet you just got my email!”

  “I did, but I don’t understand. Was a plane ticket to Baltimore attached?”

  “Yeah.” Teddie giggled like a school girl with a secret. “Weren’t you planning on leavin’ for Florida this weekend? Rider and I just wanted to lure you here for a quick visit beforehand.”

  Avery frowned over the tempting complication. “But I already have reservations for my flight to Florida, and I’m supposed to meet the realtor Friday evening to pick up my keys.”

  “Are those the only things that would keep you from comin’?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Then I’ll take care of them and pick you up at the airport tomorrow afternoon.”

  Avery flew to Baltimore the next day. True to her word, Teddie Davis pulled up at BWI in Rider’s Cadillac Escalade, and after quick hugs and greetings, the two women made fast work of loading Avery’s luggage and headed off.

  “I’m so glad you came, Avery! I’ve missed you somethin’ awful.”

  “I’ve missed you too, though apparently I took some of you home with me. My kids are still wondering what happened to their mother.”

  “Good heavens! I hope they think that’s a good thing.”

  “It is, Teddie.” Avery smiled. “I know it is.”

  They grew quiet for a moment. Then Teddie giggled and said, “Oh, we’ve met your Mr. Carson. He sure is an odd duck. It’s like somebody pulls out another one of his tail feathers every day.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Rider’s tried invitin’ him out to golf and for a run, but he always turns him down, real polite like. And after all that fuss over the boat, I’ve never seen him take it out once.”

  “Oh, dear.”

  �
�Don’t get too worked up, Avery. You’ve got your contract. His place is yours no matter what.”

  “Yeah, but how will I be able to enjoy it if I know he’s miserable up here?”

  “I knew you’d feel that way. Well, we’ll put our two little heads together and think of somethin’. Does any man or problem have a chance against the combined likes of us?”

  Both women laughed and shook their heads.

  As soon as they neared the harbor, that same old sinking feeling hit Avery. It must have shown on her face, because Teddie looked at her sympathetically.

  “Is it even a tad bit easier this time?”

  Avery didn’t answer right away. “Maybe a little.”

  Teddie parked the car and tapped her friend on the arm. “Well, we’re gonna count that as progress. We don’t have to worry about hittin’ the bull’s eye today so long as we keep getting’ closer. Now point out the suitcase you need most, and Rider’ll bring the others up later.”

  Avery paused. “I guess that depends on where we’re going and what we’re doing.”

  Teddie’s eyes grew wide. “Well, you’ll at least need a Sunday dress for church.”

  Avery pulled out a medium-sized suitcase while Teddie grabbed a smaller one, and they headed to the elevator. They chatted and giggled all the way to the Davises’ condo. Rider, hearing their arrival, threw the door open and greeted Avery.

  “Rider! Don’t you look handsome!” Avery gushed. “It’s not even Sunday and here you are dressed in a suit and a bolo tie. What’s the occasion?”

  Rider glanced at Teddie and asked, “Does she know?”

  Teddie chuckled and shook her head. “Come inside, Avery,” Teddie urged. “We’ll explain.”

  Avery shuffled into the Davises’ chic condo, which was basic white with splashes of color for accent. Teddie had said, “After a lifetime of mud and dirt I want to see clean, real clean now,” and, if anything, it certainly was clean.