Second Chances

By Barbara Francesca Murphy

Jordan, Florence, Zoe and Madelyn's friendship is put to the ultimate test when a terrible tragedy is revealed. How far will these women go to prove their loyalty? And will they take matters into their own hands? Each one of them is on a journey of their own, hiding secrets they believed had been firmly left in the past. But all is uprooted again when they decide that helping a friend in need is the right thing to do. In the end, they must face their own demons along the way. Each one of them will determine their destiny and what truly matters in life. True friendships are hard to come by. When you do find it, you will surely know, your sisters will take a bullet for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Oct 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9781528964197

Barbara Francesca Murphy

Barbara Francesca Murphy was born in Austria in the 70s. She started writing at an early age, some of her short stories were published in local magazines. As a child and teenager she travelled extensively, getting a taste and knowledge for foreign cultures, fuelling her imagination. She graduated from high school in America and went on to study tourism and management shortly after completing her college course. She settled in Ireland, where she has been living ever since. Lucina’s letters is her second published book. Her first one, Second Chances, was published in 2019.

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About the Author

Barbara Francesca Murphy was born in Austria in the ’70s. She started writing at an early age, mostly short stories for her family and friends to read. As a child and teenager, she travelled extensively, getting a taste for foreign cultures and countries, fuelling her imagination.

She graduated from high school in America and went on to study Tourism and Management in Austria. Shortly after completing the college course, she settled in Ireland, where she has been living ever since.

About the Book

Jordan, Florence, Zoe and Madelyn’s friendship is put to the ultimate test when a terrible tragedy is revealed. How far will these women go to prove their loyalty? And will they take matters into their own hands? Each one of them is on a journey of their own, hiding secrets they believed had been firmly left in the past. But all is uprooted again when they decide that helping a friend in need is the right thing to do. In the end, they must face their own demons along the way. Each one of them will determine their destiny and what truly matters in life. True friendships are hard to come by. When you do find it, you will surely know, your sisters will take a bullet for you.

Dedication

To Dad, Papa, always in my heart.

Copyright © Barbara Francesca Murphy (2019)

The right of Barbara Francesca Murphy to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781528923514 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781528923521 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781528964197 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2019)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Acknowledgement

Thank you to everyone who supported me in writing my first book. Special thanks to my family and friends and all the people at Austin Macauley who made this happen.

Prologue

Florence was running. Sweat pouring from her forehead. Her breath was shallow, the sharp air piercing her lungs. Her legs felt heavy as if she was sprinting through water with limbs of lead. She was getting slower and slower. Florence heard barking. The dogs must be close on her heels. They would reach her in a blink of an eye. She would spend the rest of her days behind bars, fighting off advances of the other lady inmates. She would never see daylight again.

Florence still held the gun in her hand. She should have chucked it away. Thrown it into the thorny bushes, never to be recovered.

Get rid of the gun! Jordan had urged her, but somehow Florence had not managed to do so.

Now it was too late. They would soon be on top of her. Strong policemen wrestling her to the ground, handcuffing her, dogs snapping at her ankles.

She was finished, there was no escape. What had she gotten herself into?

And where were the others?

Florence woke with a jolt, her heart pounding. She was sitting upright in bed, her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness. She was in her bedroom. She was safe. She took a sip from the glass of water she always left on her nightstand. Slowly, her breathing returned to normal.

I am OK, she reminded herself. We are fine. It’s all over.

Chapter 1

About Six Months Previous

Lately, Jordan had this strange feeling that something bad was going to happen. Maybe not entirely bad, possibly a bit exciting, but something out of the ordinary for sure.

The feeling started with a tingling sensation behind her right ear and slowly moved across the top of her neck, just under her hairline to the left ear. Then the sensation was gone but the feeling lingered.

Today she got the prickly feeling right after she dropped Otis to his school.

He had missed his school bus once again, probably staying up well past his bedtime, snapchatting his friends or following his ‘streak’.

I have a streak with this girl, he had said to her, a few days ago, during a TV dinner. Any idea what I mean? He looked at her expectantly with his big grey eyes that reminded her of autumn skies over the bay of Dingle. Otis was a tall, lanky boy with light brown hair. The dimples in his cheeks made him look friendly even when he was not.

A streak? Jordan asked dumbly. Surely, it didn’t mean running naked through a football field.

Of course not. It was Otis. He was smart and besides, she had them all warned, multiple times, to their annoyance, not to do anything stupid. After all, everything ended up on social media these days. You had to be real with your kids; there were plenty of lunatics out there. In the 70s, when Jordan was a child, they roamed the neighbourhood, unsupervised and free. But things had changed and it was up to Jordan to make sure her kids were safe. Talking to them was key. Not that her children particularly wanted to discuss anything with her. They simply acted as if they knew it all.

When of course, they didn’t have the first clue.

Just as Otis slammed the car door shut, without as much as a goodbye or thank you mother, the strange sensation was there.

What was going to happen?

Once her children were OK, Jordan knew she would cope with whatever was ahead.

Jordan generally didn’t give a toss about things. Climate change, Trump as president, a maxed out visa card…who cares. It would all work out somehow.

A school girl was walking by Jordan’s car window and for a brief moment, Jordan caught the girl’s eyes. Eyes so dark, you could easily see right into the girl’s soul. Innocent and completely unprepared for the life ahead of her.

Instantly, Jordan was reminded of Paula. Paula, all these years ago, ready and excited for her own life to happen. Jordan could have sworn she had that same gut feeling back then, during that last summer with Paula, and still Jordan had done nothing to prevent things.

She would have loved to linger for a bit, in those sweet childhood memories of endless days spent on the beach, burnt to a crisp with the salty wind in their hair. The days when she and Paula were still carefree and happy.

But Jordan was in a hurry, she had to push thoughts of Paula to the back of her mind. She could not sit here and daydream. She was too busy.

Jordan put the car in gear and drove home.

As soon as she arrived, she ran into the house to let the dogs out.

Molly, the big lab, was jumping up and down with the stuffed monkey in her mouth. Phoebe, the miniature dachshund, was yelping, a high-pitched bark, that went straight through you. Molly was a good, placid dog and Jordan should have really left it at that. Since she was never allowed a pet as a child, she felt she needed to over compensate. Two dogs would be such fun, playing together, racing through the yard. Pets were part of a happy, wholesome family. Obviously, she should have done a bit of research into the breed of dog she was getting. As usual, she had acted on impulse and had purchased the then very adorable puppy on Done Deal, from a dodgy lady in a denim mini skirt with legs that resembled tree trunks. Had she known the dachshund turned out to be quite the barker and was virtually impossible to house train, Jordan would have given the dog a miss. Now of course, it was impossible to reverse anything. The kids loved the dog, so Jordan had to grin and bear, shoving the small animal into the garden every chance she got.

As soon as the dogs were out, Jordan switched on the coffee machine for her last cup of the day. Unlike her husband Lance, who drank strong, black coffee till late at night, Jordan stopped after a couple of cups in the morning. She convinced herself she was looking after her body, flushing out toxins with horrible tasting kale and spinach smoothies. Your skin is the window to your soul, she would tell her friends.

The truth was, she needed to balance things out a bit. She endured detox teas and vegetable juices for all the alcohol she consumed.

Jordan needed a glass of full-bodied red in the late afternoon to relax her mind. After all her brain was going 24/7. The kids constantly demanded her attention and Jordan made sure she was fully present in their lives. Listening to them babbling on about their friends, driving them to matches, playing endless games of ping-pong or badminton, always smiling, even when her head was full of things she still needed to do. She never understood her friends that signed their kids into the Mickey Mouse club as soon as they set foot on their holiday destination. What was the point in taking them abroad and not spending time with them? Jordan would enthusiastically play beach volleyball and jet ski with her children, never feeling too old for a bit of fun. She liked hanging out with her family. She had signed on the dotted line when she became a mother and she was proud of it. She certainly could not remember her mother Dora ever wrecking her brain to entertain her.

Jordan was 100% convinced spending time with your kids was the essence of a thriving family. It also was exhausting. So, a couple of pick-me-ups during the day were a must and the nightcap of Brandy was equally important as it helped her to finally unwind and fall asleep.

Jordan hid the silver hip flask in the drawer of her night table. Not that she was afraid of Lance’s reaction. It was just easier that way. Lance and Jordan had argued too many times about her fondness of the drink. Besides, he didn’t have to know absolutely everything about his wife. Some things were better kept close to her heart.

The steaming mug in her hand, Jordan stood at her white, marble breakfast bar pouring over her diary. Although she would have preferred to live into the day without much of a plan, she understood with three kids and their never-ending activities, she needed to be somewhat organised. She couldn’t pin her hopes on Lance. Jordan had lost count of how many times Lance had misplaced his phone or wallet. He couldn’t remember his own mother’s birthday, the silly old bat, or anything about the kids’ teachers.

Miss Delaney? Is she the brunette with the big boobs? he would ask, only to be told Miss Big Boobs had moved to New Zealand three years ago.

At least Jordan’s memory was sharp. As usual, she could rely on herself alone.

If it wasn’t for her, the children would never make practise or matches, they would miss birthday parties and run around in smelly, filthy clothes.

Lance was a hard worker and dedicated to his job but such a flake when it came to organising his family. However, he was far more patient than she ever would be and he loved spending time with them just as much.

Jordan had learned, early on in their relationship that she had to step up. It was against her happy go lucky nature but had to be done. Unfortunately, some structure was necessary in their daily lives. She made sure everyone knew what was on the agenda. Endlessly reminding them all. Nagging they called it.

Jordan was convinced the family would fall apart without her.

Lance had an early start. He had left the house, Father’s Day travel mug in hand, slamming the door at 6:30 am speeding out of the driveway sending gravel flying.

Ava had already gotten herself to school. Her bus left before Otis’s. Ava was pretty reliable in the mornings. Getting up, shower, breakfast and out. She was nearly 18 and in 6th year. She had inherited her father’s height. All legs and arms