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Second Chance Father
Renee Andrews
The Widower’s Fresh StartAfter losing his family, Jack Simon moved to the remote Alabama woods to be alone. But when an uncommunicative boy appears on his property, everything changes. Dedicated social worker Elise Ramsey explains the boy is an orphan with autism who lives in a nearby children’s home. The beautiful woman seems so hopeful about young Cody’s kinship with Jack, and despite his vows to never be a husband or father again, Jack can’t help being drawn in to both their lives. But can the rugged recluse truly open his heart again and chance loving the woman and boy who’ve come to mean so much to him?
The Widower’s Fresh Start
After losing his family, Jack Simon moved to the remote Alabama woods to be alone. But when an uncommunicative boy appears on his property, everything changes. Dedicated social worker Elise Ramsey explains the boy is an orphan with autism who lives in a nearby children’s home. The beautiful woman seems so hopeful about young Cody’s kinship with Jack, and despite his vows to never be a husband or father again, Jack can’t help being drawn into both their lives. But can the rugged recluse truly open his heart again and chance loving the woman and boy who’ve come to mean so much to him?
“That’s the first sound Cody has made with me,” Elise said with a smile.
“But you said he can communicate.” Jack remembered her mentioning it on the first day.
“He could before the accident.”
“And now he doesn’t.” Jack’s empathy toward the boy intensified. Yes, Jack had lost his family, too, but he’d only withdrawn from society. Cody had withdrawn from everything.
“Now he doesn’t,” she repeated softly.
“Without speaking, I’m guessing the chances for an autistic boy to be adopted are slim to nil,” Jack deduced.
Elise didn’t answer, but her silence said everything. The boy needed to communicate in order to stand a chance at a family wanting to adopt him.
Pondering Cody’s situation and what he could do to help, Jack carefully maintained his distance from the woman in his kitchen.
He didn’t want to stand too close, didn’t want to be too close. But he also needed her to understand that he didn’t want to stop seeing Cody.
Today was the first day Jack had felt alive in a very long time.
Dear Reader (#ulink_4911ef30-b412-5fc0-b160-3f7346c5ab0a),
While writing this book, I received a phone call I never wanted to receive. “I’m at the hospital.” Those were Matt’s words, and I could tell from his tone that it wasn’t good news. If you’ve read anything about me or follow me on social media, you know that five years ago I met a twenty-four-year-old young man who needed a kidney and hadn’t found a match. God put it on my heart that day that I would match, even though his family members hadn’t. And God doesn’t lie. We were a perfect, better-than-sibling, all-six-antigen match. Merely six months after meeting Matt, I gave him my kidney, and it began working in the operating room. Praise God!
Matt has become a son to me and my husband, a brother to our other two sons. We love him, his beautiful wife, Brittany, and their boys, our grandsons, Ryan and Brooks. They are family. So when Matt called to explain that he’d had a sinus infection and that the antibodies to fight the infection had viewed my kidney as foreign...and started attacking, my heart plummeted. My prayers skyrocketed. But as of today, the kidney has not started working again, and Matt has returned to dialysis.
One of the most painful things I’ve ever had to hear came a month ago, when Matt said, “I’m sorry. I hope you don’t regret what you did, because you gave me a better life for five years and gave us two beautiful boys.” I couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “There are no regrets. Only blessings. Am I confused about why this is happening? Absolutely. We were the ‘miracle match’ as they termed us in the hospital and on the news. But God gave you five years with a working kidney. God gave me a son, a daughter-in-law and two more precious grandbabies. And God has been here, the whole time, working through the joy and the pain.”
Will we face storms in life, the way Jack and Elise face storms in this book? Absolutely. But God never promised a perfect life, not here, though we will have that perfect life one day. Where we don’t receive those hospital calls, don’t watch our loved ones suffer, don’t wonder what we could have done to have made things better. And until then, God is right here, all the time.
I wanted desperately to portray how much we need God in the stormy times of life. This book, these characters, have touched me so deeply, and I truly hope they’ve touched you too. And if you’re facing storms, I pray for you to turn to God. Let Him be your anchor in the storm.
As always, I welcome prayer requests from my readers. Write to me at: Renee Andrews, PO Box 8, Gadsden, AL 35902 or through email at renee@ reneeandrews.com and I will gladly lift your requests to our Heavenly Father in prayer.
If you would like to keep up with me, my family, my books and my devotions online, please join my Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/AuthorReneeAndrews (https://www.facebook.com/AuthorReneeAndrews)
Blessings in Christ,
Renee
RENEE ANDREWS spends a lot of time in the gym. No, she isn’t working out. Her husband, a former All-American gymnast, co-owns ACE Cheer Company. Renee is a kidney donor and actively supports organ donation. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys traveling with her husband and bragging about their sons, daughter-in-law and grandsons. For more info on her books or on living donors, visit her website at reneeandrews.com (http://www.reneeandrews.com).
Second Chance Father
Renee Andrews
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know
Your name trust in You, for You, Lord,
have never forsaken those who seek You.
—Psalms 9:9–10
The past year has blessed our family
with three precious new grandbabies.
This book is dedicated to them:
Brooks McCallum, Naomi Zeringue
and Konrad Zeringue. Pops and KK love you,
big as the sky, to the moon and back!
Acknowledgments (#ulink_9b7af65e-e130-5471-8401-29d8b091c157)
Tremendous thanks to my editor, Shana Asaro, for her understanding and guidance in helping me best portray the story and characters that are so near and dear to my heart.
Kelly Mooney, thank you so much for insight into your world. When I realized I’d be meeting an honest-to-goodness LA producer three years ago, I didn’t know God was providing a new friend. You’re amazing, and I truly hope you’ll come see us in Alabama again!
Emily Hausmann Hill, I remember the first time I met you, when you brought three precious children to our home for fostering. You truly care about each and every child you’ve helped place over the years, and our family was blessed to have you as our social worker. Thank you for your guidance in Elise’s character.
As always, any and all errors are completely mine.
Contents
Cover (#u657cdb9b-9013-59f7-b075-fa44fb36136c)
Back Cover Text (#u07c5c8b7-585f-5a5f-beaf-2fd55b815a8e)
Introduction (#ufc79d88f-d215-50e3-9a27-940807f14c2e)
Dear Reader (#ulink_01c29a48-7729-581d-bb71-0d9dd23327db)
About the Author (#u2f24a8b3-413f-5733-9c9a-e1d6c1ba99bf)
Title Page (#u225241bc-f7fb-595b-9f69-f4c12ad3faa6)
Bible Verse (#ue0f37070-de0a-5a6f-825a-3dc629ef905d)
Dedication (#u7945e67d-9669-59d4-98b4-383b34ee096c)
Acknowledgments (#ulink_53f0f633-e997-545e-b618-afa1c53dfec6)
Chapter One (#ulink_4b62b2c9-ec99-5787-8fde-e3d5d5ca616f)
Chapter Two (#ulink_b0f3e774-6ead-5f3c-aa36-db222ac547a7)
Chapter Three (#ulink_36873596-f249-5fe7-a8ef-21886ad12a91)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ulink_6b003fc5-f4c9-5219-adb9-d27ad58baa11)
A dark-haired boy stood at the edge of Jack Simon’s property.
Yesterday, when Jack first saw the child near the woods, he’d believed his grief had finally taken its toll on his mind. He’d bought this cabin specifically for the location, far enough away from civilization that he’d never be reminded of everything he’d lost—not the wife who loved him with the kind of adoration he attempted to portray on the silver screen, or the twin girls who made his heart soar with their uninhibited giggles, or the son...
The boy looked as real as the woman Jack had fabricated last week during his morning run. He’d never encountered anyone in that time, when daylight barely touched the forest and the trail was as desolate as his soul, but that day, he’d envisioned a striking woman, her arms wrapped around her stomach as she curled into herself, rocking through the pain of her sobs.
Dark chestnut hair veiled her face until she must have sensed she’d been spotted and peered through the woods toward Jack. Even with tears streaming down her cheeks, she’d been one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Olive skin. Doe eyes. A full mouth curved down with sadness.
Angry he’d allowed himself to betray Laney’s memory with the alluring vision, Jack had increased his speed, running with such abandon that he left the path and lost himself in the dense woods, where the canopy of trees blocked out every ounce of light.
He had no idea how long he ran that morning, not that it mattered. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to be at any certain time.
Another reason he’d moved here.
The boy tapped his fingers together at his chest. If Jack were imagining a child, would he look so detailed, with his head cocked to the side as though he were confused to find Jack in the middle of the woods, instead of the other way around? And if Jack had dreamed up a kid that looked ten years old, the same age as Jack Jr. had been, wouldn’t the boy be sandy-haired, like his son? Or have that easy smile and those deep dimples that always graced JJ’s face? This boy’s mouth stretched flat, not quite in a frown, but closer to a grimace than a smile.
Then again, the woman he concocted hadn’t looked like Laney, either. His beloved wife, with her white-blond curls and fair skin making her appear even more innocent on their wedding day. The woman in the woods contrasted with Laney in every way, from her tan skin to her dark hair to the torment etched on her face.
The boy shook his head, as though he’d decided he was in the wrong place, or that Jack wasn’t who he’d planned to see this deep in the woods.
It’d been a long time, at least three or four days, since Jack had been required to mutter a word, but sensing the boy was about to flee, he cleared his throat and called out, “Hey! Do you live around here?” An odd question, since Jack hadn’t seen any other homes nearby. But he assumed there could be more places like this tucked within the thick forests that blanketed North Alabama’s Lookout Mountains.
Maybe the boy camped with his family near Jasper Falls. Jack supposed schools could be out for fall break, since it was the third week of October. But Jasper Falls was at least four miles away. Chances were the kid had wandered farther than he realized. JJ had done that once, when Jack had been shooting The Journey on location near Prague. Laney had been frantic with worry when they couldn’t find their son. So had Jack.
And the joy they’d experienced when JJ had been found spurred the idea for Finding Home, a film that would be released in two months, on Christmas Day. The last picture Jack would ever direct.
And a premiere he’d never see.
He swallowed thickly, wiped a sleeve against his brow and squinted toward the kid again. “Are you...lost or something?” He could ask himself the same question. Lost. Out of his mind. Out of his element. It’d been two years since that plane went down. Everyone had claimed he’d be normal after one.
Of course, Jack had never been accused of being normal.
But in spite of the concerns from his friends, his parents and every studio in LA, he’d found the most remote place to live. Away from the pain. Away from every reminder of the past.
And then...this boy.
Jack stopped sanding the slab of wood destined to be the side of his dresser and removed the wide plank from the table saw. He needed to determine what to do about the boy. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he prepared to let the authorities know about the child wandering the woods. Then he glanced toward the trees and, like yesterday, the kid disappeared as quickly as he’d come.
A sudden urge to pray for the boy’s safety—and his own sanity—coaxed Jack’s brain, but he swallowed past the impulse that had once been second nature. God wasn’t listening, and Jack still had serious doubts about whether the child even existed. No need to call the police to announce he’d lost his mind. Besides, escaping civilization didn’t include broadcasting his residence in the woods. So far, he’d managed to stay clear of the townsfolk in Claremont, the tiny community fifteen miles away. Keeping his distance would be a lot easier if he didn’t summon the cops to his house.
He grabbed his thermos from the porch, took a long drink of ice water and let the liquid cool his throat and settle his spirit. “He must have been a figment of my imagination.” Saying the words aloud helped to reassure himself, as did selecting the next piece of wood. Surely staying busy would keep the illusions at bay.
The thick plank of mahogany held its weight well, and Jack liked knowing that he would create a piece that would last for generations. Not that he’d have any subsequent generations to continue the Simon name.
“Hello?” The lyrical voice, undeniably female, provided a stark contrast to Jack’s present frustration. He relaxed his grip on the mahogany and turned toward the spot where the kid had been.
The woman from the woods—the exquisite lady from his dreams—gingerly stepped over a cluster of tree roots as she edged into the clearing.
What would he imagine next, twin girls with pale blond pigtails and eyes that sparkled when they laughed? Jack closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and embraced the reminder of reality. The scents of fresh sawdust, crisp pine and damp earth. Then, exhaling slowly, he listened to the haunting sounds of the slight wind pushing through the trees.
Several long moments passed.
He finally opened his eyes, expecting the hallucination to be gone.
Still there.
In case this wasn’t a delusion, Jack cleared his throat and repeated, “Hello.” His voice came out as coarse and grainy as he felt, and the woman’s widened eyes and hand to her heart showed her shock at his near-growl.
No doubt about it, this wasn’t a dream. She was as real as the heavy slab of wood in his hands.
