Second Chance Love

By BJ Wingate

April Summers’ wedding day was anything but happy. A cheating ex-fiancé has her going on their honeymoon alone. Ready to give up on love, the trip winds up being a turning point in her life. Depressed and unhappy, she meets the inn owner’s ruggedly handsome nephew and sparks begin to fly.

Joshua Long was hurt by his first fiancé a long time ago and has given up on ever finding the right woman for him. At least until he meets April Summers. Suddenly all he can think of is her and he finds himself smiling when he does.

Can their second chance at love work? Or will her vengeful ex-fiancé put an end to their budding romance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishdrive
• Release date: Feb 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781387642717

BJ Wingate

BJ Wingate was born in Baltimore but has spent the latter part of her life in the south and Midwest, currently living in Arkansas. She is an avid reader and has a vivid imagination. Her characters come across as real-life individuals and thus her stories are compelling and interesting to all age groups. Her many life experiences have given her an abundance of ideas for stories. She recently received an L. Ron Hubbard award for her writing. Keep watching for more exciting books in the future.

Book preview

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One

The sky darkened as April drove her dark red 1997 Buick LeSabre along highway 101 north into Oregon. It was a two-lane highway and she was used to highways being four lanes or more. She felt closed in and alone on this one. She knew it was a scenic route in daylight, but it was getting darker and she was tired. Her eyelids drooped a bit and she shook her head to force herself to stay awake. The radio was off since she had lost any stations a few miles back other than static for the most part. Her shoulder-length brown hair swung, brushing her cheek as she did. The shorter cut felt strange, but she would get used to it. After having long hair for almost two years this was quite a change. She frowned as she concentrated on the road, glancing from side to side. The wooded areas lining the road hadn't been helping much as twilight started to settle in. The trees were tall and angled over the road blocking off what little light there was. Plus, there were very few street lights on this road. She kept looking for the sign she had been told to expect. Tanis Lee was the name of the ‘quaint little hamlet in the hills'. She had that line memorized from the brochure that was laying on the passenger seat.

Sighing, April moved her shoulders and rotated her head again to ease the small cramps in her shoulders and neck. She spotted a small pull-off on the side of the road and decided to stop to check her progress on the map she carried. Most people depended on GPS these days, but hers had already rerouted her four times and not in the right direction. Stopping would give her a minute to rest as well. She pulled onto the small dirt expanse at the side of the road, set the brake and relaxed before turning on the inside car light. She considered closing her eyes for a short nap but decided against it. She was running late as it was and if she closed her eyes now there was no telling when she might wake up. Yawning, she opened the map to locate the last truck stop where she had gotten gas. Carefully, she used her finger to trace what she thought had been her route from the station to where she was now. April frowned again as she found what she believed was her current spot, then looked up. She was just in time to see a large black pickup truck go racing by her location and on down the road like a bat out of hell.

‘Glad I wasn't still on the road when that came by' April muttered, then turned her attention to the map again. According to that, she had maybe another two miles to the Tanis Lee turnoff. She folded up the map and dropped it on the other seat, half on top of the brochure. For a moment, she looked at the picture of the bed and breakfast she was going to be staying at for the next two weeks. It looked peaceful. Idyllic. An old white two-story clapboard house overlooking the sea that sort of spread across the landscape. Two weeks of peace, quiet and sea air. This little hamlet was far enough on the west coast to be close to the sea and far enough north to be above California, just over the state line. April smiled as she took a sip of water from the bottle she had with her before pulling back onto the road. Quiet was exactly what she needed after everything that had happened.

The sky had darkened even more during the few minutes she had been parked at the side of the road, so April flipped her lights on just to be safe, then resumed her journey. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she studied her reflection for a brief minute. Dark brown hair cut almost into an old Page Boy style framed an oval face. She looked ordinary, except for her eyes. She had inherited her violet-blue eyes from her dad. Most people said they were striking in color. She smiled as she thought of her father, then she sighed as she remembered the reason she was making this trip alone. This trip had been a gift. It was to have been her honeymoon. Honeymoon. What a laugh that was. Her mind drifted back to that day at the small chapel in her hometown.

Two

With her family gathered around her and wearing a beautiful white satin dress, April had been smiling and laughing with everyone as they waited for her future husband to arrive at the chapel. Her then long brown hair – it had been almost to her waist at the time - was piled on top of her head, her face made up perfectly, eyes shining. All five feet, six inches of her was excited and happy. Married! She was to be married that day to Greg Martinburg, the second wealthiest man in town. She wasn't really that concerned with his money, she had fallen in love with him at first sight, even before finding out his name. He had a perfect physique that looked good in suits and anything else he chose to wear. At five feet eleven inches, his blond hair and blue eyes were every girl's dream. And that smile! What a smile he had. Straight white teeth and a twinkle in his eyes just added up to … wow. That was her way of describing him. Finding out who he really was after that first meeting was ... well ... not icing on the cake exactly, but - coming from a middle-class family - the money was something she would not turn down. No more scrimping and scraping to make ends meet. It would be heaven. Not that she minded budgeting mind you, but it would be nice to just say yes, I’ll take it to anything she wanted.

When the time for the ceremony had arrived and Greg hadn't shown up yet, people started to wonder what was going on. April's maid of honor and best friend, Jessica, came to tell her that Greg's best friend, Eddie – the best man, said he had seen Greg not more than twenty minutes before near the back of the chapel and had no clue why he wasn't inside. April, wondering what was going on, walked outside to the dismay of her family, and headed to the back of the chapel. That was when she found out why he wasn't inside. She had heard his voice first, then turned a corner to find him pulling his pants up and her own cousin Amelia on the ground looking up at him, a sly smile on her face. Her dress was wrinkled from being pushed up and it was easy to see what they had just finished doing. April totally ignored Amelia and turned on Greg.

Greg! How could you! On our wedding day!? And here of all places!? How could you! April screamed at him. He turned and looked at April, a shocked look on his face as he did.

April, what... how did you know we were here? Wait! I do love you, April, I do, but you refused to do anything until after today. How do you think that made me feel? I do have needs! He was trying to make it sound as if this was her fault!? The audacity of the man! April shook her head and pulled the veil off.

The wedding is off Greg. Since you seem to enjoy my cousin's favors, you can damn well marry her! April yanked her engagement ring off and threw at it Greg. When he didn’t even bother to try and catch it, the ring bounced off his chest and fell to the ground at his feet. The look on his face went from shocked to … well, April wasn't sure, but … murderous came to mind. She shivered for a minute before her anger took over again. As she turned to go back to her family, who had followed her out and were watching all this in shocked silence, she saw Amelia scramble for the ring and grin up at Greg. He was still staring after April, a calculating expression on his face. April saw no more as she pushed through her friends and went back inside to tell the rest of the guests that the wedding was off. Without another word, she had left the church and driven herself home. It was a short time later that her best friend Jessica, found her sitting in her bedroom, still in her wedding dress and crying softly. Jessica sat down beside April quietly and put an arm around her shoulders.

April, I'm so sorry that happened to you. I had always thought Greg wasn’t quite right, but I had hoped that you would be good together and this would work out well. Then again, you know how Amelia is. She was always jealous of you and was always trying to get your boyfriends. The fact that you two are almost the same age doesn't help much either. You both went to high school together and I would swear she followed you to college to keep an eye on you. But what do I know. Jessica gave April another brief hug as she sat there.

April sighed and glanced at Jessica. I don't know either Jessie. I thought Greg loved me, but if he had why couldn't he have waited for me on our own wedding day? Unless that was going on long before and I just never saw it. She sighed. What do I do now?

Jessica rubbed April's back, then glanced over at the small desk in the room where the tickets for April and Greg's honeymoon lay. A wedding gift from – of all people – Amelia's mother and father, April's aunt and uncle.

Jessica smiled. I know what you are going to do. You are going to go on that honeymoon and get away from all of this for a time. It’s for two weeks, right? And you already have the time off from work. Maybe you can turn in one ticket and get that cash back for you and just go. Might do you some good to get away for a time. Jessica watched April's face as her friend considered the idea, then straightened up a bit.

Not a bad idea. Want to go with me instead, Jessie? April looked from the tickets to her friend, then back again. Or can you get off work for that long of a time.

Jessica shook her head. Not for two full weeks, but I might be able to drive up and meet you during the second week. I would have to talk to my boss about that one. And you know how hard it is to get a day off from him. Jessica had a gleam in her eyes. Maybe we could put out a rumor that you have another man going along instead. That would fix Mr. Fancy Pants Greg.

April stared at her friend for a few minutes, then shook her head slowly. Jessie, sometimes you are a very devious person. I'm not sure I know you at times like this. Jessica laughed. Then, slowly, April smiled. "You’re right. I am going on that trip, but we are not going to tell people I went there with another man. I can just imagine something like that getting back to my parents. Bad enough what happened as it is. I don't want to make it any worse. I would appreciate your company later though. If you can manage it. Maybe we can even do some sight seeing."

Jessica assured April that she would try to do that. They hugged after that and Jessica helped April get out of the wedding dress. She then left so her friend could get dressed in something comfortable for the long drive out to the bed and breakfast where she would be staying. April had chosen dark blue jeans and a simple light blue top to wear.

Before heading out on the ‘vacation' – April refused to think of it as her honeymoon - she did manage a quick trip to her favorite hair dresser and had her waist length hair cut to her shoulders. She had only let it grow because Greg had preferred long hair on ‘his woman'. His woman indeed. From now on, she was doing what she wanted, not what a man wanted her to do. That determination is what sent her on the trip.

Three

That was then, and this is now, April thought as she drove along. She strained her eyes until she finally managed to spot a partially overgrown sign at the side of the road. It announced a turn off to Tanis Lee just a quarter mile farther on. If it hadn’t been yellow in color, she might not have seen it at all. Was the place not visited much? And if that were true, how was this the place that Amelia’s parents had found for the trip? She found the turn-off and made a left turn smoothly onto a road even smaller than the two-lane one she had just been on. She was just glad that it was paved instead of a dirt road.

She sighed, wondering if this was such a good idea after all. She had no idea how far she would have to drive to find this ‘hamlet by the sea', but she kept on. She had to. It was too late to turn around and head back now. She glanced at the sky and saw how dark it was getting. She didn’t think it was supposed to rain, but you could never be sure. She took a few small sips of her water and wiped her eyes on occasion trying to stay awake and focused. At one point, she simply stopped the car (there was absolutely no other traffic), took a clean handkerchief from her pocket, wet it from the bottle, and wiped her face off. It helped somewhat.

An hour later, at full dark, April found herself driving into a small seaside town. She glanced at the store fronts and noticed most of the businesses were closed and dark. Main Street was the main thoroughfare of the town and she drove slowly, looking around for anyone walking or sitting somewhere to ask directions of. The place seemed to be totally deserted. ‘Guess they roll up the sidewalks at night,’ she muttered softly. Then she noticed there was one small place on a corner with lights on. The local tavern apparently. Low music drifted to her on the evening breeze as she passed it. Finally, she spotted a police car – at least she thought that was what it was - parked at the curb with an officer sitting inside sipping coffee and eating what appeared to be a donut. April smiled despite herself as she pulled up next to him, rolling her window down fully as she did.

Excuse me sir, but where is the bed and breakfast here? Appleton Inn, I believe it's called? April watched the officer swallow, then turn towards her.

It's about half an hour outside of town, up on the hill yonder. You're rather late gettin' in aren't ya? The officer's voice was mellow, but not deep