Second Chance at Love (Book 4): Blessed and Highly Favored, #4

By Vanessa Miller

Can a man still love a woman even when she has destroyed his career and turned him away from the principles he lives by?

Eric Morrison’s wife, Linda, hits a football superstar while driving drunk, and Eric tries to cover it up. But Linda is now ready to atone for her sins. With help from unexpected places, she finds the strength to stop drinking and gives her life to Christ. Eric is thrilled when his wife stops drinking. However, when she tells him that she wants to start an organization that helps recovering alcoholics put their lives back together and that she intends to use some of his father’s foundation money to do it, Eric rejects the idea, convinced that it will put his bid for governor at risk.

Then a blackmailer threatens to reveal pictures of his wife’s drunk-driving accident unless he receives ten million dollars. Eric must decide whether he will stand up for the truth that his father taught him and that his wife also believes in or sell his soul for public office.

This story has so many twists and turns, you won’t be able to put it down!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vanessa Miller
• Release date: Feb 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781507013175

Vanessa Miller

Vanessa Miller is a best-selling author, playwright and motivational speaker. Vanessa’s novels have received rave reviews, with several appearing on Essence Magazine’s Bestseller List. Miller’s work has received numerous awards, including “Best Christian Fiction Mahogany Award” and the “Red Rose Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction.” Miller graduated from Capital University with a degree in Organizational Communication.

Book preview

Second Chance at Love

Fourth book in the Blessed and Highly Favored Series

by

Bestselling author of the Rain Series

Vanessa Miller

Other Books by Vanessa Miller

After the Rain

How Sweet The Sound

Heirs of Rebellion

Feels Like Heaven

Heaven on Earth

The Best of All

Better for Us

Her Good Thing

Long Time Coming

A Promise of Forever Love

A Love for Tomorrow

Yesterday’s Promise

Forgotten

Forgiven

Forsaken

Rain for Christmas (Novella)

Through the Storm

Rain Storm

Latter Rain

Abundant Rain

Former Rain

Anthologies (Editor)

Keeping the Faith

Have A Little Faith

This Far by Faith

Love. Hope. Faith.

EBOOKS

Love Isn’t Enough

A Mighty Love

The Blessed One (Blessed and Highly Favored series)

The Wild One (Blessed and Highly Favored Series)

The Preacher’s Choice (Blessed and Highly Favored Series)

The Politician’s Wife (Blessed and Highly Favored Series)

The Playboy’s Redemption (Blessed and Highly Favored Series)

Tears Fall at Night (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

Joy Comes in the Morning (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

A Forever Kind of Love (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

Ramsey’s Praise (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

Escape to Love (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

Praise For Christmas (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

His Love Walk (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

Could This Be Love (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

Song of Praise (Praise Him Anyhow Series)

Prologue

There was never enough vodka in the house. Linda Morrison threw the empty bottle in the trash, then grabbed her purse and keys and stumbled all the way to her silver Lexus. Her daughter, Kivonna was spending the night with friends. And her wonderful husband, Eric was out saving the world, as usual. So, that left Linda home alone, again.

Linda had learned to occupy her time with vodka, popcorn and a movie. However, tonight she figured she’d skip the popcorn… too many calories. She backed out of her driveway and swerved, then righted the car as she continued driving out of her subdivision. She turned on a narrow side street and wondered for the hundredth time, why, with all of the money they paid in city taxes, there weren’t more street lights on some of the back roads. Her husband was the mayor of their city, so Linda decided that she would ask him about that when he finally showed up, sometime later that night.

She suddenly realized that she hadn’t changed out of her ratty jean shorts and her too tight t-shirt in her rush to get more vodka. She reminded herself that since her husband was the mayor,  that made her the first lady and she couldn’t come out of the house looking any old kind of way. Though she never asked Eric how she looked anymore. As long as she’d known the man, she’d never heard him tell a lie. So if she didn’t want to hear about her clothes not fitting right, or the extra weight she’d picked up, might as well not even go there with her husband. It was hard living with a man so principled, when she was so flawed. She opened her purse, grabbed her comb and lipstick, and pulled down the sun visor. She looked in the mirror as she combed her hair and then applied lipstick. A car horn honked.

She closed the visor to see who was honking at her. That’s when she realized that she was driving on the wrong side of the street and a car was headed straight toward her. She grabbed hold of the steering wheel with both hands and yanked hard to the right. Her car then took on a mind of its own and began zig zagging at full speed. At one point, Linda thought she was driving on two wheels rather than four.

Oh God, help me… help me! she screamed as her car crashed into the only other car traveling on the opposite side of the road.

After the head on impact, Linda’s car swerved and twirled until the passenger side of the car connected with an unyielding pole. The air bag burst forth, stopping Linda’s head from hitting the steering wheel as she passed out.

Chapter 1

Linda felt her head pounding like African drums as she opened her eyes. She was in her bed and had her peach colored pajamas on, but she didn’t remember getting into bed. She pulled the covers off and tried to get up, but her body felt as if she’d been in a train wreck.

She fell back onto her pillows, then put her hand on her head to try to rein in her killer headache. As her hands skimmed her face, Linda’s eyes grew wide. The left side of her face was swollen. What happened to me? She jumped up in bed and screamed, Eric! Eric! She glanced around the room, half expecting to see Eric lying on the floor, flat on his stomach in a pool of blood, like in one of those horrid true crime shows where someone breaks in, and beats the husband and wife to death. But she wasn’t dead. And Eric wasn’t on the floor.

Eric, she screamed again.

This time the bedroom door burst open and Eric stormed in like a madman… not mad as in crazy, just mad. What is it? he barked.

What happened to me? My face is swollen and my body aches all over. Oh God, she thought as a look of horror etched across her face. Had Eric come home last night, found her drunk and then beat her? She knew things were bad between them, but had they truly gotten that bad?

You don’t remember what you did last night? Eric asked as he inched toward the bed.

Linda couldn’t meet Eric’s eyes, so she lowered her head as she thought. She knew she had been drinking and that Eric would hate knowing that, but she couldn’t remember anything else. She certainly didn’t know what she’d done to get all banged up. Hand me a mirror.

You might want to wait a few days before looking in the mirror, he said as he lifted the glass that was in his hand. Here take this.

He handed her two pain pills and a glass of water. Linda gladly popped the pills into her mouth and drank the water, wishing her husband was Jesus Christ so he could have turned her water into wine. She handed Eric the glass and leaned back against her pillows. Her brows furrowed as she asked, Did we get into a fight or something?

Uh-oh, now he looked like a mad and offended black man. His bald head glistened as his dark brown eyes shone with both fire and ice. Linda had always thought her husband was the sexiest man alive. He towered over her at six foot three to her five, seven. His broad shoulders and muscular chest used to make her feel so safe and protected… but that was before.

How could you even say something like that? What would I look like putting my hands on you?

I didn’t mean to upset you, Eric. I just don’t understand why I’m so sore and busted up.

You fell down the stairs, he spat at her. He sat down on the bed next to his wife and sighed. You almost killed yourself, Linda. How do you think Kivonna and I would have felt if we had come home and found you dead?

I-I’m sorry.

Eric shook his head. I just don’t understand why you’d rather drink yourself into oblivion than live in the real world with us.

She put her hand on his beautiful face.  I’m sorry baby; I swear I’ll do better.

I need you alert and in the game with me. My campaign for governor begins in just a few months. I have never wanted anything more than I want to win this election.

And that was the problem. Eric had never wanted her as much as he wanted his political career. When they’d dated, Linda thought that she could handle being with such an ambitious man. She’d thought that she could love him enough for the both of them. But that was before she’d married him and had one child and three miscarriages… before she started drinking to dull the pain and sometimes just to get out of bed… before he stopped loving her.

I’m staying home today, and I’m going to take care of you. Would you like that? Eric asked as he stood up.

She nodded. Wow, maybe she’d fall down the stairs once a month or maybe just once every other month, if it would get her that kind of attention.

"Let me go check and see if Maria