The Single Mom's Second Chance
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Kathy Douglass
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15,9K
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19
Prologue
Roz Martin stood in the hot June sun, staring at the building as if frozen in place. After three days of planning what she would say and determining the best way to approach Paul Stephens, her onetime high school sweetheart and brother-in-law, the energy that had propelled her this far ran out and she no longer had the strength to go inside. She tried envisioning the conversation, trying to picture a positive outcome, but she couldn’t quite pull it off. Nothing in the recent past gave her reason to believe everything would work out. Sadly, nothing in the distant past gave her hope either.
Roz’s eyes burned with angry tears. She’d sworn she’d never be in this position again, yet here she was, once more dependent upon a person who didn’t want anything to do with her. When she’d been five years old, she hadn’t had a choice. Her parents had been killed in a car accident and her only living relative, her great-aunt, had become her legal guardian. But Aunt Rosemary had never wanted children and had only taken her in out of duty. She had provided Roz with a place to live and little else. Certainly not love or affection.
Now Roz had to come to Paul and beg for help. She hated it, but, once again, she didn’t have a choice. She needed him. If she had to plead, then plead she would. Ever since the doctor had given her the bad news, she’d had to think of what was best for her children. This was simply one more instance of that. If it stung a little more, that was a price she was willing to pay.
Cancer. She had cancer. Just thinking the word filled her with dread and made her heart pound so hard her chest ached. She wanted to yell to the heavens about the unfairness of it all.
She’d never smoked. Didn’t drink alcohol. She exercised regularly and maintained a diet filled with fresh fruits and vegetables. Yet, at thirty years old, she’d been diagnosed with stage II cervical cancer. Roz took a deep breath and steadied herself. Now wasn’t the time for a pity party. Truthfully, there was never time in her life for self-pity.
She was a single mother of three wonderful children. Her three hearts. She’d do anything for them. Which was why, despite knowing how Paul felt about her, she’d packed up the kids and traveled from her home in Sweet Briar, North Carolina, to Tampa, Florida, to see him. A conversation like this was better had face-to-face.
She hadn’t told the kids about her diagnosis yet. She knew the news would hit them hard and she didn’t have the emotional strength to deal with that now. They believed that they were in town to wish their grandparents bon voyage before the couple set off on their delayed eight-month cruise in two days. In actuality, Roz had come to town to speak to Andrea, her mother-in-law, to get her help and advice.
Roz had told Andrea about her diagnosis and then sworn her to secrecy. Andrea had offered to postpone the cruise again, but Roz had turned her down. Although more than a year had passed since Roz’s husband Terrence’s sudden death, her father-in-law was still struggling with grief. Most days, Edward seemed to drift from place to place with nothing tethering him to his surroundings. Lately, he’d begun showing interest in the cruise they’d canceled after Terrence died and had been talking about their trip around the world. This vacation could be a turning point for him. There was no way Roz could ask them to put it off again and risk sending him spiraling back into sorrow. Especially when he would only worry about her. He’d been too good to her and her kids for her to even consider it. Which meant she had to ask Paul for help. That is, if she found the courage to step inside the health club he owned. Although her mother-in-law had offered to speak to Paul on her behalf, Roz had told her no. She wanted to stand on her own two feet.
The door swung open and two women dressed in brightly colored workout gear emerged. They spotted her and held the door open. Taking that as a sign to stop stalling, Roz smiled her thanks and trotted the last few feet down the concrete sidewalk.
“Have a good workout,” one of the women said before walking away.
Not bothering to explain that she wasn’t there to exercise, Roz murmured her thanks then stepped inside. Despite the weight of worry on her shoulders, she took a minute to look around. The reception area was spacious and buzzed with positive energy.
To her right, a large window revealed a Zumba class of about twenty women dancing to a Latin beat. To her left, doors led to dressing rooms and showers. A muscular man stood behind a curved desk in the middle of the reception area, greeting people as they scanned their membership cards before heading to locker rooms. About half a dozen people were sipping fresh juice smoothies at a bar. Roz hadn’t expected to see this many people at midday on a Wednesday.
During their two-year relationship, Paul had spoken of his plans for the future. He’d always had an interest in physical training and planned of one day owning a gym. He’d more than accomplished that goal and now owned nearly twenty first-rate health clubs in three states. This was the first one he’d opened, and according to Andrea, he had an office here in addition to the one at his corporate headquarters. Today was the first time she’d been inside one of his clubs. Although she and Paul had been in-laws, they’d never been family.
Once, Roz had loved him with the entirety of her being. When they’d been dating, he’d made a lot of promises about their future which he’d promptly forgotten when he’d gone away to college. He’d forgotten her just as quickly, his calls to her growing fewer and farther between before they’d stopped altogether. College life and college girls had replaced her.
When she was eighteen, her aunt died, leaving her alone in the world. Paul had come home for the funeral and returned to school the following day. His older half brother, Terrence, started coming around, supporting Roz in the way she’d hoped Paul would. Terrence had given her a shoulder to lean on and been someone who’d listened to her worries. When he’d proposed, she’d said yes, relieved and grateful that she would no longer be alone. She’d cared a great deal for Terrence, but she hadn’t been in love with him. They’d gotten married at city hall two weeks after he’d proposed.
Paul had never forgiven her.
Stepping up to the desk, Roz cleared her throat, drawing the attention of the receptionist. “Welcome to Build-A-Body. How may I help you today?”
“I’m here to meet with Paul Stephens.”
“And your name?”
“Rosalyn Martin.” Roz hadn’t taken Terrence’s name. Her maiden name was the only link she’d had to the parents she barely remembered.
The young man picked up a phone, and after a brief conversation where he’d alternated between looking at her and glancing through the window behind her, he smiled, then pointed toward the back of the building. “Mr. Stephens’s office is up the stairs just behind the walking track. You can’t miss it.”
“Thank you.” Roz strode around the desk and through the large gym area, stepping around the gleaming equipment. When she reached the stairs, she took a deep breath then blew it out slowly. The next few minutes would determine the course of the next months of her life. The pounding beat of the music blasting from unseen speakers couldn’t drown out the sound of her heart slamming against her chest as she climbed the long flight of carpeted stairs. She’d thought there would be another reception area, but there wasn’t. Instead, there was simply a long hallway that ended at a set of double doors. Paul’s name was etched on the nameplate attached to the wall beside them.
She knocked and waited until Paul called for her to enter before opening the door. He was sitting behind a massive desk that had been placed in front of a wall of windows overlooking the gym. He’d spun his chair around so that his back was to her. Although he must have heard her step inside, he made no move to face her. She stood still, refusing to utter a word until he acknowledged her presence. As he began to turn his chair around, she steeled herself for the conversation she needed to have.
“Roz.” Paul’s voice was so cold she all but shivered. She’d expected the displeasure; after all, he’d made his feelings plain over the past twelve years. There was no lingering affection between them. Still, her heart sank a little at the frown marring his handsome face. He wasn’t going to make things easy for her.
She owned her part in their disastrous past, but he’d yet to do the same. To his way of thinking, she’d been 100 percent to blame for the demise of their relationship and he’d been the wronged party. It had never occurred to him that he’d let her down, too. Not that it mattered now. The only thing she cared about was ensuring her kids were cared for. If there was anyone else she could turn to, she would. She had friends in Sweet Briar of course, her best friend Charlotte Shields for one, but she didn’t feel comfortable asking her to take on such a huge responsibility. She had a wedding to plan with the town doctor, Rick Tyler. Besides, like it or not, Paul was her children’s uncle. He was their family and they were his. Family was supposed to take care of each other.
“Thank you for seeing me.”
He grunted. “You didn’t give me much choice, showing up here unannounced.”
Maybe. But she knew he could have easily refused to see her and that would have been the end of it. Now that they were face-to-face, she wasn’t sure how to start the conversation. She looked around his office. Though it was sparsely decorated, the tan leather furniture was appealing. A picture of Paul and a beautiful woman was on the corner of his desk. Although Roz and Paul weren’t in each other’s lives, from time to time, Andrea mentioned the women Paul dated and her hope that he’d finally settle down. Andrea seemed to believe that Kristin, Paul’s girlfriend of seven months, was the one.
Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all. Seeing Paul as one half of a happy couple made her doubt her plan. He might not be willing to leave Kristin behind in Florida and come to North Carolina to help while Roz underwent chemotherapy and surgery. Her treatment and recovery would take months. Too bad she couldn’t think of another solution.
Paul drummed his fingers on his desktop. “Do you want to get to the reason you barged into my office today? I’m sure it wasn’t just to look at me.”
Roz’s face grew hot as she struggled to keep from staring at him. As a teenager, he’d been dedicated to clean living and his body had reflected that. The years had been very good to him. He was six feet two inches of lean muscle. His brown skin glowed with good health, and his face was beyond handsome, even with his eyes narrowed with irritation.
She took a breath but the word cancer clogged her throat, leaving her unable to speak. To her horror, her eyes filled with tears and her vision blurred. Blinking back the moisture, she forced herself to talk. “I need your help.”
“With what? Not that it matters. The answer is no. We don’t have that type of relationship. Remember? If you’d thought it through, you could have saved yourself the trouble and me the time and aggravation.”
“Are you still holding what happened when we were kids against me?”
“No. But I’m not willing to pretend that we’re friends either. And since Terrence has died, we are no longer family.” He made air quotes with his hands making it clear he’d never accepted her as part of the family.
“Do you consider my kids your nephew and nieces? Are they still your family? Do you still love them?”
“Of course I love them. What do they have to do with this favor of yours?”
“Everything. If not for them I wouldn’t be interrupting your workday.” The annoyed look on his face indicated that her time was coming to an end. Since there was no easy way to say it and she doubted the word would affect him the way it affected her, she just blurted it out. “I have cervical cancer.”
He blinked and jerked as if she’d given him an electric shock. “What?”
“You heard me.” She couldn’t say it again. Her voice wobbled and one of the tears she’d tried so hard to hold back escaped and then slid down her face. She brushed it away, hoping he hadn’t seen it. She didn’t want Paul to see her cry. He might accuse her of using her tears as a weapon, and she wasn’t prepared for that battle.
His mouth moved but no sound emerged. She could relate. She’d been floored when her doctor had delivered the news. Though she’d been sitting down, her knees had shaken like Jell-O in an earthquake. Even now, it was a struggle to stand. But she couldn’t worry about his state of mind. She needed to get to the point of this meeting. “I’m going to be undergoing chemotherapy and having surgery soon.”
When he simply stared at her, his face devoid of all expression, she continued. “I won’t be able to take care of my kids. I have friends who will help me but that won’t be enough. I’m going to need live-in help. Hiring someone is out of the question. I don’t want my kids to have to adjust to a stranger in the house in addition to dealing with my illness. If there were someone else I could go to for help, I would. But there isn’t. Your mother offered to postpone their cruise again, but I can’t ask them to do that. Your father needs to get away from here in order to move past his grief and start living again. So I need someone—you—to come to Sweet Briar.”
Paul’s head was swimming and he fought against a sudden wave of dizziness. Cancer. Roz had cancer. The word echoed in his brain, then slammed repeatedly against his skull. It didn’t make sense. How could she be so sick?
She looked fine. She’d always been slender, with small breasts, a tiny waist and slim hips, but, upon closer examination, she did appear a little thinner than she’d been at Terrence’s funeral last year. Her white top was a bit loose and she kept adjusting the strap, preventing it from slipping off her shoulder. Although her face was as beautiful as ever, the spark in her eyes had been replaced by fear and her brown skin looked dull. Her lips trembled as she tried to smile. Apparently, her mouth refused to cooperate, and after a moment, she gave up the attempt.
“I know it will be inconvenient for you, but you’re my only hope. I’m determined to get well fast, so you shouldn’t have to stay for long. And Nathaniel is old enough to help with Megan and Suzanne.”
It took a minute for her rapidly spoken words to register. Was she still trying to convince him? Was she that uncertain that she could rely on him? “Of course I’ll come. Whatever you need.”
Her body sagged in relief. “Thank you.”
“Did you think I’d say no?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure. I’d hoped you’d say yes but I came prepared to be turned down.”
Considering that he’d initially said no before knowing what she needed, there was nothing he could say in his defense. “When did you get your diagnosis?”
“A week ago.”
A week? And she hadn’t said anything to him? “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Her eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? We haven’t spoken a civil word to each other in years unless there was someone else around. As you just pointed out, we’re neither family nor friends.”
The words sounded so much crueler now. He’d been unnecessarily harsh. Shame battered him, leaving him speechless.
“My oncologist is working on a treatment plan. He’ll have it together by Friday, with dates and schedules. I’ll check with you before I confirm anything with him, to make sure you’re available first.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll be there whenever you need me to be.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.” It was true that they weren’t friends. Too much had happened for them ever to be friends again. But he wasn’t heartless. She and her kids needed him to step up and he would.
“Thank you. I appreciate it. If there was another way, I wouldn’t inconvenience you like this.”
“I love my nieces and nephew. I have a few things to clear up here and arrangements to make in order to work from North Carolina, so it may take me a couple of days. Will that work for you?” He was already mentally rescheduling meetings and rearranging plans for the next month or so. He’d adjust his schedule further out if necessary. And Kristin. He’d have to tell Kristin. Their schedules were so chaotic—she was a busy neurosurgeon and he was working tirelessly to build his business—that they rarely spent time together as it was. He’d prefer to have her blessing, but he was prepared to go to North Carolina without it.
“Whenever you arrive will be good. I need some time with the kids to prepare them for the future anyway.”
“Did you tell them yet?”
“Not yet. We’re spending the night with your parents and flying home tomorrow afternoon. I’ll tell them tomorrow night or the next day.”
“If you want, I can be there with you to reassure them that everything will be fine.”
“That would be really great,” she whispered. Tears filled her eyes and he felt her sorrow. Seeing her standing there, her arms wrapped around her middle, it struck him just how alone she was. How alone she’d been since Terrence’s death.
Unable to contain himself, he went to her, taking her trembling hand into his. He tried his best to infuse her with his strength. “We’ll get you through this. I promise.”
“I’m trying to take everything one day at a time. Andrea and Edward are good and loving grandparents and I know they’d step in if...”
“Don’t even think that way. You’re going to be fine. You’ll beat this. Focus all of your energy on getting well. I’ll take care of everything else.” She had to get better. Though he’d made a point of avoiding her the past dozen years, keeping out of her life, he couldn’t imagine a world without her in it.
The unexpected thought stunned him. He might not want Roz to be sick, but there was no place for her in his world. There hadn’t been for years.
