Second Chances (Fairshore Series Book 1) Read online

  Second Chances

  A Fairshore Series Book One

  Christina Butrum

  Copyright © 2015 by Christina Butrum

  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.

  ISBN-10: 1508579296

  ISBN-13: 978-1508579298

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and events used in this book are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and are not to be considered as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, spirits, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  For more information:

  www.facebook.com/authorcbutrum

  Cover Design by

  Amanda Walker PA & Design Services

  Created with Vellum

  To Alaina:

  No matter where life takes you, always give it a second chance.

  Acknowledgments

  I owe a huge thanks to my family and friends for the encouragement and support. It has carried me through the process of writing and publishing Second Chances. I want to thank each and every one of you for your words of encouragement.

  I want to specifically thank my beta readers. Every one of you are awesome! Thank you for taking the time to read Second Chances! Your feedback helped not only the book thrive further, but also helped boost my confidence. Sometimes while I edited Second Chances, I felt a mix of emotions. The feedback I received from all of you helped settle the troubling thoughts I had.

  I want to thank my family for understanding and encouraging me to continue with the process of publishing Second Chances. My spare time was focused on Second Chances for the last few months, which may have been somewhat tough at times (if only there could have been two of me at times, right?)

  Thank you Nate and Alaina for seeing me through this and supporting me. Thank you for understanding and allowing me to write while chasing my dreams.

  A huge thank you to the NaNoWriMo challenge. Without NaNoWriMo in November 2014, I might not have accomplished writing 55,000 words in a month. The challenge helped me focus on writing and it helped me meet my daily word count. I maintained an average of writing 2,000 words a day. Because of NaNoWriMo, I wrote this book in 30 days.

  Along with NaNoWriMo, I have met many fellow authors who are now good friends. I want to thank all of my new friends, and everyone in the NaNoWriMo challenge community who offered support, advice, and encouragement.

  Thank you for taking the time to read Second Chances. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Chapter One

  Amelia Edwards placed her last suitcase in the trunk of her used, beat up Ford Taurus. She glanced at the contents of the trunk to make sure she had grabbed every suitcase she had packed. She slammed the trunk closed and wiped the dust onto her pants. Just as she caught herself smiling, a familiar voice echoed from the front porch.

  “Amelia Jean, are you sure you want to do this?” Her mother, Diane, stood on the front step of their house. With a nervous look on her face, she approached Amelia.

  Amelia grabbed her mother with both hands and brought her in for a hug. “Yes, Mom, I’m sure. I’m twenty-six years old.” She stepped out of the hug and looked into her mother’s tear-filled eyes. She managed a smile. “I’m serious. What twenty-six year old still lives at home with their parents?”

  “I don’t want to cry, and I’m not sad.” Her mother hesitated. Amelia crossed her arms in front of her and furrowed her eyebrows in an attempt to call her mother’s bluff. “Okay, I’m sad, but I’m also excited for you. I’m a mix of emotions, Amelia.”

  “I know. I’ll be okay. I’ll try to call you every day. I promise.”

  Her mother grabbed Amelia and hugged her. “You better wait for your father. He’ll be home any minute.”

  Amelia’s father, Richard, worked nights at the local grain elevator. Linford was a small town with just over five hundred people. The town had managed to build a factory and had an abundance of business daily. Her father always told her, ‘Just busy enough to keep me a job there.’ Amelia looked at her watch. “Do you think he’ll cry?”

  Amelia and her mother laughed. Her mother shook her head and said, “You know that man doesn’t cry much, but he might now that his baby girl is leaving home.”

  Amelia nodded. “You’re right, he might. I want this to be a happy moment. I don’t want to cry, and I don’t want either of you to cry.” She fanned her face with her hand.

  When she completed high school at Linford High, she did not go on to college like most of her friends had. Most of her friends’ parents had money to burn. Her parents were not poor, but they were not rich, either. She was uncertain about what she was going to do for a living. She had decided to work at Susie’s Fine Diner to help her parents out. She worked as a waitress at Susie’s, and had managed to earn enough money to pay bills. Even though the tips were little each night, she managed to save up enough to make this move out on her own.

  Amelia and her mother sat on the front porch. The sound of tires over gravel echoed in the distance. Their driveway totaled about a half mile. Within a minute, a rusty blue Ford truck crawled up the driveway with a tall man holding onto the steering wheel. After the truck came to a stop, Amelia jogged over, just like she had for the last twenty-some years of her life, ever since she had learned to walk. “Hey, Dad! How was work?”

  Her father grabbed his lunchbox and stepped out of the truck. “Same ol’, same ol’. How was your day? You get everything packed and ready for the move?” He looked over at her car, which looked empty. “You got everything you own to fit into the trunk of that little car of yours?” He chuckled.

  “Sure did. I spent all night last night packing. I have five suitcases jammed into that trunk. Believe me when I say it’s like playing Tetris when packing suitcases into that thing.”

  Her father nodded in agreement. “I can imagine the struggle.” They walked up the sidewalk toward the front porch where her mother stood, and he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you here, kiddo. It won’t be the same. Who will go with me on my trips?”

  “I will still go with you on trips. Don’t worry about that.”

  “I’m sorry we won’t be able to help with the move, kiddo.” Her father glanced at her with hurt in his eyes. “If I didn’t have to…”

  Amelia interrupted, “It’s okay, Dad. I understand.” She smiled and grabbed his arm. She knew he had to work. He rarely had time away from his job.

  He squeezed her shoulder and nodded, “I’m glad you understand.”

  Her mother met them at the bottom of the steps with a plate in her hands. “Here is some dessert for you to eat on the way to your new place.”

  Amelia grabbed the wrapped plate with a slice of warm apple pie. “Thanks, Mom.”

  She hugged her parents and said goodbye. “Be sure to call us when you get there,” her mother said as she stood by the car.

  Amelia opened the car door and gave her parents one last hug. “I will. I love you guys.” She got into the driver seat and smiled back at them.

  Her parents waved as she pulled away from the house and headed down the driveway.

  Chapter Two

  Leaving home has to be one of the hardest things anyone could ever do in their entire lifetime. Amelia glanced into the rearview mirror and watched as her parents became smaller in the distance. She felt a mix of emotions. She would mi
ss her parents. How does someone go from seeing their parents every day to knowing they will barely see them? she thought. Tears welled up in her eyes. She gracefully wiped them away from her cheeks as they fell. She reached over to her radio and turned up the volume. The music blared, just the way she liked it. She sang along and thought, Music helps in every situation. She sang along to many songs on the way to her new house. She traveled at fifty-five miles per hour. She planned to arrive at her house in an hour and a half. Amelia had looked through different realtor sites online and noticed the majority of the houses needed repairs and would be high-maintenance. She found the perfect house on the Anderson’s Fairshore Realtor website.

  Fairshore’s population was larger than Linford, but not by much. She had searched the web to find information about it. She had read Fairshore had a population of approximately 1,000 people. She remembered when she came for a visit a few weeks ago, she had met a gas station clerk while getting gas. The clerk had told her, ‘Fairshore has a lot to offer. It offers everything but a shore.’ Amelia smiled at the memory of the woman saying this. Everyone had seemed happy and friendly when she had visited. Her realtor, Sandy Anderson, promised her that she was going to absolutely love this town. Amelia hoped Sandy was right. So far, it was very hopeful.

  Amelia recalled the day she had told her friend, Alisa, she was going to love living in Fairshore. Alisa had detested the idea of Amelia leaving Linford, but Amelia promised she would stay in touch.

  * * *

  A blue house with white shutters came into view. In front of the house, neatly-trimmed bushes edged the side of the house. Beautiful flowers, of many bright colors, lined the sidewalk. White picket fencing bordered the yard, which made the yard look bigger than it really was. A mailbox sat by the curb on the street with her house number painted on it. Amelia would have to repaint it and make it match her house and fence. A neat design would look perfect on it. As she pulled into the driveway, she realized the garage was going to need painted also. It stood out like a sore thumb with its plain yellow paint, with pieces chipping away. Maybe this would be a good project for Mom and me. She would love to help me paint and decorate. Amelia thought about all the times she and her mother decorated their house and their yard. They always had fun.

  As Amelia stepped out of her car, a woman in her late twenties, or at least early thirties, called out to her. “Yoo-hoo.” Amelia turned around. The woman walked toward her driveway from across the street. “You must be Amelia! Sandy Anderson has said so much about you! We’re all so excited to finally meet you and have you move in!”

  Amelia smiled and held out her hand, “Yes, I’m Amelia. Amelia Edwards.”

  The woman stretched out her hand and shook Amelia’s. “My name is Bailey Thomas. I live right there across the street.” She pointed to a bright yellow house with white shutters. Her yard was neatly decorated with flowers and other yard ornaments. “You’re going to just love it here. Where’d you move here from?”

  “I moved from my parents’ house in Linford, which is about eighty miles or so from here.”

  “I know where it is. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard of it. A very small town, isn’t it?” Bailey asked, and Amelia nodded. Amelia made her way to the trunk of the car. Bailey followed her. Amelia opened the trunk and Bailey reached for a suitcase. “Here, let me help you unpack.”

  “Okay, thank you. I appreciate it.”

  Amelia grabbed two of the suitcases. Bailey tugged on a suitcase, which was tucked underneath the lining of the trunk. “How’d you fit all of these in here?”

  Amelia laughed. “With luck and a lot of shoving. I crammed them in.”

  Bailey laughed out loud as she tugged on a suitcase. “I’d say so.”

  “I’m not good at packing cars. This is my first move. Ever.”

  “I guessed that when I saw only five suitcases. Do you have furniture and appliances yet?”

  “No furniture yet, but I do have appliances.” They climbed the steps and onto the porch. Amelia put the suitcases down and dug into her pocket for the door key. After she had fumbled through the first four keys, she found the one that fit into the lock.

  Bailey picked up the suitcases and carried them in behind Amelia. “If I were you, I’d put the key on a separate ring. I’d hate to go through that much trouble to unlock a door.”

  Amelia smiled. “Good idea.” They walked through the front door and into the living room. It was painted beige and the previous owner had left decorative framed pictures of white lilies on the walls.

  “This place is cute. It’s very homey.” Bailey looked around the house as they walked. “How many bedrooms?”

  “Two. The master bedroom is upstairs. Well, the upstairs is mainly the master bedroom and bathroom. It’s gorgeous up there. The other bedroom is right over there, off of the living room.” Amelia pointed toward the empty bedroom. A set of stairs, with wooden rails, started in the hallway by the kitchen and circled up to the second floor. As they climbed the stairs, Bailey noticed the beautiful framed window in the center of the wall.

  “This house is gorgeous!”

  Amelia smiled. “I think so too!” At the top of the stairs, a large room with lilac purple walls awaited them. The sunlight filtered through a large bay window with a cushioned seat.

  “Now, this is amazing! Can I move in with you?” Bailey joked as she sat on the seat in the sunlight. “Seriously? You even have a built in dresser? How cool is that?”

  “It’s pretty cool.” Amelia said as she unpacked her clothes. She folded her pajamas and undergarments. She placed them in the top two drawers of the dresser. She hung her other clothes in the closet.

  Bailey hopped to her feet. “I’ll go down and grab your last suitcase for you.”

  “Thank you.” Amelia smiled. She thought of her mother as she hung her clothes in the closet. She anticipated calling her to tell her about the house and her neighbor.

  Thudding footsteps were heard coming up the stairs. Bailey appeared in the bedroom. She placed the suitcase in front of Amelia. “Here you go. I shut your trunk too.”

  “Thanks. I really appreciate your help.”

  “No problem. I don’t have anything to do today.” Bailey looked out the window. “You even have a beautiful backyard. I’m so jealous.” She chuckled lightly. “I’m glad they kept the house and yard neat though. It helps you, not having to worry about mowing just yet. I don’t know about you, but I hate mowing. I always pay the kiddos around here to mow for me.”

  Amelia laughed. “That sounds like a plan. I hate mowing.”

  Bailey walked across the room. “What do you say we go to the local furniture store and get you some furniture?”

  Amelia nodded. “Sounds good to me. Will they deliver?”

  “Of course he will. The owner is extremely nice.”

  “Let me grab some money and then we can go.” Amelia grabbed her wallet, and they headed out the door.

  “It’s a good thing you don’t have to buy appliances. They can get expensive.”

  “That’s the truth. My parents were going to send my bed and a few other things, but I told them I’d be fine. I will need a place to sleep when I visit home, you know?”

  “Your parents sound nice. Do you have a good relationship with them?”

  Amelia unlocked the car and they got in. “Yeah, we have a great relationship. I’m their only child. My dad and I have a unique bond. We don’t see much of each other because he works all the time. When he takes vacation, which is rare, we go on camping expeditions.”

  Bailey smiled. “That sounds amazing.” With her right hand, she pointed and said, “You’re going to want to turn right up here at the stop light.”

  Amelia turned where Bailey told her to. “What about your parents? Do they visit often?”

  Bailey stared down at her hands.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

  “No, it’s fine.” Bailey shook her head. “My father divorced my mother when
I was fifteen and he died when I was twenty-two. My mother became a raging alcoholic, and she barely talks to me. I have a sister, Kim, who lives about three hundred miles north of here. She lives in Pinedell. She’s five years older than me, and we don’t have much in common. We talk every so often, but not enough.” She wiped a tear from her cheek and continued on, “I thank God every day for friends. For new friends too.” Bailey smiled, and tapped Amelia on the arm. “I think we’re going to be great friends. You’ll want to keep driving straight on this road until you see a billboard sign that says Gallagher’s Furniture, and then take a left. Gallagher’s will be on the right side.”

  Amelia nodded her head. “Okay. And I’m sure we’ll be great friends.”

  Chapter Three

  “Furniture shopping has never been so easy. This place has everything I’m looking for!” Amelia explained to Bailey. She pointed to a bedroom set. An oak bed with a matching night stand and dresser sat in the corner of the building. “See, look at that. The bed and stand match my built-in dresser perfectly.”

  A slender man in his thirties approached them. “Can I help you with anything?”

  “Hi, Zach. This is Amelia Edwards. She just moved to town today.”

  He held out his hand. Amelia shook it. She could not help but notice how good-looking he was. She also made note of his bare left hand. Zach noticed her eyes on his hand and cleared his throat. She jumped and refocused her attention on his face. His blue eyes focused on hers. “My name is Zach Gallagher. This is my business.”

  “Nice to meet you, Zach.” Amelia grinned sheepishly.

  “Same to you.” Zach smiled. “Let me know if I can help you with anything. Take your time looking around. We have an amazing selection to choose from.”