Second Chance Summer

Second Chance Summer Catherine Jones Contents CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO EPILOGUE CHAPTER ONE The gentle breeze from the ocean drifted through Liv’s hair as she sat in her chair on the deck and looked off into the distance. She sipped her coffee slowly, a faint smile on her lips as she remembered how Dane would always roll his eyes at how long it took her to drink the whole mug. He would drink two coffees by the time she was just finishing her first one. The late morning sun was peeking through the clouds and the beach was just starting to fill up with people, everyone eager to enjoy a day at the ocean so early in the season. It was only early May, but the weather had been unseasonably warm for Maine since April. No one was complaining, the winter had hammered them with several snowstorms. Liv stood up, opening the French doors that led into her bedroom, and stepped inside, looking around the large space. After growing up with a bedroom that was the size of a closet, she had always dreamed of having one that was so big it could fit a sofa at the end of the bed and have plenty of room for a bathroom and a walk-in closet. Now she had it, but it didn’t seem to matter much anymore. She took a few deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly, then fixed her windblown hair. She was grateful to have natural waves, her golden-brown hair didn’t need much attention aside from a weekly hair mask and the occasional trim. Her hands fell from her hair clip down to the necklace she was wearing, and she rubbed the sapphire stone that was on it, a daily ritual she had for no reason in particular. “Liv?” a voice called out. “In the bedroom,” Liv replied, tying the bottom of the extra-large T-shirt that she was wearing into a knot close to her waist. “Oh, I see you’re wearing your uniform,” Eliza groaned, handing Liv a green smoothie, and then pushing the tortoise shell sunglasses she was wearing up onto her head. Liv looked at her older sister and smiled. Eliza was extremely sarcastic, but it had served her well in life. She was a well-known lawyer around their small town of Cardinal Cove and the southern Maine community, her sharp tongue and quick wit meshed well with her high IQ, something that many didn’t see coming until it was too late. “Uniform?” Liv asked, making a sour face after taking a sip of the smoothie, which she imagined was similar to what grass would taste like. “Yes. Black leggings, white T-shirt, hair up in a crazy bun, your uniform. You’ve had the same thing on literally every day that I have seen you.” “I have more than one pair of black leggings, and God knows how many white T-shirts,” Liv replied dryly. She had also gained over ten pounds since January and wearing leggings didn’t remind her of that fact like trying to zip up a pair of jeans did. “I know. I’m just saying that maybe it’s time you get dressed in something else and actually do something. You know, like maybe go outside, get some sun on that pale skin.” Liv frowned as she left the bedroom, walking down the hallway to the spiral staircase that led to the first floor, shielding her eyes from the sunlight that was pouring in through the floor to ceiling window. “I’ve been outside every day. And I’m meeting Ashley for lunch this week.” “You are?” Eliza asked, her excitement seeping through her tone. “That’s great.” “Eliza, you’re acting like I’m a recluse or something. Stop.” “I just want to make sure you’re okay. You went from going out every day, being super social, to, uh, this.” “Sorry if I’m still in shock about my husband dying. I’ll try to party it up more,” Liv said sarcastically, tossing the pizza box from the prior night’s takeout into the trash. “That’s not how I meant it and you know it,” Eliza said, sitting down at the kitchen island. “It’s been months, Liv. We all miss Dane. But your life has to go on.” Liv ignored her sister, picking at a nonexistent stain on the marble countertop. It was easy for Eliza to say that life had to go on. Eliza had a ton of friends, a great career and an even greater husband. Lately, Liv’s friends seemed more like acquaintances, and her career had taken a backseat as her years with Dane had passed by. Now that he was gone, she was completely lost. Dane had come into Liv’s life when she was twenty-five and working as an Assistant General Manager for a local hotel. He was a big wig architect from Chicago that had been hired to design a new development in Cardinal Cove. The two had immediately gotten off on the wrong foot when Dane had assumed that she was a maid, stopping her in the hotel’s hallway to tell her that he needed more bath towels and not to knock on his door if it was before eight in the morning or after six at night. Liv had told him that she would pass the message along to housekeeping, sarcastically adding that the maids wore uniforms not suits like she was, trying not to laugh when Dane was speechless. He was staying at the hotel for two months, and by the time his job had ended in town the two were inseparable. Dane purchased one of the newly built homes that was on the beach for them, selling his condo in Chicago. He traveled for work, so it didn’t matter if he lived in Chicago or