Romance: New Beginnings (Young Adult and Adult Romance, Christian Christmas Fiction book as a Love Story) (Second Chances Trilogy 3) (12 page)

Chapter 22

“Grace, you have a visitor?” Katelin told her as she hurried through their combined offices. The concert was slated to start in less than an hour, and the kids were already gathering downstairs.

Grace looked up and scowled, “Katelin, I don’t have time for this tonight. Is it Michael? I’ll text him and…”

“It’s not Michael. Take five minutes and go downstairs. I promise you won’t regret it.” Katelin winked at her and then disappeared into their changing area.

Grace sighed and took one last glance in the mirror. Tonight’s performance was being dedicated to Michael’s parents on behalf of a grateful choir and their directors.

Grace hurried down the hallway and then stopped. Standing in the middle of the small foyer was none other than Sara and Trent. “Sara?” Grace queried, squealing as she’d done when she was eight.

She hurried down the hallway and threw herself into her sister’s arms. “What are you doing here?”

Sara hugged her close and then pushed her away. “You look amazing!”

Grace threw her arms around Trent and hugged him just as tightly as she had her sister. “How did you?”

“Guilty,” came the voice she loved. Turning around, she saw Michael leaning against the wall behind her with a smug look upon his face. “You didn’t even miss me today, did you?”

Grace leapt into his arms when he held them open, “Thank you.”

Michael kissed her and then set her back on her feet. “I figured after the excitement you’ve had, you deserved a little surprise. I flew up there this morning and met them and we just arrived back an hour ago.”

“Oh, I can’t believe you’re here. How long are you staying?” Turning back to Michael, she asked, “How long can they stay?”

Everyone started laughing and then Trent answered, “We can stick around through tomorrow, but then we need to head home. Sara has the new director of the foundation…”

“Jackson, yes I know. Oh, we have got some catching up to do, sis. And you have to meet Tori and her daughter, Emily.” Suddenly it dawned on her that she had no idea where her daughter was, if she wasn’t with Michael. “Where is…”

“Dani’s with my mom and dad. Brad and Teresa took her to their house after school and they have been playing grandma and grandpa all day. I’m not sure you’re going to get her back after this. They’re spoiling her something terrible.”

Grace looked shocked and then started giggling, “How many tea parties have they had this afternoon?”

“Well, from what Brad was telling me, it wasn’t the tea parties that got my dad. It was the makeup session…”

“She didn’t! Oh, that little scamp is …”

“a Princess,” Michael finished for her.

Grace smiled at everyone and then looked back down the hallway, “Guys, I really have to go get ready for the show. I’ll see you all afterwards.” She gave Sara and Trent another hug and then blew Michael a kiss. She was so happy, she found herself skipping down the hallway. This was going to be the best concert ever.

*****

The concert was indeed the best one the Southern California Children’s Choir had ever put on and by the time Grace and her staff of helpers finished speaking to the grateful parents, her feet hurt, but her heart was full.

She’d had her very own cheering section in the audience consisting of current family and soon-to-be family. Jackson had brought Tori and Emily, the little girl making an amazing comeback from her broken arm and surgery.

Tori had been brave enough to wear her normally tight fitting clothing, so she’d opted for a pair of pants and a lightweight baggy sweater. She’d worn the short blonde wig, and been chauffeured to her seat in a borrowed wheelchair. Emily had shown everyone her cast, and Brad had produced a black marker, giving everyone a chance to write a special message to the little girl.

“Grace, I’m outta here. See you next week,” Katelin hollered as she pushed her way out of the auditorium. With her departure, that left her and Michael and the cleaning crew.

“Are you ready to go?” Michael asked as she headed up the aisle towards him.

“Yes.” Grace turned back and looked at the stage, “It was a good concert.”

Michael wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head on the top of hers, “It was fabulous. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place after the closing number.”

“I love working with these kids. I had a thought during the concert. What if I found a way to incorporate music into your clinic? Music has such soothing properties. I would have to do some research into it, but …”

“That sounds perfect. I’ll talk to Jackson and see what contacts he has. He specializes in alternative medicine and I’m sure he’s run into the use of sensory stimulation as a form of therapy. For now, you look exhausted. Let me drive you home. Trent and Sara took Dani home hours ago.”

Together, they turned and made their way out of the building. As they pulled away from the building, Grace sighed and let her eyes close. She was so blessed. Opening her eyes, she turned her head and looked at Michael and smiled. Sensing her stare, he reached for her hand and kissed her knuckles, “We’re going to have a fabulous life together.”

Grace nodded and smiled.
That about said it all! A fabulous life together!

Chapter 23

“Mommy, does I has to go to school today?” a very sleepy little girl asked as she walked into the kitchen.

Grace held her arms out, smiling as Dani crawled up onto her lap and laid her head on her shoulder. Kissing her head, she wrapped her into a hug and said, “No. It’s Saturday, so no school today. I thought maybe we would spend the day with Aunt Sara and Uncle Trent.”

“Yay!” Dani scrambled down off her mother’s lap and headed back down the hallway, “Aunt Sara! Wakes up! I gets to spend the whole day with you!”

Grace thought about calling her back and then shrugged. If they weren’t already awake, they would be now! Five minutes later, Trent stumbled into the kitchen looking for coffee. When Grace handed him a fresh cup, he drank most of it before he looked at her and said, “I needed that. In fact, I might need another cup before I head back down the hallway. We were invited…no, invited isn’t quite the right word…”

“Commanded. That’s the word you’re looking for,” Grace offered, hiding her smile.

Trent thought for a moment and then nodded, “Yes! I do believe that is it! We were commanded to attend a tea party in Princess Daniella’s room. What exactly did your daughter mean when she said I would look good in green?”

Grace burst out laughing, “Oh Trent. You are about to be welcomed to the family in royal style. I have to go get my camera for this.” Grace was still laughing as she made her way back to the bedroom.

She saw Trent enter Dani’s bedroom and decided to give him a few minutes to get properly attired for the party.

“Aunt Sara, come on!” Dani hollered from the bedroom, and Grace watched as a very sleepy Sara came out of the bedroom.

“Good morning, Sunshine!” Grace told her. “I do believe your presence is required by the Princess of the house.”

Sara smiled and then leaned against the wall, “What’s the penalty for failure to appear?”

“Oh, somebody didn’t get enough sleep. Come with me and we’ll find you some coffee.”

Sara shook her head, “Sorry, I’m off coffee for a while.” She gave Grace a secretive look, waiting to see how long it would take for her comment to register. It didn’t take long.

“You’re pregnant?” Grace whispered. When Sara nodded her head, she grabbed her in a big hug. “Sara, that’s wonderful. When’s the baby due?”

“Around Thanksgiving. Will you come for the delivery?”

“You know I will. I’ll even plan the fall concert schedule around it. Oh, I’m so happy for you.”

“Trent’s ecstatic. Speaking of which, I should probably go save him from Dani’s evil clutches. I believe earrings and tiaras were mentioned.”

“That they were. Here, take a picture to remember this moment by.” Grace handed her the camera and then backed away. “I need to go next door and check on Tori.”

“Wait, I want to come with you. Jackson mentioned that she might be interested in coming on board as the nurse supervisor and I didn’t have a chance to talk to her last night. Let me snap a picture and then I’ll be right back.”

Grace headed for the kitchen, smiling when she heard a low, “Sara! Don’t you dare! Sara, erase that picture now!” Seconds later, Sara rushed into the kitchen.

“Hide this and let’s go.” Grace stuffed the camera in the bread box and she and Sara stepped out of the house just before Trent could stop them. They were still chuckling when they entered Tori’s back yard.

Jackson and Emily were sitting on the patio. Emily was scratching Shelby’s head with her good arm, and Jackson was playing with the puppies.

“You didn’t tell me they had puppies. Oh, I want one. Think Michael would mind me taking one back on the plane?”

“What about Trent? Won’t he mind?” Grace asked,

“No! We talked about getting a puppy after the baby was born, but this would be even better. I could have the puppy housebroken before the baby came. I want a girl.”

Emily had listened in and immediately pointed out a little girl pup who was sitting quietly, watching her brothers bite on each other’s tails. “She’s really sweet. Dani and I named her Beauty.”

Sara picked up the puppy, giggling when she received a bath from the little puppy tongue. “Oh, she’s mine. Are they ready to go to new homes yet?”

Jackson nodded, “Yeah, they have been for a week, but Tori and Emily have been having a hard time letting them go.”

Sara felt something bite her toes and looked down to see a roly-poly little puppy, trying to get her big toe into its mouth. “Oh, goodness. What’s this one’s name?”

Emily looked at the biggest puppy of the litter and laughed, “Olly. Watch out, if he gets your toe into his mouth, it really hurts.”

Sara could feel the little needles sinking into her toe and she fell in love. “Okay, two puppies would keep each other company, right?”

“Are you trying to convince me, or yourself?” Grace asked.

“Emily, how much are you asking for the puppies?”

“Nothing from you,” Tori told her from the backdoor. “If your husband is okay with you taking two of them home, please do.”

Sara shook her head, “No way! You can tell me what you want for them and I’ll pay the going rate.”

Tori got a militant look in her eye, “We’ll talk.”

“That’s why I’m here actually. Is now a good time?” Sara asked, putting the puppy in her arms down and then picking up the little boy dog and loving on him for a few minutes.

“Sure. What did you want to talk about?” Tori asked, puzzled why someone she’d just met the evening before wanted to talk to her.

“Jackson and I spoke briefly and he mentioned you were looking for a new job. With your experience, I am here to convince you to move to Montana and supervise the nursing staff.”

Tori was stunned, “But you just met me?”

Sara smiled at her, “And I am an excellent judge of character.”

Tori stepped back, “Well then, I guess you’d better come in and tell me what I’ll be missing if I don’t accept your kind offer.”

“Sara, I’m going to go rescue Trent. Emily, want to come to my house for a bit?” Grace asked, wanting to give the three adults plenty of time to work everything out. She would miss Tori and Emily, but in her heart of hearts, she knew that they needed to go to Montana. Just like Sara had needed to go to Montana. It was a magical place where people could heal and get a second chance at finding true happiness.

Chapter 24

Castle Peaks, Montana, March 15
th
…

The chapel was filled to overflowing as everyone in the community had come out to see Jane get married. She and Samuel had arrived in town six days prior and everything had led up to this one event. The wedding of Jane Trowler to Samuel Drackett.

Grace and Dani had flown in three days prior, along with Tori, Emily, and the remaining four puppies and their momma. Emily’s arm was still in a cast, and would be for another three weeks, or until the x-rays showed the bones had healed enough the pins could be removed. It didn’t seem to slow her down at all.

Tori had agreed, to seriously consider moving to Montana, and was planning on making her final decision before Michael flew them back to California. As far as her recovery went, she had a clean bill of health and had met with Dr. Chevas, but had decided against further surgery. Instead, she had been fitted for a special undergarment which would help compensate for the disfigurement left behind by the cancer.

Grace and Michael had taken two of the puppies, which were currently residing with his parents for the weekend. When they were old enough, they were going to train them to be therapy dogs and incorporate them into the new pediatric cancer clinic.

One of Grace’s co-workers had taken the last puppy, as the four that had travelled to Montana had been spoken for as soon as Sara and Trent had arrived with their two additions.

A fresh blanket of snow had fallen the night before, and Trent smiled as he readied the horse drawn sleigh behind the church. Spring was just around the corner, but today it still looked like winter.

Samuel had managed to pull some strings and gained his superior’s blessing to use the FBI safe-house just outside of town as a honeymoon getaway. Jane had no idea what he had planned and Trent smiled as he remembered how happy she had looked last night at the rehearsal dinner. For so many years Jane had been a part of his family, and her happiness meant the world to him.

Dani was playing the flower girl, and after much negotiation between her mother and Aunt Jane, she had consented to only wearing her Princess attire for the rehearsal dinner; not the actual wedding. The little girl stole everyone’s heart that she met, Trent’s included.

Trent pushed through the back door of the chapel, stamping his feet to rid them of the snow before he tracked it down the long hallway. “Trent,” Pastor Jameson called to him from a side room.

“Hi Pastor. Everything ready in here?” Trent asked as he stepped into the small office the Pastor used to get ready for the weekly sermons.

“Looks like it. I think the entire town has shown up.”

“Good. I heard Grace working with the children’s choir a little while ago. They sounded fantastic.”

“She is so good with them. I can see why she is so successful out in California. It was nice of her to send the music out ahead of time.”

“Sometimes I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I found me a wonderful wife, who has a wonderful sister and niece.”

Pastor Jameson nodded his head. “And did I hear correctly that you and Sara will be welcoming a new little one around Thanksgiving?”

Trent grinned and chuckled, “That you did. It might take us that long to get those two puppies trained. This week alone they chewed up two pair of shoes, and last night, they managed to get into the pantry and they broke open a bag of flour. I guess I forgot to shut the door all the way.”

Pastor Jameson laughed, imaging the mess they must have created. “Well, at least it was only flour. It vacuums up. It could have been syrup.”

Trent laughed with him, “They have now earned the right of staying in the laundry room when we are out for more than a few minutes. I never imagined they could get into so much mischief.”

“Mischief? Who’s getting into mischief?” Samuel asked, stepping into the room.

“The puppies. The sleigh’s all ready to go out back. Jeb’s going to bring the horses over just as soon as the ceremony’s over. That wind is way too cold for them horses to stand out there.”

“What is up with the wind? I was hoping things would have warmed up around here.”

Trent laughed, “You’ve spent too many years in California. This is warm.”

“I’m perfectly happy there, thanks.” Samuel couldn’t imagine living in these snowy conditions for months on end. He’d go stir crazy!

“Are the girls doing okay?” Trent asked.

“As far as I know. They spirited Jane away yesterday after the rehearsal dinner and I haven’t even been able to talk to her. What if she’s changed her mind?”

“You know better than that. She didn’t wait all those years to get cold feet now. Speaking of which, I need to go change out of these wet boots. I’ll see you up front in a few minutes.”

*****

Jackson sat towards the back of the sanctuary with Emily on one side and Tori on the other. He glanced down at her and couldn’t help but smile. Seeing a shadow stop next to their pew, he looked up to see a kindly older woman smiling at them, “You have a lovely family. I heard you were the new doctor for the clinic Bill’s building. Welcome to Castle Peaks. I hope your wife and daughter will be happy here.”

Before Jackson or Tori could correct her, she ambled down the aisle. Jackson looked at Tori, who was looking at the woman with a wistful look upon her face.

“So, have you given Sara’s offer anymore thought?” he asked, having restrained himself from asking these last few days.

Sara nodded, “This is such a nice town. I could see us living here, but the lady that owns the B&B said there aren’t any vacant houses or apartments in town.”

“There’s not, but I have a solution to that. But before I mention it, I want to know if you’re going to take the job as nursing director.”

Sara smiled at him, “I think so. Emily and I talked about it last night, and she thinks it might be fun to try living in a new place. Isn’t that so?”

Emily nodded her head, “I want to learn to ski. Mr. Trent said he could teach me if we lived here.”

“He probably could, but not until next winter. That arm needs plenty of time to heal before you go barreling down a mountainside.” Jackson waited for her to agree, nudging her when she did.

“So, does that mean I can tell Sara you’ll take the job?” Jackson asked.

Sara’s head popped right between them, “I heard my name. Did she say ‘Yes’ yet?”

“She was just about to give me an answer to the first question, but you interrupted us.”

Sara murmured, “Sorry”, and then stared at Tori. “Well?”

“Fine. I would love to take the job.”

Sara smiled, “Great! We’ll talk details before you all head home.” Turning to Jackson, she nodded at Tori, “Ask her the second question.”

Jackson gave an exasperated sigh and told her, “When I’m ready. Don’t you have a husband waiting for you somewhere and a bride to lead down the aisle?”

“My, my you’re cranky.”

Tori watched the two interact and then swallowed when Jackson turned the full weight of his stare on her. Moistening her lips, she asked softly, “What’s the second question?”

Jackson looked to see if the wedding was about to start and then looked at her again. “You’ve seen that big old house I’m living in. It was built with a family in mind. I know you said we could be friends, but I think we could be much more than that.” Seeing she was about to speak, he laid a gentle finger over her lips, “Let me finish.”

“I think you and Emily should move into the house with me. You can have the ground level, and I’ll stay in one of the upstairs rooms. It will give us a chance to get to know each other and give Emily a place to live.”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” Tori asked.

“Yes, but not in the way you’re thinking. I’m asking you to become my roommate while we discover if we could ever be more than that. We could share expenses, and the cooking and such. We could work things out so that you and Emily were comfortable with the arrangement.”

“Won’t the townspeople think poorly of us both if we were to live together without being married?” Tori asked, remembering all of the judgmental comments her mother had made during her formative years. She didn’t want to be on the receiving end of those types of statements.

“Actually, Bill Mercer was the one who suggested it. As a trial basis, of course. He’s already planning to build some smaller homes just outside of town, but not until the clinic is finished. That means those houses wouldn’t be ready to move into until late Fall.”

“Where will the other employees live then?” Tori asked, already thinking ahead and from a logistical standpoint, something would need to be done to provide temporary housing for others who moved to Castle Peaks.

“Bill’s going to have some temporary trailers brought up from Butte once the snow melts. It won’t be the nicest accommodation, but it will do until the houses are completed.”

“Mommy, I want to live in the house with the big tree fort in the backyard. Can we do that? For just a little while?”

Tori started to answer him, but the music changed, indicating the wedding was about to begin. “We’ll have to talk about this some more.”