The Alpha's Second Chance Page 11

  There would never be another in her life again.

  2

  New Normal

  Nick glanced around the small one-bedroom apartment. “It’s not much,” he said. The single small bedroom had only an air mattress in it until he could go out and buy himself a bed. A few lawn chairs in the living room. It was all that he had.

  It was a stereotypical bachelor pad for a young man right out of college or high school, but Nick knew that he could get everything that he needed. This was just the kind of place that bachelors would start off with, and slowly he could purchase furniture. The most important thing was having a place of his own.

  “It’ll do for now,” his mother smiled from the kitchen. The older woman had brought over a set of dishes, four place settings, and a cheap set of pots and pans. “Which cabinet do you want the dishes in?”

  “Uh, I don’t really know. Janice took care of all of that stuff,” he shrugged.

  “Now you’re on your own, it’s your decision to make.”

  “I know, Mom.” Nick realized that he sounded just like a teenager when he drew out the last word and winced.

  She just laughed it off. “Don’t worry so much. I’m just happy to have you back.”

  “I wish it wasn’t this way.”

  “Sometimes marriages don’t work out,” the older woman sighed. “There’s no shame in being adult enough to admit that something wasn’t working.”

  “I thought that everything was perfect,” Nick said.

  “It’s easy to lie to yourself.”

  “Do you really think that I was lying to myself?” He walked into the kitchen and started to stack plates in a cabinet near the fridge.

  “I think you were a young man who fell in love, and that love made you blind.”

  “I wasn’t expecting to catch her in bed with another man.”

  His mother walked over and wrapped her arms around him. “It’s all going to be alright. I promise.”

  “You can’t promise that.”

  “I can, and I will. It always turns out.” The older woman followed her son’s lead, and started to load silverware into a drawer near the sink. “Do you have any sort of drawer divider?”

  “A what?”

  A laugh followed that. “The insert that you put silverware in.”

  “Isn’t that built into drawers?” Nick was confused. He must have been missing something.

  “No, you buy them.”

  Nick chuckled. “Sorry about that. I’m still getting the hang of this.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s not so hard once you get used to it,” said his mother.

  “So, uh, where can I buy it?”

  “Just about anywhere that has a home good section.”

  Nick chewed on his lip as he nodded. “Yeah. That makes sense I guess.”

  “I’m sure that you’re going to get this down. It just takes some practice.”

  “Are you so sure about that? Pretty much all I did was the housework and make sure the bills were paid,” he groaned. “She did all the decorating. I told her to leave enough to pay the bills and let us eat, and she took care of all of this.”

  “I’m sure,” said Nick’s mother. “You’re a smart boy, you just went from college straight to being married and you never had to worry about any of this stuff.” The older woman walked up and patted her son on the shoulder. It was a comforting gesture, one that he had desperately needed while he was working his way through the divorce. “You’ve got the big pieces down. You know how to pick up after yourself and pay your bills. Setting up a home is just a little bit more than that.”

  “It feels pretty big.”

  “I know it does, but it’s not so bad. Look. I already got you some dishes.”

  “But I need more stuff.”

  “Everyone does when they move. Don’t worry so much.”

  Nick sighed heavily. “I’ll have to go shopping soon.”

  “Do you need help making a list?”

  “That would probably help me out a lot,” Nick said with a smile. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “That’s kind of my job. I kind of feel like I failed when you’re pushing thirty and don’t know any of this yet.”

  “My wife took care of all of it,” he sighed. “Janice never really wanted me to help with any of this sort of stuff. She was always so particular.”

  “I think she was just resistant to change.”

  “Not too resistant, though.”

  A sigh escaped the lips of the older woman. “It won’t do you any good to worry about it now. It’s over, and you’re going to be just fine.”

  “I know.” But he didn’t know. He wanted to have this all go away, and disappear back to where heartbreak wasn’t the defining feature of his life. “What do you think about the curtains?”

  “What kind of curtains do you want?” his mother replied.

  “What kind are there?”

  His mother laughed loudly, clearly enjoying herself. “I still have some old ones from the house. Dark blue. Does that work?”

  “That would be great.”

  “I’ll bring them by tomorrow. Is there anything else you need?”

  “I don’t know. She got the house and the furniture. I don’t have a lot of stuff.”

  “Why didn’t you both sell it?”

  He felt a little awkward. It was still hard to talk about, but it was important that his mother not think that his ex had screwed him over or anything. “Because she bought the house, and I didn’t want the furniture.”

  “That explains a lot.”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t stand it,” Nick frowned. “I don’t really know why.”

  “Probably because you were having to start a new life. It was probably better to let all of that stuff go.”

  “At least I don’t have to pay alimony,” he said.

  “That’s good for you,” the mother nodded. “That she worked just as much as you did.”

  “She’s a good woman, she just wasn’t in love with me.” Nick sighed heavily as he remembered the beautiful blond woman that he had married. She had been a bandage over a wound that he wouldn’t forget. And he was pretty sure that Janice could feel it from him.

  Nick was pretty sure that that was what led to the end of the relationship and his wife finding love in the arms of another man. He stood there, those thoughts swirling around in his head for a long time. His mother let him think and ponder, didn’t seem eager to stop him from the worries that were coating the inside of his head. He knew why. He was the type of man that needed to think about things, rather than just be told what to do. It was part of his nature that had led to him rushing to a woman he thought he loved with no real connection.

  And it had been a mistake.

  “Do you want me to go?” his mother asked.

  He jumped at the words. “Sorry? No.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  He sighed. “There’s not much to talk about, I guess.”

  “What’s up then?” His mother looked a little worried.

  “Nothing, really.” He shook his head and walked back to the small living room. “This is a pretty nice place. And I missed being home.”

  “Home missed you too.”

  He smiled. “You could just say that you missed me, Mom.”

  “I already did that.”

  Nick snorted. “You did, yeah.” He walked back to the bathroom. “Did you happen to bring me over a roll of toilet paper?”

  “I actually brought you a couple of rolls. I remember moving.” The woman smiled, her eyes stuck in happy memories of many years before. Nick didn’t know what she was thinking about, but whatever it was seemed to make her eyes dance happily. He had missed seeing his mother happy. And he knew that coming back home made his mother that kind of happy.

  “I don’t remember moving that much,” he said.

  “We didn’t, not once we settled down as a family. Just a couple times into better homes.” She smiled widely. “But your father
and I were young and wild once. We moved from a tiny apartment to another tiny apartment when we were just getting started.”

  He laughed. “This kind of place must bring back memories, then.”

  “It does.”

  “Are the neighbors still the same?” He paused and thought about his old friends. “The Carlisles?”

  “I think they’re still in town. The mother moved into a small apartment once all her kids were fully on their way. So, I don’t know where they are anyway. You miss Oscar?”

  “Just a little. Was thinking I might look him up.”

  “There’s always Facebook.”

  Nick nodded. “I’ll have to give that a try. Facebook is a pretty good way to get in touch with people, isn’t it?”

  “I’ve found dozens of old friends,” she smiled.

  “I’ll have to look up a lot of old friends.” Nick started to think about it. It would be nice to get back and meet with old friends. He missed the closeness he’d had with people here. On the coast, he had never had that sort of friendship. Not for lack of trying; he just couldn’t connect well with people out there.

  He called it cultural differences. But that wasn’t the truth. The truth was that he was a New Mexico boy, born and raised, and he missed all the things that made his home what it was. He had missed his friends when he took that job out on the west coast. And he belonged there. He sighed heavily; he was back. Even despite what had happened, he felt a lot better.

  “You want me to leave?” his mother asked again.

  “No, Mom. Sorry. I’m just getting stuck in my own head.”

  “That seems to be happening a lot.”

  “I know. It’s just a little crazy.” His phone buzzed, and he looked down at it with a groan.

  “What is it?” His mother didn’t try to peek, but he could tell that she wanted to.

  “It’s Janice.”

  “What does she want?”

  “Just to talk.”

  His mother sighed heavily. “What do you think it’s about?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Do you want to answer her?” His mother sat down on the couch and grabbed a laundry basket, starting to fold the clean laundry inside of it.

  He shook his head. “I don’t really know yet.”

  “Does she do this a lot?”

  “Sometimes,” he frowned. “Usually when one of her new boyfriends takes off.”

  “Has she been dating a lot?”

  “I wasn’t exactly emotionally there for her.”

  “You’re making excuses,” his mother warned. “You were both at fault for the marriage ending. Both of you could have done better, but her stuff now can’t be all on you.”

  “I know, I know.” He looked down at his phone again. “I just don’t even know what to say to her.”

  “What did you say last time?”

  “That I didn’t want to get back together with her,” he explained, still staring at his phone.

  “Then tell her the same thing this time. I’m sure everything is going to be fine.”

  “I know it is.”

  “You’re getting tired of me telling you that everything is going to be fine, aren’t you?” his mother said.

  “Yeah. I don’t know how to respond to it at all,” Nick replied.

  “I can’t blame you. I remember when people did the same things to me. I hated it. It was awkward and strange.”

  “I was afraid I was going to have to say something about that.” He laughed weakly and glanced back down at his phone. “I’m not going to respond to her. I don’t owe her anything.”

  3

  Calm Evening

  Rosalinda sat on her porch with her tea and watched the stars. Her son was happily sleeping, his arms curled around a toy alligator that her parents had brought back with them from a trip to Florida the year before.

  As she sat there, she thought about the life that they had. It was a quiet night; the perfect time of night for sleeping or thinking. And she was perfectly happy to do the latter.

  Her son. The light of her life. The only man in it. This wasn’t the way that she’d pictured her life at all. She had imagined a happy life eight years ago, before her son was even thought of. And she had thought she knew who it was going to be with. But it didn’t work out that way.

  She’d had friends try to set her up, but her mind was stuck on that one perfect night under the moonlight. They had been out in the desert when she got a flat tire, and he had given her a ride. Both of them had just finished their college education. They were about to head out to new lives in different parts of the country.

  It was a night of absolute magic, and something that she would never forget in a thousand years. It had been perfect. Two bodies together in their passion.

  It was her first night with a man, and she had never let it go. And as she sipped her tea, she remembered it. It was a beautiful night that filled her with deep adoration. Her brother’s best friend. Something forbidden. Something no one would understand.

  When she found out she was expecting, she hadn’t told a soul who the father was. The man that she had loved in secret for all of those years had gotten married to another woman out in Los Angeles, and it had hurt her beyond belief. But she would never say a word. She had Dominick, and that was what was important to her. She loved the boy that she had given life to, and she hadn’t wanted to hurt the man that she loved by telling a newly married man that he had a son that he didn’t know about. It would have destroyed his life.

  So instead, she slipped away from his life. They lost contact, and her brother had lost contact with him as well. The man looked happy. Who was she to interfere with his happiness?

  Rosalinda’s phone lit up on the table by her chair. She glanced down to the picture on the phone. He had dark hair just like she did, and the same gray eyes as well. It was her older brother, Oscar. She sighed and picked up the phone. It wouldn’t do any good to dwell on the past.

  “Hey.”

  “Hey!” Oscar sounded excited for some reason.

  “What are you so happy about?” she asked, laughing at the sound of his voice.

  “How are you doing?”

  “I’m doing alright. Just got Dom into bed.”

  He gave a laugh. “You actually manage to get him in bed on time?”

  “I do just about every night.”

  “That’s a miracle. Ours always fight bedtime.”

  “That’s the truth,” she agreed.

  “He’s a really good kid.”

  “He’s the best kid.”

  “I will have to fight with you on that. I have to defend the honor of my own children.”

  “Pick your weapon, sir.”

  “Handguns at twenty paces?”

  “A classic choice, brother.”

  “I’ve always been a sucker for the classics.”

  She remembered that her brother must have had some reason to call. He was happy, so it was likely to be good news, at least. “What’s up? You never call people.”

  “I wanted to hear your voice when I told you the news. It’s kind of exciting.”

  “Are you expecting again?” she smiled into the phone.

  “No. No. Nothing like that,” her brother laughed again. “Trust me, we wouldn’t give you that news over the phone. Kim would have my hide.”

  “You guys already have three. You never know.”

  “Hey, we have a lot of love.”

  “That’s painfully obvious.”

  “Hey, I love my wife. Nobody can blame me for that.”

  She shook her head with a smile. “What is it then?”

  “Guess again.”

  “You’re just playing with me now.”

  “Just a little bit.”

  She took a deep breath and thought for a moment. “Alright. Did you guys win the lottery?”

  “Man. You’re going to make my news look really bad after this.”

  “I mean, if it’s got you this excited.”
>
  “Hey, I’m easily excited.”

  “You always have been insane, Oscar. What is it?” Rosalinda was having fun with this little game, but her curiosity was starting to hit her hard.

  “I just got a friend request on Facebook.”

  “What does that have to do with anything? You still use Facebook?”

  “Have you checked yours?” Oscar was laughing while he talked.

  “No, why?” Rosalinda was starting to get very curious. There must have been something unusual happening for her brother to act this way. “What is it?”

  “Do you remember Nick?”

  Her breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t speak for a long moment.

  Her brother didn’t seem to notice. “He got a hold of me,” he continued. “We’ve been chatting for a while.”

  “Oh,” Rosalinda said, finally pulling herself together. It was all that she could say as she remembered that handsome, chiseled face. The one that had charmed her. But she would never admit that anyone.

  “He’s back in town. We were hoping to meet up.”

  “That’s… that’s great.” Her throat went completely dry. “How’s he doing?”

  “I was hoping that we could all get together. I know that you used to have a crush on him back in the day.”

  “I kind of did.” She forced herself to play it cool. This wasn’t the right time or place to debate on facts that were obvious. “But it was just a schoolgirl crush.” That was a lie. She had been absolutely head over heels in love with the man.

  Rosalinda’s mind raced. She didn’t know what to do about any of this. It all seemed to be insane. Nick had been happy and in love the last time she had seen him. Oscar had driven them all the way to the west coast to attend his wedding. And Rosalinda hadn’t said a thing about the child that she was carrying.

  She remembered considering whether or not to object and just come out with it all, but that would have been a terrible idea. He deserved to be happy.

  “Is his wife in town?” She hoped that she sounded simply curious, and not like she was testing if her life was going to fall down around her ears.

  “No. He got divorced. Apparently, it didn’t work out.”