Everyone Deserves a Second Chance

Everyone
Deserves
A Second Chance

A
Romantic Thriller

Alyssa
Shannon

Author
Of The Best-Seller
“The
Lacy Files”

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or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
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prohibited without express written permission from the publisher.

LEGAL
NOTICES:
All characters
appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. This is a work of
speculative fiction.

Published
by: Louden Digital & Print Publishing.

PRINTED
IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DISTRIBUTED WORLDWIDE.

©20012
by Livemark Associates

When the
car pulled to a stop before the stables and the petite brunette
stepped out, Marcus froze in place, the hooks still nestled in the
bale of hay he was unloading from his truck. He knew who she was,
hell, how could he forget her? Somehow he wasn't surprised to see
her, her unpredictability was like a swarm of locusts, occurring
once every six to seven years.

Shaking himself out of his daze Marcus
jumped from his truck, the bale of hay in his arms. If she wanted
to talk to him about something she'd have to work for it. Ambling
into the stables he pretended as if he'd never even noticed her. Of
course, notice her he had, for she was a hard one to miss. The
spirally brunette curls tumbling down her back with a set of
lovable blue eyes and her perky upturned nose were almost
irresistible; at least they had always been for him.

Lindsey watched as Marcus strode away
into the barn, feigning he didn't see her. Pushing curls out of her
face she went around to the back seat and helped her son out.
Garrett was mad at her when she woke him, so rudely interrupting
his long nap. Rubbing his eyes with a grubby six-year-old fist he
took her hand when she offered it to him and allowed himself to be
led into the stable.

At the sound of the horses, Garrett'
eyes and ears perked up, forgetting his exhaustion for the moment.
When one of the horses reached out to get a closer look at him he
giggled and let the horse snuff his hair, messing it into disarray.

Lindsey noticed nothing at the moment
other than the man who was striding towards them. As he stopped in
front of them she was surprised at his physique, it was more
developed than she remembered. His bare shoulders and chest were
littered with bronze muscles and they only accented the
attractiveness of his tall and slender frame. Dark strands of his
thick, black hair protruded as wisps from under his tan cowboy hat,
matching the intensity of his dark eyes.

"I need a place to stay?"
she knew the question would throw him off-guard but she had no
other choice. When he didn't answer her she chewed at her bottom
lip. "Just for a little while anyways."

He shook his head and muttered to
himself. "You always were trouble."

Lindsey smiled; she did have that
effect on men, though she wasn't proud to admit it. "So, can I
stay with you for a while or should I go to that motel I saw a few
miles back?"

Wiping a hand across his forehead he
turned, answering her as he moved away. "The house is
unlocked."

Letting out a sigh of relief Lindsey
squeezed Garrett' hand and steered him out of the stables towards
the three-story house in front, refusing to listen the boy's
protest about staying with the horses.

"When are we going back home
momma?" Lindsey slipped Garrett' backpack on his back and
pulled her suitcases from the trunk of the car. She was surprised
her son hadn't asked the question sooner.

"You know we can't go back
Garrett. This area is nice. Once I get a job we'll get a house of
our own with a big backyard and maybe even a dog."

"I liked it better back home,"
he pouted crossing his small arms and glaring at her.

Lindsey bent to kiss her son's
disheveled head as she directed him towards the house. "I'm
sure you'll like it here just as much as you liked it back in
Kansas. Nothing will be too much different."

Garrett opened the door to the house.
"Wow, this place is big!"

Lindsey smiled at the pure joy in his
voice. Of course a house was bigger than a three-room apartment.
"Wait until you see the upstairs." She told him.

He grinned and clapped his hands.
"There's an upstairs?"

Lindsey let her suitcases hit the
floor; she'd bring them up later.

"Come on, let me show you."
Taking her son's hand she made her way through the living room and
to the stairwell, racing him to the top. When Garrett was done
giggling uncontrollably she grabbed his hand again and took him
from room to room.

"Wait momma, there's another
staircase." Without warning Garrett sprinted up the stairs to
the third and final floor. Rolling her eyes Lindsey ran up after
him, not wanting him to get into any trouble.

The master bedroom was littered with
dirty blue jeans and sweat streaked tee shirts. A saddle lay in one
corner of the room gathering dust, and the bed was unmade, the
sheets lying in a tangle on the floor. Unlike all the other rooms
that were untouched, clean, and neat, the master bedroom was a
wreck. Lindsey found Garrett sitting at the room's bay window seat,
looking out the grime covered window to the layout of the ranch
below.

"Garrett, we shouldn't be up
here. From now on this room is off limits, understood?"
Garrett took his face and pressed it to the glass, smearing the
dirt with his nose and hands.

"Awe momma, you gotta see this."
Lindsey glanced out the window—there was a spectacular view,
better then she remembered—then grabbed Garrett by the back
of his shirt and dragged him out of the room.

"Off
limits, do you understand?" Garrett nodded, jumping down the
stairs one by one and grinning each time the impact echoed
throughout the second floor.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Which room do you want?"

Thinking for a second Garrett finally
decided on a small bedroom that looked out towards the stables. The
view was nothing compared to that of the master bedroom. "The
blue one with the big fish on the wall."

"Go put your backpack on the bed.
Momma's going to take the green room down the hall beside the
bathroom." Garrett nodded and ran off towards his new bedroom.

"Where to do you want these?"
Lindsey whirled, finding Marcus behind her holding her suitcases.

"You didn't have to do that."
Lindsey tried to take them from him but he only backed away from
her.

"That's okay. Now, where do you
want these?" He cocked an eyebrow and looked at her
quizzically.

"The green room." She
followed him as he carried the suitcases into her new room and then
set them down on the queen-sized bed. He'd put his shirt on before
coming in. The neck and arms of it were soaked in sweat and bits of
hay stuck to his jeans but Lindsey didn't mind. The smell of a
hard-working man and horses was a familiar one.

"I'm sorry about all this. I
didn't know where else to go."

Marcus pulled his hat off to run a
hand through his damp hair, sprinkling her lightly with sweat. "I
never expected you to come back," he said sadly. His dark hair
hung limply in his face and behind his ears, in definite need of a
haircut. It had always been unruly, one of the reasons he liked his
hat so much.

"If I had anywhere else to go I
wouldn't have—" Garrett ran into the room, wrapping his
hands around the back of Lindsey's one leg and startling her.

"Well, are you going to introduce
us or should I do it myself?" Marcus smiled at the little boy
hiding behind his mother. He looked about five or six with dark,
curly brown hair and dark blue eyes.

"Marcus this is Garrett. Garrett,
this is Marcus." Garrett looked up at Marcus and smiled, one
of his front teeth missing.

"Hey
Garrett, nice to meet you." Marcus held out a hand. The boy,
finding the prospect of a handshake so tempting, forgot his fright
and stepped forward to place his little hand in Marcus's—huge
by comparison.

"Hello. Can I see the horses
now?"

Marcus eyed Lindsey until she gave a
hesitant nod of approval. "Sure. Your Mom will even make us
lunch while we're gone. Won't you Mom?" Marcus said with a
grin.

Lindsey glanced at her watch. It was
coming on twelve thirty. "All right. I guess that's the least
I can do." Lindsey rolled her eyes and watched Garrett follow
Marcus down the stairs.