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

  Grace entered the room, noticing that the walker had been folded back up and placed against the wall. Shaking her head at the stubbornness of the woman in the bed, she quietly whispered her name, “Victoria?”

  The woman’s eyes fluttered and then opened, “Grace? Where’s Emily?” she asked as she looked around the room for her daughter.

  “She and Dani are in the backyard playing with the puppies. Shelby is sleeping inside the kiddie pool.”

  Victoria smiled, “That poor dog. The only time she really gets to sleep is when the puppies can’t get to her. Normally, we let her inside for a few hours during the day, otherwise the puppies want to nurse all day long.”

  “That’s what Emily was telling me. She also said that they’re ready to start weaning.”

  Victoria sighed and then shakily tried to push herself up on the pillows. Grace saw her struggle and hurried to help her. “Thanks,” she offered once she was settled.

  “The puppies do need to start weaning, but I guess it will have to wait for a few more days. I’m just not up to it right now.”

  “A few more days won’t hurt anything. Are you feeling any better?”

  “I was, but my headache is back again.” Victoria swallowed and closed her eyes wearily.

  “Why don’t I get you another pain pill?” Grace offered.

  “No. I…”

  “Look, I know you’re hurting. My boyfriend helped me bring some groceries over and is right outside the door. He’s a doctor and if it’s okay with you, he offered to see if he could do anything to help ease your pain.”

  Victoria smiled, “He’s welcome to try. Frankly, I’m glad this was the last chemo session. If they’d all been this bad, I don’t know if I would have been able to stick it out and finish them.”

  “I’m glad it was your last one. Let me get Michael.”

  Grace opened the door and gestured Michael inside. Turning she made the introductions, “Michael, meet Victoria Drake. Victoria, Dr. Michael Simpson.”

  Victoria looked at the man standing next to her bed and then back at Grace, “You didn’t tell me your boyfriend was Dr. Simpson.”

  “Does it make a difference?” Grace asked, seeing the look on the woman’s face.

  “No, but…I’m sorry. Dr. Simpson, it’s nice to finally meet you.”

  Michael had listened to the exchange with a bemused expression on his face, “Have we met before?”

  “No, but we used some of your treatment protocols in the oncology unit where I worked. You may have developed them for use with kids, but they work with adults as well.”

  “That’s good to know. Grace here tells me you’re in remission, and just finished your last chemo session.”

  “Yesterday. This one’s been pretty rough,” she informed him. Grace listened as she proceeded to give him a rundown of her medical condition and symptoms, most of which just sounded like a bunch of big words to Grace.

  Michael, on the other hand, listened and asked more questions before he went to look at the medication she had available. He returned a few minutes later with several pills in his hand and a cup of water. Handing them to her, he explained what the pills were and Grace was relieved when Victoria took them without arguing.

  “They won’t make you too sleepy to still watch over Emily, but should help with the pain and the headache.”

  “Thank you. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that combination myself.”

  “Hey, I’m happy I was around to help. Now, I’ll let you two ladies talk for a bit while I go meet some puppies. I’ll do my best to dissuade the girls from their current plans.”

  Grace rolled her eyes. Victoria stared at the closing door and then asked, “Do I want to know what our daughters are cooking up?”

  Grace smiled, “Well, let’s see. I told Daniella several weeks ago we couldn’t have a puppy because it wouldn’t be fair to leave it at home every day, all by itself. Emily pointed out that you have nine puppies. Between them, they have decided that if Dani keeps three of them, the puppies won’t be lonely, and they will both have a puppy to play with, plus an extra one.”

  “Oh, no! Emily knows we can’t keep the puppies. Why would she suggest Dani keep three of them?” Victoria looked so worried; Grace couldn’t help but smile.

  “Believe me, I’m sure the idea originated with my precocious four-year old. Her mind works faster than a speeding bullet. It’s all I can do most days to try to keep up with her.”

  Victoria giggled, “I remember when Emily was that age. Don’t worry, pretty soon you figure them out and then they change their tactics.”

  “Great! Thanks for that pep talk!” Grace made a face at the woman and then laughed. “Now, I told you to think about what you needed help with. Start talking.”

  Grace spent the next thirty minutes working out a schedule to help Victoria manage both Emily, the puppies, and start helping Emily get her schoolwork caught up. Victoria tried to argue that Grace was taking on too much, but finally gave up when Grace threatened to have Jane come talk to her. Evidently Jane had made sure Victoria knew she was going to be getting help and she might as well just give in and save her energy since arguing was going to get her nowhere.

  “I don’t even know what to say. I mean, I don’t know anything about you,” Victoria said, close to tears once again.

  “Victoria…”

  “Tori. My friends call me Tori.”

  “Tori, I’m glad we can help you out. Now, I picked up some food from the deli. How about I show Emily where everything is and get her started on some schoolwork before I leave? I’ve written my home, and both Jane and my cell phone numbers down on a card and left it by the phone in the kitchen.

  “If you need anything, or Emily needs anything, I want you to call me. I don’t care what time of day it is.” Grace waited until Victoria nodded her head and then smiled, “Great. I’ll come over around 7:15 to make sure Emily’s getting ready for school. Have a good night.”

  Grace called Emily into the house and showed her what she’d picked up for dinner and then got her started on some makeup spelling worksheets. She set the little girl’s alarm clock for 6:45 a.m. and promised to arrive early enough to help her with her hair.

  Michael and Dani had headed back to the house, with Michael promising to have a tea party with her before dinnertime. Grace left by the side gate, smiling as she watched Shelby with her puppies. Motherhood took many forms, and watching the mother dog with her nine puppies, and then thinking about the early days when all she’d had was one Dani to care for, she was very glad that humans rarely had more than one child at a time.

  Chapter 4

  Castle Peaks, Montana …

  “So, Jackson, what do you think of our plans so far?” Sara asked the young man sitting across from her. The Mercer-Brownell Foundation was all set up and ready to go – on paper. All they were waiting on now was for the ground to unfreeze so construction could begin. Well, that and for the proper staff to be located.

  She and Trent had been back in Montana for only a few days when the resumes had started pouring in. She’d placed the ad on two internet sites that catered to medical professionals before rushing to California to be with her sister and niece while they checked her niece for leukemia. Thankfully, the tests had come back negative, and she and Trent had flown back home to take care of their own responsibilities.

  Sara had never imagined there would be so many people who wanted to move to Montana. Especially some so well qualified. That’s where Jackson Myers came in.

  As a board certified cancer specialist, he had also trained extensively with several naturopathic and holistic medicine practitioners in ways to minimize pain, slow cancer growth, and heal the whole body. He was young, not afraid to think out of the box, and had jumped at the chance to interview for the position of Lead Physician.

  “I have to tell you, Sara,” Jackson said, shaking his head at how unbelievably lucky he felt to be given this interview, “I would love to work here.
And that probably doesn’t adequately express how excited I am about this project. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted to do, all in one place.”

  Sara smiled at his enthusiasm and then asked, “So tell me a little bit about Jackson Myers. Not the stuff on your resume, but about you. I’d like to know more about the man who’s going to be heading up the medical side of things. Where did you grow up? Siblings? Girlfriends? Hobbies?”

  Jackson looked at her with his mouth open and then shook his head and asked, “Really? I thought …”

  Sara nodded, “The job is yours if you want it. But we’re a tight knit little group up here, and I’d like to get a feel for who you are as a person.”

  “That’s it? You get to make the decision all by yourself?” Jackson asked, impressed but also cautious.

  “Bill trusts my judgment. You are exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

  Jackson grinned and then settled back in his seat. “I accept. Just in case after I tell you about myself, you decide to take the offer back. I accept the position.”

  Sara laughed with him and then waved her hand for him to get on with the storytelling.

  “Well, let’s see. I grew up in a small town on the Oregon coast. There were only a few thousand people in the town, so I understand how tightly intertwined lives can get. Anyway, I played basketball all through high school, and dated the head cheerleader.” Jackson broke off as sad memories filled his head. He’d dated the head cheerleader and they’d been planning to get married right after graduation. Just before the start of the fourth quarter, she had moved. No notice. No messages. Her mother had loaded up her and her younger sister, leaving in the middle of the night and no one had ever heard from them again.

  He’d been heartbroken, and that event had forever changed his life. He’d never forgotten his first girlfriend. His first love! He’d spent the entire summer after graduation trying to track her down, but it was as if she’d never existed.

  Her mother had arranged for her mail to be forwarded, and the house they had been renting sat vacant until the landlord finally had their belongings hauled off. His parents had been supportive, his dad had even hired a private investigator to try to determine what had happened to them, but each lead had turned up empty.

  It wasn’t until the end of that horrible summer, when the reality of his relationship with his girlfriend had surfaced. Jackson had gone to the next town over with some friends and they had run into a group of basketball players from a rival school.

  When several of the young men had made disparaging comments about his missing girlfriend, Jackson had seen red and thrown the first punch. A huge fight had ensued, resulting in all of the boys spending the night in the local jail. No charges had been filed and they had all been released the next morning.

  The boys had taken great pleasure in telling Jackson how his girlfriend had been secretly dating the star player of their team, and how they had seen her making out with him on more than one occasion. Jackson had ben furious. He and Michelle had agreed to save themselves for marriage, and while they had shared a few kisses here and there, he had always respected her decision.

  When his own teammates had reluctantly admitted they’d suspected she was cheating on him, he’d felt his entire world tip on its axis. He’d loved Michelle and thought she’d felt the same way about him. He’d been duped, and since that time, had been very hesitant to give his trust, in any type of relationship. Friend or romantic.

  Bringing himself back to the present, he looked up and saw Sara watching him, “Those thoughts didn’t seem very pleasant.”

  “They weren’t. Sorry about that. My senior year of high school didn’t quite end the way I would have wanted it to. My girlfriend disappeared one night with her mother and sister; I never saw or heard from her again. It was probably the darkest time in my life.” She doesn’t need to know the rest. What point would it serve?

  Sara was thoughtful before she asked, “You’ve never gotten married?”

  “No. I left for college at the end of that summer and then there was med school, and internships…”

  Sara smiled at him gently, “You can stop. I get it. I hope that one day you find what you need to complete you. But until then, I can’t wait for you to set up shop here. The construction should be completed by the end of the summer, but I’d love for you to move up here before then.

  “I’d love to have a professional eye on things as the facility is put together. I know what I like from an aesthetic perspective, but I’m afraid I have no idea of what might be needed from the medical side of things.”

  Jackson nodded and then said, “I could probably be back up here whenever you think is good. I’ve already given my two weeks’ notice at my previous work, so I only have to pack up my stuff.”

  “That sounds really good. Could you be here by the first of March?” Sara looked at his resume, not remembering exactly where he was currently living. When she saw San Diego, she smiled at him, “You live in San Diego?”

  Jackson nodded, “Yes. Well, a suburb outside San Diego. I’ve been there for the last eighteen months learning more about Chinese holistic medicine, acupuncture, herbal remedies…”

  “Acupressure?” Sara asked, wondering just how far his training had gone.

  “Why, yes. Although, I’ve never had an opportunity to use that particular treatment on a patient.”

  “Well, you should. In fact, that’s actually how this foundation came together.” Sara proceeded to give him the condensed version of helping her mother and then Miriam Mercer. Jackson listened attentively for all of two minutes and then he took a piece of paper and started to take notes.

  “That is very interesting. I would love to watch your technique…”

  “Oh, but I’m not trained or anything. That’s why I need someone like you to make sure everything’s being done correctly.”

  “Sara, the first thing I learned about natural medicine is listen to yourself. It sounds like you did a fine job of helping both your mother and Mrs. Mercer; don’t ever lose sight of that. Sometimes all of the medical knowledge in the world doesn’t do one bit of good for the patient.”

  Sara listened to his passionate speech and then nodded her head in acceptance, “Thank you for that.”

  “You bet. Now to answer your question…”

  Sara waved his answer off, “You know what? Forget it. I’ll get to know you just like you’ll get to know all of us. One day at a time.” She stood up and held out her hand, pleased when Jackson followed her lead and did the same.

  “Welcome aboard. Now, I believe Bill is planning a little get together for dinner this evening. If you don’t mind tagging along while I run a few errands before I pick up my husband, you’re welcome to ride with us.”

  Jackson smiled and nodded, “That sounds good. Maybe you can answer some questions about the town…”

  Sara started shaking her head, “No. Not me. I arrived here a week before Christmas. Now Trent, my husband, he can probably answer any question you have. As for me, I still feel like a visitor most of the time.”

  Jackson was looking shocked, “You moved here just before Christmas?”

  Sara grabbed her purse and headed for the door, “Come along. I fill you in on the way.”

  Chapter 5

  San Diego, California, later that same day…

  “Samuel?” Jane called, having arrived at his beachfront home, and already played fetch with Lucky down on the beach for ten minutes.

  “In here,” called the voice she was quickly coming to love the sound of. She wandered through the house to find Samuel standing on a ladder, replacing a burned out light bulb in his office.

  She waited until he was finished before speaking, “I see you’re hard at work.”

  “Always. How was your day?” Samuel asked, climbing down from the ladder and giving her a brief kiss.

  “Great! The chefs I selected are fabulous. We all seem to get along really well for only having worked together for a week now.
”

  “Why are you so surprised? You’re one of the easiest people I know to get along with,” Samuel told her, taking her hand and leading her back into the living area. He opened the screen door, letting Lucky inside and laughing when the dog promptly lay down at his feet.

  He dutifully bent over and scratched the offered tummy, saying, “You are spoiled rotten!” Rising back to his feet, he was surprised to see a look of doubt on Jane’s face. “What’s wrong?”

  “Well…I’ve been thinking…I don’t know that many people here yet.” She obviously had something on her mind, so Samuel was quiet and just let her say what she wanted to say – in her own timing. “I don’t want to get married here!”

  Jane cringed as she heard the words leave her mouth and saw the stunned look on Samuel’s face. She hurried to make sure he didn’t misunderstand her, “It’s not that I don’t want to still get married, I just don’t want to get married in California.”

  Samuel had thought his heart would crumble when he’d first heard her say she didn’t want to get married. But as her words registered, he kicked himself for not having thought about her feelings earlier, “No problem. I can marry you anywhere. California. Castle Peaks. Shoot, if you want to fly to Timbuktu and get married, I’ll do what I can to make it happen.”

  “Timbuktu? Really?” Jane asked with a hopeful tone to her voice as she teased him.

  “Well, maybe not Timbuktu. I don’t know if you can even get married there, but if you want to go home to Castle…”

  Jane shook her head with a smile, “Home is here now. But all of the people I would want to be at my wedding are in Montana. Well, except for you and Grace and Dani.”

  Samuel pulled her into this chest and rested his chin on her head, “Jane, if you want to get married in Castle Peaks, then that’s what we’ll do. But make it soon, okay?”

  “Afraid I might find someone else?” Jane teased.

  “Well, I saw you looking at the gorillas the last time we went to the zoo. That guy with the silver hair going down his back seemed to have caught your eye.”