His Second Chance: The Steel Brothers, #3

By Rachel Foster

Is a second chance at love sweeter? Years ago Hayden and Oliva had bene in love, but with college coming between them, Hayden cut and run. Now, years later, he runs into Olivia and sparks fly. Can they come back together and make it work when they both live such different lives? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: 3rd Publishing
• Release date: Mar 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215933527

Book preview

His Second Chance

Rachel Foster

Copyright © 2018 by Rachel Foster

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Contents

His Second Chance

His Second Chance

1

H

ayden

The plane landed at the Bozeman airport in Montana and I rented a car to head straight to the hospital.

I hadn’t been home for a while, and it felt good to see the town where I’d grown up. It was, for the most part, just as I remembered it, though with each passing year it was growing by leaps and bounds. It would turn into another Boulder, Colorado if it kept changing at the rate that it had been, but it would always be home to me.

I had been living in Arizona for the past several years, and though I did make a habit of coming up to Montana to see my parents and the family who still lived there every now and then, today I was home because of the shitty game we had played the day before.

I really wanted to just unwind and forget about how terrible it had gone, and I wanted to check in with my niece, Trudy.

She was recovering from a kidney transplant, and from what I understood, she had been doing very well. But, being her uncle, I wanted to stop in and say hello to her in person. She was a feisty little girl, and I was already looking forward to the look on her face when I walked into the room.

The hospital wasn’t as busy as I thought it would be. Though I was just one of several famous sports stars in my family, the media had calmed down after my brother had moved to Montana part time. They were getting used to seeing him around Bozeman again, so it was less of a big deal when one of us other Steel brothers showed up.

I was glad for that. I was tired after the game, and I didn’t want to deal with the paparazzi or the media being all over me for being back home. I just wanted to see my family and let the past few days melt away. I had more games coming up in the next few days, so I didn’t have the time to dwell on the shitty game we had just played, but it would still be nice for the chance to take a deep breath and let it fade.

Walking through the hall of the hospital, I mostly kept my eyes directly in front of me. I learned which room Trudy was in, and I focused on finding that. I didn’t want to be rude to the other patients who were in the hospital, but then, I wasn’t there to see them. I was there to see my niece, and that was all.

Then, I froze.

There were nurses milling about the halls as well as other patients, and though I knew several faces from growing up in the area, the one person I didn’t think I would ever see again was walking up the hall.

Olivia James.

Well, hey! I said, the words flying out of my mouth before I could stop myself. It’s been forever, how are you?

I wasn’t sure how she would respond to me, but I had to admit, I didn’t think she would just give me the cold shoulder. She and I had dated years before, but I had broken her heart when I left to pursue my dream of playing in the big leagues. She had stayed behind to pursue her medical career, and at the time, breaking up seemed to be the only logical thing we could do.

Olivia? I called after her, but she didn’t so much as give me a second glance. I knew she saw me, but she knew who I was, and she clearly wasn’t going to give me the time of day.

Okay then, I said as I walked into the room.

Trudy was sitting on the bed, no IVs in her arm or tubes anywhere on her. I figured that was a good sign.

Wow, you really just got snubbed there, she said with a laugh. Do you think that nurse is pretty?

She’s an old friend of mine, I said, slightly embarrassed Trudy and her mother had seen Olivia blow me off. How are you feeling, Trouble?

Better, she said. They just wanted to bring me in here for a check-up, that’s all.

How are you doing? Quinn, Trudy’s mother and my sister-in-law, asked.

Been better. We just totally got our asses handed to us in yesterday’s game, I said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. I’m not sure if you heard or not, but it was pretty embarrassing.

Blaine said something about it, she said. She gave me a hug, and I couldn’t help but notice her growing baby bump. She was noticeably bigger than the last time I had seen her, and it just brought out the yearning for having that in my own life.

I was ready to have a family of my own, and I wanted it more and more with each passing day. I was getting sick of the meaningless hookups I was having, and I wanted to find a woman to make a real life with.

But there was only one woman in the world who had ever held my heart in that way, that was Olivia.

And from what it appeared, she hated me.

There he is! What was up with that game yesterday? Blaine walked into the room and gave me a hug. I clapped him on the shoulder and laughed.

You win some and you lose some. You know that as well as I do, I teased.

Still, that was pretty bad, he laughed. You’re supposed to be on top of your game, and that was, well, something.

We’ll recover, I shrugged. We’ve got another game tomorrow and we’ll turn it around. Still, that was pretty bad I’ll admit.

Have you talked to Ma and Pa yet? Blaine asked. They’ve been asking about you.

Not yet, I said. I’m not sure if I’m going to have the time to see them this trip, but we’re going to have a game here next week. You all better be there.

Can we go? Trudy piped up from the bed. She was more of a football fan herself, since her father had been a professional player for a number of years before the surgery. Now, she liked to branch out into all the different sports her uncles played as well.

We’ll see, Quinn said. You know you’re supposed to be taking it easy with your recovery.

It’s not going to be that wild, Blaine said. We’re talking baseball, not football.

Come on, you know your fans can get plenty rowdy in the stands, I laughed. I’ve seen fans go crazy trying to catch stray balls that make their way into the audience.

We’re not going to be doing anything that could be considered crazy or wild, Quinn said. But if we can keep things quiet, we might be able to make it.

I’ll make you a deal, Blaine turned to his daughter. If you do well with your test that’s coming up this Friday, then I’ll take you to the game. But you’re going to have to work hard to make sure you pass. I know you’ve been falling behind a bit, and you need to make sure you don’t.

Okay, she beamed. Deal.

That’s one of the benefits of homeschooling, Quinn said. You can bribe your kid to do well in school with things they want to do outside.

Sounds like a solid plan to me, I laughed. I looked out the door into the hall, and my smile faded as my thoughts returned to Olivia. I hated how the meeting had gone, and I hated even more that she wouldn’t talk to me. Not that I was sure what I would tell her if she did give me a chance to talk.

Don’t let that get you down, Quinn said.

What? Blaine asked, looking at me.

I, uh, I ran into someone from my past, I admitted.

Olivia? Blaine pressed. I knew she was working today. But I didn’t know when you were going to show up or I might have warned you.

I didn’t know she still worked here, I said. When I saw her, I tried to talk to her, but I guess you could say that it could have gone better.

She might just need a moment, Quinn said. If she hasn’t seen you in a while, it might have come as a shock to her to have you suddenly show up here. I know that’s how I felt when Blaine walked through the door when I never thought I would see him again.

I sighed. Maybe. I just wish that had gone a little better. If I had expected to see her, I might have been able to say something a little more enticing than just calling her name. I mean, I know she’s probably still mad at me for what I did to her, and I would love to be able to talk to her about it.

Or you might just want to let it go, Blaine said. I got lucky in my situation, you don’t want to get tangled up with someone who you don’t even know anymore.

You used to love the two of us being together, I reminded him. Why would you think that it would be a bad idea for me to try to talk to her again now? I mean, I would love to be able to talk to her about the breakup and what happened, but even if we don’t get into that, I would love to hear how she’s doing.

It’s just that I saw her in the hall the other day with one of the doctors, and from what it seemed like, he was rather friendly toward her. I just don’t want you to go into this with any expectations if you aren’t sure what she’s even up to these days, Blaine said softly.

My heart leapt to my throat. Of course it would be stupid of me to think that she had stayed single all this time. But, the thought of her with someone else after seeing her so close to me again was enough to push me over the edge. I wanted the chance to at least talk to her, and if she was with someone, she did owe it to me to at least talk to me.

Even if she was going to tell me that she had moved on with her life. I wanted to know she was okay. Ay least, that’s what I was going to tell myself. I knew I didn’t want to see her with anyone else. I hated the thought of her being with anyone, and I hated that I might have to have that conversation with her.

I leaned against the doorframe as Blaine turned his attention to his daughter, and I tried to push it out of my mind. That had been a long time ago, after all, and life changed. It changed for both of us.

Still, seeing her did something to me, and I didn’t think I could just ignore it. She awoke something in me and I just wanted to talk to her.

As I looked into the hall, I saw her again, but my heart froze. Blaine was right when he said she was friendly with a doctor, at least, that’s what it looked like to me, and I knew I was going to have to do something about it.

But what?

2

O

livia

No, and I’ve really got to go, I said.

Dr. Hank looked hurt. He had just been holding my arm longer than he needed to for passing me in the hall, and he didn’t bother to hide his offense when I asked him not to touch me. Once again, he had asked me for a cup of coffee, and once again, I’d turned him down.

I didn’t want the reputation of dating anyone I worked with, and he hadn’t taken the hint. He was a nice guy, I couldn’t deny that, but he was often a little too friendly with me. He had caught me in the hall again, and though I was distracted with Hayden being in the hospital, I still had to take the time to politely turn Dr. Hank down for another invite to grab a cup of coffee.

Just think about it, he said.

I have, I replied. My pager was going off, and I was grateful for the chance to get away from him, though I froze when I realized where the pager was taking me.

What’s going on? I asked.

I had to stop by and check in on Trudy, but as soon as I walked into the room, I could see by the look on Blaine’s and Quinn’s faces there wasn’t anything wrong with Trudy, and Hayden had pushed the emergency pager just to get me into the room with them.

You looked like you were being bothered out there, Hayden said, And I thought I would rescue you.

Well, you pushed the button for me to check on the patient, so you’re going to have to step aside while I do that, I told him. I huffed past him and checked on Trudy, ensuring she was just fine. Is there anything I can get you?

I’m okay, she said cheerfully. I thought it was funny my uncle pushed the button when I didn’t need him to.

It’s not a good idea for him to do that. You never know when we are busy with other patients who really do need help, so calling for us when you don’t need anything can make it harder for the people who do, I said.

I wasn’t talking to anyone in particular, but the sheepish look on Quinn’s face told me she must have told him it was a bad idea.

I need to talk to you, Hayden said to me.

Outside, I replied. I would rather talk to you in private.

That’s fine with me, he said.

He followed me into a spare room and I turned to him. What the hell do you think you’re doing? You think you can just show up here after dumping me six years ago and think everything is going to be just fine? I’ve moved on, Hayden, and I would appreciate it if you left me alone.

I just wanted to talk to you after all that happened, he said. I know things didn’t go well before, and they ended on a bad note between us, but I hate that they did, and I would just like to be able to work out a friendship maybe.

A friendship? I asked as I shook my head. "You