Arlene James - Second Chance Match

Home At Last

Single mom Jessa Lynn Pagett is grateful for the old Victorian she’s fixing up. Now she can fulfill both her dreams: providing a safe home for her young son and opening a florist shop. But Garrett Willows insists he’s the rightful owner of the house—and has dreams of his own for the place. With one look at her withdrawn son, the handsome man seems to know that she needs the house more. And his selfless solution will change everyone’s lives...forever.

Chatam House: Where three matchmaking aunts bring faith and love to life.

Jessa felt Garrett’s gaze on her as she and Hunter came downstairs.

He poured himself a cup of black coffee and carried it to the table. He smiled at Hunter. “Sleep well?”

The boy nodded and dropped his gaze to his plate. Garrett turned his blue eyes on Jessa. “He’s a quiet one.”

“Yes. Yes, he is.”

“How about you?”

She felt a bit off-balance around Garrett, which seemed understandable since he’d literally shaken her off a ladder––and into his arms––the moment they’d met. “Um, am I quiet?”

Garrett smiled again. “Actually, I was wondering if you’d slept well, too.”

“Oh. I did, yes. Thank you.”

What was it about him that made her feel as if she had to be on high alert? And how could she want to run in the opposite direction yet sit here and take in every detail about him?

The man was a puzzle. One she dared not attempt to solve.

Second Chance Match

Arlene James

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father

has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

—Luke 12:32

Thanks to my editor, Melissa Endlich, for the time, the attention, the expertise and the inspiration.

God bless you, dear lady.

DAR

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

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Chapter One

The dream that had sustained Garrett Willows throughout the dark years of his life was at last about to become a reality. Turning in a wide circle, Garrett sucked in a deep breath, reveling in the sweet, clean greenness of April in Texas. He smiled at the rugged outbuildings and elegant old Victorian house that would become his home and business. Surely, God had created no more perfect of a place for him to open his plant nursery. His bright blue eyes twinkled with delight as he dropped his gaze on the older woman at his side.

“Let’s take a look inside,” his companion encouraged eagerly. Magnolia Chatam, one of triplet sisters in their mid-seventies, had long been his personal champion. Small and wizened, with her ubiquitous iron-gray braid hanging over one shoulder, she smiled up at him, her curious amber eyes sparkling. “Kent says the repairs are essentially done.”

When the Monroe house had suffered fire damage a few months ago, Kent Monroe and his granddaughter, Ellie, had moved into Chatam House, the lovely old antebellum mansion owned by Magnolia and her sisters, until the insurance could be collected and repairs made. No one had been surprised by that particular turn of events. The Chatam sisters were constantly taking in those in need of shelter. What came afterward had surprised everyone, though—and opened the door to the future for Garrett.

He nodded his inky head and, pulling the key from a pocket, let Magnolia in through the back of the house. Wordlessly, they wandered across the back parlor to a pair of doors at the end of the sizable room. According to Kent, one door would open into a short hallway that skirted the dining room, and the other would lead into the kitchen.

Choosing a door, Garrett pulled it open then drew up short. An orange metal ladder blocked the way. Assuming that the workmen had left it there, Garrett placed a hand on each of the nearest metal legs and lifted the ladder to set it aside, finding it surprisingly heavy.

“Wow,” he began, clumsily moving the thing only a couple feet. It rocked. And shrieked. Managing to crowd into the small room, Garrett glanced upward in time to see a body falling toward him in a flurry of flailing limbs. “Whoa!”

Heart hammering, Garrett threw out his arms and somehow managed to catch the fellow—or child, given the slight weight—while the ladder stuttered backward.

But what would a child be doing up on that ladder?

No, not a child, he thought, catching sight of the flushed face of a young woman. A very lovely young woman with long, wheat-brown hair tumbling over his arm.

For a stunned moment, Garrett could do nothing more than gape, taking in the triangular face with a dainty nose and big, very dark brown eyes, loosely framed by wisps of straight, golden-brown hair. The slight woman in his arms could not be called beautiful in the classical sense; her face was too unusual for that. But something more than mere shock made Garrett’s heart race. Something about that clean, almost angular face seemed both breathtakingly fresh and oddly, achingly familiar, as if he ought to know her. Yet, he was sure that they had never met.

Suddenly those deep brown eyes darkened to black, the generous lips pulled down in a frown, and a sharp elbow jabbed into his ribs as she began to struggle. Garrett swiftly set her on her feet, aware of Magnolia crowding close behind him. The tiny woman glared at him, her dark eyes sweeping over him accusingly as her dainty hands tugged at the hem of her heather-gray T-shirt. One hand crept up to smooth over the weighty mass of her hair before jerking away again. Garrett doubted that she stood as tall as five feet.

“You could’ve killed me!”

“Sorry. I—I didn’t realize anyone—”

“Who are you,” she interrupted, “and what are you doing here?”

Garrett shook his head, trying to marshal his thoughts, and belatedly stuck out his hand. “Garrett. Willows. And, um…this is my new house.”

“Your house?” She backed up, bumping into the ladder, which rocked precariously before settling once more.

“I’m moving in here and opening a plant nursery.”

Her big, dark eyes widened even further. “This is my house! I’m moving in and opening a shop. I made arrangements with the owner this morning.”

Garrett matched her frown with his. “That’s impossible. I spoke to Kent not four hours ago.”

“Kent? Who’s Kent?”

“Kent Monroe.”

The woman shook her head, catching the butterfly clip that her fall had dislodged from her hair as it flew to one side. Garrett saw for the first time that her T-shirt and baggy jeans were flecked with bits of paper.

“I made arrangements with Ellie Monroe,” she declared.

A sick feeling roiled in Garrett’s stomach. As Kent’s granddaughter, Ellie was co-owner of the house. Moreover, Kent tended to indulge Ellie. If Ellie wanted this woman to have the house, chances were that she would. Garrett felt his optimism drain away. So much for his dreams.

Taking a deep breath, Garrett traded worried looks with Magnolia, who stepped up and said sweetly, “I’m Magnolia Chatam. What’s your name, dear?”

The other woman fidgeted for a moment. Finally, she mumbled, “Jessa Lynn Pagett.”

“And when did you speak with Ellie?” Magnolia asked.

She shrugged and twisted up her hair, making a long rope of it and coiling it at the nape of her neck before securing it with the hairclip. Long, tendrils of it fell free, wafting about her face. “I don’t know exactly. Sometime between nine-fifteen and ten o’clock this morning. She had a break in her class schedule and told us to come over to the school.”