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

  New Beginnings

  (Second Chances Trilogy, Book 3)

  Morris Fenris

  Changing Culture Publications

  Copyright 2014 Morris Fenris, Changing Culture Publications

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Epilogue

  Thank You

  About the Author

  Book List

  Prologue

  Sometimes the darkest hour is simply the end of the tunnel just before sunrise. Tragedy can either break you or make you, the end result is up to you. And always remember, the sun will shine again. It may not be visible from where you are, but above the clouds, it is shining!

  Chapter 1

  San Diego, California, January 27th…

  “Dani, if you don’t hurry, you’re going to be late for preschool,” Grace hollered from the kitchen. She paused to listen for the sound of little feet coming down the hallway, frowning when all she heard was silence.

  Putting the last clean plate back in the cupboard, she wiped her hands on a dishtowel as she went to investigate. “Dani?” she called, pushing the door to her daughter’s bedroom open and looking around for her.

  “Shush,” came the whispered demand, and Grace looked around again, still not seeing her.

  She crossed the bedroom, bending down to look under the bed. Still no little girl. “Dani? Where are you?” she whispered back.

  “In the closet,” came back the reply

  Confused and growing slightly alarmed, Grace carefully opened the closet door, peeking around the corner as she did so, afraid of the mischief her four-year old might have gotten into in the time between breakfast and getting dressed for school. She’s only been alone for fifteen minutes. Tops! Really, how much mischief could she have gotten into in that little amount of time?

  She pulled the door open a little further and felt her heart melt at the sight that greeted her. Dani had pulled the extra blankets down from the shelves, using her stepstool from the bathroom. The stool still sat in front of the shelves, tipped over on its side, and the blankets were piled around her little munchkin.

  She had draped them haphazardly over the lower hanging rod in her closet, creating what she assumed was a four-year olds version of a tent. Squatting down to look her daughter in the eye, she whispered, “What are you doing in here?”

  Daniella had her body turned slightly away from her mother, and fidgeted before she answered, “I don’t want to go to school today.”

  Grace looked at her, wondering what had changed between breakfast and her trek down the hall. She replayed the events quickly in her mind. Daniella had hurried through her breakfast, excited to get to school today because they were going to visit the butterfly house. She’d hollered about her missing rainbow-colored tennis shoes and Grace had told her they were on the back step…

  She peered at her daughter again, noticing that her right hand seemed to be scratching something beneath the blanket. Giving Daniella a smile, she softly asked, “Dani, what have you got under there?”

  Daniella got a mulish look on her face and turned to protect whatever was behind the blanket that was hanging down.

  “Come on, now. Let momma see what you’ve found.” Grace started to reach for the blanket, but Dani grabbed hold of her hand.

  “No! You’ll make her leave and she’s mine.”

  Grace closed her eyes on a sigh and silently asked the Good Lord for patience. Opening her eyes, she took a breath and then calmly asked the million-dollar question. “Who and what is she?”

  “I’m going to name her Arianna,” Daniella told her mother, a glint in her eye that promised a tantrum of huge proportions if she didn’t get her way.

  “Arianna? And what kind of animal is Arianna?”

  “Promise you won’t make me get rid of her?” Daniella begged, batting her eyelashes and pushing her bottom lip out in a pout worthy of an Oscar.

  “Honey, you know I can’t do that. She might belong to someone else…”

  “But, they didn’t take care of her ‘cuz she was lost. I won’ts ever lets her gets lost.” Dani made a big production of drawing a big X-shape across her chest. “Please, can’t I keep her?”

  Why me? Grace searched for a soft voice and then stated, “Well, first things first. Why don’t you come out of the closet and introduce me to your new friend?” Grace stood up and then, hearing a noise, looked to see Jane standing in the doorway.

  “What’s going on in here? I thought Dani was going to the butterfly house today?”

  “I’s don’t want to go no more.” Daniella slowly crawled from the closet, keeping her arms around a squirming bundle wrapped in the blanket.

  “What have you got there?” Jane asked, going down on one knee and slowly peeling the blanket back to reveal the large brown eyes of a very young golden retriever puppy. “Oh! She’s so precious! Look at those big brown eyes.”

  The puppy, glad to have its head free from the fabric began to lick everything in sight. Jane’s hand. Daniella’s face. When it found the lobe of Daniella’s ear, it began to chew on it, obviously trying to find some sort of nourishment. The puppy was only a few weeks old by the looks of it. Grace bent down for a closer look and then sighed as she caught the aroma that only came with newborn puppies. Yep, this little darling still needed its momma.

  “Ouch! Bad Arianna!” Daniella told the puppy, pulling it away from her face and giving it a stern look. “We don’t bite. Ever.”

  The two women exchanged a look and hid their smiles, “Daniella, I think she’s trying to find something to eat.” Jane ran her hands over the little puppy and then smiled when he immediately tried to suck on her finger. When Dani pulled the puppy tighter into her arms, the puppy’s tummy was revealed and Jane bit her lip, already anticipating the argument she knew was coming. “Dani, I think the puppy’s hungry. He’s not very big and probably still needs his momma.” How did one explain nursing and such to a four-year old? Ugh! Grace looked at Jane seeking some sort of help.

  “She, Aunt Jane! Didn’t you hear me? Her name is Arianna.”

  “Sweetie, I heard you, but this puppy is a boy.” Jane saw the storm cloud form on Dani’s young face and hurried to explain, “I don’t think he
’d like being called by a girl’s name, do you?”

  Dani looked at the puppy for a moment and then smiled, “Okay, I’ll name him Max!”

  Grace looked at her daughter and then up at Jane once again. This is not going to end well!

  Jane quickly caught her silent plea for help and stepped in. “Hey, Dani, why don’t you come and show Aunt Jane where you found the puppy?” Jane asked, holding out her hand, smiling when Daniella put her own little one into it. Grace watched her daughter go with Jane, once again thankful for her presence in their house.

  Jane was a widower, like Grace, and had come to California right after Christmas to follow her dream of living by the ocean and becoming a chef. Both of her dreams had come true, in ways no human could have ever orchestrated without a little divine help!

  Not only was Jane the new chef, in charge of designing the entire menu for a line of restaurants, but she had finally put her fears of loving aside and followed her heart. She was currently engaged to a FBI agent, Samuel Drackett, and the pair were planning on marrying in a few weeks’ time at the beginning of March.

  “Aunt Jane, I can keep him, can’t I?” Daniella asked, throwing a look at her mother that said ‘she’ll let me keep the puppy.’

  Jane laughed and then told her, “You know better than that, sweetie. Your momma has the final say. And don’t you bat those long eyelashes at me – I’m not going to change my mind. Now…can you show me where you found this little guy?”

  Daniella started to pout, but then the puppy squirmed and her attention was rerouted. Luckily! Nodding her head, she smiled up at Jane, “I can show you. I went out to get my tennis shoes, ‘cause they gots muddy yesterday after it rained, and momma washed them off with the house. I heard him crying by the fence. He was all muddy, but I wiped him all off and he stopped crying.”

  “Do I want to know what you used to wipe him off with?” Grace asked from behind the duo, closing her eyes as her daughter gave her the answer.

  Daniella looked over her shoulder and primly told her, “I used my bath towel from last night. It was still a little wet, but now it’s all muddy. It’s gonna need a good washin’, momma.”

  Grace nodded as Jane bit her lip to keep from laughing. “Show me where you found the puppy, sugar,” Jane asked as they exited into the backyard.

  Daniella pointed to a spot by the back fence. Jane and Grace both approached the fence to see a large hole dug beneath it. As they watched, another squirming yellow ball of fur crawled beneath the fence. “Huh? I’m thinking your neighbor has a litter of puppies trying to escape.”

  Grace nodded, “I’m not even sure who lives there. There used to be an older couple, but after he died, their kids moved her up to Oregon to be closer to them.”

  Jane scooped up the second puppy, only to hear Daniella behind her, “Goody! Two puppies! Can I keep them both?”

  Grace shook her head, “Honey, you can’t keep either one of them. We’ve already discussed how lonely a puppy would be when it had to stay here all day by itself. Besides, these puppies belong to the neighbor and I bet the momma dog is wondering where her babies are.”

  “Why don’t we go knock on the door and see if the neighbor is home?” Jane suggested, crossing her fingers that Daniella would be more interested in seeing the rest of the litter than throwing a morning tantrum.

  Daniella looked at the puppies longingly one last time and then slowly nodded, “Do you think the momma dog is really sad her babies crawled away?”

  “I’m sure she is. Maybe we can meet the momma dog when we give the babies back,” Grace offered, hoping the neighbor was home and hadn’t already left for work. She glanced at her watch and cringed. The only way Daniella would get to see the butterfly house was if Grace drove her directly there. I’ll have to call the school and let Mr. Simpson know that’s what we’re doing. Just as soon as I return these two puppies!

  Chapter 2

  Grace, Jane, and a very reluctant four-year old traipsed across the front yard, walking up to the neighbor’s front door and knocking. It was almost 8 o’clock, and Grace hoped they were awake at least. While they waited for someone to answer the door, Grace felt bad for not having come over and introduced herself earlier. I’m a terrible neighbor! They lived here for months and I don’t even know their names!

  A few moments later, a little girl around nine years old opened the front door, but just a crack.

  Grace smiled down at her, and asked, “Is your mommy home?” She took in the little girl’s appearance, wondering at the sight of her badly tangled blonde hair, dirty pajamas, and large fearful eyes.

  The little girl didn’t seem inclined to answer, so Grace got down on her level and asked again, “Sweetie, can you go get your mommy for me?”

  When the little girl shook her head, Grace became a little concerned. “Is your mommy here?”

  The little girl nodded her head, but still didn’t answer. “I really need to talk to her.” Grace pointed to where Daniella and Jane stood, holding the squirming puppies, “These little guys got under the fence this morning.”

  The little girl’s eyes grew big and she opened the door wider.

  “Do these little guys belong to you?” Grace asked softly.

  The little girl nodded and then whispered, “Momma’s gonna be upset they dug under the fence.” She wrung her hands as she finished talking and looked so worried Grace grew even more suspicious.

  “What’s your name, sweetie?” Grace asked softly, giving her a warm smile of encouragement.

  “Emily.”

  “That’s a very pretty name. This is my little girl Daniella, and this is Jane.”

  “How comes she’s not in school, momma?” Daniella asked, peeking around Grace’s legs to get a better look at her neighbor.

  “Shush!” Grace scolded her before she turned a smile back to Emily and asked once again, “Go get your momma for me.”

  “I can’t. She’s too sick to get out of bed this morning. That’s why I’m not in school today. She needs my help.” Emily stated the fact that her momma was sick as if it were a common occurrence.

  Grace and Jane exchanged a concerned look and then Grace asked, “How about you let us help you put these little guys back in the yard and fill in the hole so that your momma doesn’t have to do that while she’s not feeling well. Would that be okay?”

  Emily thought for a moment and then unlatched the screen door, “Okay. But we have to be quiet, momma’s got a bad headache this morning.”

  Grace nodded at her and held the door open for Jane and Daniella to enter. They followed Emily silently through a very well organized living room and out through a sliding door in the dining room.

  A large golden retriever greeted them and Jane helped Daniella hold the puppies down so she could sniff her babies. The puppies immediately started crying and squirming to get loose. Daniella put her puppy down and it started rooting around the momma dog’s legs.

  “They’re hungry,” Emily said as she picked one of the pups up and carted it over to a large children’s swimming pool on the covered porch, depositing it there with its siblings. Jane followed her lead, took the other pup over, and then watched as the momma dog stepped carefully into the pool and lay down. Within seconds, the tiny puppies had settled in and were nursing happily.

  “Well, now that we have the puppies taken care of, why don’t we see if your momma needs some help?” Grace dusted her hands off and gave Emily another warm smile.

  Emily looked doubtful and was about to argue when Jane asked, “Emily, have you had breakfast yet?”

  Emily shook her head, looking between the two women as if she was unsure who she should be giving her attention to.

  “How about I see if I can round us up some pancakes? I bet your momma has the right ingredients.” Jane winked at her, pleased when the little girl smiled tentatively back at her.

  “I guess that would be okay. I’m not allowed to use the stove or the oven when she’s not around. Usually when m
ommas this sick I just eat cereal, but then I couldn’t get the lid open on the milk this morning.”

  Grace and Jane exchanged a look and then Jane took over the conversation. “Emily, that’s a very good rule your momma has. The oven and the stove can get things really hot, and you could get burned. I tell you what, I’m going to go wash my hands up and see if I can find what I need. Why don’t you take Grace in and introduce her to your momma?”

  After pausing to consider what was being offered, she finally nodded and led Grace back through the house, to a small bedroom at the back of the house. Grace did her best to look at her surroundings, and was pleased to see that everything was in good repair and the house looked like it had recently been cleaned. Whatever was wrong with Emily’s mom was most likely a recent event, or she had some kind of domestic help.

  “Momma?” Emily whispered, pushing the door to the room open. Grace followed her inside the small room and looked around. It was a very small room, most likely the smallest one in the house. The only furnishings were a small bedside table and the bed. It looked more like a guest bedroom than a room occupied by someone who lived in the house.

  Grace noticed there was very little light in the room, just the sliver that peeked out from under the bathroom door. The curtain over the window was pulled shut to keep the sunlight out.

  “Emmy?” a female voice said weakly before ending in a strangled cough.

  Emily hurried to the bed where a woman lay, gasping for breath with her eyes closed. Grace followed close behind her and was shocked to see a woman, not much older than she was, but without any hair. None.

  Grace took in the rest of the woman’s appearance, her heart dropping into her stomach as the past came back to haunt her. Oh, my! She has cancer! “Miss…,” Grace broke off, not having thought to ask the woman’s name.

  The woman paused when she heard the strange voice and slowly opened her eyes, “Emmy, who’s this?” She made a feeble attempt to sit up in the bed, protecting her child upper most in her mind, but her body was incapable of obeying.