Second Chance Father Read online

  The Widower’s Fresh Start

  After losing his family, Jack Simon moved to the remote Alabama woods to be alone. But when an uncommunicative boy appears on his property, everything changes. Dedicated social worker Elise Ramsey explains the boy is an orphan with autism who lives in a nearby children’s home. The beautiful woman seems so hopeful about young Cody’s kinship with Jack, and despite his vows to never be a husband or father again, Jack can’t help being drawn into both their lives. But can the rugged recluse truly open his heart again and chance loving the woman and boy who’ve come to mean so much to him?

  “That’s the first sound Cody has made with me,” Elise said with a smile.

  “But you said he can communicate.” Jack remembered her mentioning it on the first day.

  “He could before the accident.”

  “And now he doesn’t.” Jack’s empathy toward the boy intensified. Yes, Jack had lost his family, too, but he’d only withdrawn from society. Cody had withdrawn from everything.

  “Now he doesn’t,” she repeated softly.

  “Without speaking, I’m guessing the chances for an autistic boy to be adopted are slim to nil,” Jack deduced.

  Elise didn’t answer, but her silence said everything. The boy needed to communicate in order to stand a chance at a family wanting to adopt him.

  Pondering Cody’s situation and what he could do to help, Jack carefully maintained his distance from the woman in his kitchen.

  He didn’t want to stand too close, didn’t want to be too close. But he also needed her to understand that he didn’t want to stop seeing Cody.

  Today was the first day Jack had felt alive in a very long time.

  Renee Andrews spends a lot of time in the gym. No, she isn’t working out. Her husband, a former All-American gymnast, co-owns ACE Cheer Company. Renee is a kidney donor and actively supports organ donation. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys traveling with her husband and bragging about their sons, daughter-in-law and grandsons. For more info on her books or on living donors, visit her website at reneeandrews.com.

  Books by Renee Andrews

  Love Inspired

  Willow’s Haven

  Family Wanted

  Second Chance Father

  Her Valentine Family

  Healing Autumn’s Heart

  Picture Perfect Family

  Love Reunited

  Heart of a Rancher

  Bride Wanted

  Yuletide Twins

  Mommy Wanted

  Small-Town Billionaire

  Daddy Wanted

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  SECOND CHANCE

  FATHER

  Renee Andrews

  The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,

  a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know

  Your name trust in You, for You, Lord,

  have never forsaken those who seek You.

  —Psalms 9:9–10

  The past year has blessed our family

  with three precious new grandbabies.

  This book is dedicated to them:

  Brooks McCallum, Naomi Zeringue

  and Konrad Zeringue. Pops and KK love you,

  big as the sky, to the moon and back!

  Acknowledgments

  Tremendous thanks to my editor, Shana Asaro, for her understanding and guidance in helping me best portray the story and characters that are so near and dear to my heart.

  Kelly Mooney, thank you so much for insight into your world. When I realized I’d be meeting an honest-to-goodness LA producer three years ago, I didn’t know God was providing a new friend. You’re amazing, and I truly hope you’ll come see us in Alabama again!

  Emily Hausmann Hill, I remember the first time I met you, when you brought three precious children to our home for fostering. You truly care about each and every child you’ve helped place over the years, and our family was blessed to have you as our social worker. Thank you for your guidance in Elise’s character.

  As always, any and all errors are completely mine.

  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

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  Excerpt from Rocky Mountain Cowboy by Tina Radcliffe

  Chapter One

  A dark-haired boy stood at the edge of Jack Simon’s property.

  Yesterday, when Jack first saw the child near the woods, he’d believed his grief had finally taken its toll on his mind. He’d bought this cabin specifically for the location, far enough away from civilization that he’d never be reminded of everything he’d lost—not the wife who loved him with the kind of adoration he attempted to portray on the silver screen, or the twin girls who made his heart soar with their uninhibited giggles, or the son...

  The boy looked as real as the woman Jack had fabricated last week during his morning run. He’d never encountered anyone in that time, when daylight barely touched the forest and the trail was as desolate as his soul, but that day, he’d envisioned a striking woman, her arms wrapped around her stomach as she curled into herself, rocking through the pain of her sobs.

  Dark chestnut hair veiled her face until she must have sensed she’d been spotted and peered through the woods toward Jack. Even with tears streaming down her cheeks, she’d been one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Olive skin. Doe eyes. A full mouth curved down with sadness.

  Angry he’d allowed himself to betray Laney’s memory with the alluring vision, Jack had increased his speed, running with such abandon that he left the path and lost himself in the dense woods, where the canopy of trees blocked out every ounce of light.

  He had no idea how long he ran that morning, not that it mattered. It wasn’t like he had anywhere to be at any certain time.

  Another reason he’d moved here.

  The boy tapped his fingers together at his chest. If Jack were imagining a child, would he look so detailed, with his head cocked to the side as though he were confused to find Jack in the middle of the woods, instead of the other way around? And if Jack had dreamed up a kid that looked ten years old, the same age as Jack Jr. had been, wouldn’t the boy be sandy-haired, like his son? Or have that easy smile and those deep dimples that always graced JJ’s face? This boy’s mouth stretched flat, not quite in a frown, but closer to a grimace than a smile.

  Then again, the woman he concocted hadn’t looked like Laney, either. His beloved wife, with her white-blond curls and fair skin making her appear even more innocent on their wedding day. The woman in the woods contrasted with Laney in every way, from her tan skin to her dark hair to the torment etched on her face.

  The boy shook his head, as though he’d decided he was in the wrong place, or that Jack wasn’t who he’d planned to see this deep in the woods.

  It’d been a long time, at least three or four days, since Jack had been required to mutter a word, but sensing the boy was about to flee, he c
leared his throat and called out, “Hey! Do you live around here?” An odd question, since Jack hadn’t seen any other homes nearby. But he assumed there could be more places like this tucked within the thick forests that blanketed North Alabama’s Lookout Mountains.

  Maybe the boy camped with his family near Jasper Falls. Jack supposed schools could be out for fall break, since it was the third week of October. But Jasper Falls was at least four miles away. Chances were the kid had wandered farther than he realized. JJ had done that once, when Jack had been shooting The Journey on location near Prague. Laney had been frantic with worry when they couldn’t find their son. So had Jack.

  And the joy they’d experienced when JJ had been found spurred the idea for Finding Home, a film that would be released in two months, on Christmas Day. The last picture Jack would ever direct.

  And a premiere he’d never see.

  He swallowed thickly, wiped a sleeve against his brow and squinted toward the kid again. “Are you...lost or something?” He could ask himself the same question. Lost. Out of his mind. Out of his element. It’d been two years since that plane went down. Everyone had claimed he’d be normal after one.

  Of course, Jack had never been accused of being normal.

  But in spite of the concerns from his friends, his parents and every studio in LA, he’d found the most remote place to live. Away from the pain. Away from every reminder of the past.

  And then...this boy.

  Jack stopped sanding the slab of wood destined to be the side of his dresser and removed the wide plank from the table saw. He needed to determine what to do about the boy. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he prepared to let the authorities know about the child wandering the woods. Then he glanced toward the trees and, like yesterday, the kid disappeared as quickly as he’d come.

  A sudden urge to pray for the boy’s safety—and his own sanity—coaxed Jack’s brain, but he swallowed past the impulse that had once been second nature. God wasn’t listening, and Jack still had serious doubts about whether the child even existed. No need to call the police to announce he’d lost his mind. Besides, escaping civilization didn’t include broadcasting his residence in the woods. So far, he’d managed to stay clear of the townsfolk in Claremont, the tiny community fifteen miles away. Keeping his distance would be a lot easier if he didn’t summon the cops to his house.

  He grabbed his thermos from the porch, took a long drink of ice water and let the liquid cool his throat and settle his spirit. “He must have been a figment of my imagination.” Saying the words aloud helped to reassure himself, as did selecting the next piece of wood. Surely staying busy would keep the illusions at bay.

  The thick plank of mahogany held its weight well, and Jack liked knowing that he would create a piece that would last for generations. Not that he’d have any subsequent generations to continue the Simon name.

  “Hello?” The lyrical voice, undeniably female, provided a stark contrast to Jack’s present frustration. He relaxed his grip on the mahogany and turned toward the spot where the kid had been.

  The woman from the woods—the exquisite lady from his dreams—gingerly stepped over a cluster of tree roots as she edged into the clearing.

  What would he imagine next, twin girls with pale blond pigtails and eyes that sparkled when they laughed? Jack closed his eyes, inhaled deeply and embraced the reminder of reality. The scents of fresh sawdust, crisp pine and damp earth. Then, exhaling slowly, he listened to the haunting sounds of the slight wind pushing through the trees.

  Several long moments passed.

  He finally opened his eyes, expecting the hallucination to be gone.

  Still there.

  In case this wasn’t a delusion, Jack cleared his throat and repeated, “Hello.” His voice came out as coarse and grainy as he felt, and the woman’s widened eyes and hand to her heart showed her shock at his near-growl.

  No doubt about it, this wasn’t a dream. She was as real as the heavy slab of wood in his hands.

  He made another attempt. “Sorry. I’m...not...used to visitors.”

  Her head moved in a subtle nod, but she stopped progressing toward him, which Jack understood. He hadn’t showered yet today and it had been weeks since he’d shaved. His hand drifted to his face, fingers scrubbing across a thick, wiry mass of beard.

  When was the last time he’d actually looked in the mirror?

  The golden afternoon sunlight sliced through the trees and shimmered against her pretty brown hair as she took a step forward. She wore a button-up sheer floral blouse over a peach T-shirt, extremely feminine, but also outdoorsy when paired with her dark blue jeans and hiking boots. Shoving her hands in her pockets, she peered toward his log cabin, then scanned the area to his right, and then his left, regarding him as more of an obstruction than an asset to her obvious search.

  Jack suspected he knew what—or rather, who—she wanted to see.

  Determined to make his voice less gruff, he cleared his throat. “You looking for a young boy?”

  One arched brow shot up, eyes widening even more, and her jaw tensed. “Have you seen him? Is he okay?”

  He thought about his old flannel shirt, the sleeves pushed up to the elbows and covered with sawdust. The equally worn jeans that were his favorite, because his kids had given them to him on the last Father’s Day he celebrated. And the work boots he’d bought when he decided to live the rest of his days in solitude, disappearing in what he’d thought to be uninhabited terrain, in North Alabama, of all places.

  Maybe he was crazy. And maybe, considering his unkempt state of dress, he looked like an ax murderer.

  At least he wasn’t holding a chain saw.

  “I didn’t hurt him,” he said, which, judging from her reaction, may not have been the smartest thing to say.

  * * *

  Elise Ramsey didn’t know what she expected to find when she’d gone searching for Cody in the woods, beyond finding the boy, that is. But she certainly hadn’t expected to happen upon this big, burly guy in the middle of the forest. “You didn’t hurt him?”

  What did that mean? And where was Cody now? She continued scanning the area around the log cabin but saw no sign of her patient.

  “No, I didn’t.” He placed a huge plank of wood across two sawhorses and swiped a sleeve across his forehead. “He was here, and I tried to talk to him, but he didn’t respond.”

  “He wouldn’t have. He can’t.” She closed her eyes and said a prayer for the boy. He’d disappeared yesterday at the same time, during the late-afternoon devotional, when the kids of Willow’s Haven all gathered at the fire pit to be reminded of God’s place in their lives and that they were all loved and wanted. Something many of them couldn’t say about their lives before.

  “He can’t?” His head tilted, forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Can’t speak?”

  Elise silently scolded herself for letting her rattled disposition interfere with her natural filter regarding her patient. But she hadn’t told this bearded stranger anything that she couldn’t share. Anyone who encountered Cody learned quickly enough that he’d stopped speaking. “He can,” she corrected, “but he doesn’t. Not anymore. Or at least not yet.” Hopefully she’d make progress with the child she’d already grown to care so much about, and he would find his voice again.

  “He stopped talking?” The man pushed his sleeves up and then crossed his arms in a move that brought her attention to muscled forearms. Bulging biceps. And the extent of just how much larger he was than Cody. Or Elise. “What happened to him?” he asked.

  Did he know? Was Cody still here?

  A frisson of fear shimmied down her spine, but she held her ground. Cody was her responsibility, and she needed to verify that he was okay. This guy said he didn’t hurt Cody, but he certainly looked like he could hurt someone. Granted, she’d never spent any time in
the woods before her current placement at Willow’s Haven, but even if she had, she wouldn’t have expected to run upon a man who looked like he’d been dropped out of the Wild West. Minus the horses. And the guns.

  She hoped.

  God, please, keep Cody safe.

  “Where is he?” Elise hated that her voice trembled on the last word and said another quick prayer for courage.

  The man unfolded his arms, moved a palm to his forehead and then pinched the bridge of his nose as though warding off a migraine. The action looked more like something she’d expect from someone sitting behind a desk than a rough-hewn fellow in the woods. Finally, he spoke, but his voice didn’t spark the fear it had before. “I don’t know where he is. I tried to talk to him and he ran off.”

  “Where was he? Where did you see him, exactly?” She needed a clue on where to find Cody. Had he returned to Willow’s Haven, like before, or had he wandered deeper into the forest?

  He pointed toward the woods. “There, same place he showed up yesterday. Disappeared right before you got here.”

  That got her attention. “He came here yesterday?” She pulled her hands from her pockets and planted them on her hips. “You didn’t try to find out why an eleven-year-old was wandering the woods? Didn’t think you should call the police?” If he had, she would have known where Cody had been yesterday, or where he might go again. Like he’d done today. “You didn’t think someone would want to know that he was here? In the middle of nowhere?”

  He took a deep breath, and her attention moved to the hard outline of his chest, easily visible in spite of his loose flannel shirt. The guy was built, but she didn’t notice in an oh-how-rugged kind of way. Rather, she noticed in a he’s-strong-and-could-hurt-someone kind of way.

  The broad shoulders lifted and then fell. “I wasn’t sure he was real.” His words seemed to surprise himself as much as Elise, and she merely stood there, mouth agape, and wondered how to respond.

  He wasn’t sure Cody was real?