Her Second Chance Read online

Just then the elevator slowed to a stop and the doors slid open.

  Stepping out first, Trenna said, ”Good seeing you, Doug.” Remembering her manners, she added, “… bye Darrin.” She didn’t wait for a response but quickly crossed the lobby to the glass double doors marked Little Hearts and hurried inside.

  They followed the hallway, passed the bakery and the card shop heading to the rear entrance. Douglas glanced back at his twin, then quizzed, “What’s wrong?”

  “Not a thing.”

  “Then why the scowl? You should be grinning like a fool. You had some time alone with your lady.”

  “My lady?” Darrin snapped. “Hardly! I can barely get her to speak to me. She couldn’t get away from me fast enough. Believe me, there’s nothing worth celebrating.”

  Douglas affectionately squeezed his twin’s nape. “Come on, bro, talking is how you earn your bread and butter. According to Melissa, once you spot a lady, in less than two minutes you have her ready to follow you anywhere.”

  Darrin rolled his eyes skyward. ”It’s a shame that you and our assistant have nothing better to do than listen to the building’s gossip mill and speculate on my love life.”

  Douglas hooted with laughter. ”Why should you be exempt? Everyone in our office knew I had a thing for Megan long before she agreed to go out with me.”

  “I suppose.”

  “Suppose? As you well know, it was a big deal considering, Megan was the assistant prosecutor on the Kentfield-Benson case and on the Clark-Johnson case. We were constantly battling it out in court and were not supposed to be eyeing each other across the table. That didn’t stop the sparks from flying. The woman made me sizzle.”

  They reached the parking lot and stood beside Douglas’ bronze Lexus.

  Glancing at his watch, Douglas urged, “Since we’re both due in court, in ten words or less, tell me what happened.”

  “She said I can’t take no for an answer, that I’m either spoiled rotten or ruthless. She even brought up that I took the Todd Marks case. Clearly, she resents me for it and believes he raped her friend Grace Brooks. She blames me for getting him off. “

  “What? It has been awhile. Enough time for emotions to cool. She’s a professional and should realize it wasn’t personal. You were only doing your job. ”

  “Evidently it hasn’t been long enough for Ms. McAdams. She really won’t talk to me and it’s making me nuts. ”

  Douglas chuckled. “If you tell Mom I said this, I’ll deny it. But I swear females have no limit when it comes to holding a grudge.”

  Darrin didn’t crack a smile when he muttered, “Me, ruthless? How would she know when she’s never given us a real chance? Her defenses have been up since the day we met. “

  “She’s a widow. It has to be grief.”

  Darrin shook his head firmly. “No, that’s not it. Her husband has been gone a few years. She’s been dating.” He grated bitterly, hating his jealousy and resentment. “According to Melissa, Trenna went to the Women’s Halloween dinner-dance with John Dearing.“

  And there was one night that Darrin couldn’t forget. Trenna had stopped by to see his mother. It was a few days after their father had passed. She had come with food, intent on spending time with them. Darrin wasn’t hungry. He stayed in the den, away from the others. Although the television was on, he wasn’t watching.

  He hadn’t welcomed her visit, not then. His grief had been too painful…raw. She hadn’t insisted he eat, hadn’t argued. Instead, she sat quietly with him, and then she told him about losing her parents, both at once. She had only been eighteen. There was no doubt she understood loss because she had lived it. Her warmth and compassion had touched him.

  Although there had been lots of people there, his father’s friends and colleagues, he was cognizant of her. Even though, he had been unable to shed any tears, seeing her at the funeral and burial, knowing she offered her support had gotten him through. She had shown him another side to her personality, shown him a sweetness that he still craved.

  “Dearing? The accountant on the fourth floor?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Have you talked to Maureen?” Douglas referred to their mutual friend and neighbor. “Or asked her why Trenna…”

  “No!” Darrin interrupted, “Like Maureen would rat on her BFF?” He scowled. “It’s embarrassing how many times I’ve asked her out since we met, and she always says no. She has to be nursing a major grudge against me. But why? When she relocated to Michigan four years ago she was obviously ready to move on with her life. And she has. She’s clearly a gorgeous, smart and savvy business woman. She can have any man she wants.”

  Douglas grinned, “I may be getting married next summer, but I’m not claiming that I understand why women do what they do.”

  Scowling, Darrin muttered, “I have my pride. I shouldn’t care that Trenna couldn't get away from me fast enough.” A glance at his watch had him jogging toward his own car.

  She believed he saw her as a challenge, but she was dead wrong. He could not admit it to anyone, not even to his twin, how much her rejection hurt. Nor could he reveal how deeply she had gotten to him. She was right when she said he had an ego. It felt as if she had crushed his manhood beyond repair. Yet, she possessed an incredible sweetness that was impossible to resist. He could no more stop the wanting than he could stop breathing.

  His brother called, “So you’re going to give up?”

  “No way!” Darrin called back as he started the engine.

  Douglas yelled as he drove past, “Morgan men never quit!”

  “We’re too damn stubborn or stupid,” Darrin murmured aloud.

  2

  The instant she was spotted inside the noise-proof facility, Trenna was bombarded by the welcoming sounds of children’s voices ranging from squeals of delight to boisterous laughter, petulant whining and cries.

  Her chest swelled with pride as she looked at the warm and bright learning environment that she had created for the children. It had taken years of planning and a tremendous amount of hard work to ensure that every child was safe, secure, loved, and confident enough to spread their little wings and soar.

  “You’re back!” Tasha Redman said, Trenna’s assistant only worked part-time because she was taking a full schedule of classes at Wayne State University. The younger woman found that she enjoyed working with the little ones so much that she decided to major in Early Childhood Education.

  “Most days I’m glad we met at the Women’s Crisis Center. But today, not so much,” Tasha teased.

  “What happened?” Trenna had been volunteering in the Saturday afternoon mentoring program for close to two years. Like several of her friends, she enjoyed helping the teen girls in the foster care system’s independent living program. When the founder of the mentoring program Laura Murdock Kramer moved to Chicago, Trenna had taken over mentoring Tasha and recently become her employer.

  “Marjorie was sick after lunch and threw up all over both of us. I helped her change and then called her mother.”

  Before Trenna could respond, Tasha reported, “And Billy’s in the time-out chair because he was upset when Lena knocked over his blocks, so he grabbed her doll and deliberately threw it on the floor as hard as he could. He put a big dent in the forehead. It was her favorite and she was inconsolable. Oh, and you had a call from Anna Prescott Gaines, the caterer. They’re having a problem with the menu.”

  Trenna nodded but was close enough to Tasha to wrinkle her nose. She offered, “You’re welcome to use my office bathroom to shower and change. There are clean tops in the closet.”

  Her office had all the comforts of home, including a sofa that let out into a queen-size bed, a private bath, fully stocked with fresh towels and toiletries. In a pinch, Trenna could spend the night in relative comfort. Once she had worked very late, finishing a report only to go out to the car and find her tire was flat. Another time she had hosted the Elegant Five, her book club, after hours at the school. After two glasses of wine, she
didn’t trusting her driving skills and ended up staying over.

  Bad weather was the main reason she had outfitted the office like a studio apartment. Normally, she avoided driving in the snow or ice. She could never forget the time it had started to snow while she was more than halfway home. Although she was a nervous wreck, through much prayer she managed to get there in one piece. It was a miracle, considering how difficult it was for Trenna to drive in Michigan’s harsh winters.

  Suddenly, she realized she was shaking, still annoyed with herself for letting today’s encounter with Darrin Morgan throw her. Having been on her own for nearly five years, she had thought she was prepared for almost anything.

  Kaleea Prescott yelled, “Miss M! You came back!” the instant she spotted Trenna. The three-year-old wrapped her little arms around Trenna’s hips and held on. Trenna worked with all the children in the school and it was not unusual for a child to become attached to her.

  “Hi, Kaleea,” Trenna smiled, before she squatted down to hug the little girl. Trenna silently mouthed the words, ‘ten minutes,’ to her assistant.

  Since the arrival of her baby sister, Kaleea had become clingy and insecure. Kaleea’s father, Wesley Prescott, played football for the Detroit Lions and traveled a great deal. Her mother, Kelli Prescott, although a stay-at-home mom, worked out of their home.

  Her parents enrolled her in nursery school, hoping that being around other children would boost her confidence. It had taken several weeks, but Kaleea was starting to bloom. She enjoyed school and had become close friends with Nina Johnson. Unfortunately, Nina had the flu and wasn’t in school today. Clearly, Kaleea was feeling the loss.

  “Tired, hmm,” Trenna surmised, smoothing a hand over Kaleea’s back as the little girl rested her head on Trenna’s shoulder.

  Kaleea vigorously shook her head no, even though her eyelids were drooping.

  “Come, I’ll read you a story.” Trenna led her over to the wooden rocking chairs. “Go pick out a book.”

  Kaleea smiled, heading over to the child-size bookcase.

  Once she was settled on her lap, Trenna set the chair in motion, she read, “Brown bear, brown bear what do you see?” By the time, she reached the color green, other children joined had them, and were sitting on the colorful area rug, but Kaleea was asleep.

  Trenna kept reading but signaled Connie Underwood, one of the teaching assistants, to take the sleeping child into slumber room where cots had been setup. Despite the administrative demands of her job, Trenna finished the picture story, and then read another before she sent the little ones off to the art room where Kathy Donavan was waiting to show them how to sponge paint leaves on the trees they had draw previously.

  For Trenna, the nursery school was a dream come true. It was her special blessing, the one that had taken years to receive. In the meantime, she had prayed for and prepared for it. It was something she would never take for granted because it meant too much. And now, here they were, licensed to service children that ranged in age from six-weeks-old up to five years old.

  Trenna hadn’t taken time off between her undergraduate and graduate program. She had wanted to teach, but her husband objected. Martin didn’t want her to work outside the home. She’d completed her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and was working toward a doctorate in Administration when Martin passed. She worked hard and was confident in her abilities. She had planned every aspect of the nursery school long before she was able to make it happen.

  She was thrilled that Little Hearts had succeeded far beyond her expectations. The school offered more than the basics, and they’d worked hard to insure all the children’s needs were met. Because of that hard work, their first year was very successful. Word of mouth had done much toward filling their slots and creating a waiting list. The facility was privately owned, attracting the area’s most affluent and wealthy.

  She wanted the facility to be available to everyone, especially low-income families. It had become important to her, and she developed a scholarship program….so important that she used part of her inheritance to establish her foundation. This past fall, she had given away scholarships to two of her students. She took as much pleasure as their parents did that the children were flourishing.

  The first thing she did when she reached her office was call their caterer. Anna Prescott Gaines and her team produced healthy, yet delicious meals that appealed to the children while staying within the school’s budget.

  Trenna gave the okay to substitute oranges for nectarines on Wednesday’s menu. ”Thanks Anna. I appreciate the call. Will there be a problem getting the bananas for the two children with citrus allergies?”

  “None. We have the bananas ready to go. And no, I should be the one thanking you. You guys have done a remarkable job with my niece, Kaleea. She loves school and wants to go every single day. “

  “Kaleea is a sweetheart.”

  Anna laughed. ”We love her but that does not make us blind to the facts. She has been spoiled rotten by all of us. And for the first time since she had the new baby, my sister-in-law, Kelli, has been able to get some rest. As you know by now, Kaleea can be just as stubborn as her father. Since he was hurt and unable to play football, he has been impossible to be around. You have worked wonders with Kaleea and she loves you.”

  “Thank you. And we all love her.”

  As soon as she ended the call, her cell phone rang. Trenna said, “Hi, Maureen.”

  “Busy?”

  “Always, just like you.”

  The best friends laughed. These days the two were business owners, responsible employers with specialty clientele, requiring them to put in long days. They’d met at Spellman College in Atlanta and were roommates their freshman year. By the end of that first year they were close friends. Over the years, they managed to remain close in spite of living in different parts of the country at the time.

  Maureen was a counselor and in her element at the Valerie Hale Sheppard Women’s Crisis Center, which she ran with Mrs. Hale, her grandmother. The Center catered to the needs of sexually assaulted and abused women and children.

  Trenna and Maureen had a lot in common. They were both only children of very successful parents and hated not having siblings. They loved to read and shared books. They had grown up attending their local AME church and shared a love for God. They agreed they were blessed and talked about someday being able to give back. Surprisingly, during their second year in college they had both been engaged.

  Yet, Trenna was the loner and Maureen was an extravert. Trenna was comfortable at home or in company of close friends while Maureen made friends easily and loved dining out, concerts and dancing.

  Over the years, they had shared much. Trenna had held Maureen and dried her tears when she found out the truth about her fiancé and had been forced to break off the engagement. Maureen had been Trenna’s maid of honor, despite her belief that Trenna was making a huge mistake by rushing into marriage. Plus Maureen had been there for Trenna when she lost her husband.

  They had encouraged each other to follow their dreams. Even though their interests varied, it was no surprise to them that they became business owners or that they were dedicated to their clients. They now also lived in the same neighborhood with their offices barely a mile apart. Because of their busy schedules they rarely found time to have lunch together.

  “I’m calling to make sure we’re still on for tonight…dinner and a movie?”

  Trenna smiled, “Absolutely. I will meet you at seven. Will it be just the two of us?”

  “Grace and Vanessa are joining us. That okay?”

  “Of course. It’s always good to see them both. How is Grace? She still volunteering at the Women’s Center?”

  “Yeah, she has done well considering what she has been through. Because of her willingness to share her experience, she has been a true blessing to the other rape victims.”

  “She’s a good person and shouldn’t have to live in fear,” Trenna said vehemently. />
  Maureen had been assigned to Grace’s case at the hospital the night of her rape. And she took Grace on as a client at the Women’s Crisis Center. As Grace progressed, she eventually agreed to take part in group counseling.

  After completing counseling, Maureen had introduced Grace into their circle of friends. Like their? other friends, Grace began to volunteered at the Women’s Center, mentoring the teen girls who were in foster care.

  Maureen said, “I can’t argue with that. We both know Grace is a wonderful person.”

  Both Trenna and Maureen had been in the courtroom to support Grace during the difficult trial, along with Darrin who played a decidedly different role. Trenna refused to let her mind remain on that dark thought for long. “Tell me how you managed to convince Vanessa to join us tonight? Normally she and that gorgeous husband of hers are practically joined at the hip.”

  Maureen laughed, ”I didn’t have to do any convincing. Ralph recently had a late night out with the guys—a Piston’s game I believe. It’s Vanessa’s turn to have an evening out. It has been a while since we’ve spent time with her.”

  Trenna sighed. “I can’t remember the last time. I must I sound like a broken record but, the three of us haven’t talked books since our last book club meeting, which was right before Laura married and moved to Chicago.”

  Maureen admitted, “Yeah. I know what you mean. We aren’t the Elegant Five anymore, not with both Laura and Brynne living out of the state.”

  Trenna reminisced, “It was a blast. Laura could really pull a book apart. And the five of us really had a good time together. When we selected the name we were all single, sassy and some serious reading sisters.”

  “Of course,” Maureen laughed. “It was Brynne, who started our downfall when she fell for her ex, Devin Prescott, and then married him.”

  “For heaven sake’s, they made a baby together! You make it sound as if we blame her.”

  “No, I didn’t mean to. Brynne and Devin had been apart for years. I just hate that he plays for the St. Louis Rams and not the Lions. I miss Brynne and sweet Shanna.”