Second Chance at Love (The MacKenna Born & Bred Trilogy) (3 page)

“That's none of your damned business,” she retorted. “We
broke up weeks ago, Jason. You have absolutely no right to question me. My life
and what I do with it have nothing to do with you anymore.” She closed the car
door loudly.

She watched as he stalked to his car and got in, slamming
the door. He revved the engine again, then pulled out from behind her and
stopped next to her car.“You're right about one thing,” he said nastily,
glancing over toward her. “We're through.” His ego was bruised more than his
feelings were, Brooke knew. “I could have given you everything you've ever
wanted. It's your loss, Brooke.” He gunned the gas pedal, squealing out of her
driveway and heading south on Pacific Coast Highway.
Her
loss, she
thought.
Pfft.
Somehow she doubted that.

 She waited a minute to make sure he didn't come back before
pulling out and heading in the opposite direction. She had a long drive ahead
of her, and she wanted to make the most of the daylight hours. She'd stop
overnight and get a good night's sleep. She was exhausted from not sleeping a wink
the night before. It wasn't as if she could have gone back to bed after her
parents had called to tell her that her mother has been diagnosed with cancer.
So she'd paced and planned and packed. And then paced some more. If she made
good time the next day, she would get to Angel Ridge by dark.

She turned on the radio to keep her mind occupied as she
sped out of Malibu, driving north along the Pacific coast until it was
necessary to veer east, and watched the ocean she loved so much get smaller and
smaller until it disappeared completely from view.

She woke to the smell of bacon. It drifted up the stairs and
filled her nostrils, prompting her to get out of bed and hunt down some
breakfast. Brooke didn't normally eat bacon, but she was thinking she could
make an exception just this once. She looked at the digital clock on the
nightstand and saw that it was already 10:00. She'd gotten in late the night
before. By the time she'd visited with her parents for a while, it was close to
1:00 before she'd gone to sleep.

She pulled back the covers and climbed out of bed, padding
to the bathroom. After completing her morning ritual, which included a nice hot
shower, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen. She was surprised to see
her sister at the range cooking what appeared to be cinnamon french toast. It
definitely smelled like it. There was a look of deep concentration on her
pretty face. She looked up in time to see Brooke come through the doorway, and
the smile that lit up her face was priceless.

They met halfway across the room and hugged each other hard,
holding on for a little bit longer than necessary.  Brooke pulled back first.

“Look at you,” she said. “You look amazing.”

Brooke meant it. Karissa wore a pretty floral print summer
dress that showed off long, silky legs, and high-heeled sandals. She was
beautiful, and always had been, with that girl-next-door appeal. Her long,
honey blond hair fell in loose waves down her back. She had magnificent blue
eyes and skin that was smooth and flawless. Her smile, pretty and sincere, drew
people to her. She'd never seen her sister look so....fantastic. But it was
more than that. Brooke couldn't quite put her finger on it.

“Thanks, Brookie.” Karissa said, making her way back to the
range. “That's quite a compliment coming from the original beauty queen,” she
teased.

Brooke smiled at her sister's use of her childhood nickname.
Only Karissa and Logan had ever called her Brookie. Although, Logan's name for
her had actually been Brookie cookie.

 
Get out, get out, get out
.
Her mental chant
sometimes helped to push thoughts of him from her mind. It was a technique
she'd begun using recently, since memories and thoughts of him kept flooding
her consciousness. She didn't want him there.

Looking at her sister, Brooke found it impossible to believe
that Karissa didn't have a man. It was no secret that half the men in Angel
Ridge had a thing for her, but Karissa had never really found that one guy.
She'd had a brief crush on Seth MacKenna when they were teenagers, but nothing
ever came of it. She'd dated a handful of men, but had never become serious
about any of them. There had to be
someone
Karissa was interested in. To
Brooke's way of thinking, only a man could put that look on a woman's face.
She'd have to work on getting the scoop. But later.

“So, how is everything going with the shop?” 

Brooke was referring to her sister's business, Karissa's
Cottage. Three years earlier, she'd bought the building and had it renovated.
Now it was a beautiful, thriving, up-scale shop with an impeccable reputation.
Karissa had worked her fingers to the bone to make it what it was today.

“Everything is great. I went to an estate sale in Seattle a
couple of weeks back and I found some beautiful new pieces. The shipment came
in just this morning, in fact. Business is good. I was able to hire another
shop assistant.” She chewed her bottom lip, as if trying to think of what else
she wanted to add. “Oh, and the most wonderful news of all....I've decided to
renovate the outbuilding, finally. Rather than use it for storage space, I'm
moving my office in there. I'll still have an area for storage, of course. I
just won't have all of that wasted space any longer. And that will free up the
entire second floor of The Cottage to display more merchandise.” Her excitement
was barely controlled.

“That's wonderful, Riss.” Brooke's smile was huge. She was
genuinely happy for her sister. “Is Seth doing the renovations?”

Karissa hesitated, but only for a split second. “Yes, he is.
He does beautiful work, as you've already seen. It makes sense to have him do
the next phase.”

Seth definitely did do great work, Brooke had to admit. He'd
done an awesome job renovating what would become The Cottage when Karissa had
first purchased the building. But then, Seth was super talented, in Brooke's
opinion. He could design and build anything, even when he was young.

“Well, the man is certainly good with his hands, that's for
sure.”

“Yeah,” Karissa agreed, her thoughts turning to Seth. She'd
met with him a few days before, on Friday, to go over some preliminary ideas
for the space. She likely wouldn't see him at all this week, due to her
mother's surgery. She'd be at the hospital much of the time with Brooke and
their dad. Disappointment tugged at her. Not because she wanted to see Seth,
necessarily, but because she wanted to get things going with the project. At
least, that's what Karissa told herself as she expertly flipped a slice of
french toast.

“So, where are mom and dad?” Brooke asked.

“Dad's out tending to the horses and mom's having her tea on
the deck,” she replied. “Are you hungry? I'm making cinnamon french
toast...your favorite,” she said in a sing-song voice. Brooke snagged a piece
of bacon off of the plate next to the range. She bit into it, and her mouth
watered. It was delicious, just the right combination of crispy and juicy. She
closed her eyes and savored the taste on her tongue. She didn't indulge often,
so this was a real treat.

“Oh, that's
so
good, Rissa.”

Karissa smiled at the compliment. She enjoyed cooking, and
enjoyed even more when others appreciated her cooking. Karissa laughed when
Brooke planted a smacking kiss on her cheek.

“Why don't you go on out and keep mom company. I'll let you
know when breakfast is ready.”

 “Are you sure? Don't you need any help in here?” Brooke
noticed that everything was pretty much done, and that Karissa was just waiting
on the french toast to finish cooking.

“I'm all set,” Karissa said with a smile. “Go ahead.”

Brooke shrugged, and made her way through the lower level of
the house toward the back, where a set of glass doors opened onto the deck. She
saw her mother sitting on a cushy chair, reading a magazine. Raelyn looked up
as Brooke came through the doors and a smile lit up her gentle face.

“Good morning, angel baby.”

Brooke smiled back at her. Her mother had called her that
for as long as she could remember.

“Morning, mom.” Brooke kissed her on top of her head, then
slid into a chair next to her.

“Did you sleep well?” Raelyn asked. “You were so exhausted
last night when you finally made it here.”

Brooke waved a hand absently. “I'm used to not sleeping. I'm
a doctor, remember?” she teased.

Raelyn looked at her daughter, thinking how wonderful it was
to have her home. It had been over a year since Brooke had been there last.
She'd only come home to visit a handful of times since she'd moved to
California. She was closer now, and had been for the past eight years, but they
saw less of her. Raelyn knew that had to do with Logan MacKenna, although
Brooke would likely deny it. She was just happy to have her little girl back,
even under the circumstances.

When she and Paul had phoned Brooke a few days before to let
her know that Raelyn's test results showed cancer and that she would need
surgery, Raelyn had tried to talk Brooke out of coming. She knew Brooke would
want to come and she tried to dissuade her. But she was stubborn, like her
papa. Now here she was, and Raelyn couldn't be happier. Especially when Brooke
had informed them that she would be staying for the entire summer. Three whole
months! Raelyn was a bit suspicious, but she'd take it regardless. They hadn't
spent that much time, at one time, with their little girl since before she'd
gone away to Harvard.

Karissa came out balancing a large tray on one hand, and set
it on the patio table. “Brooke, could you begin arranging the place settings
while I get the other tray?' she asked, and darted into the house, returning
with a tray full of glasses and a pitcher of foamy orange juice. Just as Brooke
finished setting the table, her father strode through the doors. His booming
voice was filled with laughter and happiness.

“Well, well, if you aren't the three loveliest ladies in all
of Montana,” he said, giving them each a quick kiss. “How did I get so lucky?”
he teased. Brooke hugged him. He smelled of aftershave and horses. She
absolutely loved it. Paul absently patted her hair as he held her. He was happy
to have his little girl home. And more, he loved that Brooke coming home made
Raelyn so happy.

Raelyn.
His wife, his lover, the mother of his
children. His best friend. He couldn't imagine living his life without her. He
was a man of tremendous faith, and he believed that she was going to be just
fine. She had to be. When Karissa called them to the table, he looked down at
his daughter and was reminded that he was the most fortunate man alive. He had
not only one, but three loves of his life.

The next few days passed in a blur. Raelyn's surgery had
been scheduled for Tuesday morning, and Brooke and Karissa had followed their
parents to the hospital in Brooke's car. They were all unusually quiet during
the half hour drive.

The hardest part had been waiting in the small waiting area
off of the surgical unit for what seemed like hours, hoping to hear some good
news. They'd passed the time with positive thoughts. They talked about what was
going on around town, and laughed as Paul recounted stories of their youth.
Memories that were wonderful, and that Brooke hadn't thought about in much too
long. It was a welcome distraction from the constant fear and worry as they'd
sat and waited for some word. One of the surgical nurses had come out about two
hours into the procedure to inform them that the surgery was going well and
that Raelyn was doing just fine.

Finally, the surgeon himself had come out to talk to them.
The surgery went better than they could have hoped. There were no
complications, and Raelyn's surgeon informed them that they had removed the
reproductive organs, and that the cancer had indeed been contained to the
ovaries. Raelyn would need to spend a few days in the hospital, and then she
would be able to go home.

They were able to see Raelyn in Recovery, but only one of
them was admitted at a time. Brooke and Karissa insisted that Paul go first,
and he wasted no time. They were so relieved that their mother's surgery had
been a success, and they were also happy for their father, who seemed to have a
huge weight lifted from his shoulders.

Because Raelyn had a private room, Paul was able to stay.
The staff would accommodate him with a cot to sleep on in Raelyn's room, and he
would be able to use the bathroom facilities in her room, as well, so that he
would be able to shower. They'd also given him a meal card. With all of that
taken care of, he could concentrate on just being with Raelyn over the next few
days and helping her to begin the recovery process.

Brooke and Karissa commuted back and forth to the hospital
every day to spend time with their mother. Karissa decided to stay at her
parents' house to keep Brooke company. In the evenings, they would have dinner,
watch television, listen to music. A few times a week, Brooke would spend time
texting or talking to Ashley. Brooke would run, and had even gotten Karissa to
run with her a time or two. Brooke would also ride. It was one of the things
that brought tremendous joy to her life. It always had been.

She'd been riding for almost as long as she could walk.
She'd competed as a girl, and had continued to compete right up until she'd
gone away to college. She'd shown all over the West, and had earned herself a
solid reputation as a skilled equestrian.

Karissa had taken the week off from work, popping into the
shop only a few times throughout the week to check on things. Between her two
assistants, they were handling the shop. Brooke and Karissa had been going back
and forth to the hospital for four days. As anticipated, Raelyn was discharged
from the hospital on Friday. After her seemingly long and tiring stay in the
hospital, she was happy to be home. She would have a rough couple of weeks, but
she would begin to heal and gradually feel stronger. She just needed to take it
easy for a while.