Her Second-Chance Family

CHAPTER TWO (#ulink_991701b2-3a3b-53f5-bb07-8157d45f09fb)

THE NEXT MORNING, Audrey woke up with a start. She was sweating and her breath came in fast, shallow gulps, as if she’d just run a race.

“Audrey, Audrey...” Someone was shaking her. She turned and saw Clinton staring down at her. He was pale and his expression was pinched with worry.

“You screamed this time,” he said. “You haven’t done that in a while.”

She scooted higher in the bed and leaned back against the pillow. “I’m so sorry I woke you up.”

He sat gingerly beside her. “Same dream?”

She nodded, though it wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare—one she couldn’t escape.

One she shouldn’t escape.

It had to be the invitation to her reunion that had brought back the events of that awful night.

Audrey winced. She had a college degree and a job she loved. She owned her house. Well, along with the bank. And she had the family she’d always dreamed of.

She should be able to forget. She looked at Clinton.

No, never forget.

She just wished she could put the events of that night behind her. It had changed everything. That one moment had sent her life hurtling in a whole new direction.

She thought of Frost’s poem about two paths. At least the narrator had had a choice.

She took Clinton’s hand and he gave hers a squeeze.

She sometimes marveled at how many good things had also come from that one awful moment.

“Mom?” Bea called from the doorway. Most of the time, the kids called her Audrey, or even Aud, but on occasion Clinton and Bea called her Mom.

“Come on in, sweetie.” She patted the bed, and Bea took the invite, ran over and jumped in next to her. “So, basically, I woke up everyone?”

Bea snuggled close. “Yeah, but it’s okay. We’d have to get up soon, anyway. I started the coffee for you.”

“Wow, how did I get so lucky?” Audrey asked.

She heard the bathroom door slam down the hall.

“Not all that lucky,” Bea whispered. “You woke Willow up, too. She’s not happy about it.”

Clinton snorted. “She’s never happy.”

It had only been four months, Audrey reminded herself...again.

“Well, as long as we’re all up, let’s get our day started.” Audrey sat up in bed. “I’ve got to go into the office today for a meeting, so you guys are hanging out with Maggie May.”

“Are you going to hear about your project?” Clinton asked.

“Yes. I feel nervous every time I think about it.” She knew that even if the firm was awarded the project it wouldn’t be her project. She was too new, too young to be in charge, but it felt like hers.

She’d gone to work at Lebowitz Architecture expecting to do grunt work for years. But Mr. Lebowitz was a one-man firm, and because of that, it wasn’t long before he’d also let her take an active role in the houses he’d designed. She’d eventually helped at every stage, from planning through construction. She frequently drove by those houses, two of them in particular, simply to admire them.

But this new project was different.

The city had donated two downtown lots next to the old railroad tracks for a children’s education center with an emphasis on science and green technology. The plan was to stress innovation and include a small building for classes and lectures, a playground and a community garden area.

Audrey wanted the project so much she could taste it. Mr. Lebowitz had let her take the lead in putting together the firm’s proposal.

And she’d come up with the name for their submission: The Greenhouse—Growing Resources: Educating, Empowering Naturalists House.

Erie already had LEAF—the Lake Erie Arboretum at Frontier Park—on the west side of town and TREC—the Tom Ridge Environmental Center—at the base of the peninsula. The Greenhouse would both fit in with and complement the city’s existing educational centers.

If she got the job.

Well, if Lebowitz Architecture got it.

Clinton pulled her from her thoughts. “Me and Bea aren’t worried. You’ll get it all right. You’re too good not to.”

“I wish I felt as confident.” Having someone believe in her that much meant everything. She’d never got that kind of support from a family, but she’d had Ava and Merrill once upon a time. They’d believed she could do anything, just like the kids did now.

Audrey tried to shake off the nightmare’s residual dark blot. She couldn’t change the past, but she could make a better future.

Clinton, as always, seemed to sense the shift in her mood. Why wouldn’t he? He’d witnessed more of her nightmares and their aftermath than the others. “Come on, Audrey. You not only have LEED credentials, you practice what you preach. We’re the only people I know with a solar water heater and solar panels. You are the perfect architect for this project.” Clinton’s rust-colored hair was more unkempt than usual, and his crooked grin said he found her concerns amusing.

Maybe she’d lost Ava and Merrill after that terrible night, but she’d found Clinton, then Bea, and now Willow. She couldn’t control where her mind took her at night, but she was in charge during the day. She’d built a wonderful family that she was proud of and that’s what she would focus on.

She’d get this project and she’d win over Willow and...

“Let’s go, Aud,” Bea commanded. “Why don’t you get the first shower before Clinton? He takes so long so he’ll smell good for all the girrrrlllls, but it won’t help.”

Bea might not actually be related to Clinton by blood, but the ten-year-old was his little sister in every other way.

“Bea,” Clinton warned on cue, which sent the younger girl screeching down the hall.

In that moment, Clinton looked like any other kid might, as he smiled at Audrey before running after Bea.

A loud series of happy shrieks followed, then Willow screamed at the two of them to shut up, which only made them yell even louder.

The last vestiges of the nightmare sloughed away as Audrey crawled out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe.

When she stepped into the hall she came face-to-face with Willow, whose annoyance was palpable. “Seriously, what is wrong with you people? It’s not even eight in the morning and it’s summer vacation. This house is so freakin’ loud.”

“Sorry,” Audrey said. “I woke the kids.”

“You had your nightmare again?”